I Taught Alex Honnold What Gorpcore Is
“I just wore this because it’s clean,” he laughed. “That just means that if you wear the same thing long enough, eventually it comes around. It gets its turn.”
Taking its name from the hiking snack “Good Ol’ Raisins and Peanuts,” the outdoors-inspired hiking and utilitarian style has infiltrated the fashion world and been at the forefront of streetwear for nearly a decade. This weekend in San Francisco, one of the trend’s leading ladies, The North Face, hosted their 5th Climb Festival, a celebration of climbing and climbing culture where athletes were invited to test their skills by taking on a 45-foot wall, with only water to break their fall. The event was hosted by none other than our accidental fashion icon Alex Honnold, with competing athletes including Olympic 2020 silver medalist Nathaniel Coleman and Olympic 2024 silver medalist Brooke Raboutou.
“It’s cool! To me, it highlights the growth of the sport in a way. You know, obviously this isn’t quite the Olympics, but it has the same feel where it’s just a public spectacle where people can interact with climbing in a totally different way! I mean, I’m into it. I think it’s cool!” Alex said about the event.
And grow it has. Before calling out our gorpcorians for being posers, consider this: according to a Data Bridge market research study, the global climbing gym market in 2024 was valued at USD 71.18 billion and is expected to reach USD 116.92 billion by 2032. Whether the look is the chicken or the egg, it’s clear that climbing has moved beyond the wall and into pop culture, driving a multibillion-dollar industry and cementing gorpcore as more than just a passing trend.
No stranger to the fashion world, runway model, Olympian, and this year’s Climb Festival women’s champion Brooke Raboutou was still beaming after her win when I came in hot with the question every professional athlete wants to answer after an insanely impressive physical performance.
“How do you feel about the gorpcore aesthetic becoming really popular?”
“Honestly, I love fashion! I want to feel confident in the clothes I wear,” Brooke confessed. “I love being able to throw my clothes on for the gym and be able to go to a chill dinner after,” she laughed. Fresh off walking the Cécilie Bahnsen show at Paris Fashion Week last year, I had the same question as everyone: is there anything this 24-year-old can’t do?
And if there are still any doubts that climbing has crossed over into the land of “cool,” I caught up with an old college friend who was headlining the event, Its Murph, to put any doubts to rest.
“Do you climb?”
“I used to. Not anymore,” he shrugged.
“What? How did that happen?”
“I fell through a roof.”
When one of the buzziest names in electronic music spends his off-hours chalking up in a TNF fleece, you know climbing has fully arrived as part of the cultural zeitgeist. After a long day of ogling at world-class athletes make pushing human limits look effortless, meeting the chillest most welcoming community of people, listening to the most insiprational stories, and dancing my heart out at a set that put Coachella to shame … I think it might be time my Gore-Tex saw some dirt.
FULL INTERVIEWS
RB- After doing more high-stakes climbs, what does an event like this mean to you? Do you get anything personal out of it?
AH- It’s cool. To me, it highlights the growth of the sport in a way. I mean, especially last year in New York and then here, it’s just such high visibility areas, a couple of parks. I mean, I went to the Olympics last summer in Paris as well, and it all just feels like part of the growth of climbing. You know, it’s like obviously this isn’t quite the Olympics, but it has the same feel where it’s just a public spectacle where people can interact with climbing in a totally different way. I mean, I’m into it. I think it’s cool!
RB- Is there anything that made you want to do the panel? Any conversations you’re trying to spark?
AH- No, no. [Laughs] I was just signed up to moderate, I don’t know why.
RB- [Laughs] Well, it seems like you’re good at it, so …
AH- Well, I don’t know. I’m always improving. But no, I think the vibe, the competitors, I mean, the competitors are amazing. The people who win are really, really good. And I like seeing them climb because they’re just incredible. And so once I’m going to come to an event like this, then I’m happy to participate in any aspect of it — moderating, commentating, doing whatever. It’s all just part of the experience of the event.
RB- When you come to events like these, I’m sure people are kind of “fangirling” over you. Do you ever get tired?
AH- Oh yeah. I get totally wrecked.
RB- Yeah, I bet.
