Shauna Coxsey is one of the most decorated climbers of her generation, but this conversation goes far beyond competition results. We explore her journey through high-performance sport, injury, identity, mental health, and motherhood. Shauna shares her experiences with anxiety, disordered eating, and the often unseen challenges of life as a professional athlete, including supporting her husband through depression, being dropped by her main sponsor and coming back postpartum. It’s an honest and thoughtful conversation about values, positivity, life-philosophy, vulnerability, and what it means to stay true to yourself, on and off the wall.

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Timestamps:

00:02:22 - Hazel’s take on some of the themes in the conversation

00:04:27 - Shauna’s climbing beginnings

00:08:27 - Choosing the path of a professional athlete

00:14:14 - Are you naturally competitive?

00:15:39 - Balancing personal motivation in competition

00:20:18 - When winning isn’t enough

00:26:40 - Shauna's doubts about competition climbing

00:28:16 - Injuries and the body’s messages

00:32:07 - The Olympic mindset

00:38:10 - The tension between performance and well-being

00:40:56 - Speaking out about mental health on social media

00:51:06 - Shauna and Ned’s story and relationship

00:58:24 - Struggles with depression and anxiety and sharing these topics publicly

01:05:07 - Managing anxiety today

01:11:04 - Mental health perspectives and real life

01:20:19 - Eating disorders in climbing

01:36:36 - Motherhood

01:45:32 - Adidas dropping Shauna