Issue three 2012

UE MAGAZINE © 2012

CAVE CLAN INTERVIEWS WITH

DSANKT
IRON FIST DOUG
ATH
Additional interviews with
Daanoe
That Kid Rich
Silent Witnesses

Black Panther Drain

Paris Quarries:
Risk to Reward Ratio:
Exploring NYC with Brendan Clinch:
Contents
5 Exploring with charly

7 Underground with Logan Hicks

9 Interview with Daanoe

11 Black Panther Drain

15 Interview with That Kid Rich

17 The Tribe, By Bradley L. Garrett

21 Interview with Silent Witnesses

27 Exploring NYC with Brendan Clinch

31 Alpine View Sanatorium

33 Paris Quarries
Cover photo by Dsankt © 2012.
35 Interview with Dsankt
Thank you for checking out the 3rd issue of Urban
Exploration Magazine! And a big thank you to everyone
39 Interview with Iron Fist Doug that contributed to help bring this issue alive. We are
now on the look out for quality content for issue #4, so
45 Interview with Ath register for free to uemag.com and submit your ex-
plores for print consideration today. Thank you for your
support.
53 As We Forgive Those Who Trespass
Against Us UEmag.com
[email protected]
59 Interview With Ademan UE Magazine founder: Nicholas B. Gervin
General Manager: Andre Govia
61 Risk to Reward Ratio Staff Writer: Olivia Wolfe
Editor: AKBCHera
Contributing editor: Carly Wittman

Take only pictures, Leave only foot prints.

uemag.com and UE Magazine do not promote or condone illegal activity of any kind. Exploring is a dangerous
activity and should be done so by experienced persons only. uemag.com and UE Magazine are not responsible
for any injury or possible death to any of its online members or readers. Explore at your own risk. This magazine is
for persons 18 years of age or older. This magazine cannot be reproduced, copied or uploaded without the written
permission from the UE Magazine founder. UE Magazine © 2012.
Solo Draino
The sun’s rays warm my skin, not a cloud anywhere
to be seen in the sky as I walk down the busy jogging
trail. My knee-high rubber boots get a strange leer
from a few passing joggers. I arrive to the entrance of
the drain, bust out my camera and tripod and pretend
to start shooting the wildlife and surrounding nature.
Once no one is looking, I make a break into the drain.
The rocks are covered with seaweed and it makes for
a very slippery dash in. Once in, I set up my headlamp
and grab my torch. I fire off a few test shots to get my
camera settings configured. In the back of my mind, I’m
thinking, (Did anyone see me enter, if so are they calling
the police right now, ah fuck it, time to shoot.)
The crashing sound of rushing water becomes deafen-
ing the deeper I descend. I turn a few corners and soon
the entrance light is all but gone. For a brief second I
turn off my headlamp and torch. Pitch black, so dark
that I can’t see my hand two inches in front of my face. I
know I am the only one down here, and there’s no such
thing as C.H.U.D but I can’t help from getting the creeps
a bit while standing in the pitch black void.
I keep an eye on my timer I set once I entered. I
need to make sure I have plenty of time to exit before
high tide rolls in. I set up in several different locations
taking over 90 long exposures. I mess around with a bit
of light painting as well as some self portraits. Overall I
explore for around two hours, at which that time, I begin
making my way out. I notice the once flowing stream
exiting the drain is now back washing in. Meaning the
ocean tide is rising. Within 3 hours this tunnel will be
100% submerged under the sea water. It amazes me
how fast this environment can become deadly.
I stop some 50 feet from the exit to take a few last
shots. I am focused on my camera, when all of the
sudden I hear a voice. It startles the shit out of me and
I look up quickly. To my surprise, out pops a kid’s head
from the exit point. The kid is no more than 7 or 8 years
old and I scare the hell out of him, way more than he
did me. He jumps back, screaming bloody murder and
makes a break for it. At this point my disbelief turns
into straight up laughter. As I climb out of the drain, the
kid is standing there with some Mexican guy on a bike.
The kid screams out, “I told you there is a guy in there!”
I have the biggest grin on my face, thinking of how
strange this must be for them. I make small talk to feel
the older guy out. Mostly to see if he’s the kind of guy
who will be calling the police on me. After a bit of chit-
chat, I show the kid my photos and he is blown away by
them. I also inform him on how dangerous it is in there
and tell him to never go in unless with an adult.
I make my way down the jogging trail on my way
home, covered in dirt, grime and slime. It’s funny to see
the hot girls faces that jog on by. Each one has a look of
disgust, and for me, this helps set it in stone, that I am
doing something that not many non explorers can or will
ever understand.
UEmag Founder GERV-
Photo by Gerv © 2012.
Photos by Dsankt © 2012
Page 5.

Exploring with
First let me introduce myself. My real name is Alex Ries I did my first “doggie” explorations with Popeye (the
and I’m a 35 year old guy from Luxembourg. Above all brown one), a Belgian shepherd belonging to my ex-
I’m interested in all sorts of military explorations. It all girlfriend. This would have been around 2004. Now I am
began approximately 17 years ago with my first Maginot exploring with my 2 year old Australian shepherd Charly.
Line explorations. At this time I was equipped only with a I equip him with a cheap LED-headlight which I fix around
small compact camera and I didn‘t have any idea of how his neck. Depending on where we go I also equip him
to illuminate long galleries. In 2006 I created my web- with a harness so that I can easily lift him if this ends up
site www.darkplaces.org which is intended to be a photo being necessary. On this harness are often fixed two
gallery of the whole Maginot Line. I am also interested bags containing a first aid kit (for me AND for Charly),
in forts, mines, underground quarries…briefly everything glow sticks, a rescue blanket, a little LED light, and a
underground. small amount of toilet paper. Honestly, Charly doesn’t
like this harness at all.
Charly Article and photos by Alex Ries © 2012.

While exploring I always keep an eye on Charly. Quar- There are « stop », « wait », « come back », « sit/lay
ries and dogs are pretty compatible – almost no dangers down », « go on », and « stay there/here ». An example
at all. Mines and bunkers, on the other hand, are much for a dilapidated staircase and my main commands can
more demanding if you want to explore them securely be seen on Youtube HYPERLINK “http://www.youtube.
with your quadrupedal companion. You have to take care com/watch?v=X25z-iyH76U” http://www.youtube.com/
of holes, cavities, gaps, and pits or even stairwells with- watch?v=X25z-iyH76U . Next step is to equip Charly
out railing or which are dilapidated. I once had to heave with a more powerful light and teach him to help me il-
Popeye over a gap in a staircase. It is pretty difficult to luminate distant corners. Worth a try…
keep in balance while you have to carry an furry overload
of 30 kg. Fortunately Charly is a little bit lighter. Alex

Charly executes essential commands almost perfectly.

