From free solo rock climbing to jumping motorcycles, it takes a special kind of person to put their life on the line for an athletic feat.
Alone On the Wall
Alex Honnold is the world’s leading free solo rock climber. Free soloing is the act of climbing a mountain or wall without the use of safety gear. This activity is so dangerous that less than 1% of all rock climbers even attempt to free solo anything in their lives.
You’ve Got to Be Crazy
Climbers who attempt to free solo accept the extremely high potential that they will die if they make a single mistake. Alex Honnold considers the act of free soloing to be “the pursuit of perfection,” but it’s still difficult to understand why anyone would risk their life just to climb a rock. There has to be something more than just the desire to push your limits…
Clinically Fearless
Alex Honnold underwent a brain scan before shooting his documentary; Free Solo. The doctors that were conducting the scan found something incredibly shocking. Alex Honnold’s amygdalas did not work when prompted, meaning that he physically cannot feel fear, anger, survival instincts, or the fight or flight response like the average person.
Stuntman Syndrome
Urbach-Wiethe disease, or Stuntman Syndrome, is a rare brain disorder that prevents the individual from feeling any fear in life-threatening scenarios. Some people who have this disorder seek to push the boundaries of their fearlessness by performing insane stunts where any error means certain death…
Defying Death for Fun
It is theorized that most extreme-athletes have some degree of Stuntman Syndrome. Evil Knievel was the first famous daredevil that exhibited symptoms of Stuntman Syndrome. Knievel set the world on fire when he jumped over 13 double-decker busses on his motorcycle, this was the first death-defying stunt ever performed on live television, and he inspired a generation of thrill-seekers to follow in his footsteps.
Thrill Seeking, the Wrong Way
Many don’t know this, but Evil Knievel has admitted to being a bank robber on his deathbed. It makes perfect sense that a man who could not feel fear would attempt one of the most dangerous and stupid feats that one could possibly do. In fact, individuals who have Stuntman Syndrome have a higher chance to make bad decisions than others…
Lack of Fear Leads to Bad Decisions
People with Stuntman Syndrome have a tendency to fall down the wrong path, whether it’s leading a life of crime, or using addictive substances. When a person cannot feel fear it can be difficult to rationalize destructive behavior as something negative, however, there are so many thrill-seekers that channel this energy into performing stunts that nobody else could even dream of.
Turning Tragedy into Success
Many individuals who suffer from Stuntman Syndrome have experienced major tragedies in their lives. Danny Way is a professional skateboarder who’s father and stepfather both died tragically, Way accredits that tragedy to his success in being fearless while skateboarding. Danny Way accepted that death could happen to anyone at any time, so toeing that line no longer scared him. Due to that, Danny Way attempted one of the most extreme feats in skateboarding history…
Launching Over The Wall
Danny Way set out to try and ollie over the Great Wall of China. Nobody had ever attempted anything like this before, and people urged him not to attempt the jump because it was so dangerous. Danny Way ignored all of the pleas to stop and began seriously training for the jump, he was willing to risk his life to prove to himself that he could do it.
The First Attempt
With the world watching, Danny Way warmed up and mentally prepared himself to make the jump. When he thought he was ready, Danny Way rolled into the ramp and shot down the decline at close to 70mph. Everything looked like it was going according to plan, until the final moments when tragedy struck…
The Great Fall
When Danny Way reached the gap, his skateboard flew out from under him and caused him to flip, luckily he did not fly off of the ramp. When he slid to the bottom, he tried to stand up but couldn’t. Danny Way broke his ankle and gashed his arm so deeply that he needed 40 stitches to hold his arm together.
Pain is Temporary
Despite warnings from doctors, coordinators, and his friends, Danny Way wanted to get out and try that jump again before it was too late. He took the rest of the afternoon off to elevate his foot, but the swelling was so extreme that he couldn’t even stand on his injured foot without falling over. The next day comes by, and Danny Way forced himself to get up and decided he was going to attempt the wall jump one more time…
Sending It
On a freshly broken ankle, Danny Way landed the Great Wall jump and made it look easy. This was a pivotal moment for skateboarding, but also for those who lead high-risk lifestyles. This opened the door for an entire generation of fearless individuals to risk their lives breaking records that wouldn’t have existed otherwise.
Living Without Fear
Some of you are probably wishing that you were born with Stuntman Syndrome, which is perfectly normal. Fear is an important emotion that humans feel to protect us from danger, but it can hold us back from trying things that we have always wanted to do. Harnessing that fear and using that energy to focus on the tasks that you want to complete is pivotal if you want to attempt something extreme. This was stated by Spencer Seabrooke, a normal guy who harnessed his fear to attempt a death-defying world record…
Suspended Between the Mountains
Spencer Seabrooke attempted to break the former free solo slackline world record by just over seven meters. Free solo slacklining is the act of walking on a flat cord that is not taut, which is much more difficult and dangerous than a tightrope. Spencer Seabrooke set his slackline up between two mountains in British Columbia and faced a potential 1000 ft fall if he made the slightest mistake.
