“Where I’m from, there are no rock climbers. I was the first ice climber from my ‘hood. I’m the first big-mountain climber from my ‘hood.”
Hailing from Memphis, Malik Martin’s upbringing exposed him to the harsh realities of urban life, witnessing shootings, robberies, and even killings. Now he utilizes his climbing skills to introduce people of color to the outdoors. There aren’t many mountaineers where Malik Martin grew up in South Memphis. His parents were drug addicts, “victims of the crack epidemic,” as he puts it. He was adopted at age 2. A cousin was killed at 18.
“I can’t imagine my life without being able to go to Chautauqua and hike,” said Martin, who lives in Capitol Hill. “If I feel bad, I drive to Winter Park. Movement is my medicine, and I need to be able to recreate. It is fun, but that’s not why I’m doing it. I’m doing it for healing. I’m doing it to feel alive again. I’m doing it to reignite my passions.”
“Malik is such a multi-talented and interesting character who has found his way in the sport of rock climbing, a sport that’s not always been welcoming , but he has developed a strong following,” said Jon Dorn, chief entertainment officer for Outside Interactive Inc., which is organizing the festival. “He’s done it on his own terms. He’s done a really good job of getting to the human aspects of what it means to be a new face in the outdoor category, and to chart your own path.
“But just imagine if you were immersed in it,” Martin continued. “What does that do for your health? I’ve lived a quite traumatic life. At this point in my life, I can run to the mountains for leisure, to rest, to escape. I want more and more Black and brown people to be able to have those same type of experiences, to feel safe, to know what peace is, to hear the silence of snow.”
“I’m never more living in the moment than in those crucial crux problems,” Martin said. “Being the way I’ve lived my life, the things that I’ve been through, helps me compete on the mountain. I’m able to climb the things that I’ve climbed, and go on the expeditions I’ve been on, because I understand how to work through turmoil, how to push through pain and suffering, because climbing is kind of like learning how to suffer and be OK with it.
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