John Metcalfe
John Metcalfe was CityLab’s Bay Area bureau chief, covering climate change and the science of cities.
The footage of coffin-defying moves isn’t for the faint of heart.
You’ll know right away if you want to finish “SKATE NEAR DEATH,” one title that actually deserves its SCARY ALL-CAPS. Skater Roma Alimov rolls right up to the lip of a subway platform with a train oncoming and … well, let’s just say the conductor was not happy that day.
Set to a hammering piano score that would delight Alfred Hitchcock, this footage isn’t for the faint of heart. The camera follows Alimov as he executes one coffin-defying move after another—sliding on one freakin’ wheel on a building ledge, hopping on a wall above a busy highway, getting shot at by what looks like a security guard (though that last one is probably fake).
Needless to say, he falls and loses his board more than once. But if the Reaper wants to claim the soul of this Russian skater, it’ll have to wait for the sequel. Here’s a trailer with more bruising outtakes:
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