Curious, a quick search revealed to me that TRP is eerily devoid of discussions on rock climbing. Exempting a handful of vague mentions in posts and comments re "Hobbies", it seems my favorite sport is something of an enigma to TRP.
So, the purpose of this post is to share with you the mysteries of vertical enlightenment and why (imo) this hobby relates so well to Red Pill principles. Here's why:
Climbing makes you more interesting. Since the late 80's, but especially within the last decade, rock climbing has rapidly proliferated in the US and across the world. Gyms and established crags are popping up everywhere. Despite this explosive growth, people outside of the 'outdoor class' (which is most people) tend to be unaware of this. Becoming a climber or involving yourself in any activity outside of the norm will make you seem exotic to the vast majority of women you encounter on a daily basis. Climbing will become a back-pocket conversation card, and a cheap, fun, kino-saturated Day+ date option. Not only will climbing make you more interesting, but...
You'll meet interesting people. One of the first things you learn when you enter the sport is that climbing is not for the lazy, the uncommitted, or those who quit easily. It's a tough sport, one that demands exceptional self-awareness, patience, and pain (considerable, at times). As such, the people you meet or interact with at the gym or the crag are often some of the most dedicated, critically-thoughtful, and motivated individuals you will run into. I know personally bankers, doctors, professional athletes, entrepreneurs, and even a few Navy SEALS that climb-- and when they do climb, they push themselves and those around them with the same intensity that propelled them to succeed in their professional lives. You'll also encounter the occosional lovable dirt bag living in their van by the crag, but its hard to knock those guys because they are boundlessly pursuing their passion, which is more than most can say. Dirt bags tell the best stories anyway. Regardless, you'll be surrounded almost always by outgoing, type-A people, and developing those relationships and friendships will make you that much more interesting.
Climbing raises your fitness. This one should be obvious, but climbing is most definitely a full-body workout. Climbing hard promotes exceptional core, leg, and upper body strength and hand-eye coordination. It's an excellent supplement to lifting (if you are not lifting, you should be). It will blast areas of the body that are regularly neglected by most gym routines, especially forearms and calves. It's more of an endurance burn (unless you are bouldering) and will help tone those areas immensely.
Lots of women climb. And they're hot. Climbing is something of a natural equalizer for men and women because its a sport that favors people with lighter builds and higher strength-to-weight ratios. Some of the hardest climbs in the world have been sent by women, so it's easy to see why this sport is particularly attractive outlet for the female sex. In my experience, female climbers typically ascribe to some form of Fempowerment^(TM) but even then most are far more interesting and easy to converse with than the girl who spends her free-time idly distracting herself with Netflix and television. Also from my experience (and many others like me) climbers love to fuck. If you need help getting to that point, go read the sidebar.
Climbing forces you to push boundaries. Physical boundaries. Mental boundaries. You will learn to conquer pain, and to use fear as a motivator to keep going. Yes, climbing is an inherently dangerous sport, and good climbers will learn to manage risk accordingly, but there is something intoxicatingly liberating about reaching the point-of-no-return and bailing off a route when the last clip was 20ft below. You will learn to trust yourself and the people you are climbing with. This mental toughness will translate fluidly over into other areas of life. You'll even learn to push social boundaries as well. Climbing has a unique culture, and with it comes a whole host of climbing customs and ethics and social dynamics. It's like learning a new language.
Climbing gives you an 'out'. As mentioned above, climbing is a mental sport. It will put you in your head and make you think critically. When you are deliberately imagining your next move, you're not thinking about all the other bullshit you have to do. You're in the zone. It will also give you an excuse to travel and see some truly amazing places. We spend too much goddamn time inside anyways, but if you are going to go out and see the world, why not see it from the top?
Climbing is incredibly easy to get into. Yes, climbing is a demanding sport, but it scales relative to experience. If you are honest with yourself about your level of experience and comfort in the sport, you will find that the learning curve is incredibly easily. Much of the technique comes intuitively, and people in the sport are often happy to help you improve. It's also relatively cheap. Gym memberships can be pricey, depending on the area (probably cheapest in mountain states), but most offer super cheap rental gear or you can buy your own shoes and harness for normally less than $40 used. Going to crags is free and if you are going with an experience person they will have most of the equipment you need (ropes, carabiners, belay devices, etc).
