I really care about you hearing this — which is why I am spending a whole Saturday trying to articulate it artfully enough that it takes a seat in your gray matter as a welcome guest.

I’m writing this because I want you to be fulfilled in your climbing, inspired by your climbing, and transformed by your climbing—driven toward the next version of yourself through lessons learned and connections formed on the wall.

Learning and connection drive fulfillment. Fulfilled climbers climb longer. They send harder routes. Their path stretches further.

You will send harder routes and walk further down the path of climbing progression if you don’t try to constantly shorten your path.

A shorter path is… well, shorter. But allow me to subvert this idea with a question:

Isn’t your goal to get further?

I want this piece of writing to live as a rebuttal to the over-played, algorithm-optimized marketing that says you just need to “do these 3 things” to unlock the next level of climbing achievement — reels produced from start to finish without knowing anything about you, having a conversation with you, or seeing you climb.
I want to express the things that are harder to articulate, but most important for you to grasp. I want to melt these concepts into your being—but in this case, words will have to suffice.
I invite you to read this whole piece and let it permeate deeply. I invite you to notice which concepts you can apply to your climbing—and to the language you use when you talk about your climbing—whether that’s with Project Direct or on your own.
It’s intentionally not short.
I’m asking you to spend more time with me than you would on a 20-second reel. I’m not offering a silver bullet. I’m offering a philosophy—a philosophy of climbing improvement that asks you to think more critically, more objectively, and more artfully.
A philosophy that invites you to stop chasing the quick-hack that gets you to 5.XX faster, and instead start crafting the version of yourself who learns more deeply, struggles more productively—making years of sending that grade inevitable.
The goal isn’t to create art—the goal is to create the space within yourself where art is inevitable.
The longer road will take you further.

Yeah, yeah—but what about my silver bullet?

The silver bullet fallacy is a logical error rooted in the belief that a simple, singular solution can solve a complex problem. It’s the idea that one magical fix will unlock everything—often at the expense of deeper, more nuanced solutions that actually require time, reflection, and effort.

This mindset is amplified by the way modern marketing works: short, sweet, and to the point—even if the point is entirely missed. Combine that with the gamification of climbing and the linearity of Western thought, and you get a culture that assumes we can train A and immediately get B.

I can tell when we’re up against the silver bullet fallacy. I hear it in the questions that get asked. I hear it when someone says…

“Yeah, yeah, I hear you—but I just need more endurance.”

Sure. We can do that—once I see you climbing effectively and skillfully with the endurance you already have. That means understanding pacing, fluidity of movement, resting well, breathing intentionally, and managing your internal dialogue when things get uncertain.

Giving a jerky climber—someone climbing predominantly with concentric, inefficient movement—more endurance is like giving a longer set time to a subpar indie rock band. We can do that. But you’re not going to like the results when those tracks get laid down into a habitual album that plays on repeat.

You will not reach your potential by doing inefficient moves for longer.

In fact, training that way will likely solidify poor habits that hold you back down the line—even if that extra endurance gets you from 12a to 12c this season. Locking in those patterns now will only make the leap from 12c to 13a harder, and way more frustrating.

In this case, the shorter road ends before the destination.

“Yeah, yeah—I hear you. But I just *know* I’d climb harder if I had stronger fingers.”
Sure. We can do that. But first, I need to see you stop dynamically latching holds that you could definitely reach statically—with better lower body positioning, improved tension, curiosity about your center of gravity, a willingness to try different beta, and the discipline to stop labeling holds as “good” or “bad.”
I want you to be more curious about the *artistry* of applying *less* force to each hold—even while your fingers are getting stronger.
Because making a poor climber stronger is like giving a terrible artist a bigger Sharpie and a billboard. I can do it. But you won’t like the results.
“Yeah, yeah—I hear you. But if I just get stronger, then I won’t be afraid of falling.”
Sure, we can do that. But if you do, you’ll run into the same roadblock in a few months. You need to be willing to go for moves that aren’t certain—with 100% effort. And that needs to become a regular occurrence. A habit. A way of being. A way of life.
“Yeah, yeah—I hear you. I just need to take more practice falls.”
Sure, we can do that. But you also need to adjust and habituate the reflexive conversation that happens in your mind and body when deciding whether or not to commit to a difficult move. The words you say to yourself have a well-studied, physiological impact on how you direct ATP (adenosine triphosphate aka energy) in your body—and how long your endurance will hold out.
There is no silver bullet. There is only a mosaic of skills to be curious about, to play with, and to learn how to use intuitively. Put the gun down.

