‘French Spider-Man’ Climbs 47-Story Building in Philippines

The man known as “French Spider-Man” is currently in police custody after he scaled the mammoth GT International Tower in the Philippines without the aid of safety equipment. 

Alain Robert scaled the building over the course of an hour and a half, pausing on a window ledge and then making his descent early Tuesday morning. 

Robert, 57, has said that climbing is essential to his life. He started scaling buildings when he was a teenager, though oddly enough, he suffers from vertigo. 

“This is my path, this is my way of living,” he told NDTV. “It is as important to me as eating, sleeping. I need that. It keeps me alive.”

He told The Philippines Star that he was intrigued by the shape of the GT International Tower and felt it “looked easy to climb.” 

He said that he enjoyed watching the people inside the building’s reactions to his climb. 

“I see thousands of people inside the building. I did brighten their day,” Robert told CNN. “They will remember that their whole life. I am entertaining people for free in the district.”

On the ground, people reacted in awe and pulled out their phones to capture the daredevil in action. 

He was taken into custody by police after the stunt.

Robert holds the Guinness World Record for “Most Buildings Climbed Unassisted” with the official tally being 121. He has scaled the Sydney Opera House in Australia, France's Eiffel Tower, London’s Heron Tower, Chicago's Willis Tower and Dubai’s Cayan Tower, among others. 

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