Bend Into Balance
Health and Wellness podcast powered by The Source, a weekly newspaper in beautiful Bend, Oregon.
Bend Into Balance
Bend Into Balance: Nathaniel Perullo, International Competition Climber
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18-year-old, Nathaniel (Natty) Perullo discovered climbing at the age of 7. He won his first national at age of 9, and has been competing ever since. Natty is currently the Under 19 US National Champion and competes for the US National Team. Excelling in both bouldering and lead climbing, he has rapidly emerged as one of the nation's most promising young athletes in competitive climbing. Natty represented the United States at the Youth World Championships in Helsinki, Finland, where he reached the semifinals and placed in the top 24 globally.
Living in Bend, Oregon for the last nine years, Natty trained at the Bend Endurance Academy and recently graduated from Cascades Academy. He will attend the University of Utah and plans to become a paramedic firefighter. Natty hopes to represent the United States at the World Olympics in 2028.
Hello, my name is Adriana Marino, and I'm host and producer of Ben Into Balance, Powered by the Source. Today I'm really excited to be accompanied by Nathaniel Perullio, better known as Natty. Natty, thank you for being here. For those who do not know you, can you tell us a little bit about yourself?
SPEAKER_02Um, yeah, I'm Nathaniel Perulo. I am 18 years old and I'm a competitive rock climber here in Bend, Oregon. I compete all over the US and world. Um just yeah, climbing a lot.
SPEAKER_00How was it that you first discovered climbing?
SPEAKER_02Um, I was about, I think, seven years old when I was on a hike with my family, and I went out and I saw some people just climbing some boulders, and it seemed super cool to me. I was really shy at the time. But my dad was like, hey, if you go up to these people and ask them if you can try, uh, you're allowed to go try it. And, you know, I was super nervous at the time and didn't like going up to strangers, but I did it anyways because it looked super fun to me. And I got to the top of one of these boulders and like, oh, how do we get them down? So um the guy eventually climbed up with me and climbed down with me, uh, figured out how to get me off. And after they were talking to my parents and they told us about the rock gym that was kind of close by. Uh-huh. So I ended up going there and I loved it. And I just started going more and more and more. And then I joined a team and it kind of just progressed from there.
SPEAKER_00Oh, wow. Where was that?
SPEAKER_02It was It was in Santa Rosa, California. Okay. The gym was called Vertex.
SPEAKER_00Got it. And that element that it, you know, drew you to the climb in that first day when you were only seven years old, does that still, you know, ring true today at 18?
SPEAKER_02Yeah, for sure. I mean, especially as it's progressed. I I mean, I knew nothing about competing when I was younger. And I feel like that alone kind of like the adrenaline rush from all that kind of draws me in a lot. Um, and I don't know, I find it super fulfilling to have this huge goal that you have and you know, you finally accomplish it. So I think that's what keeps drawing me back.
SPEAKER_00Yeah. And so it's been what, then 11 years. Eleven years, yeah. And how has your journey evolved over those 11 years looking back?
SPEAKER_02I think I started competing when I was around eight years old. I did these things called YCLs, which were just youth climbing leagues just in the Bay Area. There was a bunch of season, and then they announced the winner at the end. And I got second at my first one, and then I think I won my second year. And then I kind of started getting into USA climbing through that. Um my first year I made divisionals, so it goes regionals, divisionals, and nationals. Um, my first year I made divisionals, um, didn't quite make nationals, and then came back the year after that and made my first nationals, which was I mean, one of the most incredible experiences, kind of what really uh kept drawing me in.
SPEAKER_00Wow. How old were you then in your first national?
SPEAKER_02I was nine years old at my first nationals. Oh, wow. Um, and yeah, I placed 10th that year. Uh-huh. Yeah. So then just kept progressing over the years.
SPEAKER_00Yeah. So you really uh realized very early on that you could compete on a national level.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, there's definitely some very good stepping stones with that where they have it for the youth. Um, to where, you know, obviously you're competing against kids your same age, so it's a little uh less competitive to where you're not competing against like 18-year-olds at nine years old. Sure. Um yeah, it's definitely some great stepping stones into it. And it I feel like I feel like especially with the climbing community, it really um everyone's super friendly, so it's super easy to make friends. And you know, I'll see all my friends that I've known since I'm nine years old at Nationals every year. Sure. So it's super cool like that.
SPEAKER_00Yeah. And um given the fact that you started competing at such a young age, has the element of fun always still remained with you?
SPEAKER_02Yeah, there's definitely been seasons where I'm not as psyched to be competing. I always love it, but there's you know, sometimes I'll have like a couple bad results in a row, and like, okay, I'm in a little bit of a slump now, and you know, it's not quite as fun, and you know, I'm not enjoying myself as much. But I mean, I think that comes with any competitions. For sure, yeah. Um, but I feel like for the most part, um, I've enjoyed it throughout my 11 years. There's never been a point where I'm like, okay, I'm gonna quit. Um, yeah, and always with climbing, like if you don't want to compete, you can always just go climb outside. And it's, you know, a lot of my after some big events, I'll go climb outside or take two weeks off just because it's so much training.
SPEAKER_00Sure. Yeah. Can you tell us a little bit about like the climbs that you do indoors? Because that's your specialty, right?
SPEAKER_02For sure. Um, so yeah, uh, I do currently I'm now mainly bouldering. Um, I do also I do also compete in lead. Um, but this year I I haven't been as psyched on lead training, so I've kind of switched off to boulders. I'm still going to nationals for both, but um, I'm more focused on boulders this year. And I feel like mainly throughout my career, I've performed better in boulders. Um, but I have also performed pretty well in a lot of my lead comps.
SPEAKER_00You know, for those of us who might be listening to the podcast who are not so familiar familiar with, you know, the world in which you move and complete, can you tell us more what bouldering consists of and also leading?
