Remember the Filipino-American teenager who scaled the World Trade Center’s centerpiece tower in March 2014 and got arrested? Well, two years later, he’s at it again, perched dozens of stories above New York City.
When then 16-year-old Justin Casquejo was arrested, he was sentenced to 30 days community service, ordered to have counseling, and was made to write a 1,200-word essay. He was called an “airhead,” a “selfish thrill-seeker,” and a “daredevil.” But as he put it in one of his latest post on his Instagram account (@livejn), he believes he and everyone are “limitless.”
Now 18, Casquejo and his pals continue their nerve-wracking hobby of scaling skyscrapers in Manhattan—standing on ledges, hanging onto poles and sitting on rooftops—like its just any other ordinary day.
Armed with cameras, physical strength and loads of guts, they document their stunts in stunning photos and videos. People seeing them understandably have mixed reactions.
Some are fascinated with his skill and fearlessness, many are disturbed by his recklessness of putting his life and others’ in great danger, and a few wonders how the heck he got to those locations and how he got back down from there.
Browsing through his IG profile, its easy to say that the Weehawken, New Jersey based teenager is probably just someone looking for Internet fame or a young guy who has so much time in his hand. Might be. But putting so much of himself in great risk, he also seems to be someone who just wants to live his life in this world full of people afraid to even take a few steps up because they have grown comfortable on the ground.
A caption on one of his photos puts it best, “If you want freedom, take it. It’s yours.”
We just hope he’d be extra careful all the time. -BL
