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Who is Panic?
My real name is Jason Chapman, I am a 36 year old computer geek living in Australia. I use the nick name Panic, simply because I thought it would provoke interesting reactions from people spotting my tag (when I used to tag years ago) deep beneath the ground. I could imagine people a bit on edge underground exploring a drain, only to see the word Panic, they probably would, panic that is. I have been exploring full time since 1996. I used to explore a bit before that, as a child and teenager. I used to explore on my push bike, and by public transport. I explored a few drains and abandoned buildings in my youth, but did not go out of my way to explore them. At age 36, I am older than most other Urban Explorers / Adventurists.
I have a university degree in computing majoring in management with an emphasis on international and cross cultural management. I have worked as a bush-pilot flying light aircraft, tram driver, IT trainer, tour guide and journalist for my university newspaper. I work in the IT field, but on week ends I do volonteer work helping out people who can't drive get around. This provided me ample opportunities to explore, and to photograph. Photography is also a prime hobby of mine, as is web site development. I also write science fiction and have written five novels, and have 3 more under-way. I have yet to publish any of these novels because it is hard to break into the field.
I mainly started exploring drains, but now like to explore more challenging things like abandoned buildings. I usually seek permission to do this, except where the place is clearly long abandoned and nobody would likely mind me exploring there anyway.
I normally explore alone, or with a few friends. More often I explore alone because it is hard to find people who will explore with me because not many people are into Urban Exploration where I live. . I am also finding that as I get older life is catching up with me faster than I expected and I just don't have the energy to do much exploring any more. I created this web site mainly because I was getting involved in web development in 1996, when the site started and also because I like to challenge people's ideas of the world around and beneath them. Also, some of the things I see are very beautiful, and I like to share my experiences with others. I try not to actually encourage others to explore where it would be breaking the law, but realise that people will explore no matter what I tell them. Hence the large emphasis on safety on this site.
What do I see Urban Adventure as?
I use the terms Urban Adventure and Urban Exploration interchangeably. Really it should be Urban Adventure Exploring as you have an adventure while exploring. To me, Urban Adventure is very similar to an evolving sport or a hobby. I draw a lot of parallels between it and the sport of bungie jumping. I don’t think it will ever take on the legitacemy that bungie jumping has achieved, but I’d like to add what legitimacy that I can. Due to the nature of the activity, recreational trespassing is often involved. With great concern over public liability, I don’t see people opening up abandoned buildings and tunnel systems for us to explore. These places have inherent dangers, they were not intended for regular passage of people.
I believe Urban Adventure is different things for different people. For some people it is what they do on week ends, as normal as going to the park. For some, it is a hobby, either casual or a full time activity. For others like myself, it is more than just the exploring, it is also Community. I love to email friends from all over the world to discuss adventures, retell expedition reports and discuss technique. There are a lot of people out there taking part in UE related activity. I am sure that there are many more than I ever encounter on the Internet.
I like promoting Urban Adventure in a safe and responsible way. Probably being older than many of the explorers out there, I am more relaxed with getting involved. I have never had a bad experience with security or police. An open and honest approach, explaining I am just somewhere to look around and take photographs has always been accepted well. I have come to realise that where I live the police don’t really mind that I explore drains or well abandoned buildings. I harm no one, and most often no one realizes that I have been and gone. I don’t leave any signs that I have explored a place, except up really long drains where I figure no one but other explorers will see my tags.
Public perception is becoming increasingly important to urban explorers. We realise that some may have ill-informed ideas of who we are and what we do. Urban Explorers are there for the thrill and discovery of the exploration. Yet it is not easy to tell who is an urban explorer, and who is a vandal. It is natural for people who see a group of people with backpacks in an abandoned building doing graffiti and put urban explorers in the same category. We may look the same, but our motives are different. Most serious urban explorers shun people into graffiti and vandalism.
I see UE as non harmful, an opinion shared by many other explorers. It is sneaking in to places where you are not supposed to go, and seeing what’s behind the keep out sign. But it is not destructive or invasive. It is about getting to see what normal people don't get to see. It is about seeing what is behind the keep out door. And for me in particular, it is about meeting others in the hobby.
I have ethics, I have standards. Leave no evidence that you were there, touch nothing, don't give property owners cause for concern. Don't vandalise and don't be an ass. Many urban explorers have a credo, borrowed from other explorers, ‘leave nothing but footprints, take nothing but photographs.’
