Paul Robinson: Making Oscar Worthy Videos and Climbing V15 Simultaneously

Making videos has always been a passion of mine. When I was younger I used to tape over all my parent’s wedding videos on our cassette video camera. Making little skits with my LEGOs and my friends. (I think I had more LEGOs than friends…)

Today I’ve turned the camera onto two of my favorite things in the world. Music and rock climbing. I haven’t yet shared much of my work with you guys, but I’d like to include a few links to some of my music videos down below! And if you haven’t yet seen theDIHEDRAL’s videos, I’ll include a link to those as well. So stay tuned!

Paul Robinson has established and repeated more than 10 V15s, climbed 5.15a, and one of less than 10 people in the world to have climbed 5.15 and V15.

Although I have to say the thing that impresses me the most about this guy is his INCREDIBLE storytelling abilities. He travels the world, making videos for Youtube about his climbs and other exploits. He’s really the person who inspired me to make climbing videos in the first place.

Here are some shots from my favorite of his videos: “The Internal Battle to Send Jumpman – V14/8B+”

I’ll include a link to his full video down below as well. It’s definitely a must watch and it’s only 4 minutes long!

I got the super special chance to ask Paul a couple questions online about the mix of his climbing and videography. He even called one of my videos “Cool”!!!

One of the most hard-to-grasp things for me about Paul is that he’s sending these insanely hard routes WHILE making videos at the same time. It takes up a lot of mental space when you are thinking about how a video is going to come together, how you’re going to make it look pretty, and what your storyline is going to be.

To have all that in mind and somehow leave space to climb at the highest level is beyond me. It’s much easier for me to just be the videographer and not the subject of the video at the same time. Here’s what Paul had to say when I asked him about whether or not the videography can take away his focus on climbing.

Paul: “Yes, sometimes it does. Sometimes when I am super focused all I want to do is think about the climbing. If my girlfriend is around, she does a great job filming so I can not stress and let her get great shots. But otherwise, I will usually just try to do the climb and then concentrate on filming it. This way I can make it look really good and not be thinking about making it look good and climbing at the same time.”

So it seems that compartmentalization is key. Or having a girlfriend. Which is a whole different distraction in itself…

Next, I wanted to know what he prioritizes. When I watched the “Jumpman” video, I noticed that it’s really the whole package. Paul mixes some truly incredible camera work with some SUPER relatable storytelling. His narrations are really on point with what goes through the mind of a climber when they are making a push on a project.

I wanted to know which one he likes to focus on more; the storytelling or making it look pretty?

Paul: “I would like to say both. That is always my goal. However, I think I err on the side of just making it look pretty. I really hope to better my storytelling this year!”

Well, I think he already does a pretty good job at both already. The last thing I asked was for a bit of advice for you young climbers out there. If you’re considering starting out climbing, here’s what Paul had to say!

Paul: “Climbing gyms these days are so well catered to beginners. From beginner classes to rental equipment there is really no reason to not give it a try!”

Our mission here at theDIHEDRAL is to make climbing seem more accessible to the regular person. People of any age, skill level, and physical size and strength can enjoy its benefits. It’s not just for the Paul Robinsons and the Alex Honnolds.

So thanks for reading, and give climbing a shot!

Paul Robinson: “The Internal Battle to Send Jumpman”

theDIHEDRAL Videos

My Work/Music Videos and Stuff

ALSO, if you have any Youtube videos that have inspired you, comment me a link down below!