Urban climbing or more recently known Rooftopping is a very dangerous activity where groups or individual people climb very dangerous structures buildings bridges towers and anything which poses a challenge but is also extremely dangerous. People that do this type of activity risk their lives in the pursuit of fame excitement the buzz and the high experienced when one mistake will result in the person falling to their death. They use no safety harness no ropes nets or anything which would prevent them from falling if they did make a mistake. And believe me rooftoppers do make mistakes and many have fallen to thier deaths. Because this activity is so dangerous it is illegal worldwide, rooftoppers will have to hide from police workers and security to get to the top of a building for instance. If they choose to climb a crane at a building site they will choose a suitable day like a Sunday when it is closed and no one is around, Some choose tall structures that are still in the building phase so probably no one will be around. Whatever they choose they are risking their lives at every second they are up top, Dangling from the buildings exterior with one hand or being held by anothers hand is all risky business, Teetering over the edge of a 1000 ft skyscraper with no fear of the consequences of falling to their death. The social media aspect also creates these climbers as they build a subscriber base on youtube for people to watch and comment. Some will make money from their dangerous activities but this just adds to the excitement the thrill of climbing and risking their lives. Extraordinary photos are taken while they hang by one hand people take selfies in the most dangerous and highest part of the structure smiling for the camera. Most will be arrested when they come down but are never charged and let go a few hours later, We will now take a ride into this very dangerous activity and see for yourself why people do this kind of thing.
Pavlo Gennadiyovich Ushivets or better known as Mustang Wanted born 21st January 1987 is a Ukrainian urban climber and internet celebrity. He climbs structures all over the world and his fearless attitude see's him posing on many a famous building. On 19-20th August 2014 he climbed the Kotelnicheskaya Enbankment Building one of the seven sisters which are a group of skyscrapers in Moscow designed in the Stalinist style of the period. He painted the spire Blue and then raised the Ukrainian flag on the top of the building. He dedicated his performance to Independence Day of Ukraine which is celebrated on the 24th August. He has also climbed to the top of the Vienna Vitivkirche church and the Princess tower which is located in Dubai, Dubai is a popular choice for many Rooftoppers as it is a busy metropolis that is steadily building new and taller structures. The Marina 101 is such a building with a height of 432 M or 1.417 ft tall it is the world's tallest residential building and tallest in Dubai marina. The Princess tower Dubai is currently the second tallest building in Dubai and stands at a height of 413.4 m or 1.356 f, It has 101 stories and is also located in the Marina district. A new film based on his exploits and those of three other climbers is being made called "We Kill Death" which is being produced by Alex Ginzburg and Tony Lee. In 2014 he received the Trouble Maker Award for climbing the Stalinist building. Online he said he was willing to be arrested by police if they released a Ukrainian pilot Nadya Savchenko who was captured by pro Russian forces in Eastern Ukraine and abducted to Russia. Mustang wanted was working as a legal advisor but has decided to pursue as career as a professional stuntman. These are not some crazy kids that just decide to climb buildings most of them are skilled in stamina strength mind and have Parkour free running skills. Some have martial arts skills and gymnastic training. This is why I strenuously must ask anyone reading this article to please do not try any of these dangerous activities as your life will be at risk. Wanted states he feels no ball shriveling terror at the stunts he pulls, Sometimes I feel like a robot he said for an article in the Daily Mail, I do not feel anything. And maybe that's for the best as panic will increase your chances of falling and making a mistake. Death is not the worst thing that can happen to you everyone dies, but not everyone lives the way they want, Amazingly Mustang has been doing these crazy stunts for 14 years or more and has yet to have an injury very lucky guy I think.
Mustang Wanted Urban Climber
Mustang Wanted atop the Spire of the Kotelnicheskaya Enbankment building.
Here Mustang Wanted has climbed the Vienna Vitivkirche Church
Mustang Wanted poses atop the Princess tower in Dubai.
Mustang Wanted Stunt Compilation Video.
