Ambassador Spotlight | Benjamin Hanna
Hometown: Santa Fe, New Mexico
Q: What’s your climbing style?
A: Awesome
Q: What is your proudest accomplishment in climbing and outside of climbing?
A: That’s hard to say since I don’t have a life outside of climbing.
Q: What advice would you give to your first-year climbing self?
A: Warm up, train harder, and you don’t have time for girls.
Q: Who do you take advice from and why?
A: Brad Hilbert. He is one of my mentors, and I trust his opinion when it comes to training and life. I always take advice from my momma, and she’s always right…even when she’s wrong.
Q: How has your training for climbing changed in the last year?
A: I’ve become much more focused on my goals and training this last season. I realized what I must do to succeed and have made the changes this year to make that happen.
Q: How has climbing affected the people you surround yourself with?
A: I want to be around psyched people. Life is much better around people who want to get things done. So, that’s who I surround myself with.
Q: What have you done to give back to the climbing community?
A: I don’t have an answer for that. I want to think I give back to my community, but I can’t think of anything I’ve done that’s not just part of being in a community.
Q: What have you learned from failure?
A: I’ve learned a lot from failure. I don’t think any session was more important than the rest, but to take something away every time.
Q: Who are the climbers that inspire you the most, and why?
A: it’s pretty hard not to be inspired by Sharma.
Q: What is your favorite climbing location and why?
A: Hueco Tanks. Hueco has always had a special place in my heart.
Q: Why Butora Climbing?
A: Great quality, highly reliable, but above all else, the people behind Butora Climbing are incredibly kind and have the best work ethic I have ever seen.
Q: What are your favorite before and after climbing meals?
A: You can never go wrong with Chipotle.
Q: What is your spirit animal?
A: Hulk
Questions from the Internet
Q: What differences have you found in climbing Narsha versus climbing in Acro?
A: The Narsha has a lot stiffer rubber, with makes it better for edging, and the Arco is softer, which means the rubber sticks better.
Q: What tips would you give new outdoor climbers about crag etiquette?
A: This is not your house; your mom won’t clean up after you.
Q: What tips would you give someone stuck on their project? How do you stay motivated when you are stuck?
A: You either need to train harder or rest more. Chances are you are not doing one of those, and that is up to you to figure out and change.
Q: How have you overcome fear of climbing (fear of falling, failure, etc.)?
A: Leading used to be very scary for me, but with some work and time, I’ve come to love it. Now, I will only lead climb.
Check out our next Ambassador, Matthew Carpenter.