Climbing is a gateway activity to even more bad-assery. Like most high-altitude mountaineers, I got into this because at some point years ago a buddy took me out rock climbing with him. This is me, your buddy, telling you to take your ass to the climbing gym. I'm not here to jerk myself off but i'll just tell you I've been able to do some really cool shit because climbing was my passion and I let that passion drive my pursuit of other interests. You will better yourself immensely in the process, and some day down the road you may even get a good story out of it.
[EDIT] Based on the number of responses, i'm happily surprised to see that there are more climbers on this sub than I imagined.
As several commenters have rightly pointed out, bouldering (climbing much shorter problems, without a rope) requires much less of an initial investment and tends to be more social than ropes. Climbers often do both, but if you are unsure or just starting out bouldering might be a better place to make the jump.
Dycc 7y ago
Wish this was possible in the south...
OverTimeAgain 7y ago
I actually agree with everything you said.
I've been climbing at my campus rec center and I've gotten pretty good. It's excellent for all points mentioned. Also your grip strength becomes unreal. I can deadlift 365 double overhand no chalk etc now that I've been climbing
greatslyfer 7y ago
Man I just started deadlifting and the thing that's constantly been holding me back is my grip strength.
I tried two methods to increase it. The first being holding the last rep of the last set at the top for 10-15 seconds, and the second being white knuckling the bar (gripping it as hard as possible till your knuckles turn white).
Both have so far been ineffective, so frustrating.
[deleted] 7y ago
Get some fat grips and do your pushing barbell exercises with them.
OverTimeAgain 7y ago
Yeah the biggest things that increased my grip strength before rock climbing was weighted pull-ups and deadlifts. Also I have a manual labor job where I have to carry heavy shit.
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LastRevision 7y ago
I actually first went climbing over the weekend, and i can confirm all of that. It's a great addition to lifting/martial arts as it's an entirely different kind of workout where you're hitting muscles that your regular lifting routine may miss; it's definitely a whole body activity, and it'll strengthen your forearms/grip which can be difficult to work at the gym.
Getting to the top of the wall is also a hell of a thrill, even on the easier routes (I was able to conquer a 5.7 on my first day, but 5.8 kicked my ass in a way where I'm dying to get back on the wall and give it another go).
And, yeah, all the girls there were pretty damn cute too.
Highly recommended.
invisiblearmies 7y ago
And those cute girls love it when noobs come into the gym too. Especially if you're already fit. Asking for help on this or that technique or footwork let's the girls show off a bit and could easily land you with some digits.
cosine88 7y ago
Climbing saved my life.
I might not have actually died, but as a 19-year-old chubby kissless virgin neckbeard I was not living a good life.
I started climbing indoors to impress a couple of girls. I ended up toproping outside, then leading sport climbs, then got hooked on Yosemite. I got the bug hard.
I took a long trip to Yosemite, but still wasn't ready for El Cap. The fire burned, so I used my Christmas break from college to go climb that fucker in winter.
I climbed El Cap 7 more times after that. Personal record on the Nose is a bit over 9 hours, then went over and climbed the face of Half Dome.
After that I got hooked on ice climbing and alpine climbing. I wanted to toughen myself mentally, so I started free soloing some local 5.11's.
On a trip to the Alps, I fucked up and bivied in a crevasse without a sleeping bag or pad, just a stove and some dudes cuddling to stay alive. It was shitty but we did fine and no one got hypothermia or frostbite.
I got professionally sponsored, and took several trips to Alaska. I had some great successes climbing stuff like this, and then went to Denali and climbed that three times in a week.
That summer I went to Asia and tagged 7000m(23000ft), and topped that off with a more remote expedition where we failed to climb an unclimbed mountain in the Himalayas. The next people to attempt that mountain died.
Now I'm near 30 and will return to the Himalayas again and try something else also unclimbed.
By all means go bouldering. It is wonderfully athletic, but it will not ever grant you the richness that comes with doing risky versions of climbing.
