Matt Grunewald

ABOUT:

I’m From Port Elizabeth, a coastal city in South Africa. I moved to Ontario in 2022 to work as a route setter and coach. 
I started climbing in 2018 and fell in love with the sport. As much as I enjoy competition climbing, I get the most joy from spending days at the crag. 

Q&A:

Who is your favorite climbing/running/skiing partner and why?

I’m happy to climb with anyone that is passionate about climbing! However, my parents are probably the most special partners to me as they learnt to belay just to spend more time with me. 

What was the first La Sportiva product you tried?

The first Sportiva product I ever used was the Solution and it continued to be my go to shoe for quite a while. 

What are your 5 proudest moments? 

This is a hard question for me as I don’t like having to pick these sort of things. 

The first time I represented South Africa at an international competition is definitely one of them. 

The handful of first accents around my hometown are really meaningful to me. 

One of my proudest moments would be moving to Canada by myself and pushing myself out of my comfort zone. 

Being involved in the start of the climbing club and build of the climbing gym at my high school stands out as something I’m proud of. 

One of my proudest accents would have to be ‘Light Between Shades’. It became more of a mental battle than physical one, which I believe made clipping the chains so much more meaningful than any other route. 

What are your 3 favorite LaSpo Products?

Futura
Skwama
Bushido ll GTX

What is your Ape Index? 

+4 inches