Angela Nikolau is a Russian urban climber with over 400000 follower's on her Instagram account. The daughter of a trapeze artist from Moscow's best know circus Angela is as famous as you can get. From TV show invite's to talk about her stunts to travel firm's fashion brands and camera companies all vying to sponser her she literally has the world at her feet. Her style of climbing incorporates yoga backbending on a narrow ledge and a ballerina's arabesque on a turret. She was applauded and given a large bouquet of flower's on one show and is often seen smiling hundreds of meters above the ground. She considers the camera a key part to her climb's to capture her artistic body poses and scenario. Her grandma was very upset when she first saw the images that Angela told her they had been photo shopped to ease her grandmothers mind.Sometimes she climbs a building just to see a beautiful sunrise or sunset without a camera. She want's to express herself and gain an audience not be drowned out like an artist that works for years but is never famous or known. To some the image's will convey a curious madness something out of the norm, To risk one's life to get these image's is just crazy. People will feel queasy and have sweaty palms but there is also a bizarre entertainment value attached to the images and video's which garnishes so many followers.
Angela Nikolau and her urban climbing boyfriend Ivan Berrkus kiss and embrace at the top of Hong Kong's highest crane with no safety equipment.
Angela Nikolau poses for a selfie teetering on the edge of a high rise building in Hong Kong with no safety harness.
Angela Nikolau poses high above the concrete skyline.
Angela Nikolau High above Moscow
James Kingston and Mustang Wanted on top of the Moscow Bridge Kiev.
James Kingston Hang's by One Arm on a crane in Southampton.
Angela started Rooftopping at 14 years old when she was visiting a flower shop with her mum near VDNKh the soviet era exhibition center in northern Moscow. I was so bored she explains that when I saw some steps I just decided to climb and from then on I did not stop my interest. Soon she was sucked into the urban climbing community and was attempting even more challenging feats. Part of the thrill for me she says is evading security and authorities and plot the best way to get to my goal a tricky summit. Sometimes she has to go through fancy restaurants to get to her rooftop goal so she dresses the part putting on smart dresses and nice shoes.On one adventure she and a friend had to sneak past the Sky Lounge which is a cocktail bar on the 22nd floor of the Russian Academy of Sciences. As diners were tucking into their $330 caviar the roofers quietly sneaked past and clambered onto the famous yellow gantries that top the building. She does not have to worry to much about being caught as there are soft penalties lax policing and poor security wherever she goes. She laughs I smile sweetly and say I will never do it again. I dress smart in my little skirt and the most I have been fined is 500 roubles which is $10 hardly a punishment. The police always let me go after I tell them I have done wrong and one time they even dropped me off around the corner and gave me some cherries. I do worry sometimes as a pipe I grasped on one of my climbs twisted suddenly and I had to hang on with my other hand but I dont feel any fear when I am up high.The strongest emotion I get is when I am coming down from one of my climbs I think to myself yes I did it I was up to the challenge.
Angela Nikolau and Ivan Beerkus Climb the highest crane in Hong Kong - Our Elevation.
James Kingston is a rooftopper from Southampton and started out as a Parkour runner. After a period of 8 years he felt he had reached his potential in that area and wanted to progress into more challenging things. So James started climbing buildings and became an urban climber. Travelling the globe James risks his life to climb some incredibly high and vertigo inducing structures. With his camera strapped to his body James talk's you along as he climbs to even more perilous heights. From buildings in Dubai to cranes in London he climbs with no fear of falling even though if he did it would mean certain death. He has written a book about his stunts called Never look down and there is a Ch4 Documentary titled Dont Look Down which covers James exploits. James also meets up with Mustang Wanted and together they climb the Moscow Bridge in Kiev where they did somersaults on top and James held mustang wanted off the top with one hand. These types of stunts are incredibly dangerous and one mistake could lead to falling a long way down. You may question why he would risk his life and do these crazy climbs but he defends himself by saying that you only get one life and it is short anyway we all die. I do this because it's my dream I am a climber it is fun and I will never stop what I do. But I do condone young people that think they can do these dangerous activities and risk there lives doing them. I don't want kids or anyone to do these dangerous activities please don't do them he adds. It is not about hanging off cranes it is getting outside and exploring the environment. James does travel all over the world to climb building he has ear marked as a good climb. His mother does worry about him she actually suffers from Vertigo but that does not deter him at all. Copycat activities is a worry as David Walker leisure safety manager at the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents "ROSPA" explains. The bottom line is if things go wrong it does not only impact on the individual involved but also their family, the emergency services and staff who work at the construction and demolition sites. Children are particulary at risk from tresspassing on these sites as several tragic accidents in the past have shown. So it is dangerous risky stupid and causes all sorts of anti social behaviour as copycats might decide to climb a crane or high building without any experience or training they are potentially putting there lives at risk.
