Matilda Söderlund

Matilda Söderlund

06 Jan 2020

"Climbing is closely connected to nature, so being an advocate for nature and climate is therefore an important aspect for me as a professional climber."

Welcome to A Good Community, Matilda! As 2020 kicks off, we would also like to extend a warm welcome to you as our new ambassador for A Good Company!

As a world-class professional climber living in Stockholm – what does you day-to-day life look like?

I live in an apartment with my boyfriend close to the city center. We’ve lived here in Stockholm for six years and I think it is a really beautiful city. Most of my family and friends live here so I like to have it as my base. The only downside is that it’s pretty far from the good climbing spots...

When I’m at home most of my days are spent doing things related to climbing; mostly it’s training or sometimes climbing outside (if the weather allows it), but also meeting with my sponsors, organizing/planning upcoming projects or doing admin work for my company.

If I’m away on a trip, it’s pretty much all about the climbing - I will spend most days on the cliff, often climbing from early morning, then stretching and finally some cooking in the evening, going to sleep and then doing the same thing the day after – I love it haha! I often have a project (i.e. a specific route that I want to climb) that I’m working on so I all my energy is focused on this specific climb during the trip.

I sometimes do visual projects from my trips, including interviews and photo shoots.

Where do you see climbing taking you in the future? Do you have any dreams you want to achieve through climbing?

I really want to do something that matters and use climbing as a tool to make an impact. I’m building my life and career around climbing and I want to use my platform to inspire and affect people in a positive way by standing up for what I think is important, e.g. equality and the climate crisis.

When it comes to reaching my goals in climbing, I think that is something I do solely for myself and is something that is self-fulfilling. I love to climb and the feeling of being on a wall. Climbing lets me push my physical and mental limits, often outdoors surrounded by amazing scenery and in the company of my friends – to me, nothing beats that! However, I hope, that it can inspire other people to pursue their dreams and goals and dare to live a life where you follow your heart and passion (if you have the possibility to do so of course).

Climbing as an activity can make individuals grow enormously as people and it’s a great form of training. So to introduce more people to climbing, especially girls, is something that I want to continue to work with.
Climbing is closely connected to nature, so being an advocate for nature and climate is therefore an important aspect for me as a professional climber. This area is something I see myself working with even more in the future.
Further along in the future, I dream of starting my own company/brand and creating something for others to enjoy.

What is your view on the environmental issues that are being portrayed heavily on social media and how can we further engage in this in the new year?

I think we can do a lot, just look at the movement started by Greta – thanks to her world leaders and big corporations are finally listening and taking this question seriously. Technological advances, education, and greater awareness of the world will continue to be a great tool. We will all have to collaborate and put resources into using these opportunities to overcome e.g. the climate crisis.

What in your mind signifies “A Good Community”?

Good values, respect, freedom to think and generate new ideas (and to express them), something that unifies its members, like a common goal or shared values and collaboration, are things that come to mind instantly.

It’s an honor to be part of this community. A Good Company's values like transparency and fairness are great and I love that you constantly follow up on these values and that it isn’t all merely nicely written words. I think you are challenging what it means to be a consumer company these days and showing that it’s possible to do things in a fair way for people and the climate and still create great products. Super inspiring!

Thank you so much for being part of A Good Community, any last words you’d like to add for the people around the world watching/reading this?

Be kind! To others, to yourself and to our planet.

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Anders Ankarlid

Anders Ankarlid

Co-founder & Product Development Lead

Co-founder of agood company and product development lead. A serial e-commerce entrepreneur, and a father of three. Have worked in e-commerce for more than a decade. Mindless consumption activist.

"I want to be able to look into my kids’ eyes and honestly say: "I did everything I could to hinder climate-change”

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