Marcus Lam, born in 1995, is a ‘casual’ climber and content creator from sunny Singapore. His climbing journey began during university when a friend said to him “climb rocks bro”. And that was it. Marcus became a simp for crimps.

He’s inspired by the likes of Eric Karlsson, Emil Abrahamsson, among other content creators from YouTube. Although frankly, also every other strong climber who makes it look casual on the wall.

From watching other climbing creators online, Marcus realised that there’s not a lot of representation for climbing in Singapore online that was very accessible, and that sparked the creation of ‘Casual Climbs’ in 2022. What started out as a longer-form YouTube project exploring climbing in Singapore, has now evolved into so much more. From chill climbs with lo-fi music to sharing beta and climbing tips, Marcus is still a casual climber at heart and hopes to share his journey with the average casual climber. Ironically though, you will find him screaming a voiceover of a route over some hardcore metal music that will inevitably have someone saying in the comments section “v2 in my jim”. Not very casual, he knows.

Being ‘casual’ might come off as an idea that he takes his climbing lightly, or is just a weekend climber who doesn’t try hard, but that couldn’t be further from the truth. Marcus believes that the idea of being a ‘casual climber’ is about embracing the journey, finding joy in the process, and not being beholden to expectations or pressures to perform at the highest levels. Climbing is more than just chasing grades or sending hard projects. It’s also about the camaraderie, the community, and the personal growth that comes with each ascent, no matter the difficulty. That doesn’t mean you can’t train or get stronger, and Marcus is already proof of that, having gone from V0 to V8 (on the Kilter Board) in just a little under two years of climbing.

Aside from climbing, you’ll find Marcus in the company of his 5 adopted cats, Abby, Ellie, Debbie, Phoebe, and Narni. Yes—he is a cat lover and he thought it was important that you know this.