Risking your life for an extended period of time has a truly calming effect on you when you return to safety. These days people don't appreciate the luxury of having relatively risk-free lives. Our ancestors had lives full of hardships and risks; now people don't want kids to play on wooden play structures because they are afraid of splinters.
The risk just makes life a little bit more beautiful.
Also every pussy I've gotten is at least partly because of my identity as a climber.
OhNoNowWhat 7y ago
This, a hundred times over. I haven't done nearly as much alpine mountaineering as this guy, but I was on a mountain team in the military and I've spent plenty of time in situations where any injury is going to be very serious and potentially life altering/ending.
There is nothing quite like the butthole puckering you get when you're 5 pitches up a 7 or 8 pitch climb and the blue skies and sunny weather disappears in an instant as storm clouds roll in from behind the mountain and you can smell the lightning in the air. You have no good options at that point. You're covered in metal and you're several hundred feet up in the air. Going down would take almost an hour, IF you're fast and going up would take even longer. All the skill and all the strength in the world won't save you from being fried by lightning at that moment.
Getting home after something like that and sitting on your couch with a cold beer in your hand, surrounded by warm, insulated walls and a never ending supply of domesticated electricity, that thing you were (just hours ago) terrified of in it's natural state, really makes you appreciate life.
PLUS, if you have even a modicum of storytelling skill, you can turn shit like that into great stories.
invisiblearmies 7y ago
Climbing is the greatest drug- you will never even feel the crash. Are you still climbing now?
cosine88 7y ago
Yes, but now my goals are so lofty that they will take a dedicated year to be in peak performance. And expeditions to unclimbed parts of Asia are very expensive.
Also, my career suffered while I was living the Fight Club life waiting tables and going on binges. Now my professional career is started, and at some point I will be able to sustain that life and not be scraping by.
In the meantime I do more fun climbing and participate in things like 24 hours of horseshoe hell.
I was also recently buried in an avalanche while backcountry skiing so I'm taking it easy for a little bit.
invisiblearmies 7y ago
I feel that. Had one of those "maybe it's time to chill" moments myself climbing Hood this past summer.
marin_guy 7y ago
I would add that surfing is a great red pill activity and similar to rock climbing on the relationship it provides you to nature and its elements. When you get really into it the ocean becomes your onetis.
logicalthinker1 7y ago
Nah, rock climbers are fucking weird. They're like athletic hippies.
[deleted] 6y ago
lmao this is so true with every climber I've ever met. Will say they get absolutely shredded - but really not the ideal body type. Very thin, lean muscle. However, that grip strength is unreal.
Certainly a good hobby to get into all things considered just don't become a weirdo
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cosine88 7y ago
I hope you also check out The Sharp End. In my opinion it's that film companies' best work.
GainzdalfTheWhey 7y ago
Anyone 6'5 and 220 lbs doing it?
WeightsNCheatDates 7y ago
Climbing is pretty badass. I've been to the gym in my city a few times, just to fuck around, but its always fun to watch the good people do it. And the chicks all have sexy, muscular backs.
Sounds like a good, challenging, fitness related hobby to me.
[deleted] 7y ago
i thought this sub reddit was about getting laid, not a guide on how to be a hipster
H2offroad 7y ago
I climb atleast 4 times a week. The amount of hot girls in there on a daily basis are crazy
wild_deer_man 7y ago
I was considering it too. Can climbing/bouldering replace lifting? Since it would be expensive and time consuming for me to do both.
l0vewins 7y ago
Lucky for me, my local climbing place also has a small fitness area with a bunch off free weights/racks and calinsthetics/crossfit equipment. Two in one, fuck yeah
gattacus 7y ago
Rock climbing is great. I have 13 years of experience, indoors and outdoors. I agree with most what OP said. There is one big issue though. Last year I started lifting more seriously and it is fun and successful journey so far. I gained a lot of wheight, mostly muscles. My BF is at ~13%. I am a tall guy. I gained 20 pounds from lifting in the last few month. currently at 215lbs. My climbing suffered tremendously because of that. Serious alpine climbing is also not really possible like this. Another issue as a tall and muscular guy is that you can not rope climb with the climbing chicks. The wheight difference is too big and it is too dangerous if she tries to belay me. So my climbing partners are mostly men, but that is ok as a male space.
