Nathan Cando
Nathan lives in Canmore, Alberta (Boulder North, or the “real” center of the universe), where he works as a landscape contractor for six months of the year. He travels the world the other (colder) six, filming and climbing as much as he can. His favorite crag is Tasmania - the entire island – and lovingly calls it “The best rock on the planet”.
His film exploits have taken him across Canada, the USA, Mexico, Australia, Tasmania, India, Sri Lanka, and Thailand (the setting of his current film Koh Tao: Adventure Climbing in Thailand). “I try to film in places that offer climbers the entire package,” says Nathan. “Places of culture, great climbing, quality of lifestyle, and inexpensive living”. He considers himself an amateur filmmaker because “Professional would indicate one makes a living from it.” He confesses that “making rock climbing films is a labor of love, and, unless you have serious financial support, you gotta play cameraman, soundman, editor, web/graphic designer, advertiser/distributor, marketer, etc.”
These days Nathan is psyched on surfing, big wall aid climbing, and installing a new climbing gym in his house. To find out more about his films visit: www.fanaticalfilms.com
Andy Outis
Andy was once a promising young sport climber who subsisted on a diet of brown rice and raw oats (back when that type of thing was acceptable). He had sponsors, a top 10 national comp ranking, and wore bad lycra (back when that type of thing was fashionable). Andy even had a climbing ‘zine called “Crank!” a Xeroxed rag that predated your blog by 15 years. Then he dropped from the face of the climbing Earth faster than a boulderer who misses the dyno at the top of a highball.
Seduced by a life of petty crime and vandalism, he became a notorious graffiti writer, using the skills learned as a climber to burn the baddest rooftops in the Bay. He was later in a rap group and rocked many stages with the Bay Area Art Collective, a small army of emcees you’ve probably never heard of.
At some point along the way, Andy went to school for graphic design, and was hired to redesign Climbing Magazine when it was bought by our publisher, Skram Media, last year. He is now the Art Director of Climbing. Andy has also started climbing again, although his expectations of stardom are much lower, since, he says, “I ain’t eatin’ no damn oats anymore!”
Andy now lives in Brooklyn, a block away from where Biggie Smalls grew up. “And if you don’t know, now you know…”
