A Dunedin man who claims to have scaled almost every building in the city says the feats he performs can walk “the line between life and death”. Ruslan Gibbs said he started gymnastics when he was 6, but was kicked out “for being quite ADHD” and not following the rules. It was soon after he discovered parkour: a sport involving freedom of movement and traversing obstacles in an environment. [Missing Credit]Ruslan Gibbs says there is "pretty much no building in Dunedin I haven’t climbed". Photo: Peter McIntosh The 23-year-old began climbing buildings as a teenager and has for the past five years been coaching others in parkour. There was “pretty much no building in Dunedin I haven’t climbed”, Mr Gibbs said. He described climbing buildings — without any equipment — as “the line between life and death”. There was an inherent risk to parkour, but he had been training long enough that he was comfortable in his ability to do it. ©Allied MediaRuslan Gibbs performs a flip near Logan Park. Photo: Peter McIntosh He also knew which situations were too risky to get himself into. “When I was starting this, about 13, I had a mate that was doing it with me and he almost fell off. “That was terrifying.” The highlight of climbing a building was always the view at the top. “It’s just the understanding that you’re seeing something that not everyone sees.” One central city building had some sentimental value as it was where he completed his first big “roof gap”, or a jump between two buildings. He was recently trespassed from Briscoes Dunedin after performing a three-quarter front flip off the building and into a bush, a manoeuvre he described as “elite level” and one which could have ended terribly wrong. Mr Gibbs said he was not out to break the law or cause trouble for people. When he got a trespass notice, he accepted it and moved on. “I think I’ve got to a point now where I’m so comfortable with the idea that I want to be good at this thing — that isn’t necessarily legal all the time — that I kind of push the legal fears out of the way. “Whatever comes my way I’ll face, and I’m very accepting and understanding of consequences, but I’m very big on not letting that hold me back from achieving what I want to.” ©Allied MediaRuslan Gibbs does a handstand near Forsyth Barr Stadium. Photo: Peter McIntosh Some buildings had multiple ways up, some riskier than others, and he did a lot of scouting beforehand to find the safest route. Scaffolding and fire escapes could make climbing a building straightforward. You also had to ensure you were close enough to the building to avoid falling backwards off it. Health and safety, making sure all the boxes were ticked and ensuring nothing was overlooked were all important, Mr Gibbs said. “I think the mental prep is more coming to terms that things could go wrong — apart from that, it’s just do it.” tim.scott@odt.co.nz
