Cat Runner efforts Boys Don’t Cry (5.13a) in Siurana, Spain throughout the 2nd episode of The Climb. (HBO Max/Courtesy picture)
When Cat Runner reached the top of El Diablo — an overhanging limestone wall above the sea — in Mallorca, Spain, he won the eight-episode HBO rock climbing up reality program, “The Climb.”
On the program, which aired its ending in January, 10 amateur climbers contended for a $100,000 reward plus a one-year PrAna sponsorship. Contestants dealt with various climbing up difficulties, consisting of deep-water soloing: climbing up without a rope on sea-side cliffs like El Diablo.
But Runner’s success, while financially rewarding, can best be determined by accomplishing his objective of representing the trans neighborhood in an extremely noticeable method.
As a teen, Runner came out as a transgender man. He started taking testosterone however wasn’t enabled to use the kids’ group in high school sports. In 2015 he went through leading surgical treatment, or, chest masculinization — a treatment to eliminate breast tissue and contour the chest.
“That was the most pivotal moment of my transition,” he said in a February interview for outsideonline.com.
He defended the right to contend as a male for 2 years, till midway through his senior year, when he lastly got authorization. But already he had other dedications, which left little time for a token couple of months of sport. Climbing, nevertheless, was never ever far from his mind.
“Climbing is the only sport and movement that feels completely intuitive to me,” Runner, a 24 year-old from Louisville, Ky., informed me. He was presented to rock climbing up in 4th grade, however it wasn’t till he finished from high school when he began climbing up regularly, at his regional bouldering fitness center and his home crag, the world-famous Red River Gorge in Kentucky.
“After not participating in athletics or really any kind of movement for so long — first, because of growing pains and second, because of anti-trans sports restrictions — it was really exciting to find a way to move my body again in a way that was fun and felt empowering.”
Fast-forward to the last episode of “The Climb,” when Runner climbed up ropeless on All Cats Are Black in the Night (5.13a), a very challenging line with an insecure essence 35 feet above the Mediterranean Sea. He nailed the essence, then peaked El Diablo with an ear-to-ear smile.
“I’m very honored to be able to be a steward of the trans and queer community,” said Runner. But he warned, “It’s really important to remember that I am a single person. I am only sharing my experience and it is the responsibility of the viewer to not project my personal experience, my thoughts, my opinions on the entire trans community. We’re all different.”
Last month, Runner spoke on the Allies panel at the yearly No Man’s Land Film Festival (NMLFF) in Denver. As its name recommends, the NMLFF commemorates females and genderqueer individuals in experience movie, yet the Allies panel is a mate of guys and male-identifying folks who share ideas and address concerns.
During the panel conversation, Runner said, “I take male privilege and male perception very seriously and want to always be cognizant of how I’m utilizing that privilege… As someone who’s perceived as male and someone who, at times, identifies as male, I’m taken more seriously and people are more willing, more often, to turn to me for advice compared to more feminine people in the room.”
Runner was definitely in a unique position to discuss this concept, as Aisha Weinhold, Founder and Marketing Director of NMLFF, explained. “It is a rarity to move through the world as a woman and as a male, and I appreciate his awareness of how his place and space in the world has changed since transitioning.”
One thing Runner has actually explained is that his trans identity doesn’t specify him. On “The Climb,” they dove into Runner’s personal life in the 3rd episode, not right away, which enabled audiences to see his trans identity as simply one element of his life instead of the centerpiece.
“I don’t want to be the best trans climber. I just want to be a really good climber who happens to be trans,” said Runner. “My trans-ness affects my performance and how I come into this space, but it doesn’t affect the type of athlete I am.”
Contact Chris Weidner at [email protected] Follow him on Instagram @christopherweidner and Twitter @cweidner8.
