22 Facts About Chris Sharma

Chris Omprakash Sharma was born on 23 April 1981 and is an American rock climber who is considered one of the greatest and most influential climbers in the history of the sport.

Chris Omprakash Sharma was born and raised in Santa Cruz, California, the only child of Gita Jahn and Bob Sharma.

Chris Sharma's parents were devotees of the yogi Baba Hari Dass, and adopted the surname Sharma when they got married.

Chris Sharma went to Mount Madonna, and attended Soquel High School for a year.

Chris Sharma started rock climbing when he was 12 at the Pacific Edge Climbing Gym, and he described himself as "one of the first climbing-gym-generation kids".

Aged 18, Chris Sharma moved to Bishop, California, and began a US bouldering revolution with his 1999 film Rampage, and in February 2000, completed the first ascent of The Mandala, a world-famous boulder problem.

Days later, Chris Sharma won the Munich leg of the IFSC World Cup in bouldering, only to be disqualified on testing positive for marijuana.

Chris Sharma largely abandoned competitions, to focus on "King Lines", a term he adopted for iconic routes that motivated him.

Chris Sharma said that after climbing Jumbo Love, he needed to change his approach.

Chris Sharma is widely considered one of the greatest and most important rock climbers in the history of the sport.

Chris Sharma took on the title of "world's strongest sport climber" in 2001 from Wolfgang Gullich, and passed it on to Adam Ondra.

In 2007, Melissa Block on NPR's All Things Considered, introduced him saying "Chris Sharma is hailed as the world's best rock climber, a pioneer who has mastered some of the most spectacular and difficult routes in the history of the sport".

Chris Sharma is noted for a "humble softly-spoken meditative disposition" coupled with a "highly aggressive and dynamic" climbing style.

In 2016, Climbing said: "Over the past three decades, Chris Sharma has cultivated a mellow Southern California persona, but in reality, he's one of the most competitive, focused, and driven athletes out there".

Chris Sharma's demeanor has been ascribed to his Buddhist raising; the LA Times called him "the Karma Climber".

Chris Sharma has credited Zen meditation techniques with helping him on routes, or when seeking direction and motivation.

Chris Sharma was known for eschewing any gym-based training or dieting, preferring to climb as his sole method of training.

Chris Sharma is the founder of the rock climbing gym Sender One, headquartered in Santa Ana, California, which he opened in 2013 as a business partnership with Walltopia, who was a sponsor of Chris Sharma.

In 2015, he opened a second gym, Chris Sharma Climbing BCN, in Barcelona in Spain, and in 2021 he opened a third gym, Chris Sharma Climbing Gava, on the outskirts of Barcelona.

Chris Sharma was in a long-term public relationship with the Spanish professional climber Daila Ojeda, and they lived together in Oliana.

Chris Sharma's parents were practising Zen Buddhists and for long periods Chris Sharma has followed Zen routines.

Chris Sharma has been on various Asian pilgrimages lasting several months, including the Shikoku Pilgrimage in Japan that he undertook after climbing Realization in 2001.