Page 7.

Exploring the Underground

with LOGAN HICKS Photos by Logan Hicks © 2012
Page 9.

DAANOE
Interview with Daanoe, Photos by Daanoe © 2012
Interview by Andre Govia

Q- Welcome to UE Magazine. First, could you help

us understand what Urbex does for you and why it’s
important to you?

A- I still remember my first exploration very well; I was

immediately hooked. Initially because of the tension,
but I was also deeply impressed by the beauty of decay.
Ever since I started it is no longer possible to drive
somewhere without scanning the environment to seek
out dilapidated houses. I often wonder what has hap-
pened there in the past. I love everything about Urbex;
finding a beautiful location, the trip to it, trying to enter
without being seen, and of course creating & editing the
photos.

Q- Where in the world would you like to explore next

and why?

A- I would like to explore in as many different countries

as possible. Each country has its own beauty. The five
photos that I have selected are all from another country.
My favorite country so far is Italy, but I also have ex-
plored in Australia. Detroit is currently at the top of my
wish list.

Q- What Urbex essentials are in the bag? Also, what

you would never leave home without?

A- Aside from my camera, lenses, and tripod I always

bring; a remote control, flashlight, lots of memory cards,
a Leatherman multi-tool, gloves, and spare batteries.
Recently I started bringing along a telescopic ladder. Of
course I always take my phone, food, and drinks.

Q- Have you ever been caught and if so what was

the outcome and what advice would you give to
other explorers that get caught?

A- Once we explored a house in Belgium and suddenly

the police raided with drawn guns! Two vans trans- in low light?
ported us to the local police station where we spent a
few hours. At the beginning, the mood was aggressive A- At slow shutter speeds I often use a flashlight to
and they asked us why we were taking pictures of the create accents.
contents of other people’s property, but a few hours
later the cop and I were looking at my pictures on the Q- Finally, do you see a future in the art of aban-
internet. “Wow, that’s cool!” he called out often. There doned photography for newcomers?
was an official report, but I have never heard from them
again. My advice if you get caught is not to run and to A- Sure! There are always new places to be dis-
stay calm. Once they know what you do and why you covered. Urbex is timeless...Thanks for reading
do it, you may only get a warning. my story! You can follow me on my website: www.
daanoe.nl
Q- Any tips about getting the best from your photos
Page 11.

Photo by Rusty © 2012

Black Panther Drain
Write up by Olivia Wolfe.
Interview with and Photos by Rusty © 2012.
Research yields some level of backstory behind a tion through confusing clues which led him to dead
location and can be obtained through several avenues ends. The police were called in but at this point in time,
such as architectural information, firsthand accounts kidnapping was a rare occurance which proved to be a
or historical insight. It’s what draws us in for an explore hinderance to the police investigation with inadequate
and what brings these places to life. But sometimes we plans and an unorganized course of action. These
uncover a place with an ominous past, one more real two misfortunes subsequently led to the death and the
than any Urban Legand has to offer, in which tragedy eventual finding of the teen weeks later as she hung
is the outcome and lives have been forever changed. in the darkness from a small ledge with a wire noose
So is the story behind this drainage system which sits around her neck.
below a park in Kidsgrove, Staffordshire in England. Neilson, whether spooked by the manhunt or fed up
In the darkness below an unsuspecting town is where with the games, had left her alone in the blackened pit,
Donald Neilson, better known as The Black Panther, unable to be seen or heard from those trying desperat-
brought his life of crime to a new level. After a decade ley to save her. Although he evaded capture for close
of eluding police he grew dissatisfied with the earnings to a year, he was eventually taken into custody during
of his crimes in robbery and turned to kidnapping in a fluke meeting with police. At the time of the incident,
hopes of a much bigger payoff in ransom. the two officers had no idea who they had come face to
Late in the evening of January 14th, 1975 Neilson face with when they stopped him for looking suspicious
kidnapped a 17 year old girl from her bedrooom as her as he was walking on a dim lit road late one night. He
family slept peacefully in the next rooms. Blindfolded surprised the offices with a sawed off shotgun and
and gagged, the heiress of a wealthy bussinessman forced one into the backseat and held the other at gun-
was thrown in the trunk of his car and taken under- point, demanding they take him somewhere. Deciding
ground into the depths of this abyss as her fate hung they would not allow him to get away with it, the officers
in the balance of a poorly written ransom note which worked together to catch him off guard, securing the
had been left on her bed. Over the course of the next gun and stopping the car. Neilson was handcuffed and
week her brother tried numerous times to connect with held until backup arrived.
Neilson but each attempt failed due to miscommunica- His reign of terror had finally come to an end and in
1976, his time in court brought a guilty charge in which
he recieved five life sentences for the deaths of not
only the girl but three others which occured during the UEmag: I understand you had this place on your
robberies he had carried out over the years. In 2008 he list of explores for three years before you went.
requested his life term be lessened but was informed What drew you to it?
that the severity of his crimes combined with the cho-
sen vicinity and nature of the girl’s death demonstrated Rusty: There was another location not too far away
what must have been a terrifying and horrendous from this drain and every time I searched online I found
experience that displayed just cause for the sentence another story about this famous murder. I had to check
term to remain as it was. With his request denied he it out.
remained in prison until his death in 2011 from beathing
complications relating to a diagnosis of Motor Neurone UEmag: When you got there did you find access to
Disease after serving 35 years behind bars. Though he the drain an easy or difficult task?
may be gone, the malicious tale of injustice upon such
a young and beautiful life lurks beneath the surface, Rusty: The drain sits in a very public place so we chose
away from the light of the world and those unaware of to go at night so we wouldn’t be spotted entering or
what memories consume the depths below their feet. leaving. Entry was only a slight challenge but not one
we couldn’t handle.
Rusty Interview
UEmag: What was it like spending time in the dark-
Though he started out in abandoned buildings and fac- ness? To be wandering in the very place that these
tories, Rusty broadened his horizons through the years events transpired?
to include rooftops and underground locations. Through
his ventures, his research and curiosity brought him to Rusty: Entering the drain felt very claustrophobic. To
the entrance of a place held captive to a sinister past know I was walking in the footsteps of such a twisted
and I was granted the opportunity to spend some time individual was a feeling that’s hard to explain. Strange
with him as he told of his explore and the story behind noises filled the drain which added a creepy feel to our
it. plans. My good friend, Glenn went with me on this trip
and we had arranged to take a shot down there with
UEmag: Thank you for joining us on such an intru- him dressed in clothes resembling what The Black Pan-
iging subject. ther wore. Standing in the pitch black with only a torch
for light was one thing but seeing my mate dressed like
Rusty: Thanks for having me, the pleasure is mine. that was a disturbing experience.
going wrong both in the attempts at collecting the
UEmag: You mentioned that through your research ransom and through the police investigations?
you’ve come upon conflicting reports concerning
the girl’s death. What did you find? Rusty: Neilson was used to robberies up until this point
so taking the girl was not something he was used to do-
Rusty: Reports claim that while she was discovered ing and no one really knew how to handle the situation
extremely under weight with her stomach completely when it occured. It’s not like it is today. At the time that
empty she had not died of starvation and a broken this happened, kidnapping was a rare circumstance,
neck, but rather from a heart attack. There’s no way a leaving the police uneducated and ill equipped in the
healthy teenager died of a heart attack. I believe she knowledge of how to carry out a quick and responsive
died from starving because the police messed up the investigation. All of these factors worked against the girl
investigation and never found her for seven weeks, and time finally ran out.
covering up that fact up by saying Neilson had gone
back after he gave up on the plan for ransom and UEmag: After everything you’ve learned and un-
pushed her off the ledge to her death. covered along with spending time underground, do
you ever plan on returning to this particular loca-
UEmag: Seven weeks is a rather long time to go by tion?
before she was found. Why do you think it took so
long for them to get to her? Rusty: I pretty much covered the whole place while I
was there, but I’ve been back once before to show a
Rusty: There were a lot of mistakes made in the at- friend who was really interested in the place. The dark-
tempts at dropping the ransom money, which resulted ness and the history behind it does not bother me so
in Neilson backing out. As police searched the park yeah, I’d go back again.
they missed some obvious clues which would have
led them to her, including a piece of Dyno tape saying UE mag: It goes without saying that the events
“Drop the money in the drain” and a torch found against that transpired beneath the gound were horrific
a portion of bars along the drain that had clearly been and ended in tragedy. Lives were forever changed
tampered with. because of the choices of one man. Thank you for
sharing both your experience and your spin on the
UEmag: This crime took place 36 years ago, do you history of a most unique location.
think that had anything to do with so many things
Page 15.

