He has been called an 'idiot' and a 'reckless adrenaline junkie'. His sky-high stunts are knocking on death's door. Now a man who claims to be one of those who have been seen "surfing" on the roof of a moving subway in Toronto has spoken out about his stunt and the looming threat of police arrest. I'm talking
After weeks of direct his messages he interacted with CTV News,the young man behind the shocking Canada Day video that made national headlines , agreed to an exclusive interview.
During our online conversation, he made his feelings about the media clear and said, "I don't talk to the media." That is, until now. After multiple messages, he recently agreed to meet near a busy intersection in downtown Toronto.
His real name remains a mystery, but he is named after his social media nickname (his Instagram handle is @thechase.TO) as Chase. asked me to call Tie while wearing a full black face mask with a white skull painted on the front and two holes cut out for his eyes, baffled as he walked down Young Street towards the location of his interview. A passerby stopped and stared.
When asked why he felt the need to wear a mask, Chase was quick to point out that anonymity was essential to him. ``If I hadn't been anonymous, none of this would have happened.''
The masked man said he was in his early twenties and Canadian. It's the only personal information he's willing to divulge. But he has reason to be wary. On Canada Day weekend, Chase posted a shocking video of himself and at least one person of him "train surfing" on a high-speed rail train in Toronto's north end.
The Toronto Transportation Commission told his CTV News it had turned over the investigation to the Toronto Police Department, who confirmed that a detective had been assigned to the case. The case is still in its early stages. Chase agreed to speak to CTV News, also aware that authorities are looking for him. He said his message to the TTC was "non-personal".
Chase claims to have scaled and traversed cranes, trains, and rooftop ledges without a safety harness in various locations in Canada and in as many as 10 other countries. .
A video posted on his YouTube page in January 2022 shows an individual climbing what is called a Soviet Cold War radar in the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone. . In the video, someone with an accent can be heard warning that "it's dangerous to climb". Chase admits that it's a place "you really shouldn't be going."
said. This is an acronym used as an umbrella title for urban explorers. Some of them, like Chase, are free to take stomach-churning footage of himself climbing skyscrapers around the world, edit the video and post it on his social media, and all I let people see.
"These are my risks."
Chase recalled that in his teenage years, when a close friend of his took him to the school roof, he I said I started doing it about 7 years ago. Since then, he's climbed higher and higher despite the ever-present increasing danger. He said he came from a rock climbing background. CTV News asked him if he was worried that copycats would watch his videos and attempt something similar.
"I've seen some counterfeits and I'm very worried," he said. “I am not advising anyone to replicate or attempt any of the activities I do. These are my risks. I accept the risks, but I am here to help. They make their own independent decisions, and strongly discourage anyone from copying them.Sometimes, but not often.''
There is an element of risk, but the experience on the other side is like opening a door to a new world, so I accept it anyway," he said. , claiming the lives of other building climbers and subway tunnel explorers.
"I was on this crane in Paris, climbing up, and I noticed it was soaking wet all over. I just happened to realize it was a lot harder than just getting up, and at that point I did. The camera-clasping daredevils involved in stunts aren't just looking for likes on social media pages, they think they're after the paydays that accompany their skyrocketing pages. view. "It can be very lucrative on some accounts, but I point out that there are some very high-profile accounts that do this professionally and they are still dead," Lachman said.
Chase stood up on the idea. He claimed that all of his YouTube videos were disabled for monetization, while admitting that some of his peers were tracking the dollar sign. "It's intentional. I'm not making a dime out of this."
Instead, the young man started a fundraiser through the Canadian Mental Health Association's social media accounts to He said he was trying to debunk the negative narratives about his stunts.
Chase wants to raise $10,000 and uses his notoriety to say, "We're not just a crowd of thrill-seekers, we're not a crowd of frenzy. As they say, stupid teenagers." He said, "I want to get as much of this attention as possible so that my missions and stunts can attract as many people as humanly possible."
The CMHA has confirmed that it has approved Chase's fundraising campaign. While Chase doesn't encourage people to take his risks, a CMHA spokesperson told his CTV News: Please don't do that. ''
CTV News asked Chase if he was worried about being arrested by the police. He declined to answer our questions, but said he feels the enthusiasm from the authorities every time he posts a new video, but that's not going to stop him.
Towards the end of the interview, the masked roofer said, "The only consistent thing in my life is climbing buildings. I want to do that until I die."
He then stepped into his concrete jungle in Toronto, still anonymously wearing his skull mask.