He has been called an “idiot” and a “reckless adrenaline junkie” whose stunts have him knocking on death’s door. Now, the man who claims to be one of the people seen “surfing” on the roof of a moving subway train in Toronto is speaking out about his stunts and the imminent threat of police arrest.
After communicating with CTV News via direct messages for weeks, the young man behind a shocking Canada Day video that made headlines across the country agreed to an exclusive interview.
During our online conversations, he made his feelings about the press clear, telling me, “I don’t talk to the media.” That is, until now. After several messages, he recently agreed to meet near a busy intersection in downtown Toronto.
His real name remains a mystery, though he asked to be called Chase, a name that echoes his social media moniker (his Instagram name is @thechase.TO). He arrived at our meeting in a suit and tie, while putting on a full suit. black mask with a white skull painted on the front and two holes cut out for eyes. Puzzled passers-by stopped and stared at each other as we walked down Yonge Street to our interview location.
When asked why he feels the need to appear in a mask, Chase was quick to point out that anonymity is essential to him. “None of this would happen if I wasn’t anonymous.”
The masked man said he is 20 years old and Canadian. This is the only personal information you are willing to disclose. He has reason to be suspicious, though. Over Canada Day weekend, Chase posted a shocking video of himself and at least one other person “train surfing” on top of a rapid transit train in Toronto’s north end, which led to an official investigation being launched into the people behind the stunt.
The Toronto Transit Commission told CTV News it has turned its investigation over to the Toronto Police Service, which confirms a detective has been assigned to the case, which is still in its early stages. Chase agreed to speak to CTV News while being aware that authorities were looking for him. He said his message to the TTC is, “it’s nothing personal.”
Chase claims to have climbed and traversed across cranes, trains and roof ledges without a safety harness in several locations across Canada, as well as a dozen other countries.
A video posted on his YouTube page in January 2022 shows a person climbing what is described as a Soviet Cold War radar located in the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone. In the video you can hear someone in an accent warning that “it’s dangerous” to climb. Chase admits it’s a place “you shouldn’t actually go.”
He said he is part of what is known globally as the “URBEX” community, an acronym used as an umbrella title for urban explorers. Some of them, like Chase, take stomach-churning footage of themselves free-climbing tall structures around the world, then edit their videos and post them on social media for all to see.
“THESE ARE MY RISKS”
Chase said he started doing it about seven years ago when, as a teenager, a close friend took him to the roof of a school. Since then it has been rising higher and higher, even as the ever-present danger increases. He said he comes from a rock climbing background. CTV News asked him if he worries that a copycat might watch his videos and then go try something similar.
“I’ve seen a couple of copycats and I’m quite concerned,” he said. “I am in no way encouraging anyone to re-enact or attempt the activities I do. These are my risks, I know what’s at stake, but I’m making my own independent decision here and I strongly discourage anyone from copying it.”
When asked if he’s afraid of dying, Chase paused before answering, “Sometimes, but not often.”
“Of course there is an element of risk in what we do, but we take it anyway because the experiences on the other side, it’s like opening a door to a new world,” he said.
However, this new world has claimed the lives of other building climbers and subway tunnel explorers. Chase said he’s been somewhat lucky, only pointing to one experience that really scared him while riding a crane in Paris, France.
“I was on this crane in Paris and I’m going up and I realize everything is soaked, and I’m halfway up and going down is a lot harder than getting up. At that moment I felt fear.”
Digital storytelling professor Richard Lachman of the Metropolitan University of Toronto believes the daredevils caught on camera engaging in these stunts aren’t just after the likes on their social media pages, but for the day of payment that leads to increased page views. “For a few accounts it can be very lucrative, but I would point out that there have been some very famous accounts that have done it professionally and still died,” Lachman noted.
Chase bristled at the thought. While he admitted that some of his peers chase dollar signs, he claimed that all of his YouTube videos are demonetized. “This is intentional, I don’t make a dime.”
Instead, the youngster said he’s trying to turn around the negative narrative surrounding his stunts by launching a fundraiser through his social media accounts for the Canadian Mental Health Association.
Chase hopes to raise $10,000 and said he’s trying to use his notoriety to, in part, help people realize that “we’re not just a bunch of thrill-seekers, we’re not a bunch of teenagers idiots and idiots as we are. has always been said to be. He said he wants to “channel most of that attention, so that my missions and stunts can attract as much good as humanly possible.”
The CMHA confirmed that it has approved Chase’s fundraising campaign. While Chase doesn’t encourage people to take the risks he does, a CMHA spokesperson told CTV News, “we understand that some people may be tempted. We ask them not to.”
CTV News asked Chase if he was worried about being arrested by the police. He declined to answer our question, although he noted that he feels the heat from the authorities every time he posts a new video, but that won’t stop him.
As our interview ended, the masked man said, “The only constant thing in my life has been climbing buildings, and I’d like to keep doing that until I die.”
He then left for the concrete jungle of Toronto still with his skull mask and anonymity intact.
Watch the full interview with Chase on CTV National News Tuesday night at 10 and 11 pm EDT.