John Willard
Guest Guide
John was born in Singapore but moved to the state of Massachusetts in 2000 at the age of 5 and is the youngest of 6 boys. Moving to the United States is where his love of sports and athletic activities began. Playing football for 10+ years, he got the chance to understand what being a part of a team meant and learned many life lessons through the sport. Hardwork and determination are ingrained into his DNA.
Coming from a low income family, outdoor activities such as climbing, hiking, snowboarding, mountaineering, etc. was out of the question as a youth. It wasn’t until the age of 13 where John fell in love with the outdoors when he got his first snowboard. This began his journey of understanding there’s more to life and being outdoors was the answer. Climbing didn’t come into the picture until an intro to climbing course in college by his college professor, Dr. Benjamin Mirkin. As John was signing up for classes, Ben said “you look like a climber, you should sign up” and John went with it and got instantly hooked. The physical and mental aspects of climbing is what John loves the most about climbing. Being able to understand the risks and ways to mitigate them is what makes climbing such an amazing sport, activity, or hobby. It helps you to tap into your brain and understand that your brain can be your worst enemy. Telling yourself you can’t do something puts a limit on what can be done! John is a big advocate for continuing education and will continue to gain certifications through the American Mountain Guides Association (AMGA).