“You are fighting to stay alive. You are fully in the present moment. You don't have time to think about being afraid. You are focused on what you are doing. You struggle to pass another window. You don't have time to think about your problems. The only thing you are concerned about deep down in the back of your mind is that you need to stay alive, and for that, you need to remain calm and focused.”
How can we overcome our fears? How can we challenge ourselves, pushing our physical boundaries to achieve the impossible?
Alain Robert is a renowned rock climber and urban climber. Known as "the French Spider-Man” or "the Human Spider," Robert is famous for his free solo climbing, scaling skyscrapers using no climbing equipment except for a small bag of chalk and a pair of climbing shoes. Some of his most notable ascents include the Burj Khalifa, the Eiffel Tower, and the Sydney Opera House, and over 200 of the world's tallest skyscrapers. He is also a motivational speaker and the author of The Spider-man: Free and Unattached, and With Bare Hands: The True Story of Alain Robert, the Real-life Spiderman.
Foreword to The Spider-man: Free and Unattached
Free Solo is climbing at its purest form. There is no need to explain the challenge as everybody can see the radical nature of free soloing. There is no space for even just one single mistake. In the history of climbing, there are not many protagonists who were ready to take the challenge.
Alain Robert is known as the human spider. Climbing the highest skyscrapers made him famous throughout the world, way beyond the climbing community. But Alain Robert is far more than just a crazy climber who stood atop most of the most spectacular buildings. Beyond that he is a pioneer who opened a new level in the art of free soloing.
–Alexander Huber
ALAIN ROBERT
What is amazing is that when you are facing a potential death situation, you are humble. Most people can be arrogant when they are just on the ground, but you realize the immensity all around you. If you are not good, you're dead. It's just a matter of a second, and you are dead. You need to remain strong in your mind. At the same time, you must be a realist that gravity also affects you.
Most people think that I am just this crazy guy climbing buildings, not realizing that my background before I started climbing buildings is a lot more amazing than what they have done in buildings. When I was young, I was afraid of everything. I lacked self-confidence and was nearly afraid of my shadow. Then I had a dream: I wanted to become courageous like my heroes, Zorro, Robin Hood, and Darth Vader. Later on, I realized that I wasn't born in the right era.
One day, I saw a movie inspired by a novel written by Henri Troyat, The Grieving Snow. It was about a plane that crashed near the top of Mont Blanc, one of the highest mountains in Europe, and two brothers, mountaineering guides, who climbed the mountain to seek survivors. When I saw that, I was fully inspired. I realized I wanted to become like one of those two guys later in my life. It was all throughout what I had seen that I decided I was going to overcome my fear of everything.
For me, my mind is a kind of safety net. We human beings, unfortunately, are only putting safety on something that we can touch, a rope, a chain, a ladder, whatever. But safety, it can be something else. It can be your faith in yourself. If you meet a lawyer and you are telling him, I've been to court many times having to defend myself in front of a prosecutor charging me for reckless endangerment, and I explain to them when I'm climbing I know what I do, and I feel safe. And if I feel safe, it means that I am not endangering anyone else.
We human beings, we are the problem. We are the ones who are putting a barrier on everything. We don't want to recognize that our human brain or mind is capable of doing something that we cannot put on paper. We cannot buy, like you buy some expensive insurances. And it's just a strong belief in myself. I can make it, and I will make it because I feel safe doing it. Actually, when you are at it, you are focused. Our survival instinct is really working very well.
I don't feel like falling. I don't feel like dying, and even if something happens like a close call. It doesn't really bother me that much. It's like, Okay, I nearly fell, but I didn't. Then the show must go on. And that's it. I'm not panicking. I'm just dealing with the obstacles one by one.
THE CREATIVE PROCESS
Fear is ancient. I think that a certain amount of fear serves its purpose. You can have this fearlessness, but you also have to fear to judge situations, right?
