About Lillian Chao-Quinlan

Lillian Chao-Quinlan is a climber in her early 50’s who is also the president of Sportrock Climbing Centers in Virginia. She began climbing when she was 30 years old and soon realized it was what she wanted to spend her life doing and teaching, so she quickly moved up the ranks at her gym, landing in the role of president. In the past 17 years, she’s worked tirelessly to make Sportrock an inclusive, high quality climbing gym where her employees and gym members can thrive.

A few years ago, Lillian realized that she’d sent 43 5.13’s, so she resolved to climb 50 5.13’s by the time she was 50 years old. In this interview she describes how she was able to surpass that goal, and what she has learned through her years of climbing and running a large climbing gym. Her mindset with climbing–and life in general–is applaudable and her devotion to personal growth is calculated and inspirational.

In this talk we discussed the mental and physical tactics she used to send her first 5.13d at the age of 49 and to reach her goal of 50 5.13’s by 50, her mnemonic strategies she uses in her everyday life to learn and grow, and how the pandemic has affected her and her businesses. Basically, Lillian bestows upon us the wisdom she’s meticulously cultivated through the years, and I’m so happy I was able to have this talk with her 🙂

Lillian Chao-Quinlan Interview Details

• How her former career as a teacher has transferred to her job as president of Sportrock
• The result of her goal to send 50 5.13’s by the age of 50
• “Do one thing well, do all things well,” a life motto from her mother
• How running a company of over 200 people gives you perspective on clibming
• Questions she asks herself before and during hard climbs
• Her “why” for climbing and how it’s evolved over the years
• “Every day is a bonus day for all of us” wisdom from her father
• REACH – Her mnemonic for self-growth everyday
• How to continue to make Sportrock excellent in industry and not fall into a competitive mindset
• The pivotal moment in her life when a teacher told her she was not smart
• Her perspective on age in climbing, and her climbing goals going forward

Show Links

• Instagram for Sportrock @sportrock
• Sportrock website: www.sportrock.com
• Video on her being president of Sportrock and her upbringing as a 1st generation Taiwanese American
• Article about Lillian
• Rock & Ice Article about Lillian doing 50 5.13’s by age of 50

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