SPEAKER_02Yeah. So um a boulder is uh traditionally you know shorter route. Um and it's on for the comp walls at least, I think they're around 15 feet tall, uh 15 to 20 feet tall, and um they're normally short, powerful, dynamic movements. Um sometimes you know they're static and slow if it's a slab route, but um whereas lead routes is normally on you know a 55 to 65 foot wall, and um it they're a lot longer, your forearms get a lot more pumped during it. So that's one of the more challenges uh with lead climbing versus bouldering. Bouldering is more powerful. Uh you're not gonna get as pumped on a boulder, but with lead route, it's more sustained um endurance that you need. So it's two different types of training that you'll need to do for it. Um and this year I feel like I've been more powerful, so that's why I'm kind of focusing on bouldering.
SPEAKER_00Okay. Um you mentioned training. What does your training look like in Addy and how has that kind of also changed with time? And if you can talk about like, you know, elements of nutrition and sleep, like what what does your week look like?
SPEAKER_02Yeah, so um when I was younger, it was definitely a lot less. I go in the gym, um, climb four or five days a week. You know, it was super fun. I wouldn't, you know, when you're younger, you don't need to be lifting a lot of weights to get strong. You know, you're not getting big when you're nine years old. So sure. I think that a lot of my training was just climbing and you know, that really lays a foundation for your technique and all that um when you get older, which is gonna be super helpful. Um, so yeah, when I was younger, wasn't really lifting. It was only when I started uh to get around like 15 years old that I started to um really start lifting, doing weighted stuff. Uh-huh. And that's when I kind of started getting a lot stronger. Um, but you know, while balancing still like the technique, because that's a huge part of it. Um, and then nowadays I train six days a week. Uh during the school year, I'll go, you know, to school from 8 a.m. to 3 45, whatever. Go to the gym, get to the gym at four, and then end at nine.
SPEAKER_01Oh, wow.
SPEAKER_02Um, yeah, so it's around five hours after um school that I'll be training. Uh and that's six days a week. And on the weekend I'll do sometimes a double session where I'll train in the morning and then stop for lunch and then train at night. Um, so yeah, that's mainly my training during the school year. It's quite a bit. Um yeah, I think it's around, you know, 30 hours a week.
SPEAKER_00It's like a full-time job.
SPEAKER_02Yeah. And then yeah, sometimes 35, but uh, and then during the summer, I'm kind of gearing up for national, so I'm dropping my intensity and my um how long my sessions are. So I don't want to be super tired for nationals. I have sure. I'm leaving in about six days for it. So um yeah, I'm definitely dropping the intensity. I'm not getting any stronger between now national. So I'm really focusing on my technique and um my execution on a lot of the boulders.
SPEAKER_00Okay. Talking about technique, I've also I've read that like sometimes bouldering climbing is compared to this meant you know, like this chess game, physical chess. Like, can you get us in the mindset of a climber? Like how much of this is physical, how much is mental? I'm sure it's a balance of both, but yeah, you know, what's going through your mind when you're facing a challenge you've never done?
SPEAKER_02I mean, for everyone, it's a little different. I mean, I'll start off with kind of how I look at a boulder when I turn around and comp I have five minutes to I guess get to the top of this boulder, and I'll look at it, I'll brush off like all the extra chalk on it, kind of also feeling the holds with the brush. And I'm kind of mapping out the way I want to do it. Like, oh, my right hand goes on this hold, my left hand goes on this one, my left foot goes here, and I gotta jump to this hold. Um, so it's kind of mapping it out. And sometimes the boulders are super difficult to read and it's kind of confusing. So you have to really know what like you're looking for and kind of what where you want your hands and how you're gonna be able to execute this move uh with the most efficiency. So I feel like that's a huge aspect of the comp climbing. And then, you know, with the mental part, um kind of being, you know, I try to every single boulder, no matter if I I mean sometimes if I top the first boulder, I'll be like super energetic for the round. But um, I kind of try to throw every last boulder out of my mind. Like if I did super bad on a boulder, kind of try to get that out of my mind so I'm not focused on, oh, I'm gonna lose because I didn't top this boulder or something like that. Yeah. Um, you know, it's not gonna help you. You're not gonna be able to change your result on that first boulder. So I feel like having the mental capacity to just push that out of your head is super important, especially for me. I'll do a lot of meditation before my comps too. I'll breathe, visualize. Um, you know, sometimes even dream about them. So last year I remember uh I never topped a lead route in a at Nationals. Um in and you know, I topped my Nationals finals route, which is you know the best you can do on it. And I had this recurring dream that it was gonna be this yellow dishhold, and I went out for the preview. There was a yellow dish hold and I topped it, and I had this recurring dream that I was gonna top it. Oh wow. That was uh definitely the kind of the weirdest things I've ever experienced. Yeah. You know, I I'd like I went back to in uh isolation with my coaches and I was like, I've been having this recurring dream, like I'm gonna top this route. And I went out and topped it, and it was definitely like the craziest experience I've ever had. So I think a lot of the visualization is super important for me. Yeah. Um, I visualize all my rounds, all my, you know, possibilities. You know, I see myself winning, losing, you know, doing not as well as I want to. And um, you know, I try to be okay with those results, you know, sometimes it's really hard if you have a bad result that you were expecting a lot better one. So I just kind of try to prepare myself for anything. Um yeah, that's the main visualization. Uh I think for me, the strength versus uh um like mental is super important. I think it's probably uh at least 25% mental for me. I think a lot of you know, I have the strength for a lot of the boulders, but a lot of the time my mental it's not quite as good as I would like it. So I think a lot of the time it prevents me from succeeding in certain ways. Um, so yeah, I think that's super important. It's a mental aspect.
SPEAKER_00So in those c cases, which have been many, you know, where your mental capacity has led you, you know, to achieve what you want, like what strengths are you drawing on to make that mental game so successful? Does that make sense?