AH- Yesterday I did an hour and a half of photos and signing, and then it took just an extra hour and a half to leave the venue. But it’s good — it’s just part of it.
RB- Do you ever get stuck in this image of being “the fearless guy”?
AH- No, not really. I mean, I think it’s more than that — people come up to me and say they love the podcast and the film, and I don’t know. I definitely don’t feel stuck in anything, because I’ve always been exactly who I am. It’s not as if I’m trying to portray some image and then feel trapped behind the image. I just live. But by nature, I’m fairly introverted, so I get tired.
RB- Yeah, I get that. Something I was curious about is climbing, especially the “aesthetic” of climbing — it’s gotten really big.
AH- Is there an aesthetic of climbing?
RB- There’s such an aesthetic of climbing! I’m a city girl, NYC born and raised, and no one in my life has ever touched a rock, but they all wear what you’re wearing right now.
AH- You have Central Park! Not even a picnic?
RB- Okay fine, maybe a picnic, they’ve touched a pebble. But this whole gorpcore aesthetic—
AH- What did you just call it?
RB- “Gorpcore.”
AH- “Gorp core? [laughs] No, I’ve never heard that.”
RB- Really?! It’s very trendy. What you’re wearing now is super on trend.
AH- Really? [laughs]
RB- Do you ever think about style? Or is it all function?
AH- No, I’m wearing this ’cause it’s clean! That just means that if you wear the same thing long enough, eventually it comes around. [Laughs] It’s getting its turn.
RB- I hope you don’t mind, I’m going to totally pivot here into something more serious.
AH- No, go for it.
RB- You’ve talked about real fear as something you feel when you’re not prepared enough. Do you apply that mentality to everyday life?
AH- Yeah, for sure, for sure! Take things like public speaking — I was very afraid of that. Most people are very afraid of that. But the more prepared you are, the better you know your material, the less scary it is, right?
RB- Do you think you have a moment where you’re ready?
AH- I mean, not always. Sometimes you just have to be rational. You know you’ve done all the things you need to. Finish the checklist, and then I guess that means I’m ready. But for certain things (especially things that have never been done before), there is always some voice in that moment saying, “Are you sure? You should practice more.” Honestly, sometimes you don’t want to. You don’t want to oversharpen a blade. You can practice forever, but at some point you just have to do it.
RB- I really struggle with that. To know “when.”
AH- But isn't that the essence of writing? You never have a perfect final draft; you just hit a deadline where you submit it. You can do all the work and say, “Oh, I could probably polish this even more,” but do you need to? I’ve read that about creative projects — they’re never done, they just pry it out of your hands and it’s over.
RB- Do you think as you get older your philosophy has changed? Have you felt less perfectionistic?
AH- No, no. It’s not necessarily perfectionism to be prepared for something. I think if anything, when I was younger, I was just slightly more rash, which is not at all surprising. A young 20s man living by himself in his van is obviously going to take more risks and be more prone to slightly erratic behavior. But as I’ve gotten older, I’m slightly less like “screw it.”
RB- Right. Sorry if this is super intense, but do you feel the same with your sense of mortality? Has that changed? Especially with all your achievements, or even having kids and getting married?
AH- Yeah, I don’t know, it’s hard to say. It’s counterintuitive. When you’re young, you have so much to lose in a way, you have your whole life in front of you, and yet you’re slightly more willing to take risks. I do sometimes wonder if I’m more risk averse, but it’s really hard to know. I have two kids now, a family, and spend more time at home training in the garage. I definitely take fewer risks now than I did in the past, just because I’m not living on the road and doing the thing nonstop. I’m taking my kid to school, then training in the gym, so obviously safer. That being said, I have done a few things recently that are totally in line with anything I did in the past, like some film project stuff. I’m still capable of those things and still love doing them, and it feels great when I do … I just do it way less often.
RB- Yeah.
AH- I’m reading this book On the Edge, kind of about gambling and risk-taking, and crypto. Really interesting. But there’s an interesting question in it: if you’ve won more and have more chips at a certain point, are you more reluctant to go all in? In a way, in my life right now, it’s pretty good, I’ve got a lot of chips, and I ask myself if that makes me more reluctant to wade through them all again. Maybe. But I don’t know — we’ll see.
