2025 marked two years of The Impact Driver Podcast; that is 26 episodes, 30 guests, over 80 hours of raw audio, and countless more hours of producing and editing. As the host of the show, I want to take this opportunity to thank you—our readers, listeners and guests—for making the podcast possible; whether you’ve been with us since episode one or if you just started listening, I’m glad you’re here. I also want to share a few reflections on these past two years.
It feels like the world is more complicated today than it was two years ago, and as much as I want to believe that the climbing and setting community is insulated from it all, it’s not. We are a reflection of the world around us. It doesn’t surprise me to find out that Ruth Jang’s episode on collaboration and collective authorship is our most popular routesetting episode of the year. I think as we navigate an increasingly chaotic world, we are reaching out to each other for support, and this episode almost feels like a blueprint for doing so.
Ruth frames collaboration in a way that I haven’t been able to shake since recording the episode. She emphasizes that true collaboration isn’t about everyone agreeing or taking direction from the comp chief without argument; it’s about authenticity, curiosity, and showing up as our true selves while working toward a shared goal.
If I ask any of our listeners what their goals are for the industry or routesetting profession, I will get a unique set of answers. But I’m willing to bet that many of our different answers, at their core, share a commonality of improving ourselves and improving our community.
Within the routesetting community, there are so many of us who want to improve our craft; who want to see more faces within the setting industry that represent the changing demographic of the climbing community; who want to see the industry succeed and innovate, not just for the sake of our work life improving but to bring this wonderful sport to more people who would benefit from it; who want to see the highest levels of competition climbing and setting get pushed; who want to see citizen comps bring the community together.
When you look at some of these goals that are bigger than us as individual setters, the idea of actually achieving them can feel daunting—even impossible. There is no consensus on how we can do it together, with our different visions and approaches. When I feel hopeless, I think about this episode and how Ruth frames this chaos as the beauty of collaboration. It’s not about getting so-and-so to agree with me but about bringing myself to the table as I am: a routesetter and a nerdy journalist. My co-workers, comp chiefs and crewmates will bring themselves to the table as they are. Ruth says that this mix of authenticity and individuality, from which something new and exciting can emerge, is the very foundation of true collaboration.
So yes, I find myself listening back to this episode during tough setting days. And I find myself thinking about the true meaning of collaboration and how I can bring a little bit of that meaning, through my day-to-day interactions, into an industry that has changed from a fringe job to a skilled labor profession.
When Scott first approached me with the idea of turning our Behind the Wrench written interviews into a podcast almost three years ago, I was excited but apprehensive. Aside from listening to a few podcasts myself, I had no knowledge of how anything worked. What followed was months of googling and pestering people I knew who worked in audio. I don’t know what I thought would happen, but I never imagined it would become what it is today.
Scott, Naomi and Joe were the best soundboards as we tried to decide what CBJ’s routesetting podcast would look and sound like, the topics we wanted to explore, the people we wanted to invite on as guests. I can’t thank them and you—our listeners—enough for making The Impact Driver Podcast what it is.
I’m excited for the changes coming down the pipeline in 2026, and I’m excited about all the setters I’ll get to chat with next.
Happy holidays, and we’ll see you in the new year!
– Holly Chen, Host of The Impact Driver Podcast at CBJ
No One Sets Alone: Collective Authorship – CBJ Podcast with Ruth Jang
Today’s episode brings Ruth Jang to the show. Ruth was a routesetter at Central Rock Gym in Atlanta, Georgia; now she is the Head Setter at Tension, a position she stepped into after this interview was recorded. Ruth first picked up setting as a bucket list challenge and because she saw a gap in the gym: not enough entry-level, competition-style boulders for people to learn from and enjoy. Her thought? “Why not infiltrate from the inside and learn from the best?” Before she knew it, she was pulled into the gravity of the setting world. Today, Ruth is a USAC Level 3 routesetter and set her first national event last June. She’s also set for citizen comps, like Method Underground. Before setting, Ruth came from a background in academia and biomedical research, where she studied stem cells and the opioid epidemic. Ruth shares wisdom from both her academic and setting backgrounds on this week’s podcast, diving into nuances around team dynamics in routesetting and much more.
General Topics Covered
- How a negative became a positive: Ruth’s unusual introduction to climbing
- An Eastern versus Western approach to team dynamics: collective and individual identity
- What is true collaboration in routesetting?
- The similarities between team sports and routesetting
- Communication and how it can change team dynamics
- Poetry and routesetting
- Handling arrogance in the setting industry
Show Notes
- Find Ruth Jang on Instagram
- Find Ruth’s poems, Logic of the Woods—all proceeds go toward the Southeastern Climbing Coalition (SCC) and Training Indonesians for Transition to Institutional Programs (TITIP).
- Central Rock Gym
- What is Futsal?
- The difference between Eastern and Western (collective versus individualistic). Further readings:
- How East and West think in profoundly different ways, David Robson, BBC
- Cultural differences are far more nuanced than East vs West, Matt Hudson, Psyche
- “I think, therefore I am.”
- Resources and further reading on Eating Disorders:
Closing Notes
If you’d like to nominate someone as a next guest, have a topic you want to see us tackle, or have questions, we’d love for you to reach out here.
The Impact Driver podcast is a production of the Climbing Business Journal. Today’s episode is sponsored by Essential Climbing and Trango. It was edited and produced by Holly Yu Tung Chen, Scott Rennak, and the team at CBJ. Our theme music is by Devin Dabney.