I do it for the thrill. Every other explorer does it for the thrill, the adventure, the experience and the discovery. No urban Explorer I know does it to cause people grief or hassles.
What are my reasons for getting in to Urban Adventure?
For me personally, it is the thrill, the buzz, the adrenaline rush. I know what I am doing is risky, but it is also fun, an adventure. I like seeing new things, I like the whole experience, the sights, the discoveries and even the smells sometimes. Having done so much Urban Exploration I now know the risks well enough to avoid injuries and have never been seriously injured while exploring. I like the spirit of comradre that comes from exploring with friends. I also like the chance to escape from the world when exploring alone. I am a remarkably law abiding person, normally too afraid to even J walk. Urban exploration is a bit of escapism. It is an adventure, and it’s so cheap.
Initially my attraction was to storm water drains. I've had a fascination with them since I was a child. Coming from a working class family in an inner city area we were left to find our own entertainment after school. One day, my brother and I rode down to the river to take a look. We were met by the sight of a huge tunnel disappearing south on the other side of the river. It was an awe inspiring and somewhat foreboding sight for a seven year old. I lived in that area for a few years, passing that tunnel almost every day.
It wasn’t long till we started to explore the entrance of the tunnel. It was dark, scary and damp at first. But the challenge of going into that darkness and beating our fear was too much of an attraction. In time it became a familiar place. It was just a quiet place to rest and hang out in. It was also a great escape from the heat of summer.
I did not do much exploring after I moved away from there but in 1996 I brought a car and started to explore in earnest. At the time I was undertaking a university degree, so the low cost of exploring storm water drains and abandoned buildings was an attraction. I think I like the sense of discovery best. Finding places that I have seldom been seen before, knowing that very few others have been there. There are some wonderful discoveries out there, often only blocks away from where I lived.
The opportunity to escape from society and all its’ pressure is also an attraction. When I am at work or at home I am faced with the constant need to perform, to fit in. For various reason I find that it can be very hard to fit in even though I make considerable efforts to do so. I think because I face some circumstances that very few people even have a concept of let alone understand even after explanation. Underground there are no expectations, no one to judge you, or tell you what to do. Some people seek an escape through use of drugs, alcohol, cigarettes or caffeine. I don’t use any of them, so my escape is exploring. I don't drink or take drugs or smoke so sometimes urban exploration is a chance to relax. It’s cheaper, but probably just as addictive. Once you get the exploring bug it is hard to let go. I get an urge to go exploring if I’ve been away from it too long. Mind you for a long time I've been thinking of giving Urban Exploration up. If I could find a decent girl who likes me for who I am I'd gladly give away the hobby. I have a sneaky suspicion that I'll end up doing another world trip before that happens though.
Innovation in the sport
For a long time I have tried to innovate in Urban Adventure. To do things people have not done before. This may sound like big head stuff but I like to be a mover and shaker in the sport. I'm not saying I am like the one and only innovator, we all innovate. I was one of the first people to have a web site about Urban Adventure related subjects. Not the first, but one of the first. The site was the first to have video on it. Later on as more web sites began to pop up on the web a friend of mine and I came up with the idea almost simultaneously of creating a web ring for Urban Adventure and Urban Exploration sites. It was the Draining Web Ring. We gained about seven sites before we were hassled so much that we decided to hand the web ring over to Ninjalicious of infiltration.org.
Later on while exploring some of the bigger drains I got kind of tiered of walking along them (I am disabled) and decided to get a bit adventurous by driving down them instead of walking. It's so much quicker and easier to explore drains when you have a car. It was a lot of fun too. I ended up driving through six drains in all, a relatively non risky business.
My world trip to meet fellow explorers and explore sites was also a contribution towards innovation in the sport. Don't get me wrong, many Urban Explorers travel far and wide to explore. I was certainly inspired by others. But I don't think anyone has done anything on the scale that I did before. A 70 day world trip stopping over at 10 countries in 3 continents. While the sites and sights of the trip were stunning, it was the people I met on the trip that made it so brilliant. I am hoping to come up with new ideas and concepts along with others that will improve our hobby and lead to further discoveries that we can explore.
My Urban Adventure ethics and standards.
I consider ethics and standards to be important for all Urban Explorers. If the hobby is ever to gain legitimacy we must be aware of how the public perceives us.