Th at Kid Rich Photos by That Kid Rich © 2012

Interview by Gerv
UEmag- Just to start off, why don’t you tell me a UEmag- Currently, what kind of camera, lenses and
bit about yourself in general and how you got into gear do you use on a regular basis?
exploring?
Rich- Currently I’m shooting with a Canon 50D and the
Rich- Hey what’s up? First off, I’d like to say thanks for several lenses I use on the regular include a Sigma 10-
the opportunity for this interview with UEmag. I’m That 20 f5.6, Canon 50mm f1.4, Rokinon 8mm, Canon 28-135
Kid Rich from NYC and I’ve been exploring for about 5 and an Induro tripod.
years now. I have always had an obsession with wander-
ing and exploring abandoned and forgotten places since UEmag- You’ve explored the greater NYC area quite a
my much younger years, but it wasn’t until about 2007 bit, what explore of yours sticks out in your mind as
that I purchased a DSLR and started documenting my outstanding?
explores and the rest is history.
Rich- Honestly dawg, all explores are epic to me whether
UEmag- What inspired you to make the jump into it is New York or across the pond as for the fact that they
documenting your urban surrounding with photogra- are all different and bring different things to make the
phy? particular explore outstanding. I roll with a top notch crew
and that makes every explore one to throw into the books
Rich- Well I was inspired by many different photogra- as epic. The greater NY area is dope and has much to of-
phers and what they were doing with documenting these fer as far as UE goes, but as for me I can’t pick anything
locations, along with their point of views and composi- particular as outstanding because it all is!
tions, these brought me into a whole new realm of explor-
ing. It’s no longer about just trespassing and exploring UEmag- Do you find it easier to explore in the city or
a site, it’s about what it once was and the history behind the outer boroughs - suburbs of the NYC area?
the location. There’s nothing like capturing the interiors
and exteriors of a location that sooner or later will be Rich- Actually that is a good question, it all depends on
gone forever! how you go about your city locations and if you have the
proper intel and timing. Seems like all prime locations
in Manhattan and Brooklyn are hit or miss as if you get
bagged, the whole terrorist thing comes into play depend- WP was one of those places I needed to scratch off my
ing on locations, if ya know what I mean – bridges, tun- list as it was just one of those epic locations! Andre,
nels, etc. As far as the outer boroughs, it’s pretty much Rusty & myself hit up several other locations in England
all good - just gotta know what you’re doing and how you before heading over to Germany to link up with Padrino
go about it. Exploring in NY does have its stress factor as and Photoportee for the madness. We hit up many spots
the other boroughs are a bit more relaxing depending on in Germany including Beelitz, Dessau Krematorium and
locations. some other locations and then we headed to Poland on
the long stretch of the Autobahn for more pure epicness!
UEmag- I understand you have done some traveling Lack of sleep and crazy exploring lead to us naming this
overseas. Who are some of the guys you have met tour “The Excess Baggage tour” due to the bags under
along your travels and what type of locations did you our eyes. Epic times, epic crew.
get into over there?
UEmag- Any final words or shout-outs?
Rich- Yeah I flew overseas last year to meet up with the
Mega Crew, and that crew consisted of epic explorers Rich- Big shouts to my boys Urbandecay, Earthmagnified
Andre Govia, il-Padrino, Rusty & Photoportee. It was a & Chriscreek. To all other fellow explorers: keep doing
massive mission: three countries, seven days and many what you do and keep the killer work coming. Hope to
locations. It all started as soon as I landed in London meet a lot of you in the future for some missions. This is
and within a few hours we were exploring the legendary what we do, and it’s what brings us together!
West Park Asylum in Epsom which was in the process of
being demoed, but there was still plenty left to explore.
Page 17.