SPEAKER_02Yeah, okay. So yeah, the strengths I would say, I mean, going with my last nationals, I was in my boulder round and I topped my fo my first boulder, and I kind of, you know, got this rush of adrenaline. And I was like, okay, yeah, I got this, I got this. And I just kind of played on that good, like rush. I carry it through to all the other boulders. Yeah. And um, you know, no one had topped the third boulder. And after I topped that third boulder, the crowd was like super loud. I was like, okay, wow, I'm I'm in first right now, I'm winning. Wow. And you can you you never know how well your competitors are doing, but you can't kind of tell by the crowd. Okay. So after my first boulder, you know, I think a couple of people had topped it. I topped it too. And, you know, crowd was like mild, and then second boulder, only one person had topped it, got a little bit louder. Then I topped the third boulder, and the crowd was like super loud. So I kind of knew that, you know, I'm doing really well, and I kind of carried that throughout my entire round. And I think that that was definitely super important. Uh-huh. The result that ended up.
SPEAKER_01Yeah.
SPEAKER_00What happens when you're in a comp, Natty, and fear comes in your mind, self-doubt, like you're not so sure of yourself. How do you talk to yourself? How do you move through that?
SPEAKER_02Yeah. So I'm kind of bad with that, especially, you know, this year it's been especially hard for me because last year I completed all, you know, not all my goals, but you know, this huge goal I had of mine was to win nationals, and you know, I finally did it. And this year I've been like, okay, what where do I start now? Like, of course I'd love to win again, but you know, what's my next big goal? And I'd spent, you know, 11 years working on that goal, and it finally happened, and I was like, whoa, okay, this is kind of this is like crazy, and I don't know where to start again. Yeah. So I think a lot of it this year has been like, you know, I've had a couple bad results. Like I went to Pan Ams and I didn't uh perform as well as I expected. Um, and you know, maybe it was, I think it was a little bit of a lack of training, you know. I'd completed this one goal and all I want to do was kind of enjoy it. And right after I'd done that, I got the notice that I was right after I finished competing at Worlds, I was like, they I got the message like, oh, you you have a Pan Am start, so you gotta be in Colombia. And I was like, okay, I want to do this for sure, but it was definitely hard leaning leading up for like the month and a half of training I had um to kind of get ready to gear up to compete in both disciplines again. And it was definitely a mental struggle, and then I didn't perform so well in boulders. Um, and I think that was just like a lot of pressure for me that I was putting on myself to perform at, you know, this first time I'd ever done Pan Am's. I had just, I guess, gone to a bigger comp, but I wasn't in the mindset that I was ready to compete at that level again. Yeah. And I think that that definitely taxed a lot on my mental um, you know, and going, you know, into this last open nationals, I it kind of carried through that Pan Am's result. So I've been working through that to get back in a good headspace, and I think I finally have uh gearing up for nationals in a couple days. So I'm really excited to try that out.
SPEAKER_00That's exciting. What did that experience teach you?
SPEAKER_02Oh, definitely. I mean, I almost underestimated how hard it was gonna be. I was like, okay, you know, traditionally at you know, worlds, I had beaten a lot of the countries that would were gonna be here. I think I beaten every single country that was gonna be at Pan Am. It was in different category, but still, um, I didn't I underestimated the level of the competition. And I think I went in with a bit of like an ego almost like, okay, I'm gonna make finals in this. Um, and I think that was definitely a big downfall for me. Um, so I was kind of not mentally prepared for how hard the boulders were gonna be. And I think that was definitely, you know, um, definitely huge impact on my performance. I was also after this one really good World Cup clanger that um he topped every single he I I would go out and I wouldn't top a boulder. He topped the well he did that every single boulder. He I mean he ended up winning the round.
SPEAKER_01Okay.
SPEAKER_02Um, I think that was a huge, you know, dent in my mental uh game. I I would just come back from Boulder, just get hosed on it, and then I'd hear him top it immediately. Just be like, what am I doing wrong? And you know, I think it just like I was unable to push out that last boulder from a single round. And I think it kind of just greatly impacted my performance. And yeah, after that, I was kind of just like, whoa, maybe I'm not ready for this. But um, you know, I kept my training up and um I've tried my best to get out of that, and I think I have for the most part.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, yeah.
SPEAKER_00I was really interested by what you said earlier about visualization and meditation and just that mental aspect, yeah, how you train yourself before you actually start climbing. Yeah. So when you are standing below your challenge, yeah, do you you look at the boulder?
SPEAKER_02Yeah. I map out, you know, every possible way I could do this boulder. Like, oh, could I put my left hand on this hold? No, that won't work because yeah, I have to go right hand to this next one, or I have to go left hand to this next one. So I can't have my left hand on this hold. You know, it's kind of just mapping out the most efficient way to possibly do it.
SPEAKER_01Uh-huh.
SPEAKER_02And I think that that's super important, especially with like wasting attempts. You know, you do the wrong, it's called beta. So if you do the wrong beta the first attempt and you have your wrong hand on the wrong hold and you can't move it, you know, you fall and you waste that attempt. So I think getting that beta the right way the first time is super crucial to your attempts.
SPEAKER_00That's fascinating. So that means that like you can just study a boulder. I'm just trying to imagine this, and you're able to map it out.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, if you move my hands to where, like, okay, this is a start hold, this is a first hold, this is a second hold, and I kind of um put my hands where I think it's gonna be. And I kind of try to feel like a lot of the times because I've been young this so long, I know what the holds are gonna feel like. Okay. And sometimes at a comp, they'll bring out some brand new holds that I've never been uh in a comp or in a gym. Yeah. It'll be super we'll I don't know where to grab them, I don't know what they feel like. So that's definitely super hard sometimes. But a lot of the time I felt these holds and I know where to grab them, I know where the good spots are. And uh so I know what hand I want, what they're gonna feel like when I'm up there already.
SPEAKER_00Yeah. Wow. It must be fascinating, just that process. Yeah. So you know exactly in your mind what you're gonna do when you physically get up there.
SPEAKER_02Yeah. And then obviously sometimes, you know, I'll get it wrong. I'll it'll be a super complex boulder and be like, oh, I need my left hand here where I needed my right hand here, and I'll fall, and that'll be an attempt. Okay. You know, but then normally after I do that, I'll feel like, oh, that's not working. So I'll switch up my beta, and you know, it'll be a better attempt next time.
SPEAKER_00Okay. When you're not climbing, Natty, how much are you thinking about climbing?