ROBERT
The thing is, when you are free soloing, this is voluntary. You need to be able to push your fear aside. Most people are confronted with fear, but it's not voluntary. It's all or nothing. It's life or death. There's zero margin for error. It's definitely an amazing feeling, though I know it's hard to describe sometimes.
First of all, you are fighting to stay alive. You are fully in the present moment; you don't have time to think about being afraid. You are focused on what you are doing. You struggle to pass another window, then another, and you don't have time to think about your problems. The only thing you are concerned about deep down in the back of your mind is that you need to stay alive, and for that, you need to remain calm and focused.
The mind is something that you can change. As I said, when I was younger, I was afraid of heights, falling, and dying. But my dream to become courageous was stronger than anything. So, I adjusted to work on myself. Some people think that a lot of others prefer to survive rather than live their dreams. I chose to live my dreams instead of just being a survivor. Sometimes, many people tell me I'm crazy, that I'm going to fall or die. I say, "Well, but to die, you must first be living."
THE CREATIVE PROCESS
It really is inspiring because of the strength just in your little pinky finger, but to look at you, it's not like you have the biggest physique. You're kind of small, but you're powerful. And so that's inspiring because I think that inside us, a lot of people don't feel like they're warriors or don't have it in them. You’ve said that your most important asset is your mind. You told me, and I often quote it to other people, you said, “my mind is my safety net.” And I thought, that's wonderful.
ROBERT
A lot of people I see are having a boring life. They discuss this with me and confess everything, saying they have no fun in their life. The problem comes from our education system and our parents. Nobody teaches us good things about dying.
THE CREATIVE PROCESS
Exactly. Why should people be so afraid of dying, if they're not even living life because they're afraid of dying?
ROBERT
Here in Bali, I see that dying isn't such a catastrophe because of Buddhism. They believe in karma and reincarnation. This belief allows them to live more freely with the reality of a potential future death, which is the same for everyone.
On my side, over the past few years, I have come to understand that consciousness is not material. Consciousness is energy. When we die, it's only our physical body that dies; our consciousness still exists. So why should we be so afraid of that? It's just a natural process.
I have understood that it is far beyond just being a guy who is climbing and potentially taking risks; there is much more to it. It is about inspiring people to achieve something, rather than being frustrated and thinking about when it's time to die. One day, you stop dreading, and then life, as we live it on Earth, is over. I always felt I didn't want to live full of regrets, thinking that I didn't dare enough.
THE CREATIVE PROCESS
How did you develop your intuitive intelligence? In a way that the average person can understand. Because, listeners, you’re not going to be Alain Robert. Okay. Let’s be realistic. You're not going to be Alain Robert, but here's some things you can take away from his experiences.
ROBERT
It is purely out of willingness and willpower. After this terrible fall in 1982, when I was really condemned never to climb again, I built something within myself that is even difficult to describe.
I was young; I was 19 years old, and I was not going to give up easily on my dream. I was born young and afraid of everything, so becoming a climber was a huge victory in my youth. Then, all of a sudden, at only 19, my life seemed broken and buried. I destroyed my wrist and fingers. After the coma, my surgeon told me that if he had to describe my bones and joints, they looked like scrambled eggs. He said, "There is nothing I can do."
I decided, "No, no, no. It's not going to be like this." I stopped listening to doctors and surgeons since they were against me. Everybody was against me. Everyone told me I wouldn't climb again. My dad told me I wouldn't climb again. I never questioned myself. It is only when I start questioning myself that it might mean, "Okay, now it’s time to retire." But as long as I'm not questioning myself about it, I'm fine.
So with all this, that's what society does with all of our rules. Obviously, we need some rules in society, but from the time you are born, everyone tells you, especially in France, there's a kind of protocol for young men.
For the full conversation, listen to the episode.
Mia Funk is an artist, interviewer, and founder of The Creative Process & One Planet Podcast (Conversations about Climate Change & Environmental Solutions).
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