The Tribe
The Tribe, Article and photos by wide cross-section.
Bradley L. Garrett © 2012.
Although urban explorers have been around as long as
Adventure is not outside… it is within. cities, it’s clear from the way we share, connect, and
-George Eliot communicate today that we are now a global community
(I suppose we have been since the launch of the UER
Last February, I completed the first PhD in history on in 2002). However, while we may be connected over
urban exploration. The work (if I dare call it that) was oceans and landmasses, we essentially still operate in
four years in the making and throughout that time I met small groups – this is the way exploration always has
hundreds of explorers and snuck into countless locations been. This is partly to do with the fact that small crews
across ten countries. It was an awakening for me. Since explore more efficiently and have less chance of getting
graduating, I haven’t stopped exploring. I couldn’t if I caught, partly because exploration is a distinctly local
wanted to. The reason is simple. I think becoming an ur- process, partly due to (personal and state) politics and
ban explorer is not so much a process of learning some- partly to do with the fact that we all have slightly different
thing new as it is a process of rediscovering something interests in terms of the places want to get into. For the
about yourself. In effect, I think we were all members of record, I could spend the rest of my life doing live metro
this tribe before we knew it existed. You remember the and skyscrapers and forget the rest. However, wherever
feeling the first time you saw an explorer’s photo, picked we live, and whatever language we speak, whatever we
up Access All Areas, or logged into a forum and realized might do at our day job, when someone throws up a sexy
you weren’t alone in your bizarre obsession for snooping black and white from a live control room, a 20-second ex-
around. posure in a metro tunnel with taillights streaming through
it, a picture from inside a crane cab, a cheeky disposable
Most articles thus far in UE Magazine have been stories snap of someone crawling out of a manhole, or a juicy
of particular explorations or descriptions of locations. I print of a massive smoky-brick walled derelict power sta-
love that stuff, but that’s not what I’m going to do here. In tion shot on Velvia in the mid-afternoon sun, we all know
this piece, I want to put forward some thoughts about the that the score is…Too right.
nature of our growing global explorer clan and, hopefully,
invoke a little solidarity between us wherever we may be However unsociable we might appear online, we can
in the world in the name of pure undiluted adventure. I always tap the UE collective for new information or to
think that objective fits well within these pages from what meet new people, reform into new groups for particular
I’ve seen so far as the first two issues have had a pretty goals; we are all always connected. In my thesis, I wrote
As alluded above, the apparent discords between us
sometimes come down to the division between explora-
tion and infiltration crews, love for decay, an addiction to
the adrenaline rush of the chase, willingness to take big-
ger risks or to spend more time pursuing virgin locations.
Sometimes it’s (stupidly I might add) simply differences
in photographic techniques that divide us. Other times
it’s geography. More often than not, as Mr. Monster wrote
in the last issue, it’s our own petty internal politics that
fracture us as a cohesive whole. I hope this has begun
to change. Increasingly our parties are becoming large
international gatherings: the annual International Drain
Meet (IDM) that started in the UK and is now moving to
continental Europe, the Clannies in Oz, or Mouser Week
in MSP are great examples. These gatherings are always
sick, relatively drama free and attract explorers from fur-
ther afield each year. It’s clear that when we finally divest
ourselves from internet flame wars about access details
and meet up in person to throw a rager in a derelict
building or get smashed in a dingy sewer somewhere,
the dividing lines between our “crews” and motives slip
away quickly and reveal us for what we truly are: a global
diverse tribe of modern adventurers who are collectively
unstoppable. I challenge you to consider the importance
of that statement.

As a case in point: last February, 70 or 80 explorers from

all over the world attended the largest IDM in history in

that the way we organize as a leaderless, decentralized

and essentially anarchic group of both cooperating and
competing bands is mirrored in hacker communities. The
beauty of that asymmetry is that the form of who we are
can never be discerned from a part. In other words, we
are a community but we all have our own reasons for
doing what we do. No single explorer can represent the
aspirations of the global community and glancing at the
community from afar tells you little about what explora-
tion is in practice. It is a beautifully byzantine form of
collective knowledge-building, where our individual and
group desires feed into a solid, thriving, thrashing experi-
ence cache like a big communal treasure box we all have
keys to. When locations or collaborations no longer suit
our purposes or feed our desires, we open the box, re-
arm, regroup and reform for a new quest. Yet collectively,
our various quests are rewriting the history of the urban
environment.
the Antwerp Ruien, a drain seemingly built for masses. A adventure that has no price tag. In our tribe, we try risky
few of us from London, primarily interested in infrastruc- things, we overextend our imaginations, we venture out
tural infiltration, went for a bit of pre-party mischief. By to attempt the impossible and often we are pushed back,
the time we showed up we had run countless miles of rebuffed. We try again. We sneak, we cry, we love, we
metro track, dodged more than one train after smoking fight, we drink, we party, we camp out, we break things,
spliffs and had been squirted by breast milk at an Am- we learn, we dig, we build, we reveal, we make art; we
sterdam sex show right before sneaking into a new line experience what very few people in history ever will. In
being excavated under Central Station and crawling up short, we live the lives we want to live, the lives people
to the dirt-churning tunnel boring machine at 3am. I had dream about as they sit behind their computers at work,
also ripped a surprisingly large chunk of skin off my shin scared that if they pee one more time today their boss
falling in a brick-lined hole somewhere along the way will think they’re slacking and fire them. Fuck that world!
and my shoe was full of crusty blood. We showed up to Urban exploration is more than events and places, it’s a
IDM battle-worn, dirty, wounded, stinking and unequivo- mindset. Widening our optics drives home a potential for
cally alive, and that my friends, as you know, is the only urban exploration to go beyond a selfish pursuit for the
ticket you need to this party. We were welcomed home self-obsessed addicted to ruin porn and masked-up tun-
from our adventures, as always, by the world’s finest, nel shots to become a cognitive trigger that rewires us for
who relayed their own tales of urban exploration on the creative worldly engagement all over again. Exploration
way to the gathering. The party commenced. It was by all is always a revolutionary activity because we are taking
standards the best in recent years thanks to the brilliant knowledge not offered. Urban exploration is knowledge
organizational skills of Dsankt, Ben, Joachim and Wouter. theft; we are the Wikileaks of closed space.
Next year’s IDM will be hosted by the Brescia Under-
As a community at the vanguard of spatial freedom, we
have an obligation to continue to sap and smash the un-
necessary social conditioning that has been drilled into
us and to embrace our role in society as modern super-
heroes saving humanity from the insidious boredom of
consumer capitalism. It’s vital we continue to embrace
mistakes, failure and desire, and to band together for our

ground in Italy and knowing the hosts, it promises to be

another party of epic proportions. I hope to see you there
fellow nomads.

