You became World Champion in 2009 after having climbed for only three years. In your first Russian Cup in 2006, you became 53rd. How did you discover climbing? What happened between 2006 and 2009?

Nothing special happened, I just trained. When I started in November 2005, I was a complete beginner. My progression was steady.

I started studying at the University in Moscow when I was 17. You were supposed to choose a sport. Climbing seemed to be one of the more interesting sports and I had never tried it before. In fact, it was completely new, I didn't even know it existed before. I didn't go straight into sport climbing however. Initially, it was mostly alpinism. We mostly ran and did physical training, there was very little climbing. We were preparing for mountains. Half a year later, I decided I was better at climbing and stopped with the alpine stuff.

Around the time that you started, Dmitrii Sharafutdinov and Salavat Rakhmetov had great results in bouldering. Rustam Gelmanov was also very strong. How did this influence your career and approach?

A year and a half after starting climbing, I began training with Rustam Gelmanov. I never had a coach in my whole life. When I started climbing, I always trained with guys that were stronger than me. Once I had reached their level, I changed training partners. Within a bit more than a year, I was training with Rustam. In Moscow, most climbers were not stronger than me. I think this approach works very well for beginners.

Now this would probably not work anymore.

No. I am sure that if you start now, it's impossible to win the World Championships within four years. The level is much higher now, and the sport is a lot more complex than it was 5 or 10 years ago.

Did you do another sport before climbing?

Two sports. I picked up Kung Fu when I was 10 and did that for two years. I was good at Kung Fu and those two years gave me a lot. I developed good flexibility, which I have maintained, even if it is no longer as good. Plus, I learned technique and precision. When I was 14 I was in track and field for one year. But I was the worst in my section all year long and hated it. I was also very active in general at a young age.

What played a bigger role in your development: talent or hard work?

The first three or four years, I was helped by my talent. But you know, a lot of young climbers start, make good results, and then they get worse. For me it was the same. When I stopped to progress, I tried to find new ways to improve my level. I always did this analysis by myself. Except for the two years during which I trained with Rustam, where I did what he did.

From 2009 on, I trained by myself exclusively. I made a lot of mistakes and lost a lot of shape. Especially in 2012, where I completely changed my training system. I then even stopped competing in 2012 and 2013. Now, I have found a good way, but I have lost a lot of health, shape and power to find it.

I feel that I can be really good in climbing - always. I just had to find the right way. During the two years in which I didn't compete, I was thinking a lot. I read a lot of books and talked with smart people. I built my program. And I am basically still using this program.

You also studied at university.

Yes, I studied at the Aviation University until 2012. My major was in IT Technology.

Did you apply the approach you learnt there in your climbing?

I think it is very important to have higher education. Because if you are smart in general, you can be smart everywhere. I think it is important study. It is important to use your brain. The brain is the most important part in climbing. Maybe not in speed (laughs), but in bouldering for sure.

At the 2009 World Championships, you took the Bouldering title. Rustam Gelmanov had been a sort of mentor for you before. How did the title influence your relationship with him?

From that moment on, we never trained together again.

You did some Lead competitions in 2017. Was that because you want to do the Combined format?

Yes, only because of the Olympics. I had already made one try in 2016. It was kind of an experiment, I need to know what I should do to be good in two disciplines. Last year, I competed in Villars, before that, I did no lead training, but I was in really good shape. I became 12th in qualifications and 17th in semi-finals. I got confident that I could easily finish in the Top 20. Then I trained Lead, and I see the result: it was a little worse. I am not sure about how much to train lead.

Do you talk to coaches to get advice?

How to say... there are no coaches in which I believe 100%. Almost all the advice I have gotten from coaches was not so smart. I don't believe that we have super good coaches in climbing at the moment.

Why?

Because we don't see great results, except for the Japanese Bouldering team. But they don't share anything with anyone. All I see now in Bouldering in Europe: it is not good. I have been training for 10 years. When I talk with a coach and he tells me something and I know that I trained that way before 2012 and it doesn't work, then I know my system is better. I then can't trust this coach for advice in Lead climbing, because when you have no good plan for Bouldering, why should you have one for Lead?

In men's Bouldering, the Europeans had a lot of trouble last season. What were their mistakes, you think?