James Kingston Climbs A Radio Tower.
James Kingston climb's across 2 cranes high above the skyline in Dubai.
Vitaliy Raskalov and Vadim Makhorov from Russia and Ukraine risked their lives to climp to the top of the Shanghai Tower China, This building is the second tallest building in the world. Ontheroofs is an urban exploration photography project by the duo, Their main focus being to climb high rise architectural structures like skyscrapers bridges historic sites cathedrals and monuments. Their climb of the Shanghai tower has generated a huge viewer figure which currently stands at 66 million views on youtube. They entered the construction site of the unfinished building in the Lunar new year and filmed a video of their exploits.
Vadim Makharov Vitaliy Raskalov and others climb the Hong Kong online centre, Titled What's Up Hong Kong.
Vadim Makharov Vitaly Raskalov and two other rooftoppers staged an elaborate and dangerous climb in October of 2014. The adventurous team climbed a 52 storey Chinese online centre that has an enormous LCD screen ot the very top that displays advertising for the citizens down below. There James bond type of exploits saw them climb to the very top and find a way to hack the screen with there very own version of advertising using a laptop. They escape by jetting down the stairs and changing there clothes so as not to be detected a scene similar to an action or spy movie. The billboard is located at the top of a very high 660 feet skyscraper at the very heart of Hong Kong's busy metropolitan metropolis. Hong Kong native and director Lau Fat King Hercules was also climbing the structure. They entered the building by taking the elevator up the building and then accessing an emergency exit to access the staircase that takes them to the roof. They then walked around the edge of the building filming themselves using a Phantom 2 drone which had previously been used to film a volcano in Finland. They managed to break into the control box which manages the display for the large LCD and using a laptop they had brought along they changed the display to What's Up Hong Kong in huge letters also displaying there Shanghai climb they had previously undertaken and displaying there trade mark On The Roofs logo to the whole of Hong Kong pretty cool I must add. On The Roofs is actually sponsored by big brands like The North Face Vans and Suunto so was great publicity but still illegal if that makes sense. No one knows for sure who was flying the drone but the video is quite awesome check it out here.
Drones are a great tool for Rooftoppers as they allow you to record the full image from up high. A drone pilot could be used from the ground level or maybe somewhere higher up but reasonably safe to allow the recording of Rooftoppers who precariously make there way to the top of tall structures. These videos can then be shared on Youtube and other video sharing sites. Go pro cameras are also a good choice for the Rooftopper as it allows a full 360 degree recording as used by James Kingston.
Phantom 2 Vision + Drone. This quadcopter has an integrated 14 megapixel camera with 1080p capabilities. Tilt 3 axis gimbal, 700 meters wifi communication or about 2300 feet and a 90 degree tilt that allows video recording from directly below. With a flight speed of 50 feet per second and integrated GPS system allowing the drone to hover in the same spot even with winds of 25mph. With the dji vision app it allows you to check altitude preview recordings and check distance and battery strength. This drone is an excellent choice for rooftoppers with it's excellent feature set.
Kirill Oreskin dubbed the Russian Spiderman is a rooftopper and extreme adventurer. Here he has climbed one of the seven Stalinist buildings or Seven sisters in Moscow which sits atop a 577ft apartment block on the Kotelnicheskaya embankment of the Moscow River where he lives. Embossed with a hammer and a sickle and wreath the star is yellow.
Kirill Oreskin aka the Russian spiderman has climbed many well known structure. From Moscow Oreskin climbs high to take selfies and hang from one or two arms many feet above ground. Oreskin started scaling high buildings in 2008 because he likes the views from high up. He has climbed Moscow's 1.109ft Mercury City Tower and Evolution Tower the tallest skyscraper in Europe. When asked what's going on in your head when your up there Oreskin remarks Nothing Special I just try to think about hanging tight and staying alive. He also posts his exploits on Youtube and has a website.
Kirill Oreskin dangles fearlessy from between two buildings for a selfie.