SPEAKER_02All the time. Yeah. Before I go to bed, you know, even the last like two months, I've been only thinking about nationals before I go to bed. I'm like, that's the last thought, and this first thought in the morning, though. Really? Trainer, like, yeah, wow. Um, even, you know, in class sometimes I'll like doze off and I'm just thinking about climbing. You know, I'm thinking about what it's gonna look like, what my round's gonna look like, how I want to feel after my round. And, you know, it's constant. Um I'll dream about it most nights. Wow. And um, you know, it's a huge part of my life. And I feel like, you know, that's to be you know good at something, you gotta be obsessed with it. So I think that um, you know, the reason I have had a lot of success in this is because I'm so obsessed with, you know, um thinking about every little detail about a comp. Um, you know, even I've been thinking about this national since, you know, two months after last national. So the last ten months I've been just thinking about what what this comp is gonna look like. And I've mentally prepared myself for pretty much every outcome. So I think I'm you know, mentally ready for it.
SPEAKER_00For sure. Yeah. Um how do you manage? I mean, you know, adolescence and youth, it's already difficult, you know, there's inherent, you know, changes going on and just like, you know, the social aspect, the academic aspect. You just graduated from, you know, Cascades Academy, a private school here in Bend, that's demanding. Like, how do you find that balance between academics, your social life, and this, you know, and your athletic performance, which is just, you know, 35. It's like a, you know, such a great demand on you.
SPEAKER_02Yeah.
SPEAKER_00Although I know that you love it. Yeah. I'm just like, how do you do this?
SPEAKER_02It's definitely hard a lot of nights. Um, you know, where I'll have some homework or something, and like, do I do it or do I wake up really early and do it? Or do I, you know, can I find a free period that I can do my homework? But I think that school, it's not super hard for me to balance the school. I have a couple free periods that I'll try to get all my work done and just so I don't have to do it outside of school because you know, I'm training till 9 p.m. and then I'm pretty tired at home, eat dinner and go straight to bed, you know, um, or take a shower and then go to bed. Um, so I don't really have a lot of time if I want to wake up on time, you know, at seven o'clock in the morning for school. Um and you know, I need to get my sleep. So I think that's super um not super difficult um to do, but the social aspect for sure, where it's like, oh, there's, you know, parties happening this night, um, or anything. And you know, like obviously I can't drink or do anything because of my um climbing, you know. Yeah. If you're gonna be this high level and that an athlete you can't be doing all that. Right. You know, can't be staying out till one in the morning and um going to parties. So I think that the social aspect's definitely really hard for me. Um especially you know training so much like on the school school nights. Um I have one night off as Tuesday night and you know nothing's going on Tuesday nights. So sometimes I'll hang out with friends or whatever, but um it's mainly just like you know climbing. That's it. And you know I go alone to the gym I train um most nights and you know it's definitely lonely sometimes like I'll find myself you know missing all my friends and you know what are they doing tonight? Oh they're at this party you know I'm not I'm going I'm in bed by 10 p.m. I'm not going out and drinking and you know it's definitely hard um with that and you know the social life is definitely it definitely it's mentally hard. Uh just like you know I I love hanging out with my friends all the time. And you know as much as I'd love to be doing that it's just not worth it to me to give up something that I've worked so hard on. Yeah. And yeah so I think that's the social aspect's probably the hardest for me. That makes sense. Um you know always get text royal friends oh I haven't seen you in weeks where are you? What have you been up to? Yeah and you know I'll try to make a day on the weekend or something to hang out with them. But it's just yeah definitely hard during the school year where I'm going to school all day and you know I'll see some friends there. But I have a bunch of other friends that you know I also want to see so it's super hard with that um most time.
SPEAKER_00It gets a lot better in the summer though to where I can you know train at you know go to the gym at eight in the morning be done by one and then I'll have the rest of the day um to hang out yeah go down to the river you know do whatever sure over these last 11 years that you've been competing and training so hard Natty has there any been how how has there ever been a moment that you've thought maybe I'm not cut out for this I don't want to do this anymore.
SPEAKER_02This is too much of a sacrifice I mean I mean there's always been you know thoughts of that I've never seriously considered quitting. Yeah um but you know there's been thoughts about oh maybe I'm not ready for this or maybe I should take a break maybe I should take a few months off but I know if I take a year off then I'm gonna come back and it's gonna be the same problem where you know I take a year off and I have to get strong again. I have to figure out all the new movement. Like climbing progresses in this way where you know one year will be super dynamic and I'll be on top of that. And then if I took a year off all of a sudden it's super like powerful and I'm not ready for that. And I haven't done that style in a while. Yeah. And I don't think I think if you take time off it's definitely hard to get back. Obviously it's still possible but I think for me um a lot of my drive is where you know if I'm doing well in a comp I want to keep going here. If I have a bad season I know if I take a season off and I come back I'm just gonna have another maybe bad season it's just gonna keep this cycle. So I kind of just try to train myself out of these uh cycles. Yeah you know I'll have a bad season where I won't you know do super well um and you know I'll train suit like for example um I think it was 2024 nationals I didn't make it for boulders and that was the first time I'd ever not made a nationals and well besides my first year ever competing and that was like I can't I went in divisional so I went into qualifying I won qualifying and then I got seventh in the final and I was like shocked I'd never done had such a bad performance and you know I trained super hard after that I was like that was the only thing I I like didn't hang out with friends for months after that I was just like training training training just for all through end of sophomore year and then I did lead nationals um I'd broken fingers and so there was a little bit of like a you know okay maybe I wasn't shouldn't have been competing I broke both my middle fingers I ruptured I ruptured my pulley in my right one and fractured my growth plate in my left because I was overtraining and I was growing still oh wow um but I still decided to compete on that and I think that's definitely one of the reasons I didn't make nationals that year. Yeah but you know I wasn't willing to accept that my injury was a reason um that I didn't make it to nationals. So you know I trained and as you know in the I mean I still got a national medal for lead but um you know I trained all throughout the end of my sophomore year and then junior year I was only training it was just like definitely stressful but I was hanging out with friends a lot less I was you know that was my only focus I had like I don't know I hadn't no no other desire other than to train and you know get back to where I was and I think that's one of the reasons I won nationals last year. It's like coming off of a year where you don't make nationals in Boulder and then you win that discipline is um definitely shows how yeah hard I was training that year. So yeah it was basically the only thing I was thinking about all year. So yeah it was definitely those bad results definitely have um motivated and motivated me a lot. I'm really motivated by the bad results a lot of my best seasons have come after my worst results. So yeah that's why it's been really hard this year for my training like I've obviously still still been training hard but um you know I completed my goal I won nationals and you know it I was like okay well this is like my big goal and I've done it. I want to enjoy it but at the same time I still want to train and win again. So I think it's definitely been a little bit harder with um training this year, getting the motivation to be like what do what do I want to complete next? What do I want to do? And yeah you know I finally these last few months I finally gained my motivation again I'm like okay I want to train I want to train I want to train and then you know and now I'm like okay I'm going to worlds this year let's have a goal for that so I think that um yeah that has definitely motivated me this year.