But now I have to set priorities and loose wheight again for the coming outdoor season. So I have to reduce the lifting and muscle mass. That sucks.
[deleted] 7y ago
Did you mention when you climb with hot women you get to look at their asses for hours on end?
Good stuff. Part of my reason for choosing bodyweight fitness is the focus on pull-ups. I know skill/strength doesn't transfer over perfectly to climbing, but come summer I'll be lucky to climb once a week, and once a week is hardly enough to gain much skill at anything.
That said, there's nothing exotic about climbing in my neck of the woods (let's just say I'm an hour's drive from Eldorado Canyon)
cosine88 7y ago
Where the chalk flows like wine
x_Cheffy_x 7y ago
And the women instinctively flock like the salmon of Capistrana.
bashobt 7y ago
Do [insert any sport or serious hobby here] now! it's great. Just do something. Find a passion. Life is short.
casemodsalt 7y ago
Women hate literally all of my hobbies.
eylizo 7y ago
Fuck em'. Literally and figuratively. Who the hell do you need to impress? No one. Do your hobbies that you find fun and hang out with people who actually enjoy them.
FormlessAllness 7y ago
I disagree weight lifting and a legit martial arts are much more necessary.
tedcase 7y ago
Rock Climbing is pretty much the only hobby I have left that isn't ruined by fat fucks.
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RedMoonAscendant 7y ago
You joke, but if you're smart, hit up SpaceX. You can be an astronaut, and there are some nice climbing gyms down there, too.
jtzabor 7y ago
Oh dude. I astronaut all the time!
Marsupian 7y ago
Nah its different people finding different ways to success and getting excited enough to profess its awesomness to us.
Find your own path with your own combination of career/sports/social paths. It doesn't matter whether you dance, play rugby or climb as long as you are doing something you love.
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epistemic_humility 7y ago
Does one need to be in certain geographic locations to get into bouldering?
ie do I need to move to the mountains?
jb_trp 7y ago
I've climbed for years and it's my favorite. I train indoors 2-3x/week and get outside on weekends and vacations. I've done everything from bouldering, to sport climbing, trad and bigger alpine walls. It's a great hobby.
Yes, there are cute girls at the gym who climb. And yes, climbing makes for good Tinder pictures and there are a lot of non-climbing women that are impressed by the fact that you climb. But, I don't date the women from the climbing gym (or else it would take a lot for me to want to thinking vetting a girl at the gym for an LTR was a good idea). It's because I don't want anything to affect my climbing (i.e. don't shit where you live).
kbreezy04 7y ago
Definitely correct about rope climbing taking a toll on the forearms...I added about 15 pounds of muscle and then went back to climbing...I just stick to 5.11- because anything more burns me out too bad.
smartengineer93 7y ago
I boulder. Not as much as I should, but I got once every two weeks or so. Struggling to make time for it. I picked it up easily and was doing double dynos inside of two months.
I agree with the weightlifting. I never realized how important forearms were until I got into bouldering.
Membership is 40 a month. Gear: 11 for gallon of chalk, 10 for bag, 80 for shoes.
benefit111 7y ago
So cheap! It's $100pm here in Sydney, Australia and does not include gear and chalk...
Flynn-Lives 7y ago
100% true. I love climbing but it wrecks my lifting schedule if I don't substitute it for a pull day or go more than once a week. Same with wrestling and I'm still not sold on trading out my pull days for them.
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Flynn-Lives 7y ago
Nothing wrong with prioritizing different things but it's impossible to climb often enough to be good without consistently fucking up your split. If you're a scrub though I guess it doesn't matter.
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cosine88 7y ago
This is excellent - I don't climb just to get women. I hope you can see that both activities have some similar benefits, and each have some unique. Climbing's uniqueness comes from dealing with the risk factor, which becomes more and more pronounced as you get into more adventurous forms of it.
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budguy68 7y ago
This is actually a pretty good idea. Would you recommend being able to do X amount of pull ups first or something?
LastRevision 7y ago
Find a nice place and give it a try; the difficulty, I think, is more in your grip strength more than anything, but I think a noob should be able to get through the easier routes.
cosine88 7y ago
No, just be prepared to not be that good at it for a little while.
