World-class Climber Sasha DiGiulian on Pushing Boundaries, Facing Criticism and Coming Home to Herself Artwork

The Imaginals with Ashley Wick

UNVARNISHED STORIES OF TRANSFORMATION FROM CREATIVE, WISE WOMEN

You are the co-creator of your life, but what happens when you find yourself on the precipice of change and unsure of what’s next?

The Imaginals podcast invites you to explore seminal moments of personal change. Together, we move forward, drawing wisdom and inspiration from creative and insightful women as we explore their journeys of transformation.

Imaginal cells are those responsible for a caterpillar's incredible transformation into a butterfly. In these conversations, we explore the moments of impact, the messy middles, and the most surprising elements of meaningful change.

Authentic, brave and warm, The Imaginals will inspire you to claim the center of your own story. Join host, Transformational Coach, Ashley Wick to witness how they put their whole being into action to light up the world.

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Ashley Wick has an intimate understanding of the pitfalls of perfection. Born and raised in San Francisco, she grew up in a family where high performance was the maxim. For years it served her to be the ultimate doer: a straight-A student; a Duke athlete; a Vogue Magazine executive; and founder of her own fashion PR agency. By all accounts, her efforts were propelling her toward her life’s desires. That all changed when she learned of her newborn daughter’s heart condition. She couldn’t “do” anything, she simply had to be. By processing moments of uncertainty with her own coach, she came to understand the power of working in communion with other women as a foundation for creating meaningful change. It is this framework that transformational coach Ashley Wick brings to her practice and her new podcast, The Imaginals.

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The Imaginals with Ashley Wick

World-class Climber Sasha DiGiulian on Pushing Boundaries, Facing Criticism and Coming Home to Herself

April 15, 2025 • Ashley Wick • Season 1 • Episode 7

In this episode of The Imaginals, world champion climber and author Sasha DiGiulian joins host Ashley Wick for a candid conversation about identity, ambition, and the challenges of forging her own path in a male-dominated sport — all in the public eye.

From the outside, Sasha’s achievements are staggering: world titles, groundbreaking climbs, and over 30 first female ascents around the globe. But as she reveals in her memoir Take The Lead, another story was unfolding beneath the surface — quiet battles with body dysmorphia, the hunger for belonging, and the reckoning that came after being cyber-bullied by a fellow climber.

Sasha reflects on how her drive to discover what she was capable of fueled her early rise — and how that same fire, at times, left her burned out and at odds with herself. Today, she’s balancing an audacious new climbing goal in Yosemite with her role as founder and CEO of Send Bars.

She speaks to the tightrope so many women walk: wanting to go big, but feeling the pressure to play small and be likable — and how the right people around you can make all the difference.

In the wake of eating disorders, injury, and abusive online harassment, Sasha shares how she continues to find her way back to herself — on and off the rock.

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