Asian American Voices: John Nguyen
Youth Climbing Coach & AMGA-Certified Single Pitch Instructor, SCARPA Athlete Mentorship Initiative Mentee
by Katherine Ku and Matt Levy
Photos by John Nguyen, Milana Ortega, Tiffany Dang, and Katherine Ku
John’s story is the first of a series of Asian American voices in the climbing world that I wanted to understand and publish. As a member of the AAPI climbing community, I’ve met several people along the way who have changed my journey and what I thought I was capable of. There is more to be understood, and I hope that through these weekly articles, these voices are at least heard by a few more people than they would have otherwise.
I first connected with John Nguyen when he asked me for a “Vote the Outdoors” sticker and I, in turn, asked to borrow his Petzl pro-deal. Though I proceeded to lose his pro-deal, we quickly became close friends and I met him in person for the first time when I crashed at his house and multi-pitched with him when I passed through Virginia on a cross-country road trip.
John is young and addicted to Coca-Cola. He loves wearing bright colors at the gym and crag. He knows he swears too much, but does it anyway. He loves every piece of gear he owns as if it was his child. John is a lot of things, but he was definitely born to climb.
After watching Free Solo back in 2019 and then living out of a car during his first climbing trip in Utah, John fell in love and dedicated his whole life to rock climbing. Today, he’s an experienced boulderer and sport climber, aiming to climb 8a in both disciplines. He inexplicably loves crack climbing and is the proud owner of a triple rack. He coaches the youth comp team at Sportrock Climbing Center in Virginia and is an AMGA-certified Single Pitch Instructor.
For John, climbing has been about learning, teaching, and growth. He began rock climbing at a low point in his life, as just a way to exercise, but later giving him a way to “put himself in a better spot and climb out of a hole he dug for himself.” Still, he didn’t expect to become a community leader and representative for others like him at the time.
Within a year of starting to climb, he began learning about affinity groups like Subtle Asian Climbing on social media. When asked about his role in the community, he said he felt that “climbing was fairly selfish” and that he wanted to change that. To him, “there’s a lot more to it than climbing up a route.” He offered support and strengthened the foundations of a community that had built him up, the community that granted him the confidence to want more.
Though climbing is a sport that is trying to become more inclusive and diverse, it still has a long way to go. While indoor climbing is becoming more popular across the board, at least in his locale, John is often the only BIPOC climber present at the crag. After earning his SPI certification, John also excitedly posted in the Subtle Asian Climbing (SAC) facebook group (which is 4,600 members strong by the way), hoping to connect with other AAPI climbing guides. To his disappointment, his post was met with radio silence.
This, unfortunately, doesn’t really come as a complete surprise. When John decided to pursue a career in the climbing and outdoor industry, he dropped everything, including finishing up his bachelor’s degree. He spoke honestly to me, said he struggled when he started out and is still struggling, admitting that he continues to be “unsure of a lot of things.” It’s difficult to navigate the outdoor industry, which isn’t exactly known to be teeming with high-paying opportunities, especially with parents who don’t fully approve of his career choices. They push him to find a “real” job, but he is now “focusing more on happiness than stability.” John has been told repeatedly that he can’t live his dream, or even to find new dreams. These things continue to cause him anxiety, but he says he’s “pushing through it slowly but surely.” He told me that it “hasn’t destroyed him” yet and that “things are slowly falling into his lap.”
Rock climbing has caused cultural friction for John, but has also motivated him to “rekindle a connection with his culture.” He’s working on embracing his role as community leader. After earning a spot as a mentee in Scarpa’s Athlete Mentorship Initiative, John hosted an affinity meet-up with SAC as his Scarpa Capstone project. He aims to continue to introduce BIPOC climbers to the outdoors through education, eventually hoping to run clinics and create education videos on crag etiquette, safety, and more.
John is a trailblazer in his own right. To him, his voice is small, and it took him a long time to realize that he was even a leader. But really, he’s forging a path for more to follow after him. Though he proudly claims that his comp kids love him, he’s still surprised every time someone tells him that he’s made a positive impact on their life, whether it’s something as small as teaching them how to build an anchor or even inspiring them to pursue a career in the climbing industry. As someone who never thought he’d climb v5, he’s making a hell of an impact, and his voice is only getting louder.