Get six-pack abs, send quicker, and buy the ONE THING you need!

What I’m trying to say is this: the obvious answer—the one you’ve probably seen a hundred times in targeted marketing—holds a lot more nuance than you’ve been led to believe.

And people are profiting more by not taking their precious time to teach you about that nuance.

It bothers me because it either takes advantage of people’s lack of knowledge while they seek advice or insults their existing intelligence. It’s icky either way you slice the peach.

It takes a lot longer to develop and formalize these topics to the point where they are intuitive - it takes conversation, practice, video review, building a relationship… you know, actual coaching.

It’s easier for someone to sell you what you already think you need, whether or not it will be what helps you in the long run.
“The newest hangboard design will take your climbing to the next level.”
— Someone selling hangboards
“3 easy steps to overcome your fear of falling forever.”
— Someone who sells headgame coaching but doesn’t make time for real conversations with the people they coach
“Learn the ONE THING you need to do to send 13a.”
— Someone who started climbing when they were six years old
You’ve seen it. I’ve seen it. It belches bullshit into an already bloated echo chamber—like the latest “get-your-sexy-summer-abs” program in *Cosmopolitan* or the newest “get-rich-quick” stock market hack.
It boils down to…
*“Do this, then you’ll get that. Simple.”*
One second while I unroll my eyeballs from their fully-cocked position.
Look, I get it. Our human brains love simple solutions when they help but a checkmark by the task—complete, adequate, done.
But humans excel as a species (in the Darwinian manner, anyway) because we can engage in critical thinking and self-referential thought—before, during, and after action. Our ability to engage with and master complexity is just as innate to our humanness as valuing simplicity.
Intentional action, followed by identifying lessons learned, will get you further down the road of climbing progression. That road doesn’t go as far when our efforts are focused on shortening it instead of understanding it.

We aren’t here just to tell you what you want to hear

The reality is, if you were to sign up to be coached by Project Direct, that is only the starting point of your learning journey—and much, much more will be asked of you.

We do this with love and zero judgment, but make no mistake: you’re 100% signing up for things that are different, new, uncomfortable, and challenging.

This isn’t an A to B kind of thing. Because we want to take you way further than point B.

It’s more like…

“Learn foundational movement tools and skills through conversation, practice, and curiosity—tools you can build your training and lifelong climbing journey upon.

Adjust your reflexive response to hard moves, so your critical thinking and nervous system can mature.

We’ll help you do this through consistent feedback and guidance, so you can reach your potential in a way that feels sustainable and fulfilling.

It’s not going to be easy, comfortable, or quick. But it will be worth it because learning drives fulfillment, and fulfillment drives success.

Who do you become at the other end of this process? That’s just the start of your story.”

…well, that doesn’t exactly turn into a perfectly curated, hyper-controlled training plan summarized by a reel, now does it? **

**I realize I also sell things—Project Direct is a business, after all.
But I’m not going to let you into a program that isn’t going to address what you truly need, regardless of how much you’re willing to pay. To date, I’ve turned down four people wanting training plans because they didn’t want to work on their debilitating headgame. I lost income for that—and I’d do it again in a heartbeat.
You can pay a lot of money to hear what you want to hear, but we’re not going to be that person for you.

Be an artist before you become a beast

Acknowledging complexities makes it harder for people to sell you things based on your dopamine reflex. Climbing isn’t that simple. In fact, it’s incredibly complex—which is exactly what makes it so amazing.

We should start by honoring your intelligence and giving you credit for being capable of learning something this complex. We do that by refusing to dumb shit down into click-bait vitriol that just tells you what you already think.