SPEAKER_00Yeah hearing you speak Natty I'm so impressed by like this I can tell just by listening to you that this motivation is all coming within it's not coaches it's not your parents am I wrong or is it all intrinsic?
SPEAKER_02Yeah it's definitely I think pretty much all internal um you know my coaches have never been like you're doing this you have to win nationals this year you have to go win worlds or you know you have to podium at worlds something like that. My coaches of all yet have always asked me you know what do you want to do? What is your goal? And you know um my coach Mike he told me this uh a few weeks ago um he was like when I was 14 I had was the first time he heard me vocalize my goals and I was like I want to do world cup starts I want all of these uh opportunities and he's like okay let's I'll help you get there and he's never been you know hard on me with you know oh you have to do this or I I want you to do this get this result at this comp. Um he's never done that it's always been internal for me and you know same with my parents you know um obviously they want me to win they want me to you know win nationals win worlds all that but they've never they're like you have to do this or you're not climbing next year you know there's never been that pressure of um having someone else decide where I need to be so I think that's suit been super important. It's been mainly I mean only I'm the only one that has control over whether I train hard or not and you know obviously you know my parents are like oh if you're gonna be there you might as well train. Right. And there's that but they're not like housing me like did you train this hard today you know it's not like that. So I think that's been super helpful for me and you know all my motivation comes within I don't need that external motivation. So it doesn't sound like it yeah where where does this grid and this resilience come from Addy like where do you think you got this from I mean I don't know I think it's just because I grew up doing this since I was eight years old. I think it's all I really know and I mean not all I know but you know I've been going to national since I was eight years old and um I think it's you know it I mean year after year it's just addicting you know I want a better result I want a better result every single year. And um I think it's just like I I'm just I I was like almost born to just train for this and you know do this result. Obviously I have other goals in life after climbing when I have to retire but um you know it's just been such a huge part of my life that I don't want to stop it. I've had so many good or great opportunities from it. You know I've seen a lot of places I maybe wouldn't have seen because um I was in climbing like you know I competed I was in Europe I went to Finland and you know Estonia Sweden Columbia Colombia yeah you know I've been to all these awesome places because um where climate's taking me and you know I think I can see it continuing to do that especially you know next year where I'm gonna try and you know do some World Cups and stuff where you know I'm going to China Korea Italy I'm going to Italy this summer to compete and um I think it's you know super rewarding to be able to go all these places and yeah um yeah it's you know I see all these things I'm doing like whoa this is this is cool.
SPEAKER_00You're only 18 with everything you've already done.
SPEAKER_02Yeah what do you think are the biggest lessons that climbing has taught you in your life and that you'll carry with you whether you're climbing or not, you know, at whatever age yeah definitely I mean um my discipline has um carried over into pretty much every aspect of my life I've um like I mean just being in the gym for that many hours a day it takes a lot of mental strength to especially like a lot of my I think maybe four of my uh six sessions are alone so I'm just in the gym alone just training myself or I mean I have my training plan but um I'm doing all the activities myself and you know sometimes it's super hard to okay no one's watching right now but I'm still gonna do this and no one's gonna judge me if I don't um I I still do it anyways because you know I know I see the results and I know they're helping me so I think that that has been probably one of the biggest things um and definitely like mental resilience um you know try I mean it's not climbing is not a very forgiving sport mentally um you can go from you know winning nationals to being tenth you know yeah um so it's definitely nothing's ever guaranteed and I think that's the case for a lot of sports um but I think there's so much variability with the clients if they suit you or not um to where you know someone that's shorter will have an advantage or taller will have an advantage you know um so I think that the um mental strength of being able to deal with that has carried through a lot of my things especially um my patience um with you know trusting the process so I think a lot of yeah patience and mental resilience is also carried through to other aspects of my life yeah a little bit ago you mentioned your coach Mike um you know what role have mentors and coaches played in your life and yeah so um if you want to mention any that are in band I don't know I'd love to so yeah first coach um I was I mean at Vertex in Santa Rosa I was I don't even remember names I was on just like a development team yeah um and you know I mean the coach you know it was just like you know having the kids climb or whatever there was no like focused training on that and that's kind of very good for getting me into getting me sick. I think if you train a kid you know at eight years old when he's just starting or seven years old when he's just starting I think that can definitely push someone away because that level of training is super hard to deal with and I've kind of gained the mental um strength to do that year over year. And you know I didn't start doing six hours or five hour sessions six days a week um I started it was smaller sessions like you know maybe I go two three times a week um you know climb for a couple hours but um then I moved to I moved gyms to San Francisco and I coached Jesse there and he was super helpful um it was Jesse and Mark were my coaches there and they were super helpful. They um you know with them I won my first national medal I think I was nine years old and you know I was getting definitely some more training they were talking more about you know strength training I remember my coach Mark was my strength trainer and he would he obviously wouldn't have a nine year old or eight year old lifting weights but um I was you know he was doing like core on the bar with me pull-up stuff like that to where I'm getting that strength up but it's not super taxing on my muscles like if you train a kid that young you know he's gonna have problems when he's older so um I think that you know they helped a lot with that and then I was only with them for a year and then we moved here to bend and my coach Mike when I was nine years old took me in and you know I've been training with Mike since I was nine years old. Oh wow he's I'm super close with him um I talked to him about almost every comp, you know, even when he wasn't at my comps like he sometimes he doesn't travel uh uh to some comps with me so in Colombia and Finland when I was competing I would call him and I he I would talk to him about my rounds um I go through him with him go through my mantle with him um and he's been super helpful through all that and you know he's I'm super close with him as I said so I think that he's been such a good coach for me and um definitely helped me a lot with all my results you know especially when I was first vocalizing my um goals when I was started to turn like around 14. He's like okay let's help you get there and he's he's I mean helped me every step of the way been with me he's seen my worst results at you know comps and he's been with there for my best results you know he was like one of the first persons after I won nationals I was just like streaming tears. It was like I went over and hugged him and it was like I talked to him and that was one of my like favorite memories with him. So that's beautiful I think that um you must have been so proud of yeah he's definitely like one of the the closest people in my life and you know I s I respect him a lot. Yeah. Yeah he's been with me there pretty much every step of the way.