So here’s the clutch: wherever we may live in the world,

society has conditioned us to think that taking risks is
foolish, that we should be embarrassed to try something
we’re not skilled at, that failure is not an option. This is
fucking nonsense; just as trying to rigidly define explora-
tion is nonsense. We all choose the way we interact with
the world, in the same way we choose our crew; it’s what
makes our community different than work colleagues or
families. We’ve all been adopted into this tribe of global
explorers and what we have discovered together is more
than a collection of “lost” places in the world; we have
found what modern society has tried to bury, something
that many of us buried within ourselves: a taste for
common goal of revealing the parts of the world (and our- the 20th century. It is a grand accomplishment that is of
selves) hidden from view. We must, at all costs, continue course also a reflection of the way in which we collective-
to get drunk and pass out in sewers and abseil into things ly operate as a tribe, sharing information and divesting
unnecessarily. I encourage you to re-embrace your carnal authority into the hands of everyone who wishes to step
lust for discovery at this very moment, to continue to re- up the plate to begin unraveling the world around them.
discover the imaginations and freedoms of childhood that My final challenge to you is simple: go beyond urban ex-
were squeezed out of us by jaded teachers promoting ploration as a hobby and begin reshaping the world in our
corporate nationalism and “book learning”; I exhort you image, full of vivacious free space where “do not enter”
to go repair a derelict train and ride that fucker into the signs become laughable.
sunset with a howl. If the only route to the past is through
thinking than the only route to the present is being. We There are no rules to this game except those we define
must take full advantage of every minute because this within ourselves and amongst our friends. There is no
is all we’ve got. A hundred years from now, we will all be wrong way to access or explore a location or to take a
dead and I assure you that on your way out, you’re not photograph. There are no off-limits spaces. Everything
going to regret the risks you take now. is possible. Despite the rifts that exist, and will continue
to emerge, if we carry on growing as a community, one
Given that I have been a researcher studying urban thing will never change that will drive us together again
exploration, I have always had to temper my language so and again – the fundamental element of urban explora-
as not to reveal my biases. Since I am amongst friends tion: a desire for new adventures and a curiosity to reveal
here in a publication essentially built for internal distribu- and experience the world around us in ways that feed
tion, let me (continue to) say what I’ve always wanted directly into to the heart. No security measures, com-
to: the community that we have built together, and the munity politics, media coverage, or legislation will ever
collective achievements we have made together could change that. If we remember this, we will always be part
define an age if we keep this up, in the same way graffiti of this tribe because adventure is not outside…it is within.
and skateboarding defined the 1990s. As a global com- Explore everything.
munity, we have exposed more of the hidden urban world
than wilderness explorers mapped out in the entirety of
Page 21.

Silent Witnesses
Interview with & Photos by Silent Witnesses © 2012 I began with photography.
Interview by Andre Govia
Q3) Tell us about what you pack in your bag for
Q1) What first got you into Urbex and how has this safety before each explore?
changed the way you take photos?
In my head I know exactly what I need, but I’m so cha-
I love to take pictures while traveling; looking for the otic that I often forget everything. I’ve managed to have
most beautiful and fascinating places on Earth. I also never forgotten my camera, unfortunately sometimes
wanted some action. I have always been interested in the tripod ... that is a big problem!! Thank god I’ve never
history and that led me to the urban community. When needed my forgotten first aid set.
shooting landscapes you’re dependent on the weather
and waiting for the right moment. In the urban photog- Q4) What explorers inspire you at the moment?
raphy style I’ve found the perfect complement to what I
needed. It is more targeted because you have a com- People who are producing original Urbex photography
pact atmosphere that you can put down. with especially artistic style inspire me. There are also
my friends and crew who I have contact with and go on
Q2) What came first for you, the photography or the missions. You know who...
exploring?
Q5) What is your favorite explore to date?
A day I will never forget, myself and two friends went on Shit! It was still sitting on top of that window and his
an explore to a castle. If we could capture the decor we fingerprints are on it, he had to pick it up because he
knew would be beautiful. When we arrived at the castle was already arrested the previous week at La Foret and
completely full of adrenaline and enthusiasm, we found could be linked again to trespass. We had no option but
a small window and inside we went. Another member to return and collect the tripod like the Dukes of Hazzard!
of the crew found one of the neighbors and entered into Alarms still ringing behind us, we drove like mad out of
a conversation; the man told a story of a woman that the village. No photos but a real mission I won’t forget.
had the front door key and also managed the property.
“That’s the easy option”, I was thinking when he started Q6) Any advice you would give to new explorers?
telling his story, suddenly the alarm inside the build-
ing went off. I helped the crew out the window again, Do not take it too seriously, before you know you’re ad-
and we sprinted away.  The neighbors I had been talk- dicted. Hahaha I love it! Treat properties with respect
ing with asked if they were my friends. I began to walk and steal nothing. Take photos and enjoy your explore.
slowly away and then the walk became a fast run. We
jumped in the car and picked up the last explorer on the Greetz Berrie Leijten (silent witnesses)
other side of the village. He asked “who has my tripod?”
Photo by Precious Decay © 2012. Image was captured with Nikon D90 and Sigma 10-20mm,
processed to HDR.

Photo by sven h¸ttich aka John_Coffee © 2012. I found this strange scene in an old nursing home
and i had to take a Photo. This awesome place is full of wheelchairs and nice architecture. We
spent a few hours in this location until we realized that the owner lived in the Neighboring house.
We decided to leave before the owner noticed us and called the police.
Photo by Oldskool 2012. This shot was taken on the Pro-Hobo European Vacation with a great
crew. Keeping true to the tour title we spent the night in here.

Photo by Vadim Mahorov © 2012.

Photo by Richard Pennington © 2012.

Photo by Rodney M Albert © 2012. I Use a Canon Xti and a T3i. I took this photo at about 3:00 In
the morning while waiting for the sun to rise one cold winter. Of all Kirkbrides I have visited, this
was my favorite place to explore and will miss hiding out in the tunnels waiting for daylight.
Photo by Monique Duncan © 2012. “ As explorers we are also historians preserving pieces of the
past. Sadly many American locations have been destroyed by people who think purchasing a can
of cheap pressurized paint makes them “artists”. Finding this gem was an amazing surprise and
the wheelchair was icing on the cake! Hate to report that since this photo was taken the artwork
was ruined by someone who thought it “funny” no doubt to spray paint his eyes red.”

