UKH

So, I've been watching quite a bit of Ondra's YouTube stuff recently and it seems like every time he is at the crag, he has a truly impressive entourage. Does anyone know how many people he actually has with him?

It seems like there are 3 or 4 videographers, 1 or 2 trainers/physios/mentors, 1 girlfriend, and maybe more I have missed?

Is the Ondra brand big enough that he literally has 6 or more people with him full time to keep him in shape and record everything he does?

This is not to say I'm knocking the man for it. I'm just intrigued.

It is kind of amusing to see so many people invested in what he`s doing. It is however not really surprising. He does have a lot of sponsors and some pretty big ones at that, as well as a few other revenue streams such as TV and books etc. That`s probably how he pays for the team. Compared to some other climbers it does seem like he has a lot of people, but having said that a lot of other climbers have videographers following them and do visit physios, albeit not for such long periods. When it comes to videos its clear that he planned to film the whole attempt at perfecto mundo so probably got pitched it to a sponsor to get the bills covered.  Compared to other climbers however he does seem to have a lot more chedder, but fair play to the guy, at least he`s able to do what we all love and get paid a decent wage. Haha multiple girlfriends, made me chuckle.

I thought he did a lot of his climbing with his father.

Actually I was meaning "maybe other types of people I missed" but I was tempted to write 1+ girlfriends

You may enjoy "the Age of Ondra" for a bit of behind the scenes insight.  I saw it at one of the film festivals last year and was surprised by how much I enjoyed it - mainly because it managed to a little tongue-in-cheek about the more ridiculous aspects.

He should do a Spinal Tap type film as a climber. I wonder what impact his endorsement has for brands. I remember the Nike Air Jordan stuff years ago, the kids went nuts and parted with a lot of money.

It does seem like a lot, but then I'm sometimes surprised in other videos how many mates some climbers have cheering them on on their big moments. 

Other than the physio/trainer support and that the photography/videography is professional, is it really that different to a day at the crag with a bunch of mate who pause their own climbing to give support when one of the party is really challenging themselves?

For someone at that level, the differences are necessary, the physio/coach to make sure the body is right. The pro photographers to ensure the money is made. 

What we don't see is the rest of the day, when Ondras pals climb for themselves, while he cheers them on. 

The ‘other’ is doing a lot of work there! 

Sounds like I might. I assume it's a movie you pay to download from somewhere?

I'll have a look and see if I can find it.

Available free here along with all the previous year Reel Rocks https://www.redbull.com/gb-en/episodes/age-of-ondra-part-1-reel-rock-s5-e2

You made me realise something here: I think that  part of the difference is that it feels like Ondra's crew are there documenting and monetising everything he does which is a bit different to someone doing a hard project and then releasing a video all about that project. Maybe it's just the next level up of the Instagram thing where people post a photo and blurb every day of what they are up to (assuming my understanding gleaned from looking into Instagram from the outside is correct).

Thanks

Something to watch this evening when I'm being gently rocked to sleep by the raging wind!

Well, I somewhat doubt the pro photographers will be out trying their projects - they are there to do a job. But to answer your question, if you have a good working relationship it may not necessarily feel all that different to a day out with mates.  

I remember being at Claret in the south of France in around 1997/8. A famous-but-not-so-famous-that-I-remember-his-name-now Swiss climber arrived at the crag. He had a posse that included his partner to belay, a photographer and a route preparer to go up the line first and put the draws in preparing for his onsight attempt. Initially, we thought they were just four Swiss climbers in group but we soon noticed that no-one apart from starman and route preparer actually climbed anything.

So it has been going on for a while.

Alan

Saw Sharma's posse once. That was great fun

Climbing groupies...nothing new....Stoney cafe use to have a few....lol

Think I read somewhere he has a full time physio who is with him the whole time, then obviously there's all those others that have joined the party too...

Did you see "Last Dance"?  By the mid 90's Michael Jordan had a huge entourage of managers, security people, pa's etc (I mean it was necessary, it was chaos every time they walked out the door) but I found it odd that before each match he would sit around joking and gambling with his security team, rather than being in the dressing room with the rest of the team. 