Russia is a very popular place for rooftoppers as there are many high rise buildings in Moscow and the surrounding area. Russian Ministry of Internal Affairs is very aware of what is going on and has asked Russians to get involved and write in with their suggestions for taking safe selfies or with new ideas for pictograms which warn people about the dangers of taking selfies in dangerously high buildings and structures. Pictograms dictate an example of when you might decide to take a selfie but in a dangerous environment where you could be hurt. Taking a selfie close to a passing train maybe jumping across just before the train speed's through is dictated and on top of a electricity pylon. Obviously there are a lot more pictograms but this is trying to educate those people who live live a little on the edge.
This pictogram is helpful to make people aware of the dangers of taking selfies in dangerous environments, The UK and other countries should also be using these pictograms around building sites towers and many more places.
In today's digital age taking selfies is the norm for many people, But some enjoy taking it to the extreme but sometimes this leads to much harm and even death. Young people have been electrocuted climbing onto a train roof to get a photo some have been electrocuted climbing power cables and people take selfies not realizing the harm it will cause. Firefighters took a selfie of a burning shopping mall in which 17 people perished but this is not acceptable.
Alexander Chernikov is a Russian acrobat and dare devil who carries out some incredibly dangerous stunts, In one crazy stunt Chernikov climbs a 30 meter tall apartment building and set's his legs on fire before jumping off into a snow mound. Suffering burns from his stunt he was arrested and hospitalised after falling nine floors into a strategically mounded snow heap. Chernikov from Novoaltaysk Altai Krai has also jumped off a 6 story building with relatively no injuries, The video can be found here.
Alexander Chernikov risk's his life everytime he jumps from a building. He say's up there you feel that you are standing between life and death, your life is hanging by a thread if something goes wrong I could die he add's. Chernikow explain's that he has no fear of death we are all going to die one day so what's the point in being scared death is inescapable for everyone. Would Chernikov go to such extreme lenghts if there was no camera to record his stunts he say's probably not I would be doing something else.Chernikov want's to be a famous stuntman or even a film star. I get work as a labourer on building sites and local factories even unloading cargo trains. He is desperate want's to get out of the sleepy village he lives in sharing an apartment with his mother and father. Soon after the dangerous jump Chernikov was invited on to a TV show in Moscow where he was promised a screen test. But on the show he and his family were treated like country bumpkins, The host commented what if he jump's again and get's injured I don't want to pay for his hospital treatment off my taxes he is an idiot. Chernikov is still waiting for a screen test.
Alexander Chernikov just before he leap's from the 30 meter tall building on fire.
A photo of the secret interrogation room.
Kirill Vselensky is one of Moscow's most famous rooftoppers. He has climbed nearly every tall building in Moscow except the Kremlin and the Foreign Ministry understandably. He admit's climbing the building's without permission has little punishment and fines are small. In Russia he say's authorities are prepared to look the other way as long as you stay out of Politics everything is ok. Some opposition activist's have asked Vselensky if he would hang there banners across the building's once climbed but he has alway's refused.In the summer of 2014 a Ukranian friend of his scaled a landmark building this would be the Stalinist building one of the seven sisters and painted the star Blue in recognision of his countries flag. The friend managed to escape without being caught all the way back to Kiev but unfortunately the police raided Vselensky's apartment and the young Muscovite was sentenced to 17 months in prison even though he was not responsible, Maybe a warning for other rooftoppers not to vandalise historic political buildings without consequence. But despite this setback Vselensky was not deterred and continued to climb. He once came across a secret floor at the top of the Stalin era skyscraper near the American embassy. He recall's the lift does not go up there but there's a boiler room with a cage and a table for interrogations but it's all derelict now, But it was terribly interesting because in the most scary films about the KGB they too have this same room with a cage lamp and a table.
Petro Poroshenko Ukrainian President.
The stalinist era building has been climbed many times by rooftoppers but on one occasion activist's climbed to the top of the star at the top and painted it blue, Rooftopping can also be categorised into other segments like activism, The reason some climbers risk there lives can be political and this is something Russian authorities and government's do not want and the penalties are much more severe. Petro Poroshenko Ukraine's new president praised the four activist's that scaled the stalinist era building. He said I like very much that on the eve of celebrating the Ukrainian flag one of Moscow's highest building's was painted in our colours. With a big smile on his face I congratulate these Ukranian's .
Activist's climb the stalinist building and paint the yellow star blue in recognition of the Ukrainian flag. These activist's did use safety equipment and one parachuted down from the 577ft structure.
