John David Dunne (1968-)
Slim Boy Fat
As a chubby schoolboy in the early 1980s, burly Bradfordian John Dunne pissed off a lot of people by being better than them – and telling them so. He would burn off all-comers at the Richard Dunn Centre then have them hold him down while he did endless reps on the lat bar.
As ‘The King of Malham’ during the sport climbing boom he made the first ascents of Magnetic Fields (the UK’s probable first F8b), poached the first ascent of Predator (F8b) from Steve Rhodes, and made the second ascent of Mark Leach’s Cry Freedom (F8b+). Still not sated, Dunne also flashed Cave Route Righthand and then took his awesome power, fitness and boldness to the grit to produce ascents epitomised by New Statesman (E8 6c) at Ilkley.