Emma horan - warrior princess
Emma started climbing young and was a part of the Canberra Rock Squad, a dominant team that produced a ton of great climbers. The team was lead by her older sister Caitlin, someone she looked up to then and has gained inspiration from now in how to find her own path in the crazy adult world.
After Emma finished the youth comp scene she went off to uni to study sport management. While studying, she competed in the open athlete comps, winning state and national level comps.
Then she popped up as the manager of a new Sydney bouldering gym, Nomad Bouldering Sydney. Which must be the biggest bouldering gym in Sydney. Nomad gym has become an absolute top level gym in everyway. The route setting is top notch, the vibes are ace and so is the coffee. Emma and her team have created all of it and it’s truly inspiring to see.
In this chat, Emma talks to Amanda and Tom about her own climbing life and being a female in a predominantly male sport. She tells us the challenges of starting a gym and creating an environment where never before climbers can feel safe to come in and start something new, then progress through to being full blown addicted climbers. While she simultaneously caters for the best boulders in the country in the same facility, a fine balance indeed. We also chat about her relationship with body image, which has had its ups and downs. It’s a bit of a delicate subject in the athlete world, especially for females and I really appreciated her openness when we spoke about it.
Follow Emma on Instagram @emmawarriorprincess
Emma is sponsored by Evolve and Black Diamond