Scarpa

Q & A

How did you get involved with your respective sport?: I do a few sports, but they are all mountain sports. I grew up in the mountains and learned to ski and climb at a very early age, then it was all uphill and down from there.
Who were your influences early in life?: Parents, climbers, teachers, and climbing partners. I am very lucky to have truly great mentors in my sports.
What draws you to the outdoors?: The outdoors. We belong outside, moving,not trapped in heinous little boxes. We didn't spend millions of years surviving to then sit in little cubicles and write emails. Fuck that. Get outside.
What do you like about SCARPA as a brand?: The first time I visited the SCARPA factory in Italy I met one of the old but smiling original owners trimming leather boots on the factory floor. He didn't have to be out there with gnarled hands cutting bits of leather off, but he was. That was 20 years ago, and I've been with SCARPA ever since. Not once have I needed more from my footwear than I had on my feet.
Why do you trust SCARPA products?: Because they are legit. They are designed by mountain people for mountain people, not the latest stock offering or as a way to diversify a bigger brand. And they work.
What gets you out of bed on big days?: Coffee. And excitement that we're gonna try something cool.
What is your best excuse for skipping training?: I don't make excuses for skipping training. I note the failure and try not to be lame next time. But my training is also fun, stuff I love to do because it makes me feel good, and gets me together with great people who are stoked to do their best. If you don't train like you want to succeed then you won't. Big successes come from doing the work day by day to get there, not at the moment you succeed...
Favorite recovery/apres beverage?: Bourbon.
If you had a baseball walkup song, what would it be?: I don't even know what that is and I'm on a flight so I can't look it up because there's no internet here, but for sure anything by Minor Threat, Fugazi, or Dead Weather.
What's the last movie that made you cry?: I don't cry except when girls make me. OK, OK, I cry all the time at stupid movies. Last week I cried about some dinosaur movie my kids were watching.
What's your dream trip or expedition?: Top secret, but stoked to be going back to Greenland and first trip to Antarctica this year.
What makes a good adventure partner?: Someone who shows up, goes up until we get stopped, and always knows the most important thing is to be back at the truck in one piece.
Two truths and a lie: I never lie, I can still do a one-arm pull-up, and Donald Trump is an asshole.

Will Gadd

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