Alvaro Rangel, Al, is back on the podcast after 2+ years! Al was one of the first guests and one of the best. The last podcast we did was incredible, but somehow Al managed to top it with today’s episode. He is the founder and head coach of Team Class 5 in San Diego, CA. Al is also part of the Team USA coaching staff and supports the team at World …

Join us, as we dive into the strange case of the Joe Cool Murders. You’ll hear how a grisly crime scene aboard an abandoned fishing boat told a gruesome tale of murder and the harrowing details of a high seas hijacking revealed by two survivors found floating in a liferaft…. How to support: For extra perks including exclusive content, early release…

Mike Cox’s name is synonymous with Texas crime reporting. Cox spent decades covering grisly crimes, working as a police beat reporter and later as the Chief of Media Relations for the Texas Department of Public Safety and authoring books about the Texas Rangers. His latest book, Getting Away with Murder: Learning from Dateline and Other True Crime …

Melina Costanza is an 8x US National Champion. Sometimes as a youth, sometimes as a collegiate, sometimes in Open, sometimes in bouldering, sometimes in lead, sometimes both. Yes, last year at Open Nationals (2023) she won both Bouldering and Lead. She is set to compete in the 2024 Open Nationals coming up in a week, so after you listen to this pod…

Join us, as we examine the terrifying case of the Cape Coral Strangler. A wolf in sheep's clothing who used his good looks and charm to lure women into a false sense of security. You’ll hear how two innocent women crossed paths with a brutal killer on the same day in 2019, and how police followed a trail of destruction across southwest Florida to c…

True Crime Reporter® presents a story that straddles the line between horror and history. Mike Cox, a veteran police beat reporter and former chief of media relations for the Texas Department of Public Safety, spent his life documenting murder cases and bringing clarity to chaos. From unraveling the disturbing confessions of serial killer Henry Lee…

Ward Byrum is the Director of Routesetting for all Movement gyms in the East Region. Yes, that Movement. The biggest climbing gym chain in America and probably the world. That means that Ward and his team decide what the climbing will be like for thousands of climbers. Scratch that, ten’s of thousands of climbers. It might even be hundreds of thous…

Join us as we cover the case of a seemingly ordinary grandmother who was once the embodiment of routine suburban life before she suddenly veered into violent criminal behavior. You’ll hear about the shockwaves she sent through a community with her abrupt transformation into a fugitive on the run. How to support: For extra perks including exclusive …

Tom Randall is an iconic climber and founder. You might know him as one of the Wide Boyz, as one of the founders of Lattice Training, as a high level coach, or for his 5.14 Trad FA’s or even his FA of the worlds hardest crack boulder, aptly named “The Kraken” [V13]. Ya, Tom’s done it all, and has helped the best in the world do it even better. In t…

For over a decade, Claudia Hoerig had been living a peaceful life in her native country of Brazil. She’d been operating her own accounting business and keeping a low profile with her third husband, making sure not to attract any unwanted attention. But what neighbors and friends didn’t realize was that there was a reason behind her extremely quiet …

David Fitzgerald is back after an absolutely incredible season. Dave was previously on for Testpiece Episode #55, a total fan favorite. Last season Dave had a list of climbs in different styles to tackle. Tierrany, a V14 endurance bloc in Yosemite. Equanimity, a V15 ultra tech testpiece in Tahoe. Lucid Dreaming, the V15+ straight forward power prob…

Join us, as we uncover the mysterious death of Shele Covlin, a high-powered businesswoman discovered drowned in her own bathtub. You’ll hear how police were quick to rule her death an accident - despite a number of red flags and learn disturbing revelations about a suspect who’d stop at nothing to get his hands on Shele’s fortune…even if it meant a…

Juan David Ortiz, a U.S. Border Patrol supervisor, wore the uniform of a trusted protector. But he lived a double life — husband, father, war veteran, and respected agent. Yet beneath this facade of normalcy lay a monster. Over the course of twelve days in 2018, Ortiz unleashed his dark urges on the streets of Laredo, Texas, brutally ending the liv…

Garrett Gregor was the head routesetter for the Paris Olympics boulders! That’s all you need to know. Just stop reading this description and start listening now. Garrett is also an accomplished competitor, placing as high as 4th at Nationals, an experienced coach at the legendary Team ABC, and did we mention he’s an elite routesetter?! IFSC Level 5…

Join us, as we examine the utterly bizarre case of Sheila Labarre - a nymphomaniacal gold digger who left a path of fiery devastation in her wake. You’ll learn about a strange series of missing men in rural New Hampshire who had one thing in common: the woman who’d taken them in. How to support: For extra perks including exclusive content, early re…

Dr. Tyler Nelson is the founder of Camp 4 Human Performance, a company focused on bringing the principles of sport science to climbing. Tyler is focused on being a cutting edge resource for training and rehabilitation of climbers. This means he is always knee deep in research papers from all sorts of sports and asking how we might apply those lesso…

Join us, as we examine the strange case of Linda Collins-Smith. You’ll hear how the murder of a high-profile politician sparked an online firestorm of wild conspiracy theories pointing fingers in all directions, and how investigators ultimately uncovered the shocking truth: This was no conspiracy. This was betrayal. How to support: For extra perks …

This is the episode to learn everything about one of, if not the, most important parts of our climbing kit — chalk! The real topic here is how to maximize friction between your hands and the holds, which is crucial for sending your hardest. Kevin Brown joins the pod and goes deep on the science of how to get the best friction on holds. He talks abo…