The national flag of Ukraine day was celebrated on 24th August 2017 which began in 2004. In commemoration for the declaration of Independence of 1991.Generally independence day is celebrated with a military parade held in Kyiv which is Ukraines capital city.
Wu Yongning was a rooftopper and was quite famous with a substantial fan base that tuned in to watch his stunts.As the self proclaimed China's first rooftopper Wu would climb extremely high buildings without safety equipment and would hang from the floor and perform stunts high up. On one occasion Wu was attempting a stunt at the Huayuan International Centre in Changsha capital of Hunan Province in Central China. The 26 year old was filmed performing press up's high above the building but tragedy struck. For some reason Wu was unable to pull himself up after his third press up Wu struggled and was unable to pull himself back to the roof. Unfortuately he could not hold on and fell to his death from the 62 story building. His body was found by a window cleaner and police have stated Wu fell about 45 feet on to a terrace below and died of fatal injuries. The amateur stuntman had millions of fan's who regularly tuned into Wu's dangerous climbs and stunts, Labelled as the first chinese rooftopper he would regularly perform live stream videos to his fans. Jinjin was Wu's girlfriend and said access by the public goes as far as the 44th floor after which key cards are required to go into the Grand Hyatt hotel. Security personnel were present on the hotel's top floor and Wu is reported to have took a lift to over 40 floors and then free climbed the last 20 floors to reach the top.Jinjin also revealed Wu had struck a deal for his next video which had it been successful would of earned him 100.000 RMB or about £11.300. Certainly not worth the fame and money if one is to fall to there death. Pressure may of been on Wu as he needed the money for his wedding and to help his sick mother with hospital fee's. his step uncle Feng Shengliang said, Wu has often cited not to copy and perform any of his stunts as he has martial artist training and had previously worked in TV and film. This begs the question why do this dangerous activity. Money overrided the serious danger he was facing and the chance to get some good money was also something which added to his accident. This is stupid and he lost his young life but it could of been prevented if he never dangled off the building in the first place. This sadly will be just one story of many rooftoppers that ultimately fall to there deaths.
Grand Hyatt Hotel Huayuan International Centre Changsha China.
Alain Robert's the human Spiderman.
Wu Yongning balances precariously between two walls, Wu had posted over 300 short film's before his accident. His last post was on November 8th as suspiscion arose that he may of been injured or worse.
Wu Yongning prepares for his last stunt.
Alain Robert born 7th August 1962 is a world renouned urban climber who has climbed an impressive amount of high rise buildings and bridges around the world including the highest building in the world at the moment the Burj Khalifa on 28th March 2011. Alain is known as the French Spiderman and is famous for his free solo climbing, He does not use safety equipment only some chalk and his shoes. He did however use a safety harness too climb the Burj Khalifa which took 6 hours to complete.Most of his climbs he had no permission to do so and this meant he would have to use the break of dawn to start his climbs avoiding the authorities at the same time. Crowds would gather to watch as the amazing spiderman climbs window by window to his goal at the top. He has been arrested many times but more recently he has completed climbs with sponsorship and permission. His physical training and technique allow him to climb using small protrusions that exist in building's wall's and window panels. He has no time to rest on many of his climbs and some last several hours. He has an interest in Global warming and want's the government and the world to act before it's too late he say's He has also brought a banner with him on his ascend which he hangs to the building., On 5th June 2008 Alain climbed the New York Times Building where he had the opportunity to hang a banner which said Global warming Kill's more people than 911.
The Sydney Tower Stair Challenge has individual or teams of competitors running as quick as they can to the top of the tower which has 1504 steps in total. These people are sponsored and the money raised is given to the Cancer council. The two winners are also eligible to compete in the Empire state building run up.
The Sydney Tower located in Australia was completed in 1981 and has a maximum height including the spire of 1.014 ft. Designed by Australian architect Donald Crone. Four sections of the tower are open to the public, Three are occupied by Sydney Tower Dining and the Sydney Tower eye or observation deck is on the fourth deck which gives stunning views at 820 ft above the ground. The golden turret at the very top has a maximum capacity of 960 people. Lift's are used to travel to the observation level and take only 45 seconds at full speed. Depending on wind conditions lift's can go at full half or quarter speed. Encircling the Sydney tower eye is Skywalk a open air glass floored platform at a height of 879 ft. The viewing platform extends over the edge of the main structure of the deck. The tower offers 360 degree views over the city and STUDIO which is located on the third level is the highest even space in the southern hemisphere that can cater for cocktail functions for 200 people and 156 sit down guests. A 4D cinema can be found on the fourth deck being the first theatre of it's kind in Australia.