SPEAKER_00And what's it gonna look like next well you know tell us about your plans. I mean you're going off to college?
SPEAKER_02Yeah I'm going off to Utah um on scholarship for climbing and um yeah I'm planning on training a lot there um hopefully having a shot at Olympics and stuff. Uh that's the main reason I'm going is you know I really that's my next huge goal is to make Olympics and um I would love to do that. So I think that Utah right now as of greatest climbing community um all the strongest climbers everyone on the US team um all my friends are there. So I think just training with such strong people all the time is super helpful to I mean surround yourself with people that are you know better on this style or you know maybe I'm better on this route but they're better on this one and you know gaining from each other um is super impactful and Salt Lake has a lot of that uh the US training centers there so I'll be training there a lot um and that's where I mean the entire US team trains pretty much okay so yeah I think that surrounding yourself with those people you'll get super good super fast.
SPEAKER_00Yeah that's so exciting.
SPEAKER_02Yeah so um and then also I'm gonna study in uh Utah I'm gonna get my EMT in paramedic and try and do paramedic firefighting for when I'm older, you know, when I'm done with climbing. Uh-huh um so I think that also having you know I also have goals outside of climbing to where you know it's just not my entire life. Yeah I love climbing and right now it's my life but you know in the future it's not gonna be sustainable for me when I have to retire when I'm you know 26 or um 28, you know. So I'm thinking about the future too there. So I'm going to college getting my paramedic um and I'm either going to go into paramedic firefighting hopefully or um I don't know I might try and go to into med. I don't I'm not sure if I want to spend that many years in school but so I'm still deciding.
SPEAKER_00Yeah you're still young the future's very yeah that's amazing. And what what are the next comps that you have coming up Natty?
SPEAKER_02I have nationals in about a week um that's it where it's it's in Salt Lake. Okay. But yeah I'll drive to Salt Lake in about six days and then compete I have my orientation the day before I gotta go get orientated at Utah. You mean your college orientation oh gosh the whole day and then gotta compete the next day. Okay. That'll be fun. Um and then I'm heading to Italy Arco Italy um for worlds and yeah super excited for that and um yeah so that's pretty much the near future and we'll see about Pan Am's and stuff this year. Everything depends on my results results from nationals so yeah I gotta see see how I do um at Nashville before all that but um yeah hopefully you know I think Pan Am's is in I want to say Brazil or Chile this year. So hopefully that'll be another cool one for me. But um you know you never know.
SPEAKER_00Yeah. Um going back to that you know Bend what was it like you know how has growing up and training in a place like Bend been positive for you?
SPEAKER_02Yeah it's definitely I mean we have some pretty good gyms here and then especially these last couple years um my team Bend in Yarns Academy created this training facility and they've been setting personal right personalized routes and um like simulation comp rounds for me. And that's been super crucial to my training and that's some things that a lot of gyms around can't do like commercial gyms they can't set these routes where it takes up an entire wall and you know you having a bunch of I guess it's considered dangerous movement or whatever and you know you can't be jumping in between holes especially with people like little kids running around the gym and stuff and sure you know fear of landing on them or stuff like that. So I think that that has been super important to my training. And yeah so they've been able to set routes for me do all these personalized personalized training and then I also go to Colorado um from time to time and I train with uh my coaches Alex and Robin there. They have m mostly my strength training plans. My coach Mike here is more mental and you know he supports me through all that and goes to all the comps with me. But um my coaches Robin and Alex in Colorado have uh a lot to do with my training plans and I'll go there to also get personalized help on um a lot of the there's like just more access to climbs in Colorado. We have a couple gyms here but um I tend to feel like commercial gyms I mean they don't set hard enough. Yeah. I'll normally I've cleared out the entire gym done every single route. So I think that just being able to travel to Colorado and um go train with my coaches Robin and Alex especially when they definitely set a lot harder in Colorado like the level there is um definitely a bit higher. There's a lot more pros in Colorado that they the gyms need to set for the commercial gyms will end up setting you know B13 in B14 in the gym. And um I think that that is super helpful to go and be able to go for a couple days and just train with my coaches there.
SPEAKER_00Yeah. Given that Bend is small the community's smaller you know and um I imagine that a lot of young climbers in Bend know of your success.
