Alain Robert
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Alain Robert scaling a building using his bare hands, and no equipment. |
Alain Robert (born
August 7 1962 in
Valence, Drôme,
France as
Robert Alain Philippe) is a
rock and
urban climber. Nicknamed
"Spider-Man," Robert is a solo urban climber,
free climbing high rocks and up the sheer, smooth exteriors of skyscrapers.
While other famous urban climbers sometimes used clamps or suction cups, Robert uses no tools or safety devices of any kind. Using only his bare hands and climbing shoes, Robert has scaled more than 70 giant structures around the globe including many of the
world's tallest structures.
Robert began climbing as a young boy, scaling rock cliffs in the area around his home. His
buildering career began at the age of 12 when he forgot his keys and was locked out of his parents' eighth-floor apartment. Instead of waiting for them to return home, Alain simply scaled the exterior wall to his home.
At the ages of 19 and 20 he suffered two accidents, where he fell 15 metres and suffered multiple fractures. The doctors considered him 66 percent handicapped and told him he would not be able to climb again. However in 6 months he was back to climbing. He kept taking on more and more challenging structures and improving his skills. He polished his rock-climbing skills in the
French Alps before turning to buildings.
Because the authorities would not give him permission for such dangerous exploits, Alain Robert would suddenly appear, usually at dawn, on the side of giant skycrapers in cities around the world where thousands of onlookers would stop in awe of what was happening. As a result, he has been arrested in various countries many times by police waiting at the building's top. The arrests and trials are little more than quick formalities and he is always discharged.
Robert's well-developed arm and leg muscles enable him to hold on to vertical surfaces, without an opportunity to rest, during long climbs, some of which last over an hour. At five feet, five inches (5'5") he is also both short and light, attributes that enhance his dexterity while climbing. He sometimes has a small bag of climbing
chalk powder (similar to
powdered rosin) fastened around his waist, which is used to absorb sweat.
As his exploits brought him worldwide media exposure and as his reputation grew, speculation began as to whether or not he would attempt the tallest building in the world at the time: the
Petronas Twin Towers in
Kuala Lumpur,
Malaysia. While Malaysian authorities were expecting it, they were still astonished when one day in
1997 he suddenly appeared several floors up on the side of the tower on his way to the top. He was eventually arrested while on the 60th floor, 28 short of the 88-storied building.
While scaling the
Sears Tower in
Chicago, Illinois in
1999, he encountered the most challenging climbing conditions in his career. Near the top of the 110 story building, a thick fog set in that covered the glass and metal wall of the last 20 floors with moisture making it dangerously slippery. Although the climb became agonizingly slow and very strenuous, Alain Robert overcame it and reached the top.
In February 2003, he legally climbed the 656-foot
National Bank of Abu Dhabi,
UAE, watched by about 100,000 spectators. In April, he scaled the headquarters of oil giant
TotalFinaElf in
La Défense outside of Paris to protest the
invasion of Iraq.
Robert is now paid to scale buildings as part of publicity efforts. In May 2003, he was paid approximately $18,000 to climb the 312-foot
Lloyd's of London to promote the premiere of the movie Spider-Man on the British television channel, Sky Movies.
On
October 19,
2004, donning a Spider-Man suit, he scaled the 614 foot headquarters of the French oil company
Total. On
June 11,
2005 he climbed the
Cheung Kong Centre in
Hong Kong,
China, scaling 283 meters (928 feet) to the top of the 62-story tower.
There is an award-winning documentary about him titled
Alain Robert is Spider-Man.
A few of the more than 70 skyscrapers and monuments climbed by Alain Robert:
*
Sydney, Australia –
Sydney Tower and the
Sydney Opera House*
Rio de Janeiro, Brazil – Hotel Vermont
*
Montreal, Quebec, Canada – Crown Plaza Hotel
*
Hong Kong,
China**ATV Asia Building
**Nec Building
**The Far East Financial Center
**The
Cheung Kong Centre*
London **
One Canada Square**
Lloyd's building*
Paris, France**
Eiffel Tower**
Grande Arche at
La Défense**Obelisk in
Place de la Concorde **
Tour Montparnasse**Tour Cristal at Front De Seine
**Mercurial Towers at Bagnolet
*
Frankfurt, Germany –
Dresdner Bank Tower*
Milan, Italy – Banca di Milano building
*
Tokyo, Japan –
Shinjuku Center Building*
Warsaw, Poland – Marriott Hotel
*
Johannesburg, South Africa – IBM Tower
*
Abu Dhabi,
United Arab Emirates – National Bank of Abu Dhabi and the Etisalat building
*
United States of America**
Empire State Building –
New York City**
Sears Tower –
Chicago, Illinois**
Golden Gate Bridge –
San Francisco, California**Blue Cross, Blue Shield Building –
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania**
Luxor Hotel pyramid –
Las Vegas, Nevada*
Tampere, Finland – Hotel Ilves
*
Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia –
Petronas Twin Towers (arrested at the 60th floor)
*
Sabah, Malaysia –
Sabah Foundation Building (for fund raising)
*
Taiwan –
Taipei 101*
Venezuela –
Parque Central Torre*
Barcelona –
Torre AgbarHe has said that his next climb will probably be in South Korea.
Alain Robert suffered two accidents while still in training. He has not had a climbing accident since.
On
January 18,
1982, aged 19, he fell 15 meters when his anchor and rope gave way during training. He fractured his wrists, heels and nose and underwent three operations.
On
September 29,
1982, aged 20, he fell 15 meters when his rope came undone during
rappelling. He was in a
coma for five days and fractured both forearms, his elbow, pelvis and nose. His elbow was also dislocated and a nerve was damaged leaving him partially paralysed. He also suffered
cerebral edema and
vertigo. He underwent 6 operations on his hands and elbow.
On
November 22,
2005, he was arrested as he began to climb the
One Houston Center building in
Houston,
Texas. He was charged with criminal trespassing and misdemeanor possession of a
controlled substance. The controlled substance charge was due to two pills that the police found in his possession. He claimed the pills were the prescription drug
Urbanyl, a medication used to prevent epileptic seizures. He spent two days in jail and then appeared in court on
November 29 and provided proof of a doctor's prescription for the medication, asking that the drug charges be dropped. On
December 20 he climbed the Cristal Tower in Paris in protest of the arrest. His next court appearance was scheduled for
January 4,
2006, but Robert said that he would be climbing in
Mexico at that time.
On
March 15,
2006 he climbed one of the 400-ft Mercurial Towers in
Bagnolet in protest of the presumed 7-day sentence, prior to returning to Texas to serve the sentence. On
March 31 he appeared before a Houston court. The drug charge was dropped because of the valid prescription, and the jail sentence was reduced to one day and a $2000 fine for trespassing. The previous time served in November was credited so Robert did not have to serve any more time in jail.
Alain Robert and his wife Nicole have three children. He calls his children immediately after he reaches the top of a building. His children also climb and practice with him.
*
Official Website - requires
Macromedia Flash, includes a number of spectacular photos
* (accessible without Flash)
*
Daring urban climber from China Daily*
ExWeb Interview with French Spider-Man*
The Alain Robert Buildering.net Interview