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I_AM_CALAMITY 7y ago
No prereqs. If anything, it's a good way to get you from 0 or 1 pullups to actually be able to finish a set because your legs are able to help most of the time.
dudet23 7y ago
Rock climbing is a meme activity at this point. Its overpopulated by betas and nerds. I know I sound silly saying that, but its true. Hipsters LOVE rock climbing. There are so many UNATHLETIC losers that think they are athletic because they memorize how to scurry up walls. Its also boring as all fuck. I am refering to indoor climbing walls, not ACTUAL rock climbing which is essentially an extreme sport that very few people do.
I will stick with my basketball and field sports, thanks.
DoctorBees69 7y ago
It could be argued that pulling yourself up a wall requires more strength/technique than running up and down a field. To each their own.
disgruntledearthling 7y ago
Everything gets degraded with popularity
[deleted] 7y ago
19M freshman I seem to hang from my hands, and that exhausts me way to fast. Started climbing last semester, looking for ways techniques to improve my balance on the wall.
topothebellcurve 7y ago
I have started rock climbing at the local place, and i can confirm. Its awesome. No fat women for obvious reasons. They are wearing leggings. They are doing stretching/reaching moves above you while expecting you to keep a close eye on them as you belay them. Oh, and the one i go to has ladies' night on thursdays, which is when my buddy and i go.
SocialistRetard 7y ago
lol your first point is "because it makes you interesting"
Why the FUCK would I want to do something not of enjoyment for myself but for acceptance of others' opinions?
Fuuuuck you.
Asullex 7y ago
Those aren't mutually exclusive , you should definitely do what you enjoy, but it's also nice if it increases your social value.
Go rock climbing or bouldering , it's great. If you want to ditch the idea because it makes you interesting in people's eyes , well you do you
[deleted] 7y ago
I just posted about it yesterday in the "date ideas for young plates" thread, good topic to expound on. Nice.
disposable_pants 7y ago
Another benefit -- although this is shared by any sport -- is that it gives you an added motivation to get in better shape. Lifting can be a grind, eating well can be a challenge, and it's easy to let both slide if you're getting laid regularly and start to think about the trade off between more time spent on those activities and more time spent elsewhere. But a sport like climbing gives you other external goals to help keep you focused.
refusewool 7y ago
Have you tried bouldering? What's your opinion on it?
They both appeal to me but bouldering seems slightly more convenient since you don't need harnesses and can do it alone if need be.
a_nus 7y ago
Yes, it's more convenient. The problems generally require more strength as well, so you'll likely get stronger bouldering.
disposable_pants 7y ago
Bouldering has a number of benefits:
Top rope and sport are definitely the way to go if you want to take it outside (and you do, because outdoor climbing is fucking awesome), but bouldering is an excellent way to hone your skills and capitalize on the social aspect of the sport.
invisiblearmies 7y ago
I'd agree with all of this.
This is a great point, one I often overlook when talking about climbing. From an RP lens, I should point out that it's fucking impossible to flirt with someone when you're climbing or belaying ropes.
RedMoonAscendant 7y ago
You're doing it wrong. There are always single girls coming over from the bouldering section to check out the top-roping. Ask her if she needs a belay.
Is this really that difficult? I've picked up numerous chicks in the top-roping section this way.
xXDragonrage 7y ago
Personally I enjoy going up more than bouldering. Yes bouldering requires no equipment and is "safer" but that kinda takes the fun out of it. While I haven't been to an outdoor spot yet I grew up climbing indoors. Getting to the top of the wall (not just the top rock but touching the top of the wall) was always the goal, and it is way more rewarding then getting across a wall.
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disgruntledearthling 7y ago
The only time I really got hurt was when I popped a tendon on left-hand middle finger on a B3. Out for 3 months and never really go back into it. Being 55 at the time may have contributed to that injury though ;)
xXDragonrage 7y ago
That's why safer is in quotes. If you use the right equipment it's virtually impossible to get hurt even doing lead. Bouldering is generally safe at least to start with because you're not high up, it's a short fall and in gyms all you're landing in is a soft material.
