Climbers have always viewed self-promoters with disdain. The idea is that if you climb hard enough, you don’t need to promote yourself. The climbs would speak for themselves. Fame, attention, and professional opportunities reliably accrue to anyone who is able to “send the gnar,” to joke a Honnold-ism. And, perhaps most importantly, respect.
However, in the age of social media, old ideas about self-promotion seem all but obsolete. The idea that this is a crude display of greatness seems outdated among many climbers today. In fact, many seem to believe the opposite: that self-promotion is as necessary to being a good, respected climber as climbing itself. Failing to be a self-promoter is as stupid as avoiding resting on a knee bar on a pompous course because of a vague and ill-defined ethical code that you, and only you, care about.
Personally, I think it’s a bit reductive to argue either that self-promotion is always a good thing, or that it’s always bad and should be avoided like wet sandstone.
Self-promotion is a tool. There is nothing inherently bad in itself. This may be appropriate and helpful in achieving your goals, assuming those goals include fame, attention, and sponsorships. But it is also possible to achieve immense professional success while losing respect. This is largely the result of a broken climbing industry that cares more about bottom lines, impressions, and follower counts than merit, vision, risk, and creativity. Thus, we find ourselves in a world in which climbers can have extremely successful careers while having very little respect from their peers.
Self-promotion can take many forms. But this is not in itself a virtue. It’s not necessary. And criticism is certainly not forbidden. And if you receive criticism for…