SPEAKER_02Yeah I I mean definitely going into the gym sometimes um people come up and talk to me or you know someone asked for a photo the other day or really graph or something. Uh huh that's cute how do you feel when that happens it's definitely like when it when I when someone first asked me for my autograph I was like I was wearing um I traded one of my US team jerseys for the French team jersey and I thought they thought I was on the French team or something and like are you I was like they came up to me like hey will you sign my chalk bag and I was like are you sure? And they were like yeah you're Nathaniel Perula right and I was like yeah but and that was the first time anyone had ever recognized me. Uh-huh and you know obviously um I guess that where I was in Pan Am and stuff I signed other stuff but that was the first time someone had ever come up to me in the gym and Karen Bend hey yeah hey will you sign my thing and you know people ask for photos or autographs sometimes it's not all the time but it's definitely still I'm not quite used to it. Uh huh um I'm not quite used to like a spotlight or anything. You know never had to experience you know signing someone sort of taking a photo someone like I've never I I'm always like why do they want me to get the photo with them? You know it's really weird to me. And yeah um They're very humble. Yeah it's uh it's just like it's new to me and I I don't know, it's sometimes like, whoa, you want an autograph of me? That's kind of cool. Yeah. Um yeah. And other times I'm just like surprise. I'm like, are you sure? You know? Um, so yeah, it's definitely definitely interesting. Yeah.
SPEAKER_00Yeah. Ha have the coaches at the Ben Endurance Gym ever or Academy ever asked you to coach little kids? I mean, ha do you have you taken that role yet?
SPEAKER_02Per I mean, sometimes if I'll see I'll I'll get to practice early sometimes just because I want more training time. And um, you know, some other practice will be going on where it's like a bunch of five-year-olds or something or a bunch of seven-year-olds, and yeah, you know, I'll see one of them that looks super motivated in our route. Like a lot of them sometimes are just like, you know, messing around, wrestling on the mat, stuff like that. But I'll see one kid that is like super psyched on climbing and I'll go over and help them. Like I try to, you know, even when I'm in the commercial gyms or whatever, I'll try to, you know, see if there's I I like I like when young kids are super psyched on doing something that makes me want to help them. Yeah. Um, because I know how I was when I was that age, you know, I was um always, you know, trying to climb. I was I never saw myself as, you know, obviously it's okay, but you know, I was never one of those kids wrestling on the mats. I was always the one, you know, on the wall. And, you know, I see where that has like that motivation has brought me. And sure, you know, whenever I see some kid like that where he's super psyched on climbing, I'll always try and go help him, you know, talk to him a bit. Yeah. I think it's super cool for especially, you know, when I was younger, I would see all these kids that were like, you know, pretty good. And, you know, sometimes they would come over and help me or, you know, do something like that. And I was always like, Whoa, like this I this guy's super cool, you know. Yeah. Some like 18-year-old kid or whatever, come over and help me. And, you know, I thought that was super cool. So I definitely try to pass that on. That's sweet. You know, I I love helping people who are psyched on climbing and you know, super um invested in it. And, you know, I try to talk to them, oh, are you on a team yet? You know, try to get them uh to go join a team or something if they're super excited with it. Um yeah, so I I mean I definitely like like like kids and you know, like doing it like that.
SPEAKER_00Yeah. Um, you know, given the experience and the perspective that you have now at 18, do you ever think about how you would have done things differently, like starting, you know, you started so young, you know, you went your first national when you were nine. You know, what would you say to your 10-year-old self, your 12-year-old self, like with the experience you've gained? I know it's easier to say this now because you've gained that perspective, but I don't know.
SPEAKER_02I mean, there's not a whole lot that I would really change. I think with when I was 14 or 15, I broke my fingers and I just wouldn't let myself heal like I just kept climbing on them. Yeah. Um, and I was like, oh, we'll tape them, they'll be fine. And you know, it took over a year and a half to heal. Oh, it only took till um February 2025 where I could finally take off my tape and climb without it, without pain. And I think that that's something I would tell my 15 or 14-year-old self, however old I was when I broke them.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, what you were? I'm sorry.
SPEAKER_02I was 14 or 15 when I broke them. Yeah. Tell myself then, you know, to stop climbing, just take the two months off. You know, you're not super strong at 14, you know, you're not lifting heavy, you're not having to keep up this like uh strength level at that age. Yeah. You're not you haven't gone quite through puberty yet. I mean, it's like starting. So I think that um being able to, especially when you're younger, you can definitely take off more time than I could take off now. Sure. So I think that just like taking that time off, letting the three months to heal, not competing at nationals this year and that year, and then just training, I think I wouldn't have had um a lot of the failures I did have after that injury. Yeah. I mean, those failures definitely helped me. Um yeah. And then I think that I mean, I've always been super motivated and always been training pretty hard. I don't think it's ever been a problem where I'm like, oh, you should be trained harder here, here, here. I can't think of a moment where I'm not like really training. I don't really remember a time where I wasn't training. So I think that, you know, for the most part, I think I've done it the right way. Um, I think a lot of the mistakes I've made have um helped me shape into, you know, what I'm I am today. And I don't think that I think that changing a lot of those mistakes would I mean I wouldn't be as good as I am today. So yeah. I think if, you know, I didn't, you know, lose or get I mean, I say lose, but if I didn't get that nationals that one year, like my first year going to nationals, and I wouldn't have podium the next year or, you know, um yeah, I think a lot of those have just motivated me a lot of bad results. So I think changing them would uh make me a worse climber.
SPEAKER_00Uh-huh. Yeah, I really uh value like how you're able to see everything with such insight, like how you've been able to turn around apparently bad situations into something that really has taught you uh something.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, for sure.
SPEAKER_00Yeah. Um, so Natty, how would you say that climbing has, you know, kind of enhanced your own health and wellness throughout these years?
SPEAKER_02I mean, definitely like um, you know, I'm pretty fit. That's helped a lot um with, you know, just being able to do normal stuff. Like if someone, you know, I mean, even like during the summer, so I'm setting up a rope swing. Yeah. My friends will be like, oh, climb that tree and go put put up our rope swing or something like that. Yeah. And I think that, you know, the overall like health benefits from climbing is I mean, it's a super healthy, you're working almost every muscle in your body. Yeah. And um I think, you know, you become pretty strong, pretty agile doing all this stuff. So even like I noticed the other day, even like when I trip and I I don't fall. I kind of always somehow catch myself or not quite fall over or and know how to like roll correctly or do stuff like that. It's like these little things that you don't really notice, but I seem to get hurt a lot less than you know, some of my friends that will like trip and fall or something like that. So I think it's definitely just like overall, you know, the overall health benefits is definitely huge for me. And you know, I love being able to just go climb a treat, go, you know, do all these things that otherwise maybe I wouldn't be able to do.