Photo by Peter Arnemann aka Captain Jack and The Stooges. In search of the lost Chord.
Page 27.

Exploring New York City

Williamsburg Bridge, Brooklyn tower.

Exploring an underground river. Rooftop of an abandoned Psychiatric Hospital, Brooklyn.

Photos by Brendan Clinch © 2012. Interview by Gerv. feeling of pure amazement that something this massive
can just be sitting here abandoned.  Exploring back then
Q1: Tell us a bit about yourself and how you got into consisted of getting high, throwing stuff off the roof, lying
exploring? in morgue beds and getting freaked out, normal teenager
stuff.  This went on for some years. It dawned on me
For starters, I’m a Long Island native, born and one day how shitty it would be if this place disappeared
raised.  Before exploring I was heavy into skating and and I never took pictures of it. I started making day trips
I dabbled in writing graffiti for a bit. For me exploring with the point and shoot, editing shots with vignettes and
started back in early high school, taking trips out to Long sepia tone thinking it was the coolest thing in the world. It
Island’s abandoned state hospitals. We would go at all just kind of snowballed from there.
night and break in out of pure curiosity.  I remember the  
With Brendan Clinch

Mass Burial Pit, Hart island.

Bascule Bridge, Bronx. NYS Pavillion, Queens.

Q2: Do you think your skating and graffiti back- and effort, as far as choosing a location, figuring out how
ground played a role in getting you involved in the you’re going to get in, then the satisfaction of actually
world of UE? If so, what kind of role did they play? pulling it off.  Whether it’s getting your name up, or post-
ing your shot from the previous night’s explore, for me
I think UE would have found its way into my life regard- it’s kind of the same feeling. You did it…you got in. The
less, but I can definitely draw parallels between the harder it was to achieve the better. To this day, my favor-
cultures of skating, graffiti, and exploring.  In particular, ite documentary out there is Style Wars.  It documents
the experiences that come along with writing graffiti I find the birth of graffiti culture in New York City in the 70’s.  I’d
very similar to exploring.  That same rush you get when watch it when I was younger, then fiend to get out there
you get into a place, the one you’ve had your eye on for and write.  To this day I get that same feeling from watch-
the past week.  They both involve creativity, planning, ing it.  That urge to get out there and mingle with the city’s
Arthur Kill, Staten Island.

infrastructure.  Highly recommend for anyone who hasn’t see graff in an abandoned building.  That’s like getting
seen it. Not as many, but skating and UE definitely have angry because the roof is leaking or the windows are
their similarities.  With street skating in particular, it’s that busted out.  It’s one of the many things that happen when
same feeling of freedom.  The urban landscape is one a structure gets left to the elements.  Inevitably people
big playground, where society’s ‘legal’ boundaries don’t are going to get in, and graff artists are going to paint, just
exist.  Nothing is off limits. You want to skate that marble like we take pictures.
ledge outside the hotel entrance, but the security guard
is standing right next to it. Fuck it, you’re going to do it Q4: Your exploring covers a wide range of NYC’s fin-
anyway. Why? Because you can. est locations. What gives you the biggest rush or the
  greatest feeling of accomplishment?
Q3: Coming from the NYC area, the birth place of
graffiti art, how do you feel about graffiti in aban- Climbing bridges definitely ranks high on that list.  The
doned structures? chances of getting caught are generally higher, along with
the harsher penalties that would come along with getting
Graff comes in all shapes and sizes, and 99% of it I’m ok caught. There’s no talking your way out of it, and there’s
with.  When someone intentionally ruins a great scene, definitely nowhere to run, or hide for that matter.  All of
just for the sake of ruining a shot, those are the people that combined creates quite a nerve-wracking, surreal
that need to be slapped. For the most part though, it experience when the time comes to actually go for it.  The
doesn’t bother me.  Sometimes it can add to a shot.  I payoff is like no other though, especially in a city like New
know a lot of people that get bent out of shape when they York.  You do your research, pick a good time, then say
fuck it and hope for the best. That’s really all you can do. There are many reasons why I love doing this, why I keep
That’s a tough question though.  Each different type of coming back.  It’s the adventure, the freedom of having
explore provides its own unique experience, each excit- no boundaries.  It’s the experience of accessing a space
ing and rewarding for its own reasons.  The tunnels, the that’s off-limits to the general public, in some cases which
islands, they all have that heavy dose of adventure, which hasn’t been seen in decades. There’s also the photog-
we’re all so thoroughly addicted to. raphy end of it.  The chance to document something
  that might not be around forever, or just capture a view
Q5: What’s the worst place you have explored in no one ever gets to see.  I find it all very intriguing. The
NYC and why? city starts to make a lot more sense once you become
familiar with its infrastructure.  You start to understand the
Worst meaning sketchy? There’s an abandoned train big picture of why things are where they are, how every-
tunnel under the Bronx that’s pretty effed up. It’s flooded thing works as a whole. I am definitely inspired by other
the whole way through with stagnant water and trash, and explorers/photographers, without a doubt. Every day
pocketed with people sleeping in little alcoves along the people are out there raising the bar, getting into harder
way.  The limited ground that isn’t submerged is covered and more creative places all around the world. It’s fun to
with thousands of hypodermic needles, literally.  Not a be able to be a part of that. I’ve met tons of great people
place you’d want to explore without proper footgear, or and amazing photographers over the years, all who in-
medical insurance for that matter. spire me every day. Big shouts to the NYC crew. Those
  guys from Detroit, and that girl up in Buffalo. The dude
Q6: What motivates you to get out there and get your with the hot sauce and that other guy from Baltimore.
hands dirty and are there any other explorers or pho- Shouts to the Boston folk, and the Germany and England
tographers that inspire you? crews and everyone in between; you know who you are. 
Much love, keep on rockin’.

Deep under Brooklyn.

Page 31.