Must be kind of odd when athletes (including Ondra) get to that level where you're not just doing your sport for the love of it, but you have a team of people whose income is reliant on you.  You become a small industry in yourself.  People are paying their mortgages and feeding their kids because of you.  The pressure to perform must be immense.

Could it have been Elie Chevieux? His family were once notified of his death after his passport was reportedly found on a body in Kabul while he was travelling in the region, but it turned out it was a mistake and Elie was still in Pakistan. Took several days for the mistake to come to light.

Definitely wasn't Elie. It wasn't someone I knew at the time. He was good mind, onsighting at around 8a which was notable in the late 90s.

Alan

I'm guessing it was quite nice back then? I went, hmm, maybe 5 years ago or something and it was just horrible polish everywhere. James Pearson and Caroline Ciavaldini were there so I guess it still pulls famous climbers. But honestly I wouldn't go back.

No. I know Michael Jordan was a basket-ball player and I think in a bugs bunny film too? Other than that I don't know anything much about him. I'm not sure if a basketball biopic would be up my street but I might give it a bash.

Yeah. I watched this last night:

youtube.com/watch?v=PctwmQobu2E&

For a good part of it, I can't really make out whether he is being tongue in cheek or not - it certainly seems so at the start but then by the end it certainly sounds not and I can't pinpoint the transition! Doesn't seem like he is that stoked about all the trappings of fame. But the contrarian in me points out that as the best climber in the world he could surely partition his fame/sponsor and me/climbing with mates time while maintaining enough sponsor money to not have to worry about it. Maybe he finds that having an audience with that pressure helps him perform at his best? Or maybe he worries that he will not have the limelight for ever so best milk it now while he can?

So many possiblities, maybe I should ask him for an interview... I wonder if his PA comes to the crag too

Easy to forget, he's still only 27.

The Youtube vids probably pay for themselves, and he probably retains a decent salary from them with sponsors probably covering some of it. It's crazy to see, once you look them up, how much bigger climbers their channels (Adam Ondra, Magnus Midtbo, ...) make on youtube!

https://gb.youtubers.me/adam-ondra/youtuber-stats

https://gb.youtubers.me/magnus-midtbo/youtuber-stats#search=Magnus%20Midtb%...

Was never a problem for Rich Simpson though?

to be honest I highly doubt the photog/videoguy wont’t be climbers... they need to be to an extent in order to get the photos and video that look good. For both climbers and non climbers.

so I do believe it is propable that they are also climbing.

take the mellow collective as an example. They are all actually pro climbers that film each other. And they are gettin’ rather good at that actually.

That's interesting. Although all the earnings estimates are very wide brackets!

I've tried watching a few magnus midtbo videos a while ago but it was really not my cup of tea at all.

They'll certainly be earning him a bit, but $4k per month isn't going to pay for the production that he's putting out.

It might do once the added sponsorship he can squeeze from brands as a result is taken into account. And of course some of these videos will be watched in large numbers for years to come, so will keep earning for no extra work.

While an entourage might not be new, the dynamic has changed dramatically in the past decade. No more getting a good photographer and a hard ascent to get in the mags and retain the sponsors. Sure, being a strong climber will help, but with a big following you control your own media output and set new norms for what's expected from it. I think that's pretty interesting.

Yes, and I expect Ondra is sitting on a rope between his attempts filming the others...

Nah. Prolly belaying her GF. 

By definition you are only seeing stuff captured on video. I'm sure he must have a lot of life that isn't on vid but you/we won't know what it is like.

Yes all very ego led nonsense......the couple I watched left an uneasy feeling. Posing for cameras....all for some money and an ego boost.....Good luck to them

Well after watching his last video, I think we should add the ‘fan holder’ to the list. Someone hanging off a rope to blow a fan at him at the crux, surely that’s over the top. Won’t be following his YouTube channel if he keeps posting this sort of nonsense.