Alain Roberts scaled the Sydney Tower in 1997 without any safety equipment one of many building's he has climbed.
The Willis Tower or more commonly referred to as the Sears tower is a 110 story 1.450 ft high rise building in Chicago Illinois United States.When it was completed in 1973 it surpassed the twin tower building's in New York as the highest building in the world a title it had held for nearly 25 years. It remained the tallest building in the Western hemisphere until 2014, as the new One World Trade Center building tower at the World Trade Center site in New York was completed it then surpassed the Willis tower. Both towers are very close in height as the tip of the Willis building has a height of 1.729 ft and the One WTC tower is 1.792 ft to tip which is only a mere 63 ft between the two. The Willis tower is the second tallest building in the United States and 16th tallest in the world. The skydeck opened on June 22nd 1974 and is one of the most famous tourist attractions in Chicago with over 1.3 million people visiting annually. Located on the 103rd floor the skydeck stands at a height of 1.353ft or 412.4 meters.Elevators can take tourist's to the top in a speedy 60 seconds, Alain Robert's climbed the Willis tower on August 20th of 1999 using his bare hands and bare feet and a safety harness. A thick fog had settled in near the end of his climb making the last 20 stories of his ascend more difficult as the exterior had become slippery. Glass boxes extend out about 4.3 feet from the skyscrapers Skydeck allowing visitors an amazing view of the city and across 50 miles and four states of fascinating imagery. As Alain reached the top of the building he was greeted by police and Sears workers and was quickly arrested for trespassing charges, His climb lasted a little over an hour starting at 6 am local time, He occasionally paused to dust his hands with chalk and stopped again to dust a greeting on a window for office workers who waved when he passed them. 100 people had slowly gathered below to watch the feat and cheered as he made it to the top. Electrician Scott Kerivan commented most people are hear watching to see if he might fall and another bystander called Holly Liss a futures broker for Fuji securities Inc commented that she though it was great.
The Golden Gate Bridge is a suspension bridge spanning the Golden Gate which is a strait on the West coast of North America that connects San Francisco bay to the pacific ocean. Alain Robert's climbed this bridge in 1996 which has a height of 227 Meters of 745 ft. This bridge is high on the list of rooftoppers because of it's iconic world renouned fame. Two teenage rooftoppers also climbed this bridge they are called Peter Teatime and Tommy Rector. Teatime who was 18 years old when he made the dangerous climb performed death defying tricks and somersaults even dangling off the structure. Teatime and Rector climbed the bridge's frame which was no easy task as the cables are very steep and performed back flips at the top. It was a must do climb Teatime said. They both had to trespass onto a private area to make the dangerous climb up. Teatime who is from Allenton Winconsin said neither of them used safety equipment so one mistake would ultimately lead to along fall to the ground below. It took us about 10 minutes to reach the top and we snuck under security fences unnoticed. We dodged security camera's and focused our mind on the climb ahead even though we never prepared for this climb. Teatime has much experience climbing cranes and skyscrapers so was not nervous at all, Even when they dangled off the edge there mind's were clear and waited for a gap in the traffic just in case they fell.
Peter Teatime and Tommy Rector climb the Golden Gate Bridge.
Jeff Chapman Author and Rooftopper.
Tom Ryaboi was 23 years old when he first got the urge to climb a tall building. It was one Novenber weekend five years ago when he came across an open gate someone had carelessly left open. With a camera strapped to him he carefully climbed the 41 floors of the structure to the roof of the building which was still under construction In Toronto near Spadina Avenue and Bremner Boulevard. Ryaboi was struck by the panoramic view's as he reached the top he found it exhilarating seeing the concrete jungle in a completely different perspective.Elated he stayed up on the roof for 40 minutes until it started to get dark taking a series of photo's which when he got back home would be amazed at. A totally different type of photography he thought. He shared his exploit's with his friends and managed to convince some to accompany him on some climbs with there camera's also. Ryaboi estimate's there to be over 20 rootoppers that take photo's up high in Toronto. But this craze has taken off in cities such as Boston and Chicago too. The term Rooftopping was probably coined by the late Toronto author Jeff Chapman as he refers to the word in his 2005 book Access All Area's A User's Guide To The Art Of Urban Exploration. Ryaboi who is now 28 and his climbing crew have scaled more than 100 buildings to date. They have no particular schedule and climb in all seasons usually in camoflage blending in to the environment the best they can. That means they wear steel toe cap boots and builders overalls and workshirts. We have been caught a few time's he say's but its just a $65 dollar fine and a don't do it again message. I'd rather ask for forgiveness than permission he add's.I wanted to bring people along with me I want them to experience the amazing view's as well.