[deleted] 7y ago
....and hard climbing is safer than easy climbing. Lots of shit to hit on a 5.4, but nothing but air below on a 5.11 (I've topped at 5.7 haha)
disgruntledearthling 7y ago
True dat! I remember taking falls on a 5.10 face. Fun stuff. Wouldn't want to repeat that on an overhang. Did one - never again.
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PissedPajamas 7y ago
Thanks for reminding me about bouldering OP. I've been lifting 5x a week and neglected this badassery cause the nearest climbing gym is 40 mins away. I'll try to get back on the wagon
Akela_hk 7y ago
I've been interested in it for quite some time, but considering my time spent on the race track and competitive shooting, I think I'm using up my luck quota...
casemodsalt 7y ago
I'm gonna start out by urban rock climbing.
It involves climbing over easy to navigate structures in urban areas. Such as Ada ramps, stairs and low level things such as dumpsters and containers.
disgruntledearthling 7y ago
I started in the 80's when there were no sissy indoor gyms ;) There's a big difference between a real rock face and an indoor climbing gym - people should do both.
Leading will also develop your self-reliance. I remember plenty of do-or-die moves that I still think back on 30 years later when confronted with a non-climbing stressful issue. Current issues usually pale in comparison.
Oh yeah, and it does wreck your body if you go hard all the time.
BlitzGo 7y ago
It won't be exotic when everyone starts doing it : P
Also, the city I grew up in is being gentrified and rock climbing gyms are popping up all over the place abd hipsters are raving about em'!
Also, I want to do it because I hear it boosts grip strength
Marsupian 7y ago
Climbing is awesome but most sports and a lot of other hobbies are. Thats why we arent discussing climbing.
Good post but you could have dropped the intro bit. Also someone do an advertisement for Rugby next please.
Toussant 7y ago
Tried one couple years ago, women were outdoorsy types with sun-beaten skin, the ones whose ages were 8 years younger than your guesses. Maybe just need to try another location.
JFMX1996 7y ago
Definitely going to try it out. Where I live the scene is full of crags and trails to hit up. I've always enjoyed hitting up the trails but never actually thought about climbing. Will definitely start getting into it. Gonna try to buy one of those things you install over a door frame to build finger strength, haha.
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JFMX1996 7y ago
Good looking out.
Saved me from breaking all my fingers.
Katavasis 7y ago
What's up with climbing IN the gyms and not out in the wild? And why is this so popular in America?
Metalgear222 7y ago
As someone who used to compete nationally for climbing, it is the absolute best hobby/extreme sport I ever picked up. OP is correct in how hot some of these women are that climb. Lets not forget most gyms allow you to climb shirtless (it keeps you cool too). OP is also correct in how easy it is to meet people. It's especially easy when you and another are working the same problem/route. You just help each other out with beta (technique for a send) and spot each other like you would in a gym.
Lastly, there IS something primal to climbing. Tapping into the inner monkey I like to call it. Our bodies are MEANT to climb things. It feels good to reach the top of something. Great life lessons all around.
Ontop1 7y ago
Started out about six years ago. I go cool places do cool things and meet new people. I have a back like brad pit and forearms made of stone with a never ending grip. Fuck I gained 2.5 ring sizes.
[deleted] 7y ago
I suggest nofap for the first time ever.
jseph1234 7y ago
/u/invisiblearmies Nice write up and gets me thinking about hitting some rocks here in beautiful Arizona soon. Thanks!
abdada 7y ago
Climbing chicks are the social opposite of swing dancing SJWs, too. Lots of libertarians and shit. Great crowd.
TheElite3740 7y ago
Nah you're alright. Seems like a sport for autistic people
jleyteja 7y ago
Been climbing for 5 years now. Can totally relate to this. The sport is filled with attractive people both physically and personality wise. Mental toughness is key, especially for sport and lead climbing. Plus doesn't matter how fit you are, unless your a gymnast you're going to discover muscles you didn't even know you had...
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jtzabor 7y ago
and they wont say no, because of the implication?
anonymau5 7y ago
It's brutal on your fingers. Musicians, proceed with caution.
Trump_for_Ayatollah 7y ago
Plus when you climb your forearms get stronger so you can finger bang women even better, ups your game as it were.