Is this guy's brain wired differently?
Discussion
that bloke has been climbing again
Of course there's skill in this: balance, technique etc. but ultimately does he have (or lack) the part of the brain that says "what if?"
But even if I made it to the top of the crane I wouldn't be able to casually stroll across the arm (?) of it one handed.
I certainly wouldn't get to the end and hang from it..... then let go with one hand!
Could you be *so* sure that you've got a good grip, that your hand isn't just too dusty / sweaty, that the crane doesn't have a spot of oil that you didn't notice?
Highly skilled or just plain mental?
ETA I saw the tv programme where he got back from Ukraine and he went to see his mum, maybe he still lived there. I also couldn't put my loved ones through what his poor mum goes through. And yes, I know there are dangerous sports and extreme passtimes etc. But there's a big difference between F1 and hanging from a crane by your fingers.
Of course there's skill in this: balance, technique etc. but ultimately does he have (or lack) the part of the brain that says "what if?"
But even if I made it to the top of the crane I wouldn't be able to casually stroll across the arm (?) of it one handed.
I certainly wouldn't get to the end and hang from it..... then let go with one hand!
Could you be *so* sure that you've got a good grip, that your hand isn't just too dusty / sweaty, that the crane doesn't have a spot of oil that you didn't notice?
Highly skilled or just plain mental?
ETA I saw the tv programme where he got back from Ukraine and he went to see his mum, maybe he still lived there. I also couldn't put my loved ones through what his poor mum goes through. And yes, I know there are dangerous sports and extreme passtimes etc. But there's a big difference between F1 and hanging from a crane by your fingers.
Edited by Hackney on Wednesday 20th August 13:22
Yep - both, although in my experience total confidence can make up for a lack of practice / skill in some respect.
I saw the same TV show, he's certainly driven - I seem to recall his Mum was a bit 'odd' herself and think might have caused his agoraphobia- his free climbing seems to be his way of coping with that - unlike the Ukrainian guy who was more a pure thrill seeker / show off.
I put him in the same category as say Travis Pastrana, if you get past the 'Redbull imagine' he's really a shy, geeky guy who copes with this issues by scaring himself silly doping stunts, he loves the thrill at the time - but gets a sort of delayed fear, meaning he suffers terrible night terrors after the fact.
I saw the same TV show, he's certainly driven - I seem to recall his Mum was a bit 'odd' herself and think might have caused his agoraphobia- his free climbing seems to be his way of coping with that - unlike the Ukrainian guy who was more a pure thrill seeker / show off.
I put him in the same category as say Travis Pastrana, if you get past the 'Redbull imagine' he's really a shy, geeky guy who copes with this issues by scaring himself silly doping stunts, he loves the thrill at the time - but gets a sort of delayed fear, meaning he suffers terrible night terrors after the fact.
TheJimi said:
I could do all that, except for the bit at the beginning where he's running and jumping between concrete sections - I couldn't do that and would end up falling and injuring myself,
All i can think about is what the pain would feel like when skinning your shins on those concrete starter walls.........wincing right now.....James is a friend of mine and I can ensure you that there is a lot of skill involved in what he does! The 'hanging from bits' part of it, yeah, people with decent upper body strength could do it, but the conditioning it takes to do the associated stuff (and the free running he does) is just insane.
I have never met anyone else that can do the stuff he does with his body (oo err) and it is solely down to his love for what he does and the fact that he dedicates full-time-job hours to making sure he is good enough to do what he does.
Is he wired differently? Possibly. Is he mental? Definitely. But the enjoyment he gets out of it far surpasses anything that anyone else I know gets from their hobbies!
I have never met anyone else that can do the stuff he does with his body (oo err) and it is solely down to his love for what he does and the fact that he dedicates full-time-job hours to making sure he is good enough to do what he does.
Is he wired differently? Possibly. Is he mental? Definitely. But the enjoyment he gets out of it far surpasses anything that anyone else I know gets from their hobbies!
Jonboy_t said:
James is a friend of mine
In that case, could you ask him a question? Did he go up the bridge planning to do a somersault on top of it, or did the huge number of graffiti tags on top of it when he got there make him think the video would be a bit mundane if he didn't add something else to it? 
Kermit power said:
Jonboy_t said:
James is a friend of mine
In that case, could you ask him a question? Did he go up the bridge planning to do a somersault on top of it, or did the huge number of graffiti tags on top of it when he got there make him think the video would be a bit mundane if he didn't add something else to it? The guy he went to see was, in his own words, 'f
king mental'. Being a bit of a control freak (understandably so, being that high up), this bloke was trying to push him into doing things he didn't feel comfortable doing, so the backflip was a bit of a pacifier to shut him up for a bit, but he did go up there with the intention of doing 'something'. Not sure what though TheJimi said:
I could do all that, except for the bit at the beginning where he's running and jumping between concrete sections - I couldn't do that and would end up falling and injuring myself, but the climbing, hanging on one hand etc, yep.
I'd want my chalk bag with me tho.
Amazing judgement of distance and necessary jumping power to make it. He landed all those cock-on.I'd want my chalk bag with me tho.
There's definately some extreme confidence in his abilities. I do wonder if people like him and Alex Honold (or Fred Dibnah for that matter) are wired differently, or simply have a massively unshakable confidence. I'm quite confident doing scrambles high up without ropes (Crib Goch and the likes) - but steeper, harder things I wont do without ropes. My confidence only goes so far, then the fear sets in.
So I wonder if they're the same as me, but their "confidence vs fear" level is simply miles higher. Or if there is actually something quite different in their brain.
Oh, here's a direct link without the ad: http://www.epictv.com/media/podcast/james-kingston...
So I wonder if they're the same as me, but their "confidence vs fear" level is simply miles higher. Or if there is actually something quite different in their brain.
Oh, here's a direct link without the ad: http://www.epictv.com/media/podcast/james-kingston...
CrutyRammers said:
I'm quite confident doing scrambles high up without ropes (Crib Goch)
Meh. You can cycle along that!
I've only crossed Crib Goch once, with visibility of about 20 feet tops through the fog (a superlatively well planned TA escapade), but 20 minutes later, looking back from the summit after the fog had cleared, I was quite glad it had been there on the way up!
Striding Edge in the snow with Air Cadets was another interesting experience which I suspect wouldn't be allowed these days.
Makes me squirm watching these, but have more respect for these guys as they do it day in day out.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2A_h2AjJaMw
I watch the documentaries about these and always wait for the dedication at the end, the more you do it, however confident you are, go messing on high structures with no safety gear, eventually you get it wrong, find that bit of grease or bird st, a freak gust of wind, a bird to the face or whatever and its game over.
Wonder how many of these guys are falling off, it does happen, imagine the regret that you would have go through your head for the few seconds it takes for gravity to do its work ?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2A_h2AjJaMw
I watch the documentaries about these and always wait for the dedication at the end, the more you do it, however confident you are, go messing on high structures with no safety gear, eventually you get it wrong, find that bit of grease or bird s
t, a freak gust of wind, a bird to the face or whatever and its game over.Wonder how many of these guys are falling off, it does happen, imagine the regret that you would have go through your head for the few seconds it takes for gravity to do its work ?
Davey S2 said:
PulsatingStar said:
There isnt a lot of skill there, I could do all the climbing bits physically with ease.
Exactly. Anyone could walk along a foot wide beam easily if it was 6 inches off the ground. Put it several hundred feet up though and it becomes a different proposition.Obviously an extremely small amount of people can do this.
Gassing Station | The Lounge | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff