Elliott Nguyen says that as a second-generation Vietnamese-American, queer, transgender climber, when he first started climbing he didn’t meet many people who looked like him. But, he found a sense of belonging in the adaptive climbing community.

Elliott is often on the podiums of both National and World Para Climbing Championships, and is on the board of ParaCliffhangers. He's also a grad student in social work at UC Berkeley, and hopes to work in mental health counseling focusing on the healing power of outdoor recreation.

Elliott has a degenerative motor neuron disease that can make dynamic climbing moves difficult. And with the spasticity caused by this condition, he is no stranger to "Elvis-legging" on a route. In fact he says, sometimes he's just "Elvis-legging through life". But, more importantly, he's found a style of climbing that suits his movement -- trad climbing. We'll pick up the conversation with Elliot describing how he got into trad and why it's such a good fit for him. 

You can follow him on IG with:@nguyen.elliott

Elliott helps to run the Touchstone Chapter of ParaCliffhangers. Watch a video about the program here.

 

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