Hi, I’m Mat! I am a UK based professional rock climber and coach, specialising in bouldering, sport climbing, and trad.

I started climbing at 16, and instantly knew that I wanted to take this sport as far as I could. After a few years of dedicated training, I climbed my first 9a “Hubble”, at Raven Tor - a famous limestone crag in the Peak District, that is home to many historical test-pieces.

After “Hubble”, I turned my attention to bouldering, and soon climbed a dream project of mine “Serenata” - a problem at the aptly named “Impossible Roof”, given the grade of font 8C. “Serenata” caused me to re-evaluate what I thought I was capable of physically, and before long I had begun the search for a new challenge, though this time my goal was something a little different…

During 2022, I met my partner Anna Taylor and moved up to the Lake District to be with her. Whilst there, I set my sights on Neil Gresham’s “Lexicon” - a steep, bold and exposed trad climb on the intimidating cliffs of Pavey Ark, given E11 7a (a grade that at the time seemed a long way out of my league!).

I knew that if I wanted to climb “Lexicon”, I would need to put myself through a hard trad apprenticeship first, so over the next few months I explored this style of climbing that I’d only ever dabbled in previously. I trained my head game with a handful of extremely bold climbs such as “Bad Life Choices” (E7) in Glen Nevis, “Priceless” (E7) in Chapel Style, and “Disorderly Conduct” (E8) at Reecastle. I then had my first taste of combining bold climbing with a long, pumpy endurance route, with a repeat of “Achemine” (E9), at Dumbarton Rock.

After all this, I felt as if my experience of trad was just about enough to allow me to at least have a look at “Lexicon”, so I did just that, and surprised myself when a month or so later, I found myself tied in on the sharp end, about to embark on the hardest ascent of my career. The next 15 minutes were some of the most intense of my life, but I succeeded, and knew in that moment that trad was undoubtedly my favourite style of climbing!

After “Lexicon”, I travelled around the UK, searching for first ascents that would test me in multiple different ways. The highlight routes from this period, such as “Bohemian” (E7/8) at Ardnamurchan, “Black Thistle” (E10) in Glen Nevis, and “Magical Thinking” (E10) at Pavey Ark, were all part of a film called “Hard Git”, made by Alastair Lee for the 2023 edition of BritRock.

My life has changed a lot since discovering trad, and I now live up in Scotland, a stones throw away from the Highlands, where I enjoy climbing more than anywhere else in the world. Travelling away from the main honeypot climbing areas of the UK has developed my adventurous side, and I have grown a much bigger appreciation for my surroundings than I ever had before, to the point where I even enjoy a non-climbing trip occasionally, (in 2023 Anna and I spent a wonderful two months cycle-touring around Tasmania!).

Climbing has been the foundation upon which I have built the life I lead, and I am passionate about sharing the knowledge and experience I have gained over the years with others, through coaching. I believe that there is a lot more to being a strong climber than fingerboard statistics - in my opinion, technical skills and mental tactics are just as (if not more) important. I pride myself on tailoring my coaching strategy to the individual needs of each client I have, so if you are struggling, or can’t break free of a performance plateau, then please get it touch - I would be happy to help!