Fear Less. Do More.

Fear.

Fear is the title of a 7-minute track on Kendrick Lamar’s critically acclaimed album, DAMN.. In it, Kendrick uses fear as a lens to analyse how it has shaped his decisions, relationships, and worldview. The song offers an introspective commentary on the human condition and his spiritual journey—a raw outlook on how fear can take root in our lives, spilling into relationships, work, and spirituality.

Listening to Fear reminds me that while a healthy dose of fear can help us survive, being ignorant of its influence can lead to unfavorable results. "Rotimi, don’t touch that. Rotimi, you will fall. Rotimi, it’s not safe." These were the words my Nigerian mother often echoed. Now, as a father of a 3-year-old son, I understand the instinct to shield your child from risk. The thought of spending a day at the NHS is enough to be your 13th reason why.

But what about the positives? Do we gain something by confronting our metaphorical foe? One of my favourite quotes on fear comes from Will Smith: "God places the best things in life on the other side of fear." It’s a top-tier quote, and I’m surprised I haven’t already used it as an Instagram caption…soon come. For me, it rings true. Fear is a natural response, but I’ve learned that the journey to the other side of fear is where the rewards lie. The places Mufasa warned Simba to avoid.. That’s exactly where I want to wander.

Fear won’t clip my wings.

This brings me to the Red Bull Dual Ascent.

For the uninitiated, here’s a bit of context. Have you seen the film GoldenEye? No? No wahala. It’s a James Bond classic with an iconic scene on a towering dam. Well, the Red Bull Dual Ascent takes place on the exact dam. A staggering 220 meters tall, set in Ticino, Switzerland. It’s a unique climbing event that gathers the world’s best climbers to compete for pride, recognition, and, of course, prize money. And three weeks ago, I got the call-up. So, I had three weeks to train. But the gag is, I struggle when a bouldering problem has more than eight moves. Oh, we were in big big trouble. How was I supposed to survive a dam that rivals the Sydney Tower? In the words of my mother, “Who ask’d you?” Yet, I love a palm-sweat, mum’s-spaghetti type of challenge—a challenge that you do for the likes and the reshares. And this was definitely one of those. But I couldn’t do it solo. I replied to Red Bull’s team and asked if I could bring a member of my climbing community, Clmbxr. They agreed and paid for flights and accommodation. Someone say Influencerzz on three. One, two, three… Influencerzzz! It felt good to have a training partner to go workout-for-workout with. Training arc: activated. We knew endurance would be the key, so we focused on increasing our time on the wall. We treated the circuit wall like it was our very own hyperbolic time chamber, pushing each other to go harder and climb longer. Our arsenal included: A Stopwatch, chalk and sweat. We were militant. We knew training was vital if we were going to rise to the occasion. We arrived in Ticino a couple of days before the climb. The first thing we did after landing was drive straight to the dam. My imagination had finally been confronted by the reality of it, and it lived up to everything the Reddit posts had described. One word: otherworldly. In just two days, we would be abseiling down with nothing more than a harness, some chalk, and a lot of faith.

“Breathe… You can do this.”

“I’ll do it barefoot… no, wait, give me my Crocs… scratch that, I need my shoes… shoes.”

We hadn’t even started climbing yet, but, my lord, the fear was real. With big wall climbs, I’ve learned that the hardest part isn’t always the climb. It’s leaning back and trusting that this 40-centimeter-wide rope will hold as you rappel down. At that moment, I wasn’t just facing my fear….I was leaning into it.

Red Bull had briefed me on the type of content they needed: professional versus amateur clips. The team paired me with Angie Scarth-Johnson, a fellow North Face Ambassador. Although I’m a few years her senior, Angie radiated the kind of warmth and encouragement you’d expect from a seasoned veteran. Because we were pressed for time, we only managed a 28-meter, 7C section of the route. Angie led the climb, and I swear she cleared those 28 meters in seconds. Every dyno looked like light work. Me? I climbed like a terrified dinosaur…clunky and hesitant. I felt like a fish that had spent its life in a bowl, now suddenly dropped into a vast, uncharted dam. I was overwhelmed and scared. I knew I had the ability, but first, I had to wrestle with fear. People don’t believe me when I say I’m afraid of heights. But honestly, I think fear of heights is a natural human reaction. I feel it too—I feel it deeply. But the difference is, I don’t let it lead me. I refuse to look back at an experience and see it through the lens of fear. As I gripped the wall, I told myself to breathe, to take in the moment. This was a one-of-one experience. The sun was warming my back, Red Bull was quenching my thirst, and my hands were covered in chalk. Slowly, fear gave way to peace. I wasn’t just surviving the climb—I was thriving in it. I was made for this. Or at least, that’s what the adrenaline was telling me.

I climbed the dam.

Shaken but not stirred

Key Dates

Join us for climbing sessions every Monday and Saturday at various climbing centers across London. It's not just about climbing; it's about building community

For more details head over to www.clmbxr.co.uk or drop us an email: [email protected].