Alpine
View
Sanatorium
Alpine View Sanatorium curve and then it was time to go off-road and head still
Article and photos by Andre Govia © 2012 further up into the mountains on the narrow cliff top pass-
es. We came to a dead-end with an old gate that we
After a long flight, Rusty Photography, Ivorbean, and pushed open to get into the grounds of this most amaz-
I met with Martin Widlund for a mission to one of the ing abandoned sanatorium. We parked and entered via
hardest to reach abandoned sanatoriums we had ever the shallow woods leading up to the buildings.
explored. Ahead of the crew laid a 9 hour drive into the This place was far larger than I was expecting; we
mountains on roads that I can only describe as spaghetti. found an entry point and entered the main building.
This was our second attempt at this explore and we were There were long dark corridors around the basement and
not going to take another defeat. The year before, we an anti-suicide cage around the stairwell that was very
had to postpone due to the snow season starting and old and sinister with deep green decay creeping down
that would prove too much of a risk for bear attacks and the walls. Wheelchairs in some of the rooms and wards
impassable roads. We drove along the snaking roads were very unusual in style and made for great photo
with breathtaking views all around. I remember think- subjects. Then for me was the cream of the explore as
ing, at one point we might be the only people for miles we were in an abandoned sanatorium that had its own
around. After a short break at a shop for lunch we drove cable car! The only one in existence that we know about;
another hour to a ferry crossing that took us between the it lead to the pickup point lower down the mountain and
mountains and lasted 15 minutes. After that it was back was used to collect supplies and transport patients. It
on the road. Time was moving fast and we did not want makes one wonder what they were thinking while being
to be arriving late due to the roads. We rounded one last taken up for long term treatment in the little cable cars.
“The year before, we had to post-
pone due to the snow season start-
ing and that would prove too much
of a risk for bear attacks and im-
passable roads. “

Martin was quite helpful and provided some history tients got enough air daily. This meant that they would
about the hospital; it was interesting to learn that patients lay outside in their beds during both summer and winter,
here were fed a high fat diet and the hospital had its own well-packaged in bags of reindeer skins. They were
pig barn where they made sure that the pigs had an extra placed under a huge canopy along the entire south wall
thick fat layer before they were slaughtered. It was quite and this canopy prevented rain and snow from entering
common for relatives to send food and treats in abun- their air spaces. Around the hospital there was a large
dant quantities. This could have been due to the harsh park with roads where patients who were strong enough
winters with the temperature dropping down to 30 below could exercise. The location turned this place into a
zero most nights. rather private and closed society. The sanatorium even
The complex was built in 1902 and a major rebuild had its own post office and this helped the people here
was done in 1937 to keep the units up to date. In 1994, establish a completely separate social life away from the
the doors were closed and the sanatorium has been rest of society. Definitely not the type of place you would
abandoned since and left to decay. The reason for want to end up. Old photos, taken during winter, show
building the sanatorium in the mountains in such a hard up to 8 nurses in one bed just to keep warm. Our trip to
to reach place was said to be its dry climate, pine forest this wonderfully harsh sanatorium ended as night was
and the thin mountain air. It was a recipe believed, in the drawing in and that was our signal to get out of the area
old days, to cure people with tuberculosis. It was located and find somewhere to stay for the night before the next
at high elevation and in a climate that, at the time, was part of this alpine mission.
considered an “immune zone” against the disease. One
of the cures they used here was making sure the pa-
Page 33.

Paris
Quarries
Article and photos by Cyril © 2012

Most people interested in urban explo-

ration are familiar with the existence of
the Catacombs of Paris. Between you
and me, there are much better spots.
Since the fifteenth century, rocks have
been extracted around the French capi-
tal leaving hundreds of quarries. For
almost ten years, I have been explor-
ing it with some friends. There are the
wet and dirty ones, ones covered with
white sand, a huge cathedral-sized
one, one flooded with clear water, and
many others. Today, most of them are
abandoned, but some are still used as
mushroom beds, breweries, shelters, or
used by farmers to store potatoes.

We are also “surface” explorers, but

below the ground there is more; you
can quickly get lost, run out of light, or
become injured. Planning each expedi-
tion becomes pretty exciting. We have
to find an entry point and get a map of
the place (if one exists). Since loca-
tions are often quite far from Paris, we
leave for the day, with salami, cheese,
beer, and good wine (hum, it sounds
like a French cliché, doesn’t it?). Of
course, like the rest of urban explora-
tion, there are amazing and forgotten
places to discover.

The first uncommon quarry we saw was

Le Puiselet. The whole quarry is made
of very fine white sand. The galleries
don’t have classic walls and ceilings,
they look more like organic shapes and
you can see huge rooms (10m high).
It is splendid and remains my favorite.
Some of the quarries are a bit danger-
ous, especially good to appease the
Indiana Jones inside us. When the ox-
ygen level falls down to 14%, exploring
a quarry feels like climbing a mountain;
your photo equipment turns into a big
backpack of rocks. When the batteries
of your O2 meter are as empty as your
bottle of red wine, the perfect reflection
of a quiet underground lake becomes
highly misleading. You can easily turn around and get of test tubes of shiitake spores packed in old Chinese
lost in a 10 square meter area. To prevent the houses newspapers that were used to grow mushrooms in the
built above some quarries from sinking miserably under 90’s. Deeper inside, there was an old seismology lab
the macadam, a few are back filled with a kind of full of hand-made glass instruments. We’ve also found
concrete. Due to the lack of oxygen, it is drying very old Citroën FWD cars from the 30’s, a wooden confes-
slowly, and under a stable and solid gallery you can find sional upholstered with red fur, customized with sex ac-
one meter of the grey and viscous mixture. You cessories, volutes, busts and castles directly carved in
shall not pass, said the Master of the Quarry. Some- the rock, a vintage syringe and needles in the remains
times, we have to adapt our moves to the specifications of a military hospital, a statue of Buddha covered with
of a quarry. We are usually walking, and if needed, we concretions, water droplets falling right in a bottle of
can bike, swim or sail with plastic canoes designed for beer that had slowly transformed into a large stalag-
small children. mite, and a young boy stealing potatoes and carrots
from a farmer’s stock…mom asked!
The funniest thing is to discover relics of former uses of
the quarries. We found armored trucks stored here by Definitely so many things happened and are still hap-
the OTAN since the 60’s; these were left almost un- pening underground around Paris...
touched for 50 years. In another one, we saw dozens
Dsankt
Page 35.

Photos by Dsankt © 2012

Interview by Gerv
UEmag: Can you tell us a bit about yourself and how you got
into exploring in the first place?

