A French urban climber known as the “French Spiderman,” Alain Robert, has been arrested after he was spotted climbing a highrise building in Makati, Philippines, on Tuesday morning.
This French “Spidey” was caught on multiple peoples’ cameras throughout the morning from both the ground and inside the building he was scaling.
He can be seen making his way both up and down the 217-metre building without any harness. He was on the building for approximately two hours.
“This is my path, this is my way of living,” he told Agence France-Presse and other local reporters once he completed his climb. “It is as important to me as eating, sleeping. I need that. It keeps me alive.”
The climb began at about 11 a.m., and lasted about one-and-a-half hours.
READ MORE: ‘French Spider-Man’ arrested after scaling London’s Heron Tower
It’s one of many climbs Robert has made, often without permission, having scaled London’s Heron Tower, Barcelona’s Torre Agbar and Paris’ Montparnasse skyscraper.
He’s even scaled the Burj Khalifa in Dubai, where he used suction devices and a safety rope as the building has no hand or footholds.
Guinness World Records says he has scaled more than 100 structures without ropes or safety equipment, setting a record in the process.
WATCH: People watch from ground as ‘French Spiderman’ scales Philippine building
Police in Makati were less than impressed about the climb and took him into custody once he arrived on the ground.
“He researched on the building and he chose this,” said police Chief Rogelio Simon. “We don’t encourage the public to do the same because it’s a security and safety hazard.”
Robert has suffered severe falls while climbing and told AFP he estimates he’s been left 66 per cent disabled from these accidents.
READ MORE: French ‘Spiderman’ climbs Barcelona skyscraper harness-free
Simon told CNN Philippines the 56-year-old had been in Manila since Monday evening, and had been walking with his lawyer before climbing the tower.
He is currently being held on a charge of public disturbance and is waiting on a decision from prosecutors on bail.
Robert told CNN he believes it would be “difficult” to charge him with trespassing.
“There isn’t any scandal. I know they’re trying to charge me for trespass, but for me, trespassing is entering into the property, which I didn’t,” he said.
Despite the two-hour climb, Robert says he didn’t reach the top of the GT tower but his primary goal was to make people happy through entertaining them with his climbs.
His hope is to climb 200 buildings before he retires from climbing.
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