Sanni McCandless is an entrepreneur, rock climber, fitness enthusiast, as well as a life and transition coach. She is the co-founder of ‘Outwild’, an annual event aimed at helping individuals lead healthier, more value-oriented and life-oriented lives. Apart from her many accomplishments, Sanni is also known for being the girlfriend of ‘Free Solo’ star Alex Honnold. The couple lives together most of the time in a van and their home is also in Vegas.
Sanni McCandless Biography
Born Cassandra McCandless on June 30, 1992, she was called Sanni by her childhood friend who had trouble pronouncing her name and the nickname has stuck since then. Sanni grew up in Chapel Hill, North Carolina and Seattle, Washington. She thinks that growing up, blending and rediscovering herself in a place where two different cultures meet could have influenced the person she grew up.
His parents were Jay McCandless (father) and Lesley Marijke McCandless (mother), who both attended UCLA. While her father has a master’s degree in electromagnetic engineering and works as an innovative microwave engineer, her mother is a corporate communications specialist and published author who has worked as a communications conflict resolution and mediator with various companies. His parents founded and run Suncastle Microwave, LLC, California.
Apart from the frequent trips she took in her childhood, Sanni attended East Chapel Hill High School between 2006 and 2010. She then continued her studies at the University of North Carolina, where she earned a bachelor’s degree in psychology. with a minor in Spanish. She graduated in 2014. She was studying Spanish. leader and was to teach Spanish at the elementary level. In 2012, Sanni also traveled to Mexico for a Spanish language immersion program. She spent a few months working as a reception assistant in Cordoba.
While she had a childhood that can be described as privileged, she also had a semblance of normalcy, doing odd jobs, participating in different clubs and societies. Sanni McCandless enjoyed traveling and learning about other cultures growing up. Prior to the start of her career, she toured Europe in two months and pledged to continue exploring travel throughout her adult life.
Sanni began working as an Events and Marketing Coordinator at EnergySavvy, a position she held between August 2014 and June 2016. She learned about business and event management by managing the logistics of over 150 conferences, synthesizing customer testimonials with marketing materials, facilitating and executing them. 10 marketing campaigns among other achievements.
His dream has always traveled, to help people live better and live life to the full. She quit her job to pursue this dream and after her savings started to run out, she decided to pursue the career (life coaching) she had always dreamed of. Sanni did not come across life coaching. She was certified as a professional life coach with IPEX Coaching in 2017. Sanni officially started her practice in Las Vegas with her company Sanni McCandless Coaching in March 2017. She revealed in a series of interviews that she doesn’t say what do to its customers. and how to manage their life. She simply asks them tough, focused questions that help them realize what they need to do.
Sanni has been described as being wiser than she is and is one to live by what she teaches. During her years of life coaching, she discovered that people were craving a more meaningful lifestyle and the outdoors. She also wanted to make an impact in groups, which she did for individuals. In 2018, she co-founded Outwild, alongside Courtney Sanford and Jeremy Jansen.
The annual Outwild Festival was a success and many people came forward to try and find a more purposeful way to live.
Other interesting facts about Alex Honnold’s girlfriend
- 1. Boyfriend/Partner
Sanni McCandless met her boyfriend Alex Honnold at her book signing event and made the first move on him. Having just sworn to date online, she decided to try dating the traditional way by slipping her number. Sanni slipped Alex a note with her phone number and they went on a few dates before climbing together in Switzerland, six months after their first date.
Sanni was very supportive of Alex, especially during his famous ‘El Capitan climb’ in June 2017, which propelled him to the peak of his career.
- 2. How she learned rock climbing
Having a professional mountaineer as a boyfriend makes it easy to assume he taught her how to climb, but Sanni revealed she learned how to climb and introduced her to rock climbing when she returned in Seattle as an adult.
- 3. Physical attributes
Sanni is passionate about fitness and how it looks. She weighs around 55 kg and stands at a height of around 5 feet 6 inches.