Ryaboi has released a video called City Rising, This video has a four month time lapse of life in the city. compressed down to a 4 minute clip, The background music is by the German composer Hans Zimmer's Journey To The Line soundtrack score. However the project was full of challenge's posed by motion control gear constantly changing light and aperature flicker. There is also an element of patience once the camera is set up there is nothing you can do but wait for the moment. Having to spend 8 hour's on top of a roof does lead to an examination and observation of one's own mental and emotional processes a word called Introspection. I start to think about where I have been and where I am going and where we are going I start to think about my own mortality. Coming out on to a roof for the first time is a real rush, When you see the city for the first time at that height it is like taking your first breath as you come out of the water. Sometimes we have an excellent experience, One spring a security guard found me and a friend, As I explained to him what we were doing the guard later asked him to take a family portrait with his wife and two children to send to his mother in India. He has also been asked by building managers to return to the same building's he has climbed up to take pictures of the vista from there rooftops. A pionerr of rooftopping Ryaboi has had to evade a lot of barriers even urban falcons defending there nest.
City Rising By Tom Ryaboi
Jeff Chapman Born September 19 1973 Died August 23rd 2005. Also known for his pseudonym Ninjalicious was a Toronto based urban climber. He was a fountaineer writer and founder of the urban exploration zine infiltration: the zine about going places you're not supposed to go. A prominent author and editor for YIP Magazine and also it's website YIP.ORG.
Jeff Chapman died of cholangiocarcinoma he was just 31 years old, Three years previously Chapman had had a liver transplant at the Toronto General Hospital. Many people claim Chapman died by coming into contact with carciinogenic materials during his exploring. His family have stated that he had been diagnosed with auto-immune diseases before he was an urban climber. He liked to explore institutions as his long stay's in hospital gave him the time and interest. Chapman first published infiltration in 1996, In total 25 issues were published, covering such interesting area's as the navigation of storm drains, evading hotel security and adventuring through abandoned military shelters. He also launched infiltration.org an online version of the zine in 1996.His book Access All Area's a users guide to the art of urban exploration was published shortly before his death
Chapman is credited with coining the term "credibility prop" which describes a device uniform piece of equipment or other appurtenances used solely to reduce suspicion if one is encountered in a normally restricted area. A specific example of credibility prop is simply being wet wetness being a good credibilty prop for infiltration of a hotel pool. He has also been featured in a CBC Newsworld's programme Big Life showing hime exploring Toronto. He and his wife Liz were both interview subjects in the film BBS, The documentary as participants in the Toronto BBS community and other early online communities. Chapman attended York University in the early 1990's and later studied book and magazine publishing at Centennial College. He went on to serve as editor at History Magazine and as director of the Toronto Architectural Conservancy board.
Oleg Sherstyachenko or better known Oleg Cricket another rooftopper from Russia.
Oleg Sherstyachenko from Siberia in Russia has been performing free running stunts and parkour since he was 14. He is an internet sensation in his native Russia and post's death defying clip's of him doing somersaults dangling from the building's edge's and riding a hooverboard close to the building's edge amongst other things. Born in Yekaterinberg the parkour expert now lives in Dubai. He has climbed many high rise building around the world and sometimes climb's with his friend Ilya Bagaev.He has a healthy Instagram following of more than 190.000 people who regularly tune in to see his next death defying stunts.
This video show's Oleg skateboarding along the top of a Hong Kong skyscraper and doing flips and somersaults. At one point in the video a voice can be heard threatening in Cantonese to call the police. Oleg is a trained gymnast and the stunt was created for a promotional collaboration with UK watch company Circulr. His dangerous antict's attracted the interest of the Hong Kong police who are investigating.
