Felipe Nieto Moya
In addition to being a videographer, camera assistant, editor, and motion designer, Pipe is also one of Colombia’s top climbers, with a list of achievements including winning the 2016 Central American Climbing Championships in Guatemala and climbing for Colombia Panamerican Youth Games in Chile.
Photo: Julian Gutierrez.
Meet Felipe Nieto Moya, better known in the WhereNext office as Pipe. Pipe is a videographer, camera assistant, editor, and motion designer who studied Audiovisual Communication and Multimedia at La Sabana University in Bogotá. He has more than six years of experience editing, filming, and animating a diverse range of projects for WhereNext, like our targeted LATAM campaign for Merrell. He’s also one of Colombia’s top climbers, with impressive achievements, including representing his country in 2012 and 2016, winning the 2016 Central American Climbing Championships in Guatemala, and climbing for Colombia's Panamerican Youth Games in Chile.
Tell us about yourself.
I always have the answer to this question planned: My name is Felipe Nieto, I'm 24 years old (the youngest at WhereNext), and I’m a climber, audiovisual producer, and amateur trumpet player.
I love being outside in the open air, learning and making music and new landscapes. I’m a big fan of documentaries and anime films. I love listening to rock and salsa, and I could happily eat nothing but green apples for the rest of my life.
Pipe making music in the mountains: his two favorite pastimes combined.
Tell us about your most memorable travel experience.
Without a doubt, when I saw snow on the Nevado del Tolima mountain. In Colombia, you must be over 4,500 masl to see snow! In 2017, I went with a group of friends to reach this mountain's peak in Los Nevados National Park. The experience ended up being very different from what we imagined: summiting was very tough, with endless hours of walking. After almost giving up, we reached the snowline at dawn. I was exhausted, but bagging that peak in the snowy immensity of my own backyard brought tears to my eyes. It’s an experience I’ll never forget.
Pipe’s most memorable travel experience was his first time seeing the snow in the Colombian Andes.
Dead or alive, who would you like to join you on an adventure?
Sean Villanueva. He’s a great climber who also knows how to play music at the highest points on the wall. An excellent combination.
What are your travel equipment essentials?
My cotizas, my camera, some musical instrument, and my climbing shoes. Cotizas are canvas shoes with a rubber sole and are typically used for traditional dances in Colombia. They’re my version of Crocs; I always have them in my bag. Another essential element is my camera; it’s always with me in the mountains and on my adventures. I’m always accompanied by music, so something to make noise with is vital, whether it’s a trumpet or my harmonica. And the climbing shoes are for any rock that I find along the way.
When did you feel happiest?
In 2015, I worked as a volunteer at Refugio La Roca, a climbing hostel in Santander, Colombia. I was there for six weeks, meeting people from all over the world and climbing every day. I learned a lot there and fell in love with climbing even more. Without a doubt, those were my happiest days. And, of course, when I started working at WhereNext, I had absolute happiness!
Pipe scaling the rocks at Refugio La Roca, the place where he felt happiest in his life (Photo: Sebastián Riaño).
Who taught you your biggest life lesson, and what was it?
I think we learn lessons every day, and they arrive in different ways, so we’re learning valuable things each and every day. Once, I read an expression (one of those cliches you find online), but I took it very seriously: “Work like you don’t need the money. Love like you’ve never been hurt before. Dance like nobody’s watching.” The dancing one is the most important.
You can teleport to any restaurant on Earth: where do you go, and what do you order?
I’m not a fan of restaurants, but I remember one of my life's best meals. I was filming with an Indigenous community in the depths of the jungle near the Atabapo River in Guainía, Colombia. Before night fell, we needed to get back to the riverbank where a boat was going to collect us. The trail to the river was like a mangrove swamp, and for almost the entire final kilometer, we had to swim in semi-darkness (with all of the gear floating alongside us in dry bags). When we arrived at the riverbank, we had to cling onto a tree with water up to our chests for almost two hours, waiting for the boat. When it eventually arrived to collect us, they brought us food made by the Indigenous people. After such an adventure, that was the best meal I ever ate.
Pipe enjoyed the best meal of his life after an adventure in the Amazon (Photo: Tomás Mendez).
Tell us about the most adventurous food you ever ate?
Armadillo hunted and prepared by Ticuna Indigenous people in the Colombian Amazon.
Drink of choice?
Poker beer after a climbing session with my friends. That’s my favorite drink, for sure.
Where do you feel most at home?
When I’m high up on a wall, climbing. I feel at home there. Moving freely like an insect in the leaves, that sensation gives me peace and tranquility.