104 | Into The Unseen: Climbing And Living With Vision Loss W/ Justin Salas The Climbing Majority podcast

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104 | Into the Unseen: Climbing and Living with Vision Loss w/ Justin Salas

2d ago 2:19:33

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Justin Salas has a significant visual impairment. He lost his sight due to an undiagnosed optic neuropathy when he was 14. Imagine, you're a teenager fresh into highschool…you have ambitions to join the military, you already own a small business mowing lawns called J&J Lawn Care…everything seems within reach…and then in what seems like an instant…you lose your sight. While Justin is one of the most humble, capable humans I know…the impact this kind of loss has on the human mind cannot go understated.
It’s been over 16 years since Justin has lost his sight. During that time he has become the world's strongest outdoor paraclimbing boulderer, the first ever to climb V11. He is a sponsored athlete, he is building a business in the world of accessibility, and has found a life partner. And yet he still wrestles, almost daily, with the shadow of “what could have been.” His life split the day he lost his sight, and he can’t help but wonder about the path not taken—the one with sight.
In our conversation, we dig into how Justin thinks about his identity—as a climber and as a human. We talk about the maze of balancing independence with accepting help, and what Justin’s climbing experience actually feels like: how he performs at a high level, the crucial role of sight guides, and why visualization matters—not just for him, but for all of us.
We also get into choosing direction in life and how climbing can complicate our decision-making. We talk about the major pivot in Justin’s life after learning that he won’t be able to compete in the upcoming 2028 Olympics, what it’s like to be a modern day climbing athlete, and finally we close off the conversation exploring the concept of mastery.
Now, Justin and I love to go philosophical…and while you will see some of that in this episode, we also recorded an extra 45 minutes after this episode. We explore the concepts of stillness, fear, control, purpose, ambition, communication, and learning. If you like conversations where climbing is the lens but the subject is really how to live, this conversation is for you.

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Resources

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Chapters

1. Introduction (00:00:00)

2. This Wasn't Our First Recording (00:05:31)

3. Identity (00:16:57)

4. Chasing Independence & Needing Help (00:36:49)

5. Justin's Climbing Experience (01:10:55)

6. Visualization (01:21:47)

7. Choosing Direction In Life (01:35:44)

8. A Missed Opportunity At The Olympics (01:49:53)

9. The Modern Day Climbing Athlete (01:58:09)

10. What Is Mastery? (02:06:43)

104 episodes

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