Join us, as we examine the strange case of Natalie Bollinger — a 19-year-old who disappeared from her home in Colorado. You’ll hear how an online mob discovered a trove of shocking circumstantial evidence that all pointed in one direction and how detectives kept their heads cool behind the scenes, waiting to discover the truth of what happened to N…

Professional climber, coach, routesetter, and frequent Testpiece podcast guest, Tim Kang, is on the pod this week to share his thoughts about the Paris 2024 Olympics. Tim may be best known for his highball ascents that culminated in the film Focus, but Tim is also a seasoned competition climber with multiple World Cups under his belt. Tim loves com…

Join us, as we dive into the shocking case of Erik Maund, a multimillionaire Auto Magnate living the high life in Austin, Texas. You’ll learn the truth behind a scandalous secret Erik didn’t want anyone to find out about. And the lengths some people will go to protect their own image. Especially when money is no object. How to support: For extra pe…

Joe Pulizzi, the Godfather of Content Marketing, takes an audacious leap into crime fiction, delivering a story that is as mesmerizing as it is chilling. Set within the haunting confines of a funeral home, “The Will To Die” unravels a dark and twisted narrative brimming with suspense, secrets, and a touch of macabre. Pulizzi’s protagonist, a market…

Tom O’Halloran is arguably the best climber in Australia. He’s an Olympian, he’s climbed 15a and v14, and done FA’s nearly up to those grades as well. But the reason we wanted to have him on the podcast is because of the amazing YouTube content he puts out. He dives into the nuances of hard climbing in a way that actually helps people climb hard. T…

Four detectives stood in the rain, wearing their suits and ties. It was late September 2002 in Grand Haven, Michigan, and the gray skies matched their somber mood. They’d just arrived at a cemetery near the shores of Lake Michigan. It was time to bury the body of a victim they’d spent the past four months trying to avenge. But so far, it had all be…

Chaos erupted inside the impenetrable Walls Unit prison in Huntsville during the scorching Texas summer of July 1974. Frederico “Fred” Gomez Carrasco, a notorious drug lord often compared to Pablo Escobar of today, orchestrated a takeover that would become the longest prison siege in U.S. history. Carrasco, known as “The Mexican Connection,” smuggl…

Ethan Salvo is back on the podcast! Ethan's first episode (linked here) was a fan favorite so when Josh visited Squamish for a few days they met up do an impromptu live/in-person recording. Since the last recording, Ethan has climbed arguably the hardest climb in Squamish, The Singularity. The experience he had on it was fascinating and made him qu…

On a chilly February morning in 2008, Ben Oxley slept in a dark and silent bedroom in Minden, Nevada. When he went to bed that night, he couldn’t have imagined that barely two hours later, a terrifying boom would shatter the peace of his home, and gunsmoke would choke the air. When authorities arrived, Ben was dead, and there was only one person th…

Noah Wheeler and Benn Wheeler represent the next generation of climbers. At 21 and 19, they are some of the strongest board climbers in the world and their styles reflect that. They also are bring a unique point of view to the world of climbing content with their YouTube channel, Wheel Rock. These brothers have climbed up to V16 outdoors, FA’d up V…

In 2012, two couples in northeastern Ohio were engaged in a bitter custody dispute over a 6-year-old child, unwilling to compromise. As the court system dragged its feet while making its decision, it was only a matter of time before someone decided to take matters into their own hands. How to support: For extra perks including exclusive content, ea…

How well do we truly know our friends? Can we discern when they are lying, or even worse, when they might be hiding a deadly secret? In this episode, I delve into the unsettling story of Fred Roehler, who seemed to embody the perfect father and husband in the idyllic setting of Malibu, California. However, beneath this facade of a picture-perfect f…

AJ has been competing at the highest level for decades. She has won multiple Bouldering World Cups and she climbs just as hard outdoors with her iconic send of The Swarm (v13/14) in Bishop which was recently featured in Reel Rock. AJ also coaches some of the top up and coming Youth Athletes (one of her athletes recently won Nationals), through her …

Join us, as we examine the tragic murder of Farah Fratta. An American Airlines ticket agent and devoted mother of three. You’ll hear the harrowing story of a divorce from Hell and the bitter custody battle that followed, including how all signs pointed straight to her narcissistic ex-husband in the wake of her murder. But there was one major proble…

Drew Ruana is one of the strongest boulders in the world. Period. He over a hundred V14+ sends, and lots of then are V16. While some other climbers may have that amount of blocs under their belt, no one has accumulated this many in such a short time. Drew goes into his infamous “Send Colorado” journey, which is his goal to send all V14 and up bould…

On a beautiful day in sunny Sydney, Australia, Renae Marsden made her way to Jacob’s Ladder - a lookout in Watsons Bay's oceanside suburb. It was the 5th of August, 2013, and Renae was just a couple months shy of her 21st birthday. Climbing up a cliff known as “The Gap”, Renae stared into the crashing waves below. It had been a devastating day, aft…

John Dillinger & The Lady In Red Confronted Leaving The Biograph Theater in Chicago July 22, 1934. Artists Rendition John Dillinger was the most famous outlaw of the 1930s—a charming yet elusive bank robber who captured the public’s imagination and fueled an entire genre of crime melodramas during the darkest days of the Great Depression. His darin…

Felipe Camargo is one of the top climbers in our sport with sends up to 9b and V15. That’s impressive… But what’s more impressive is that he began climbing Brazil where there was no professional climbers, no routes past 8b+, and no modern training facilities. Felipe managed to send the iconic 50m 9a+ Papichulo by mainly training on a 3x3m spray wal…