EP 172: Brittany Leavitt — Seeking Change in Climbing, Unmasking, and Top Lessons From Teaching Kids

Brittany Leavitt is a climber, backpacker, educator, and the co-founder and CEO of Brown Girls Climb (BGC). We talked about Brittany’s climbing origin story, her unique family upbringing, unmasking and educating about race, teaching kids at the Smithsonian, the mission of BGC, creating more accessible spaces, lessons from her first road trip, using TikTok to stay informed, climbing goals, inspiration, and much more.

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Show Notes:  

thenuggetclimbing.com/episodes/brittany-leavitt

Nuggets:

0:05:20 – Working from home, and having a home office

0:07:38 – Why hasn’t Brittany taken the leap to traveling and climbing full-time while working remotely

0:10:20 – Being within community, and Brittany’s dream of part-time vanlife

0:15:15 – Brittany’s climbing origin story

0:20:24 – Outdoor Afro

0:21:04 – Brittany’s unique family dynamic, and having accessibility to the outdoors

0:24:06 – Unmasking, adoption as a trauma experience, and educating her family

0:31:00 – Protecting your own energy, giving space, and knowing when it’s worth it to argue with someone

0:34:25 – Family holiday recitals, and Brittany’s guitars

0:37:45 – The crossover of art and climbing, and singing around the campfire

0:40:12 – Wanting to be an educator, and teaching at the Smithsonian

0:46:33 – Musical theater with the kids

0:50:01 – Learning patience and empathy from working with kids

0:52:05 – Teaching life lessons through climbing, and working with community kids

0:54:15 – How to decide what to say yes to, and passing ideas on to someone else

0:58:25 – How Brown Girls Climb got started, and what it has become

1:06:26 – The mission of Brown Girls Climb

1:07:21 – What it feels like to have a space with people who share your experience

1:15:09 – Patron question from Adam: How can we make climbing events (like the Rendezspew and International Climbers Festival) more accessible to diverse communities?

1:24:11 – Brittany’s road trip to Bishop and Red Rocks in 2019, and writing a piece for Patagonia

1:30:27 – What Brittany wishes she had known before the trip, planning which gas stations to stop at, and safety considerations

1:35:11 – Favorite non-climbing memories from the trip, visiting famous movie locations, and first-time van living

1:41:55 – Doing her first highball boulder, and favorite climbing memories from her trip

1:44:37 – Brittany’s advice for folks who want to go on their first climbing road trip

1:50:01 – Brittany’s climbing goals in Rumney and The Gunks

1:52:32 – Mountain climbing and adventure goals

1:54:24 – Who inspires Brittany

1:57:28 – What Brittany wishes people understood more and spent more time thinking about

1:59:18 – Getting her news from TikTok

2:05:17 – Wrap up and what’s next for Brittany