SPEAKER_00Sure. Yeah. Um does nutrition play a big role in your life? Like I mean, I'm just thinking about you're ch training so much, you you can't just not eat, you know.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, I'm definitely, definitely bad with my nutrition. You are? Yeah, it's something I'm trying to work on. A lot during the school year, I have ADHD, so I was taking Adderall, which is a appetite suppressant. So a lot of the times I wouldn't be hungry for lunch or anything. I wouldn't need lunch. So and then I'd go train, you know, for five hours after that. And, you know, there's a point last year after, you know, when I was training super hard that I was like uh, you know, passing out at client at sessions. So I was like, um, there's a point where it was getting bad. So I was like, okay, I have to stop this Adderall. So I stopped obviously for the summer because I don't need it because for school, I mainly use it just for school and stuff. And then this year during school year, I was trying to take it just during like the big assignments and stuff. So I think it's been a lot better this year. Okay. Um, instead of using it, you know, every school day, I'm using it, you know, only on the ones that I really need it. So I think that that's been super helpful. And, you know, it's still hard to eat lunch on, you know, it's an appetite suppressant, so I'm not hungry. It feels like I almost like want to throw up after eating lunch. So a lot of the days I'll like try to eat after school or something. I'll always try to eat before climbing, but sometimes if I don't, I'll just have a big dinner after once it's worn off. Um, but I mean during the summer I've been uh since school got out or since finals ended up eating, you know, a lot more. So it's definitely, especially during the summer, it's where I'll um focus. I mean, I try to focus, I try to have three meals a day during the school year, but it's it's pretty hard sometimes. So I think that that's definitely one of my weaknesses. It's what I really need to work on is my nutrition. So I think that, you know, it's not the end of the world if I have a even if it's just like a burger for lunch, like you know, not the healthiest thing, but um yeah, it's definitely like it's still gonna help me with my training. So yeah, and then when I do eat I try to eat pretty healthy. Um, you know, I always have like chicken or steak or you know, something, some I don't know, something with a lot of protein in it, and then um, you know, I'll try to stay away from you know Doritos and you know, like the processed food. Yeah. Um I'll try to stay away from that as much as I can. So I am definitely eating pretty healthy. Um, especially when I'm like getting like really into season. Like right now, I'm you know, I had, you know, a like yesterday, for example, I went to Village Baker and I got a veggie sandwich, and then for lunch I went to the farmer's market. Me and my friend uh Kai, we just got a bunch of like uh we got a baguette, we got some cheese, we got some berries, we got a bunch of um like meats and stuff, ate that for lunch in the park. Yeah, and that's um yeah, for dinner last night I made oh we made steaks and shrimp and uh and tacos and uh made corn. Yes. I'm trying to eat pretty healthy, yeah. Three meals a day, and especially when I'm training this much. Um my training.
SPEAKER_00You must have a big appetite.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, yeah, yeah. Especially in the summer when I'm you know out all day. Sure. I train in the morning for like some hours and then go out, go out to the river, you know, the sun drains your energy and um, you know, then you're um gotta eat. So I try to I try to stay pretty fueled.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, sounds like it. And what role does recovery play in your training and in your life?
SPEAKER_02Yeah, so um definitely with my sleep, I try to in during the school year, I try to be in bed by 10. Uh-huh. Um, because I'm waking up at seven in the morning to go to school, and then a lot of it's like, you know, all day I'm using my brain and you know, I need to have rest for that. Yeah. And after that, I undergo train for five hours. So I think especially during the school year, it's really important. And then in the summer where I have more flexible training times, I can either go train at night in the afternoon, you know, whatever. I don't have to go to school. I can go to training at 1 p.m. and I'll still, you know, I won't have to deal with going to school so I can sleep in. So it definitely my sleep schedule changes definitely a little bit in the summer. Right now it's um pretty good because I have nationals coming up. After nationals, it might get a little bit worse when I'm hanging out with friends a lot more. Yeah. Um, but or I guess after worlds in August, it will be. But um yeah, I try to try to be in bed pretty early um when I know I have to climb. Sure. If I have a rest day, you know, um, like if there's anything going on uh Saturday night, I'll I'll have Sunday is one of my rest days. Yeah. So I'll try to it alternates between Sunday and Tuesday rest days. So um Friday, uh Saturday night if something's going on. Sometimes I'll go out and hang out with friends. Yeah. Um and just train in the morning and then uh I may be able to sleep in and still get my sleep. But I think yeah, sleep is definitely one of the most important parts of uh training because I mean you need your rest. You're not gonna have a very good session if you don't.
SPEAKER_01Yeah. Yeah.
SPEAKER_00For someone who's only 18, you have learned so much already about sleep, nutrition, recovery, stress management, you know, the mental aspect of what you were talking about yesterday, you know, earlier with meditation, visualization. It's been an incredible journey, not just the physical component that you've needed to, you know, keep in check for this for all the climbing.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, for sure. I mean, it's obviously climbing has taught me a whole lot about pretty much every aspect of my life. And you know, I've learned learned a lot about myself through it.
SPEAKER_01Yeah.
SPEAKER_02And, you know, kind of what I like to do when I'm training, how I like to prepare myself. And I think those are super um useful skills for life, um, especially where I'm like, okay, I need to do this thing. Um, and it this is how I'm gonna prepare myself for that. Um, so I think it's definitely translates to a lot of my uh day-to-day life.
SPEAKER_00Um yeah, I think you're set.
SPEAKER_02Yeah. Yeah, really excited for the future.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, me too. I can't wait to follow your successes, Natty, and read about how you're gonna be doing over the next couple months. Yeah, for sure. Well, thank you so much for being here.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, thank you for having me.
SPEAKER_00Best of luck on nationals in one week.
SPEAKER_02Yep, in one week.
SPEAKER_00And then Europe.
SPEAKER_02Then Europe, Italy.
SPEAKER_00Amazing. Okay. Thank you very much, Natty.
SPEAKER_02Thank you for having me.
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