- YouTuber Ben Schneider climbed the abandoned Oceanwide Plaza buildings
- He admitted that he used an unorthodox tactic to distract guards
- Images show how the daredevil walked 200 meters through the air
This is the stomach-churning moment a daredevil walked a tightrope between two abandoned 49-story skyscrapers in Los Angeles.
YouTuber Ben Schneider shared footage of himself balancing between the Oceanwide Plaza apartment buildings, which have become known as “graffiti towers” after vandals turned them into an eyesore in the downtown area.
Schneider said he was able to sneak past a police perimeter after his friends distracted guards by posing as a religious cult.
Speaking about his deadly stunt, Schneider said KTL: ‘I call it moral graffiti… I am a moral graffiti artist. I destroy buildings without causing any building damage.”
Stunning footage captured the moment YouTuber Ben Schneider scaled between the abandoned Oceanwide Plaza buildings in Los Angeles
The Oceanwide Plaza apartment buildings have become known as the ‘graffiti towers’ after vandals turned them into an eyesore in the downtown area
Schneider and his team performed the daring stunt by climbing more than 500 feet into both towers multiple times, tying a one-inch thick nylon strap between the roofs.
The Oceanwide Plaza Apartments were intended as a $1 billion luxury apartment complex and retail space, but have fallen into disrepair and have been vacant for years.
Without residents, the towers have become a popular graffiti spot, which Scheider says attracted him to try the stunt.
To sneak past the guards, he said he and his team “pretended we were a religious cult and we had 20 people all holding signs that said ‘Jesus saves.’
“The signs were blocking the police’s view, so we just jumped the fence,” he added.
Once on top of the buildings, Schneider – while wearing a safety harness – climbed the tightrope between the buildings, which are 49 stories tall, or 200 meters high.
Schneider held a selfie stick above his head as he walked down the line, capturing the panoramic viewpoint and inducing vertigo in millions of viewers.
The Oceanwide Plaza Apartments were intended as a $1 billion luxury apartment complex and retail space, but have fallen into disrepair after sitting vacant for years
Lydia Ren, Schneider’s lookout (pictured together) during the stunt, said she was “pretty confident Ben would pull it off when he attempted the death-defying act.”
Lydia Ren, Schneider’s lookout during the stunt, said she was “pretty confident Ben could pull it off” as he crossed the line for more than two minutes.
‘I just do this for fun. This isn’t a job. I actually work at a VR startup, so this is my weekend thing,” she added.
When security reportedly realized the daredevil was in the building, he was forced to hide in a bathtub and cover himself with plywood to evade officers.
KTLA reported that he remained hidden for hours before walking away without being arrested.
Schneider has amassed more than 350,000 fans on YouTube and says the risks of his hobby don’t faze him because “everything is dangerous.”
“Driving is dangerous, but we still drive,” he said.
“The stunt I did was dangerous, but I think the reward outweighed the risk because I think we inspired a lot of people. I had to push myself out of my comfort zone. We need to do something scary and inspire the world to start living their best lives.”
After completing the stunt, Schneider said, “the reward was greater than the risk because I think we inspired a lot of people… We got to do something scary and inspire the world to start living their best life.”
The site of his daring stunt has become known in recent years as the ‘graffiti towers’ after a developer’s dream apartments fell into disrepair because there was no more money to finish the buildings.
As well as being a common artist spot and tightrope walking venue, the towers have reportedly seen taggers climbing the facades, while one person reportedly even jumped from the roof.
As city leaders struggle to solve the eyesore’s problems, the Los Angeles City Council voted in March to spend $3.8 million to clean up the site.