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Weekly updates


Remember that guy who uploaded a video of himself climbing the crane on top of the Prima Pearl building that caused the traditional media outlets to collectively freak out? We reached out to him to see exactly what drove him to break into a construction site and climb 304 metres above sea level. Because, well, on paper it seems like a pretty batshit crazy thing to do. Everyone, meet Bryce aka Drjft – a really nice dude who’s better at climbing stuff than you.

Can you introduce yourself for us? 

My name’s Bryce. I’m 23, grew up in the country, moved to Los Angeles for a bit, and recently moved back to Melbourne a year ago.

You’re obviously an experienced climber, when did you start tackling free climbs?

Prima Pearl was my first free-climb. I’ve done a lot of indoor and outdoor climbing and abseiling, bouldering too. But this was the first time I’ve climbed a crane.

Have you taken on any other Melbourne icons? 

No comment.

When did you set your sights on the Prima Pearl?

A few weeks ago I had the idea to tackle it, but it wasn’t until just over a week ago that I set my mind on doing it.

How long did it take to work out how to gain access to the tower?

I cased the bottom for about five minutes and saw the scaffolding was accessible into the building’s car park.

Was this your first trip there? You seem to navigate the terrain fairly quickly.

All buildings (new and old) have fire escapes. Once you get into one of those (especially in construction stage) you can access the whole building. Allegedly.

How long did the climb take?

30-45 minutes taking the stairs up, another 15-20 doing the arm.

The site looks abandoned in the video that was posted, was this filmed on a public holiday?

Nope, on a Sunday. There were still people working inside the building, too.

Your video is racking up an impressive amount of views in a very short time, were you expecting this kind of reaction?

I wanted it to go big, but I honestly didn’t expect this.

I hear you made it to the news, how do you feel about that kind of exposure?

The major news stations are ridiculously corrupt. The answers I gave them were contorted to make me look like some sort of delinquent. Then again, they’re doing everything they can while television viewership continues to plummet…

The press ups were a nice touch, how was the feeling near the top? 

It’s important to keep in shape. ;) I was glad to have achieved my challenge.

How was the view? It looks pretty amazing in the clip!

Imagine being in the Eureka Skydeck but with less people. One of the most beautiful views I’ve ever had.

Any shoutouts?

LowePro for making amazing backpacks, GoPro for creating the best action cameras ever, and to all of the AFTF guys: keep it real.

Photos from @Drjft and @Withinreach_