Asian American Voices: Jason Quan
Adventure Photographer and Content Creator
by Katherine Ku and Matt Levy
Jason’s story is the third in the Asian American voices series. He is a Southern California based rock climber and photographer who often collaborates with affinity groups to promote diversity and inclusivity in our sport.
Jason started off as an internet friend I met on Facebook, but pretty soon after exchanging our first messages, we decided to meet up to climb together. (Because meeting up with strangers from the internet is something that's ok to do now right?) Anyway, I remember thinking that he must be a natural mentor, because soon after, I trusted him enough to teach me how to rappel off the edge of Corpse Wall. A few months after that, he taught me to trad climb in Ojai, pointing out the flaws in my placements and teaching me how to make my own tape crack gloves. A few months after that, we solo’d Tenaya Peak’s Northwest Buttress with another friend.
Jason is someone who chases sunrises and is actually on time (or even early) for alpine starts. He loves a good hex placement and aesthetic routes with a good view all the way up. He’s also the one of the only other Asian American adventure content creators I actually know. When we think of acclaimed Asian American adventure filmmakers and photographers, names like Jimmy Chin, Irene Yee (aka Lady Lockoff), and Matty Hong come to mind. Jason, though, is on a journey as a content creator, navigating a world that loves adventure media and an increasingly saturated media landscape.
Funny enough, Jason told me he actually started getting into outdoor sports to impress a girl who wanted to go snow camping. That relationship didn’t last, but his love for the outdoors did. He became an avid mountaineer and, eventually, a rock climber when his brother needed a belay partner about five years ago. His interest in photography bloomed even earlier, as he started capturing and sharing images from his travels.
Since then, climbing has become his way of detoxing mentally and the outdoor space has become a setting for him to both “think for himself and connect with other people.” And he’s definitely been successful at connecting with others.
Jason has come a long way from just teaching gumbies (like myself) how not to hurt themselves outside. He admits that he is “naturally inclined to mentorship,” and stresses the importance of promoting diversity in both rock climbing and photography. Currently, he is one of six mentees in Climbing for All, a program for BIPOC climbing photographers jointly hosted by Climbing Magazine and Adidas. As part of this program, he is working closely with Irene Yee, an adventure photographer and champion for women, BIPOC athletes, and LGBTQ communities.
It’s no secret to Jason that as residents of Southern California, we live in a bubble with higher than average levels of diversity. He says that “from his years of going outside, I don’t see as much diversity as I’d like.” As a result, he’s taken matters into his own hands, working with organizations such Climb the Gap, and the Queer Climbing Collective. And he doesn’t want to stop here - he wants to keep connecting with people like him and aims to become a National Geographic photographer, which he sees as the gold standard of photography.
For now, he wants to continue to help people “mesh together” and bring together people with similar goals. Jason gains a “greater sense of fulfillment…helping someone else achieve their goals,” rather than directly getting something out of it for himself. He also continues to face a struggle modern content creators know all too well - self-promoting from the ground up and continuing to learn as media trends and consumer demands rapidly evolve.
Check out some of Jason’s work in the gallery below. To keep up with him and support him, follow him on Instagram and visit his online portfolio!
