Raw video: 'Skyscraper Man' Dan Goodwin scales San Francisco building, says inspired by Spiderman
Dan Goodwin, who goes by the handle “Skyscraper Man” and is sometimes referred to as SpiderDan, was released from police custody Monday night after he scaled San Francisco’s 60-story Millenium Tower. Goodwin used industrial suction cups to make is way to the top of the building where he was arrested following the Labor Day stunt. (See raw video below.)
Click here for an updated story when Goodwin describes a close call he had about 2/3 up the tower.
When he reached the top, he unfurled an American flag. Police helped him display it on the side of the building before they arrested him on the roof. After Goodwin was released from the Hall of Justice, he said that he climbed the building to dramatize the vulnerability of high-rise buildings and as a cancer survivor, he wanted to demonstrate that the disease can be overcome.
Goodwin says that he plans to climb more buildings, but will get permission ahead of time and raise money for cancer in the climb.
Goodwin is 54 years old. According to the San Francisco Chronicle, he is a building contractor who lives in North Lake Tahoe. The climb to the top of the Millenium Tower took three hours.
Goodwin climbed the Sears Tower in Chicago in 1981, World Trade Center in New York City in 1983, the CN Tower in Toronto in 1985.
Goodwin’s climb began about 2:15 p.m. and ended with his arrest just before 5:30 p.m.
He was given two citations for misdemeanors and is due in court in San Francisco on October 20. After being released from police custody, he showed reporters the blisters on his hands but he was otherwise no worse for the climb.
On his Web site Goodwin wrote in part:
“The reason for my scaling of the Millennium Tower today is twofold. One is to call attention to our nation’s continued vulnerability to attacks of terrorism upon our skyscrapers. Everyday, thousands of people in our country spend time in high-rise buildings above the seventh floor and beyond the reach of fire ladders. Though developers would like us to believe otherwise, these people are susceptible to being trapped like the people at the World Trade Center on 9/11.
“My other reason is to increase public awareness of cancer. Despite my survival, cancer remains a top killer on the planet. My hope is, if a survivor of a Stage Four diagnosis can be seen continuing with their life, no matter how bizarre, others will gain inspiration and together we can find a cure for cancer.
“Stan Lee, the creator of Spider-Man, wrote the foreword to my book, SKYSCRAPERMAN. In a joint interview, I heard Mr. Lee say, “The lesson of Spider-Man, if there is one is, if you are able to do something that will do good, that will help people, you damn well oughta do it.”
“Mr. Lee’s words have become my rallying cry… If you are able to do something that will do good, that will help people, you damn well oughta do it.
“By scaling the Millennium Tower today, I am doing it.
“Dan Goodwin, a.k.a. SpiderDan”
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