Once again, you can pay a lot of money to have someone tell you that you’re right all the time. I’m not that coach. And honestly, I wouldn’t want that from my coach either.
Your individual strengths and blindspots need to be understood before we can map out any path from where you are now to the mythical pot-of-gold at the end of a new-grade rainbow.
Anyone selling that straight line from A to B is taking advantage of a lack of knowledge, a dopamine response to marketing, or both.
That straight-line story you see on reels is profitable, but the people who fill out my waitlist form every week tell me they’ve tried $100-$300 “custom training” plans that didn’t give them movement feedback and.. you know what? It didn’t help them climb harder.
True coaching requires far more effort than can be served up in an Excel spreadsheet, a ChatGPT prompt, or the latest training toy. It takes a deeper appreciation of nuance and guided practice to master ideas to the point that they become intuitive. That’s what’s actually going to make a lasting change in your climbing.
The manifestation of this process will look different for everyone. A tough thing to market, right? Well, that’s why I’m writing this blog. Because I believe the people who follow, interact with, and are coached by Project Direct are genuinely interested in nuance and deeper understanding. I honor and respect their intelligence by not over-simplifying things for the sake of a quick dopamine hit or a “like”.
More time (yes, I know—no one likes this part, we want things faster, easier, more obvious) to master and understand fundamental movement first… is required. You need to be an artist before you can be a beast. So many programs skip that crucial first step.
Once you’ve become an artist, we’re stoked to help you become an artful beast.

Sending isn’t the goal. The goal is creating the version of youself who sends.

As I write this, my mind is saying, "Why would someone hire Project Direct for coaching if we say it will take longer... when most coaches are promising they can get you there faster?"

But then I’m like, "Shhh, brain! This is important. It takes longer because we take you further."

I keep coming back to the fact that I respect your intelligence, so I’m going to keep it real with you. If you’ve made it this far into this blog, you're not being driven by a short-circuited dopamine response anyway.

I want to teach you how to reach your goals in a way that prepares you to take on the next one—intentionally.

I don’t just want to get you from A to B. I want to help you build the skills to reach C, D, E, and F—without spending a year unlearning bad habits along the way.

We aim to equip you with more than just a send we forced down your throat. We want you to understand the tools you learned or used to achieve that send—and how to apply them to your next challenge.

The longer road will take you further.

Climbers who seek understanding first will go on to send the harder routes.

The goal isn’t just to send. The goal is to create the person and the space where sending becomes inevitable.

We want to help you become your version of that person—equipped with the habits, strength, endurance, curiosity, and problem-solving skills needed to send those routes.

You might need to change what’s holding you back in your lifestyle, movement, and internal conversations before a hangboard or endurance workout can help you.

But I promise you, the longer road will take you further.

To send hard, the goal can't just be sending. The goal is to create the person who sends.

We help you become that person.

The scenic route

The goal is fulfillment through expression, learning, and mastery—making the send inevitable.

Any other road will end in frustration or disillusionment.

Why take the scenic route instead of the silver bullet train?

Because the scenic route is where you discover why you want to reach that destination in the first place.
Because the scenic route holds lessons you can't yet see—lessons you'll need to get to the next destination.
Because the scenic route knows the answers to questions you haven't even thought to ask yet. The questions you don't even know exist. The movement tools, their hows and whys. The tools you need to sharpen through experience and understand through discussion.
Climbing is both an art form and a sport. You’ll need to define the markers of success for yourself, personally. If you treat it only as a sport—or only as an art—you'll find yourself spinning in circles, wondering why you're dizzy.
A new send is nothing to the future of your climbing without understanding the lessons learned.
Yes, we will make you strong and build your endurance. But preparation and training are there to help you learn faster and struggle more productively. To express yourself artfully, adventurously, and physically through climbing.
No amount of confidence, training, or external approval can be bestowed upon you that is going to make a difficult challenge *easy*.
Rather, your trip along the scenic route will make you better at doing really hard things. We guide you in your preparation and training to make harder things *possible*, *expansive*, and *fulfilling*—not easy.

The longer road takes you further

Our job is to keep you in that space—introducing you to new tools and training, and showing you how to use them to solve harder problems in the midst of discomfort.

We help you create the version of yourself that does these things out of habit.

If this process were as simple as drawing a straight line from A to B, Project Direct wouldn’t exist.

If the value of our coaching started at the gym and ended at the chains, Project Direct wouldn’t exist.

And if we thought there was a pot of gold at point B, we would have handed you the map already.

If there is a pot of gold, you will reach it by drawing your own path along the scenic route—one that we are excited to guide you along and keep you on.

We’re not here just to make you stronger. We’re not here just to get you to the next hardest grade. We’re here to help you create the version of yourself where sending is an inevitable part of your humanity—a version where sending feels exhilarating and sustainable. We’re here to melt a more helpful hue into whole frame of your climbing.

The longer road will take you further, but you need not travel it alone.