Free soloing is considered by many to be the purest form of climbing, just you and the wall without the safety of ropes. Whelp David Fusté will do you one better because he likes to leave behind more than just ropes when he free solos….he goes butt naked (doesn’t even climbing wear shoes). Not only does David prefer the unencumbered freedom of naked climbing, he embraces the challenge of not using a chalk bag (not sure where you’d keep it if you brought some along on a nude climb). David likes to envision himself as an animal in search of food or a nest when he climbs, doffing the threads gets him closer to that vibe. This dude is wild.
David recently signed on a sponsorship deal with Tenaya Climbing and his comments are beautiful. Humble dude, does it for the love of the sport:
Today I signed again with Tenaya Climbing . And I will be very honest, I don’t know why they wanted me to do that. I did not ask for it, I feel I don’t deserve it as I cannot give them back what they are giving to me. I am not a strong climber, I only climb because it is beautiful, I like climbing barefoot, and when they asked me what I needed, I said a parachute. And still, here they are with me. When people ask me if I am sponsored by Tenaya, I only dare to say that they are my friends, and that I would anyway buy their climbing shoes because they are vegan and they fit perfectly in my feet. And this is not a fake sponsorship post, it is just a real thank you 🐸
Images from david_fuste_vilella IG