- Home
- About
- Services
-
Speakers
- Motivation/Inspiration
- Leadership
- Women & Leadership
- Business Leaders
- Entrepreneurs
- Sports & Adventure
- Future & Technology
- Innovation
- Social media
- Celebrities
- Team Building
- Health & Wellness
- Media/ Marketing
- Authors
- Communication/ Negotiation
- Journalists
- Global Affairs & Politics
- War & Defense
- Economics & Finance
- Entertainers
- Comedians
- Hosts
- Diversity
- Industry experts
- Environment
- Professors/ Scholars
- Social Activists
- Human Resources
- TEDx Speakers
- Indian Regional
- Mythology & Literature
- CSR
- Spirituality & Mindfulness
- Youth
- Exclusive Speakers
- Cinema & The Arts
- Influencers
- All Speakers
- Events
- Contact Us
- Wish List
Alain Robert
‘The French Spiderman’
Who am I
Born in 1962, Alain Robert is the world’s most accomplished urban climber. He has scaled more than 140 buildings around the globe including the Eiffel Tower – 314m (1,027 ft), the Sydney Tower – 319m (1,047 ft), the Petronas Twin Towers – 452m (1,488 ft) Sears Tower Chicago – 443m (1,453 ft) and Taipei 101 – 508 m (1,667 ft) and the Burj Khalifa – 829.8m (2716 ft)
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, he simply scaled the exterior wall….
"He is an accomplished rock climber. In 1993 he achieved a world record for the most extreme solo performance in the Gorge du Verdon in the south of France.
In 1982 he suffered two accidents, the first in January at the age of 19 and the second in September at the age of 20. He fell 15 m (49 ft) on both occasions. He suffered multiple fractures (to his cranium, nose, wrists, elbows, pelvis, and heels). He now suffers from permanent vertigo.
The doctors considered him 60 per cent handicapped and told him he would not be able to climb again. However, within 6 months he was back doing what he loves most – 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.
In an interview in 2005, he admitted that he had fallen 7 times although the worst fall was the one in 1982. In 2004, he fell 2 metres (6 ft 6.7 in) when climbing a traffic light whilst posing for a photo in an interview. He landed on his elbow and needed forty stitches, but a month later he climbed the world’s tallest skyscraper at the time, Taipei 101, as part of its official opening week.
It was in 1994 that he began free solo climbing the world’s tallest urban structures that would earn him the nickname “The French Spiderman”.
In 2008 he successfully scaled Hong Kong’s Four Seasons Hotel, a 45-story building and his third known urban climb in that city. Robert used the climb to promote greater awareness and international action for the cause of global warming.
Authorities briefly detained him after the climb before being released. He has, in fact, been arrested and fined more than 100 times for illegally climbing the world’s tallest urban structures during the last two decades. These arrests and trials have been little more than formalities, although in 2007, in China, he was jailed and then deported after climbing the 88 story-skyscraper, the Jin Mao Tower – 420 m (1,378 ft).
“We set ourselves limits, but we are all strong enough to aim higher, to achieve our goals. All we have to do is find such strength within ourselves. Know how to develop it,” he says.
Alain now inspires and motivates people around the world with his amazing story.
Who am I
Born in 1962, Alain Robert is the world’s most accomplished urban climber. He has scaled more than 140 buildings around the globe including the Eiffel Tower – 314m (1,027 ft), the Sydney Tower – 319m (1,047 ft), the Petronas Twin Towers – 452m (1,488 ft) Sears Tower Chicago – 443m (1,453 ft) and Taipei 101 – 508 m (1,667 ft) and the Burj Khalifa – 829.8m (2716 ft)
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, he simply scaled the exterior wall….
"He is an accomplished rock climber. In 1993 he achieved a world record for the most extreme solo performance in the Gorge du Verdon in the south of France.
In 1982 he suffered two accidents, the first in January at the age of 19 and the second in September at the age of 20. He fell 15 m (49 ft) on both occasions. He suffered multiple fractures (to his cranium, nose, wrists, elbows, pelvis, and heels). He now suffers from permanent vertigo.
The doctors considered him 60 per cent handicapped and told him he would not be able to climb again. However, within 6 months he was back doing what he loves most – 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.
In an interview in 2005, he admitted that he had fallen 7 times although the worst fall was the one in 1982. In 2004, he fell 2 metres (6 ft 6.7 in) when climbing a traffic light whilst posing for a photo in an interview. He landed on his elbow and needed forty stitches, but a month later he climbed the world’s tallest skyscraper at the time, Taipei 101, as part of its official opening week.
It was in 1994 that he began free solo climbing the world’s tallest urban structures that would earn him the nickname “The French Spiderman”.
In 2008 he successfully scaled Hong Kong’s Four Seasons Hotel, a 45-story building and his third known urban climb in that city. Robert used the climb to promote greater awareness and international action for the cause of global warming.
Authorities briefly detained him after the climb before being released. He has, in fact, been arrested and fined more than 100 times for illegally climbing the world’s tallest urban structures during the last two decades. These arrests and trials have been little more than formalities, although in 2007, in China, he was jailed and then deported after climbing the 88 story-skyscraper, the Jin Mao Tower – 420 m (1,378 ft).
“We set ourselves limits, but we are all strong enough to aim higher, to achieve our goals. All we have to do is find such strength within ourselves. Know how to develop it,” he says.
Alain now inspires and motivates people around the world with his amazing story.
Alternative Speakers
Quick Information
Travels From
Indonesia