Everybody de-stresses in different ways. Some people use music, some choose to exercise, others wear turtle hats. Steve Marion does all of the above, save for the hats. The Brooklyn-based musician, who says he grew up not liking exercise, now finds himself expanding physically as well as mentally through various types of workouts. One of his favorite ways to exercise his mind and body is through rock-climbing."The thing I like to do is called bouldering," Marion says. "It's not like a height thing or an endurance thing, so much as it's like a strategy/mental thing. If I'm really stressed out about something, I'm gonna push myself. Exercise is kind of my drug in that way."Bouldering requires participants to choose one of several color-coded routes up the wall, which vary in difficulty. "You might try the same route five times because you can't figure out what exactly to do," Marion says. It also demands full-body strength to lift yourself through the space as well as hold yourself up while you figure out where to go next—a brain challenge in and of itself.Marion relishes the fact that that bouldering allows him to just show up and do it—no fancy exercise clothes or experience necessary. This freedom is something he also relates to music."Do something and don't worry so much about the results," he says. "This relates to both music and exercise: Don't wait to, like, be inspired to pick up your guitar. Say, 'I'm going to make a song today.' It doesn't have to be good."Watch now:
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