Expect the Best, Prepare for the Worst
As Seabrooke prepared himself for this monumental stunt, he had to calm himself down using deep breathing exercises. Seabrooke is no superhero, he feels nerves just like everyone else. This is just an activity that he literally dedicated his life to. Once he steps on he cannot turn back, and about 20 seconds into the walk, something sketchy happened…
Hanging by a Thread
About 50 ft of walking into the route, Seabrooke took a fall. He hung onto the rope with one hand and one leg, spinning around it trying to center his weight to stop swinging. Once he steadied himself, he got up onto the rope and continued to walk, exclaiming animalistic grunts and hoots to center himself and rebuild his confidence.
Just a Few More Steps
Once he recovered from his fall, Seabrooke powered through the walk. Shaking back and forth, on one occasion needing to pause to compose himself. Seabrooke stated that his anxiety disappeared immediately after he fell, seeing how the worst could have happened and feeling extra lucky, he pushed it as hard as he could...
Setting the Record
On the last 10 steps, Seabrooke was beaming. He hopped off the slackline and jumped into the arms of his friends, still shaky from the fear, but so happy that he solidified himself as the best free solo slackline walker in the world.
What it Could Have Been
Spencer Seabrooke is a professional, he was confident approaching that slackline route and he performed in the way he expected to. Most, if not all, of the individuals who attempt these feats are highly trained and have mapped out every move on their path. Unfortunately, some people do not have luck on their side when attempting a death-defying feat, like the late Ueli Steck…
The Boldest Man on Earth
Ueli Steck was a world-record-holding speed climber. He was essentially Superman for those who dream of climbing mountains. His method was relaxed, even though he enjoyed spending his time in some of the most dangerous places on Earth, alone.
Breaking Barriers
Steck was acclimatizing in a base camp on Mt. Everest in preparation for his ascent to the tallest peak on Earth. He had planned to climb to the tallest peak on Everest, and then immediately traverse to the fourth tallest peak, he referred to this as the “desert run” because of the barren plateau he had to walk through to get to the other side.
The Buddy System
Steck was planning on summiting with the 26-year-old mountain climber, Tenji Sherpa. Sherpa was forced to turn back when they reached the base camp because he was suffering from frostbite, which he pushed through for 15 days until he finally decided to seek medical attention. Ueli Steck was determined to reach the summit, with or without his companion. This proved to be a major mistake…
Pushing His Limits
Steck texted Sherpa using a satellite phone, stating that he was going to push to the summit, and then meet with some friends down at the base camp. Sherpa responded immediately and asked if he was going alone or with friends, but Steck never answered.
The Point of the Treck
Steck was attempting a summit without the use of external oxygen. The tip of Mt. Everest has about half the amount of oxygen than we have at ground level, which means you have to be in incredible shape to even consider embarking on this kind of excursion. This quite possibly led to Steck’s downfall.
Taking the Wrong Turn
At 40-years-old, Steck claimed that he was in the best shape of his life. However, attempting to summit Mt. Everest with no additional oxygen was unbelievably difficult, and it’s highly recommended that it is not done alone. The sherpas in the base camps kept an eye on the summit all day, waiting to see the orange color of Ueli Steck’s jacket to come over the hill. Suddenly, he did show himself, clambering around the offside of the mountain, dangerously close to the edge of a cliff.
One Mistake Was All It Took
The Sherpas watched in horror as they saw Ueli Steck fall off of the cliff and plummet 3,000 ft to his death. This man was a hero to all the sherpas on the mountain, he was the champion of Everest, and tragically, while chasing his greatest accomplishment, he made his final mistake.
The Aftermath
Ueli Steck’s body was recovered from the bottom of the summit, as a crowd of onlookers mourned the death of their hero, friend, and family member. Many sherpas and devoted climbers decided to devote their lives to carrying the torch for Ueli Steck, promising to climb the route just as Ueli did to commemorate his only failed attempt to summit.
It Was Time
Steck had always said that if he died on the mountain, he would be okay with it. A man that showed no fear was able to rationalize the outcome of the dangerous task he loved to perform, and understood that there was a high chance that what he loved might kill him.
His Memory Lives On
As someone who is truly fearless, this is a lesson for others to learn about risk-taking behavior. Although, as Alex Honnold said, “People criticize me for taking the risk of losing my life while doing what I love, those people are arguably taking a larger risk by remaining lazy and not following their passions.” Fearlessness can come in all shapes and forms, and it doesn’t have to necessarily be dangerous, these are the people who are breaking the barriers of the human body so you can do what you want to do.