Climbing is known to have a strong sense of culture and community. “One of the great things about climbing is that it’s culturally a very social and relatively chill sport,” Seay illustrated. With a sport that is surrounded by a relaxed community, Seay clarified most of the constraint he felt while climbing was the pressure that he put on himself. “We climbers are a bit masochistic. Sometimes you shred your hands up because you know there was a 5% chance that we will hit the one move we have been stuck on during the next go. We just have to wait it out. The wait can be rough, but when we hit it, there are few feelings like it.” Seay reiterated, shredding your hands up is definitely worth the feeling of hitting that one move that was challenging to reach. 

As a climber, there are two different types of places to practice and compete; indoors in a climbing gym and outdoors on nature’s climbing walls. Participating in a sport that provides an escape to beautiful places outdoors to climb famous rocks around the world, is what draws Seay into the sport. “Climbing also can lead you to some very interesting and beautiful locations. Of course, those routes don’t go anywhere, so you can track your progress year after year,” Seay said passionately. “I mostly boulder when climbing outside, and it’s exhilarating to overcome the fear.” Bouldering is a form of rock climbing often performed on small artificial rocks or rock formations without any ropes or harnesses. There is a thrill when climbing without ropes, “there is a distinct point after which falling is no longer trivial. Less trivial doesn’t even have to mean super dangerous. We have spotters and pads on the ground to cushion the fall. It can just be the point at which you explicitly have to push yourself or else you’ll half-do the subsequent moves. One more success means a potential higher fall. Even if the fall isn’t alarming, the mental game is still a large part of climbing.” Climbing is not entirely about strength, it requires mental focus and strategy which makes the sport compelling to Seay. “The routes on boulders are referred to as problems. Furthermore, everyone may be working on the same problem, but the puzzle is individualized, as everyone is working with different pieces: different strengths, weaknesses, preferences, heights, and wingspans. Sometimes you have to get creative when the beta (strategy) that works for many others, doesn’t work for you.” 

Lamb expressed that Seay’s love for problem solving goes beyond the climbing wall, “while working with Nick on computer science homework problems, I have seen times when Nick truly loves the process of problem solving and discovering his solution.” A friend of Seay’s agreed with Lambs statement and expressed that “Nick has an incredible work ethic and passion for his studies at Stanford. I have seen him persevere through crazy deadlines and difficult problem sets. Nick would often excitedly tell me about some cool topic he was learning in his Artificial Intelligence class.”

Reflecting on his time with the Stanford Club Climbing team, Seay explained most of his favorite achievements have been non-competitive. The Climbing team ventures past the Stanford Climbing Gym throughout the year to enjoy the outdoors and be in a natural climbing element. Seay showed excitement toward the feeling of completing a climbing route after several hours or even days of working on it. “On the team's outdoor trips Nick is consistently raising the level of his performance in bouldering and learning how to move on rock,” illustrated Lamb. Watching his teammates complete the same challenges in climbing is also something he loves about the sport, everyone is attentive and supportive in each teammates success. “It’s particularly fun when we all find our various ways to finally make it up the same climb, all in the same few attempts and the energy gets crazy,” said Seay enthusiastically.

 “A large part of the climbing team for me has been the climbing trips that we always have during Thanksgiving and Spring Break. I didn’t miss a single trip until studying abroad my senior year.” Seay decided to study abroad in Japan and explore everything the country had to offer. When Seay returned from his study abroad, he had spent months without climbing. A friend went with Seay to his first climbing session since his trip abroad. “I expected him to have a hard time climbing,” the friend explained. “When he started to climb, I saw he was still almost as strong as he once was. His base level of strength and technique meant he hadn’t dropped in ability.” Generally, climbing strength decreases quickly over month long gaps, but this wasn’t the case for Seay. 

The Stanford Club Climbing team placed third in Nationals Seay’s freshman year. Teammate Beck Goodloe explained how climbing events are different from other sports because climbers interact with other teams. “Since all the teams are climbing at the same time during early rounds, there’s a spirit of camaraderie that’s lacking in other sports. We help other teams, they help us, we hang out afterwards, stay in touch, meet up on climbing trips, the whole nine yards. Nick really exemplifies that spirit. If you’re struggling or having a bad day, he’s the first person that’s going to give you a hand and cheer you up, even if he’s competing against you,” voiced Goodloe. Another teammate, Lamb, shared, “Nick is such a strong climber and is constantly learning while on the wall. He has rapidly improved in the sport while at Stanford and his background in other sports helps him as well,” Lamb emphasized. All of his hard work and dedication to the sport landed him a place on the podium or in the finals in a couple local competitions. Seay was also selected to represent Stanford at Regionals. “Nick is not only an incredibly strong and powerful climber, but also a very smooth climber - a combination that’s not that common. Even when he’s climbing at his limit, he is able to make things look absolutely effortless,” expressed Seay’s teammate and friend. “He also loves to do crazy 'dynos' - movements where you dynamically jump to reach a hold. I’ve watched him line up a dyno that I think is completely impossible and see him do it easily on his first try.” Goodloe echoed that Seay is a very “smooth climber” because he climbs effortlessly. “Nick is long, which helps him. He also has insanely strong shoulders, probably from all of his time swimming. He has fingers of steel, which of course is always a positive in climbing,” illustrated Goodloe. 

Stanford's Competitive Sport Department is home to 33 Club Sport teams, and that number continues to rise each year. With so many teams, comes an abundant amount of athletes. Seay explained how he wished there were more interactions between all the different teams. According to Seay, the Club Climbing team organized an event they called the “Non-Denominational Ball Sports” where the team participated in other sports that don’t correlate to climbing. Seay offered the idea that other teams should try climbing, as a way to meet everyone in the Club Sport community.

Throughout Seay’s time as a Stanford Student, he is extremely thankful for the love, support and friendships the Club Climbing team has brought him. He emphasized that being part of the team was a release and a home. “Your life changes a lot every year, frankly, every quarter as a student. Having that constant is huge, especially during the harder times. Those Tuesday and Thursday practices made sure there were guaranteed fun times happening every few days. Although there may be breaks in my climbing, whether forced by pandemics or other life events, I want climbing to remain as a constant.” As COIVD-19 hit, Seay packed his bags and randomly ended up in Utah with some friends to complete COVID-Spring 2020. After finishing the Spring term strong, Seay landed back in Chattanooga, Tennessee and is working remotely for a tech company located in Menlo Park. Due to COVID-19 University restrictions, Seay will be starting his Stanford co-term this fall virtually, from Colorado. 

As a Club Sport student-athlete, Seay voiced to the Stanford community, “some teams are very attainable, welcoming, and low pressure. The Stanford Club Climbing team always has people of many different skill levels. Some team members have climbed since childhood and that doesn’t hurt, but others picked it up at Stanford and joined the following year. If you’re on the verge, just go for it.” Seay would like to inform the incoming Stanford student’s of some advice he is working on himself, to not take life to seriously. “I think it is important to have a space to be less serious,” and the Stanford Club Climbing team provides that and so much more.