Lincoln Knowles is an early-20-year-old climber from Kansas City who has quickly made waves in the climbing world, not just for the routes he’s climbing, but for the way he’s sharing them. He moved into free soloing after starting indoors at 15, progressing to bouldering urban structures, churches and garages, and then to full rock faces and multi-pitch routes. 

One of his early high-profile solos was the 22-pitch route Squawstruck 5.11b in Utah, which is one of the longest bolted sport climbs in the U.S. and marks a bold step for someone still in the early stages of his climbing career.

What really sets Knowles apart is less the grade of the climbs and more the way he frames them, through social-media. He’s built a persona online where he claims to “free solo a harder route every day until I fall,” blending content creation, audience engagement, and climbing into a single act.

His Instagram and YouTube channels have amassed tens of thousands of followers, which he uses to monetize his climbing and brand: sponsorships, Patreon, ad revenue. But this approach has sparked controversy too: veteran climbers like Alex Honnold have criticized the external-pressure mindset and the blending of performance, spectacle and self-promotion, suggesting it clashes with the quieter, more inward motivations they believe underpin safe free soloing.

Here's a video he just dropped of himself onsight free-soloing all of the 5.9 Yosemite climbs with walk-offs. Follow him on Instagram here.

Knowles in Yosemite