“A Means to An End”: Fame Means Very Little to Extreme Sports Icon Alex Honnold

Published 12/13/2022, 6:15 PM EST
There are a lot of extreme sports that are as thrilling as they seem, and rock climbing is one of them. Scaling these heights with his bare hands is Alex Honnold, known for his free solo ascents of big rugged walls.
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In an interview with Graham Bensinger, Honnold was asked about the extreme sport getting attention from all over the world. However, it looks like the pro rock climber has a different perspective on fame.
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Fame according to Alex Honnold
Star of the 2018 documentary Free Solo, Honnold doesn’t care much about getting attention. Unless, it is for the sport that he loves, which is when he doesn’t mind the fame.
“I view fame as like a means to an end and the end is to be able to climb my whole life. Without having to work. Media and sponsors are all just like part of the whole game. I mean throughout my life I’ve gotten a lot of inspiration from like seeing climbing films and like reading people’s books and like reading climbing magazines. And like you know I’ve taken a lot from the climbing community. And that’s like really inspired to me to like go and push myself. So it’s nice to able to contribute to that whole culture a little bit,” Alex said.
The rock climbing pro only wants fame as long as it helps the sport to grow so he can keep climbing. He admires the media and sponsors that indirectly help the sport grow. Honnold is also thankful to the climbing community that has made the sport a significant one out there.
Free Solo by National Geographic
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Free Solo is a sports documentary based on rock-climbing ace Alex Honnold. The documentary features Honnold’s attempts at climbing the famed 900-meter vertical rock face of El Capitan at Yosemite National Park.
The documentary won the Oscar for Best Feature Documentary in 2019. Moreover, it also swept all seven categories that it was nominated for at the Creative Emmys. Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi and Jimmy directed the Academy Award winning documentary.
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What do you think of Alex Honnold’s determination for his beloved sport? Let us know in the comment section.