This video show's Oleg riding a hooverboard high above the Dubai skyline and other stunts, Oleg is part of Russia's Bankai Organisation which is a group of acrobats known for their incredible skills. The website states the group combine classical acrobats contemporary discipline which is a mix of Parkour, freerun, tricking, and hi-fi show technologies. A massive amount of strength and balance is also required.
Tomas Mascinskas Tricking 03.10.2015
Loopkicks Gathering 2016
Tricking is a relatively new and underground sport that incorporates gymnastic elements. In total there are over 1000 tricks to master and have been compiled into a tricking book by Sesshourmaru who is a well know tricker called the Tricking Bible. Tricking is expected to be practiced on a flat surface and is a completely seperate discipline from free running and parkour. Tricking incorporates many martial arts movements. Tricking is about linking tricks into a combo rather than a single movement like parkour or free running, Considered the best annual tricking meeting in the world the loopkicks gathering is run by a top tricking team, The roots of tricking are inbedded in martial arts the kicking side is where it is mostly performed. Manny Brown Chris Devera and Steve Terada all try to keep tricking close to martial arts and stress other trickers to use kicking tricks as much as possible in there routines.
The Four Seasons Hotel New York is a luxury hotel that opened in 1993. Stands at 682 ft high.
This image taken by Connor Cummings is one of his last shortly before he fell to his death on top of the Four Seasons hotel New York.
Another image by Connor Cummings 30th December 2015.
Yaraslav Segeda climbs the Moscow Bridge in Kiev
The sport of rooftopping even though spectacular and quite awesome cant go unscathed without fatality. Connor Cummings is just that sort of person who scaled a highrise with his friend and fell to his death. He wasnt doing backflips or hanging off he was simply taking photographs of the scenery but fell to his death. Cummings of Rockaway New Jersey was just 20 years old when he fell from the Four Seasons Hotel in New York City on 3oth December 2015. He accidentally fell down a shaft and died after falling 9 stories. He and a friend were climbing scaffolding in a bid to get some awesome photo's as Cummings had just received a new Canon camera as a Christmas gift. Cummings was studying psychology at the university of Massachusetts Amherst. This shows the alure rooftopping has on a younger generation of people who find the excitement and eagerness to climb high rise buildings. It was dark and he simply fell off after misjudging a second opening in the scaffolding. but a young life wasted and could of been prevented if he never climbed up in the first place. His mother said he died doing what he loved best and saw beauty in everything she said he would of been a great photographer. To gain access to the top the pair took the lift to the top floor of the 52 story building, From there they walked up two flights of stairs to an unlocked door leading to the rooftop, Once outside they scaled a 25 foot ladder that took them to some metal scaffolding surrounding cooling equipment. His Canon MKIII camera fell unscathed to a lower platform and was given to his mother 2 days later. His mother Linda said looking at the stunning images on the camera's memory card gave her a feeling of awe and dread. She thought they were beautiful but scary at the same time she told the daily news. He died doing what he loved best it's supposed to give me some consolation a friend told her but it has not she said. He was not a daredevil his mother pointed out this was just a tragic accident.
Yaroslav Segeda a 22 year old engineer bravely scales high rise buildings and structures in his spare time. Having started climbing buildings and has continued to do so through out Ukraine for the last seven years, Segada from Kyiv in Ukraine sometimes looks for buildings under construction as a better chance to reach the top because of the fear of being caught by workmen and authorities. You cannot recreate the feeling you get when you reach the top Segada explain's it's a wonderful feeling of self satisfaction and accomplishment. When me and my friends heard there was a new building being constructed in Kiev we all had the same notion to climb the A crane to allow us to take pictures when we hang from the long chain, I never feel scared when I climb the feeling is more like excitement than fear he says. Segada and his friends do not use safety equipment hard hats or anything that would protect them if one should fall but I guess that just adds to the adrenaline and excitement. Segada has now climbed some of the tallest buildings in Ukraine.
The list below shows the highest buildings in the world at the moment. These will be of great interest to rooftoppers as they will pose a huge challenge and will offer staggering views of the skyline and everything below.
A climbing friend swings off a crane used in the construction of a skyscraper in Kiev Ukraine, April 29th
These buildings have been completed and represent the highest structures on earth at this very moment but another skyscraper was currently in build mode this being the Nakheel Tower situated in Dubai. This monster of a tower will top out at a staggering 1km in height but was unfortunately put on hold due to financial problems but could be built in the future.