Interview with Alexander Megos: I'm not a social media man

The rumor mill was seething at the beginning of the year. Alexander Megos parted with numerous sponsors. Where is he going Why is he leaving his longstanding sponsors? Today it is clear where the journey was going: To Petzl. We talked to Alexander about his motivations and life as a professional climber.

At the turn of the year 2020/2021 you separated from several sponsors, including Sterling Ropes, DMM and Red Bull. “For personal reasons”. Can you do this something

Over the past few years I've just realized that Red Bull is not the right sponsor for me. Hence the change.

Everyone was wondering where you are going. Today it is clear: to Petzl. What brought you to Petzl?

Petzl approached me almost ten years ago through the German athlete manager and came up to me with a very good offer for a long-term partnership. At that time, however, I wasn't ready to replace my first sponsor, the DMM. Nevertheless, Petzl has shown interest over the years. In the end, however, what moved me to go to Petzl is that it is a family business and has been working with athletes for many years. It's more of a family than a business relationship and that's how it should be. That's what makes sport.



You have been with Petzl for almost a year. Was it a good decision or a bad decision?

The decision was very good! The material is great, and so is the team. As an athlete, you become very involved in the development and production of material and content. Petzl is a climbing company through and through, so it fully understands what it means to be a climber and what it takes to do this.

Earlier you mentioned the fact that Petzl - despite its size - is a family business. How do you experience the “Petzl family”?

As the name suggests, I experience it as a family. I had the opportunity to be with some athletes at an event and also to meet Petzl employees. In theory it was “work”, but it felt more like a family get-together!

Alexander-Megos-during-the-Flash-ascent-of-Intermezzo-XY-ungeloest-bei-Plombergstein_Bild-Tobi-Ebner
Alexander Megos unsolved during the flash ascent of the 9a route Intermezzo XY. (Photo Tobi Ebner)

What does Petzl stand for to you?

For absolute quality, for a great team and for a company that wants to make sport safer thanks to a lot of educational work.

In a 2017 interview you said that you don't have any sponsors who tell you how many times a week you have to publish something on Instagram or Facebook. Four years have passed since then. Has anything generally changed in the cooperation with the sponsors?

No, nothing has changed there. My sponsors give me a free hand in my social media presence and it will continue to do so. In the future, I would like to use my platforms more for environmental protection and post content that has nothing to do with climbing.

"I would like to use my platforms more for environmental protection in the future."

Alexander Megos.

In the same interview you said you were a professional climber, not a social media man. Today you have 357 followers on Instagram and on average you publish a post every other day and regularly write stories. Are you a social media man now?

Every second day? Haha I'm not that far yet. I'm still a professional climber. However, I have found that I have a very large platform available and, as mentioned above, I would like to use it more in the future to address what I believe are important topics. Environmental protection is paramount, but also issues such as social injustice or the protection and preservation of climbing areas.

Alexander Megos during the ascent of the boulder The Story of two Worlds (8c). Image Alise
Alexander Megos during the ascent of the boulder The Story of two Worlds (8c). Image Alise

The fact is, sharing your experiences and your everyday life with your fans is part of your life, your job. You are a professional climber and you can hardly go climbing incognito any more. Curse or blessing?

It will certainly be more difficult to climb completely incognito, but it is not impossible. And even if social media is part of my job, I neither have the need nor the compulsion to share my whole life on social media. If I don't post anything for a week or two, it won't hurt me or the world.

"If I don't post anything for a week or two, it won't hurt me or the world."

Alexander Megos.

You have been critical of the Summer Olympics in interviews and on Instagram. Will you compete again in Paris anyway?

Fortunately, there is still a bit more to come before I have to make a decision. Even if I wanted to take part, I would have to qualify first ...

And in the short term, what are your plans for 2022?

Climbing 😉

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