Filmmaker Jeff Seal spent several weeks tagging along with some self-described urban explorers as they roamed the NYC subway system, clambered up bridges, and sneaked to the top of various Manhattan skyscrapers for Instagram glory. His short but sweet film documents their exploits and seeks to understand what motivates them to risk arrest and safety to trespass into NYC's forbidden zones.
"It's an addiction," 24-year-old James Lanning bluntly explains. "Not only wanting to check out new spots, but there's an adrenaline rush associated with it." Seal also interviewed the Instagrammer who first got to the top of 432 Park Avenue, America's tallest residential skyscraper, which is still under construction. "Nothing about the building made me specifically want to climb it," he admits. "It was just tall and it was there. It was kind of our Everest."
Seal argues that this peculiar clique of urban explorer Instagrammers is demonstrating the best potential of social media. "I think it gets blown out of proportion how much social media actually makes us less social and more isolated," Seal tells us. "This is a good example of a bunch of kids who met on Instagram then went out into the real world and got into some real adventures."