RB- Okay, I just got a warning that we don’t have much time, so I’m going to ask some lighter questions to close it out if that’s okay. If you weren’t climbing, what would you be doing?
AH- Honestly, I have no idea. When I was seven I would’ve said engineer. I have a tremendous capacity to see myself in other people’s lives. Like literally anything, I’m like, “Oh, I could do that.”
RB- What was the last thing you Googled?
AH- It wasn’t Google, I used Claude, the Anthropic AI. On the way over here I asked about the route-finding for Waymo, because I took one over and my “driver” was doing some sort of — not erratic, but unusual — strategy. I wanted to learn more about it.
RB- What’s the weirdest thing in your trash can?
AH- [Laughs] Right now? My hotel trash can is just protein powder wrappers, nothing weird.
RB- Hey stranger, it’s good to see you.
IM- No way. Are you the one that’s interviewing me? Cool.
RB- [Laughs] Yeah! Why are you here? Do you climb?
IM- I used to. Not anymore.
RB- What? How did that happen?
IM- I fell through the roof.
RB- How did that happen?
IM- I moved into a new spot, and the first night living there I wanted to check out the nice LA view on the roof. It was pitch black outside. The light near the stairwell was broken, and I couldn’t see the skylight. There was plastic over it, and it shattered.
RB- NO! For such a wholesome mission, that was such a bad outcome.
IM- I didn’t even think it was that bad at first, but it just got worse and worse. In the past eight months it has been really bad. I was going to get surgery, and then another EDM artist talked me out of it, so I’ve been PT-ing really hard.
RB- Do you do wall stuff?
IM- I used to boulder a bit. I did lead climbing in high school, but I haven’t done it in a while. When I got to LA there was a gym close to me and I went there and was bouldering. But you kind of need a climbing buddy. It makes it more fun.
RB- Also nice to have since it’s dangerous.
IM- Yeah, but so is walking on the street.
RB- True. Now, not climbing related at all, but I want to talk about your music. What is your earliest memory of playing your original stuff in front of a crowd?
IM- I think the first real show I ever played was at Coachella, which is kind of insane. That was when we were at USC, I was a senior actually. Before then I was playing some parties, some frat parties. Then COVID hit and we were doing all those off-campus parties. But it took me a while to find my sound. Remember I used to play in a duo?
RB- Oh yeah wow I forgot about that.
IM- We’ve gone our separate ways, but he’s still doing music and we work on stuff together sometimes.
RB- You studied music, right? And play a lot of instruments?
IM- Yeah, I play piano and guitar. I started getting into drums too, but mostly piano.
RB- How did that transition into electronic music?
IM- When I was in high school was when I started making electronic music. In 2015 and 2016, Porter Robinson came out with the album Worlds, and for EDM fans that was huge. Martin Garrix was doing his documentary on YouTube, and I watched that and thought, oh sht, I want to do that. So I downloaded Logic and some music production software, but I realized I didn’t know what the fuck I was doing. [Laughs] It’s funny, you can be the best pianist in the world or the best instrumentalist in the world, but that doesn’t mean you can make music. You can write songs, but it doesn’t mean you can create energy out of nowhere.
RB- Right.
IM- Dance music is sound design, and how experimental you can get. When I got to USC, house music was huge, and all our friends were DJing house. That’s what we played at parties. When COVID hit, it transitioned into the underground raves we used to go to. Probably not good for my brain cells, but good for maturing my music taste.
RB- When you make or produce stuff do you have an audience in mind, or is it just for yourself?
IM- I would be lying if I said no. I want my stuff to be really dancey. Even if I say I’m making a song for me, which I am, I’m never just thinking, “Oh, they’ll like this, so I’ll do that.” There’s a quote from Skrillex that everybody lives by: “If you chase success, you’re never going to attain it.” You’re always going to be behind if you’re chasing what’s popular. But at the same time I want it to translate to a dance floor. RB: I know you have to go on soon, so let me ask you some more fun questions. What was the last thing in your Google search?
IM- Oh god, the last thing was like 30 minutes ago. I was trying to download some songs before this, because I was thinking, shit, are people here going to be parents? [Laughs] Or am I trying to play a festival style DJ set? So I was downloading some songs. I had no idea what the crowd would be like.
