Why I climb insanely tall buildings with my bare hands
Rooftopping —
Daniel Lau recently lit up Chinese media by taking a selfie from above the fourth tallest building in China, the 450-meter Zifeng Tower in Nanjing, alongside notorious rooftoppers from Russia Vladimir Sidorov and Ivan Kuznetsov.
courtesy Exthetics
Daniel Lau —
In this picture, Lau stands atop what looks like Hong Kong's skyscraper The Center. This is also the same building where he shot a video with two other climbers eating banana that went viral last year.
courtesy Exthetics
City getaway —
"Rooftopping is like a getaway from city life to me -- Hong Kong is such a fast-paced city with so much pressure and noise," says Lau. "When I'm on a rooftop, everything slows down, you don't hear anything but wind, all the rush from the ground became like slow-motion."
courtesy Exthetics
Fear of height? None —
"I've never been scared of heights -- height was not a problem for me to overcome. Being a daredevil was not a character that I wished to establish either."
courtesy Exthetics
Exthetics —
Lau co-founded Exthetics in 2014, with Dex Ng and Lawrence Tsui, to document their urban exploration trips to abandoned buildings and rooftops.
courtesy Exthetics
State of mind —
Lau says rooftopping is more about outdoing himself, rather than being a daredevil. "For me it's rooftopping, for others it could be anything," says Lau. "It's a state of mind to me."
courtesy Exthetics
Best moment —
The best moments for Lau are the time he's explored a place ahead of other climbers.
courtesy Exthetics
'Know your limits' —
He doesn't encourage other people to join his obsession. "Anything involves risks, but you're the one who should take responsibility of yourself." "Always evaluate yourself when you're climbing. Even going back to the same rooftop, having different energy levels or an empty stomach could make a big difference."
courtesy Exthetics
Other destinations —
The team has rooftopped in different cities around the world. Conquests include Shanghai's Ping'an International Financial Center, the tallest building in China and the second in the world. They've also climbed Bagkok's Sathorn Unique Tower, the world's tallest abandoned building.