RB- Yeah, this is such a unique event. I can’t imagine you’ve played many events like this.
IM- Yeah, it’s not even a music event!
RB- Okay, I think I have to let you go, and you have to get ready to go on.
IM- No, give me one more!
RB- Okay, last one. What is your ideal office, or in your case, a studio?
IM- Okay, hear me out. I think I’m going to need a few million to get there, but I want a house. Imagine Palm Springs, where you’re either on the top floor or outdoors by the pool, with glass doors all around. Big plants everywhere, and in the middle a huge studio desk with big speakers.
RB- Wow. [Laughs] You really thought this through.
IM- Oh yeah, I’ve got it down to a science. And then you press a button and all the glass goes dark if you need it to. Tell me that wouldn’t be amazing to make music in. I’m manifesting it.
RB- Congratulations! I’m so excited for you. How do you feel?
BR- Good. It was honestly such a fun event, so I’m beaming right now.
RB- I’m so happy for you. I can’t believe seeing you up there, it seemed so effortless. All of us were in complete awe. It was insane. I feel like events like this must feel super unique. I’m sure you’re used to much higher stakes competition, obviously the Olympics. Does this event feel special to you?
BR- It’s funny because it does bring out the same kind of nerves and adrenaline and focus as any competition, especially a new format where you don’t feel quite as comfortable. There’s still a lot of risk. Being over the water, that height thrill, and just a race in general we don’t get to do often, so it definitely still felt intense. But it doesn’t have the pressure of a major competition. Nobody specializes in “speed deep water soloing.” It’s cool that we’re all doing something new. It was just really good friends who love to compete against each other. The vibes were great. I’m really impressed with The North Face for putting it all together. An event like this, on the bay, on a barge with boats and divers and the whole ordeal, is crazy. It was really cool.
RB- It really seems like everyone is good friends. The vibes are so good! So you have been with The North Face for about a year now. How do you feel about the gorpcore aesthetic becoming popular?
BR- I love fashion. And honestly I want to feel confident in the clothes I wear. I love being able to throw my clothes on for the gym and then be able to go to a chill dinner after. Partnering with a company that recognizes that potential is really exciting. We don’t need everything to be super technical. We’re not all trail running. Especially for bouldering we don’t always need that. Having clothes that make you feel good honestly makes me more confident in my sport and in life in general. I like wider pants, boxier fits, things that feel both feminine and powerful. Seeing that aesthetic catch on in the climbing world is cool, and I think it can take us into new spaces. Climbing is a lifestyle, not just something you do once.
RB- What is your earliest memory of climbing?
BR- Oh jeez, I don’t know. We had a little wall in my house that my dad built. My brother had a bunk bed and to climb up there was a climbing wall, and I remember climbing up in my diaper. The older I got, the more my brother made it harder and harder.
RB- Brothers are the worst. Your whole family climbs, yeah? Would you say your family is competitive?
BR- Yes and no. We’re all competitors at heart for sure, but not between each other. There’s a lot of unconditional love and support. If there’s any competition, it’s good competition. It just pushes me to be better.
RB- How do you balance the pressure of competition with the love of climbing?
BR- Honestly, I wouldn’t change a thing. I’m still trying to understand that myself, and as I get older and more experienced it definitely shifts. Today, for example, I was pretty nervous before the comp. I wasn’t as present, I was just trying to get through it. But then I realized this is such a cool place to be, everyone here has worked so hard, and this is what I love to do. That thrill, the focus beforehand, and then the feelings after, that’s what keeps me coming back. I was also really happy to share it with good friends. My friend Chloe, who got second, and I had been joking for a while like, “I want to beat you.” But in the end we didn’t care who won. We just wanted to be in the final together, pushing each other. That brings so much joy and balance to the sport, having people around you who really love what they do.
RB- If you could tell your younger self something, what would it be?
BR- It would be to just trust yourself and what you need. You can learn a lot from others, but copying someone else’s rituals or patterns will never fully work for you. It takes time to figure that out. Most people go through a phase of copying what others do. But in the end, what works for one person might not work for you. So trust yourself, trust your gut, and go after what you want.