DS: I’m DS; heartless, arrogant, elitist and a bit of a cunt

if you believe the generous compliments of my friends.
I’m Australian by passport but roaming by choice. There
are rumors circulating that as a baby I burst out the pink
chatière sporting a headtorch and Asian baby face. While
there is, of course, some truth to this, a stronger influence
on my exploring nature was the childhood Satanists with
whom I descended the featureless concrete storm drains so
prevalent in the Australian suburbs. The purposes of these
descents to light candles and use black markers stolen from
school to draw crude pentagrams in attempts to gain favor
with the Dark Lord. Pretty quickly I realized the path to true
evil was in business, politics, a real church or the Cave Clan,
Australia’s premier exploring group. I ran the Brisbane Cave
Clan branch for a while and with hard-hitters like ekweleks
and q-x we clobbered our way up the amateur rankings pretty
quickly. By 2006 I’d pushed off from convict shores seeking
out guys like Steve Duncan, Michael Cook and Shane Perez,
the internationally fearless and bold. Shortly after I joined
the assorted bunch of bellends commonly known as the Pro
League and smashed out a lot of decent adventures you
might have heard of.

UEmag: Do you still draw pantagrams?

DS: My artistic side evolved, thankfully, and I moved onto

photography, though I retained a certain fondness for drawing
dicks and have my fair share of stylish dick varieties under
my belt. Winged dicks, fractal penii, cubist dicks, you get
the general idea and I’d rather not give away my secrets, ya
know?

UEmag: Can you tell us a bit about the Cave Clan, around
what year did you become a member and how are things go-
ing for the clan nowadays?

DS: The Cave Clan is one of the oldest and certainly the
largest (dis)organized exploring group in the world. Since the
mid-eighties they’ve been killing it in Australia though of late
they’ve gone underground and nobody really knows how ac-
tive they are anymore. I joined the fledgling Brisbane branch
in 2001 and we destroyed Brisbane top to bottom. This was
before exploring became anywhere near as popular as it
is today so we owned the city; it was just us and the graffiti
writers. They were great years, less politics, less bullshit,
non-stop craziness, fresh finds and not a single email asking
about making a TV-series.

UEmag: Tell us a bit about SleepyCity. When was it founded

and what’s it all about?

DS: Sleepycity started as dsankt.com, a set of static HTML

galleries in ~04, and then grew into the beast you see today.
I was inspired by the works of Siologen and Trioxide and
decided to share my own photos,
without any particular goal. Since then I’ve moved away from the perfect chance for everyone to get together. Next year is
simply posting galleries of photos and towards stories and nar- going to blow the manhole covers 100 feet in the air. I’ll not
ratives of our adventures. I’m no great writer but I’m intrigued shame anyone else with tales of drunken embarrassment, but
by stories of adventure and think as a community we need I chugged sewage laced champagne from a rubber boot and
to write those we participate in. We’ve proven we can churn spent the next week as a parasite host, shitting ass-milk and
out thousands of similar photos of the same places, so some munching antibiotics.
decently written words from places like adventureworldwide.
net are a breath of fresh air in a stale scene full of painfully UEmag: Have you been hit with a lot of spooge geyser buk-
contrived over-processed gasmask photos. kake while exploring drains? What’s the nastiest thing that’s
happened to you when exploring?
UEmag: I.D.M 2012. Where was it held and what kind of
shenanigans took place this year down there? DS: In the smaller tunnels the pipes from the houses dump
straight into the tunnels and they erupt like little geysers all the
DS: For now it’s sufficient to say it was the wildest, most out time. Thankfully I’ve not been bukkaked yet. I was down in
of control drain meet yet. 100+ dirty ass drainers, black tie Italy recently exploring some of their amazing sewers and we
suited and booted; beyond drunk, loose and loud crammed had a 500m crawl on hands and knees through the flow, with
into Antwerp’s sewer system. Full sound and lighting set the little puffed up jellyfish-like tampons bobbing past our faces.
stage. The draining community is pretty tight and the IDM is My waders were leaking a little and I had on plastic kitchen
gloves which did absolutely nothing. It was pretty nasty, but
at least the ‘water’ wasn’t covered by a layer of congealed
cooking fat and dead rats like you see in London. Down in the
sewers you learn to take comfort in what you’re not finding.

UEmag: Strangest place you ever slept?

DS: I’ve slept on rooftops, in gardens, in underground rivers,

on national monuments, in abandoned motels, Nazi military
bases, in bridges but the highlight is certainly also the most
miserable. I don’t recall what hellish notion spawned the
idea but we hit Oslo in the middle of winter for a weekend
with nowhere to stay and figured we’d just work it out like we
always do. It was about -25c outside and we ran down the
active metro tracks after service to one of the old abandoned
stations. We spent the night taking photos and finally bedded
down in our -10c sleeping bags as the service started. The
station sits on live track, which carries 4-5 lines, so the trains
were clanking through every few minutes and despite being
thoroughly exhausted we just couldn’t sleep through it. It was
certainly my worst pseudo-hobo experience, like some kind of
concentration camp where you’d just shut your eyes and start
to sleep then be ripped awake. It was horrid at the time, but
like the best travel experiences, it’s pretty funny in retrospect
and I’d do it all again.

UEmag: Where in the world has exploring taking you; cities,

countries?

DS: Forty-five countries and too many cities to bother count-

ing. There’s so much to do in the world, most of it beyond the
realm of what we considering exploring; it would be a shame
to limit it. I get asked often how I do it...easy: don’t waste
your hard earned dollars on buying useless consumer shite
but keep it for the important stuff - like traveling the world to
break the law.

UEmag: Of all the traveling and places you have explored,

what place stands out in your mind as pure awesomeness and
why?
DS: It takes years of work to peel the onion that is the modern
city. Layer by layer you can take a city apart, from the roofs,
the abandoned buildings, the sewers, drains, metro, telecom
tunnels…just going deeper and deeper until you know the city
inside and out. Eventually you begin to feel you’ve mapped
every nook and cranny. We took Paris apart at the seams but
then a single discovery opens up a dozen more and you feel
as if you’re starting all over again. It’s endless! Cities likes
Paris, London, New York, Minneapolis; they can consume
you and drive you mad with all the possibilities. These are
the places I love; ones where you can lose yourself in the city,
where you can go out every night and find something new,
endless adventures. Most of these adventures have come
from hitting infrastructure, yet so many people stop at the
abandoned buildings and never really move into infrastruc-
ture, but our cities are all overflowing with it, all waiting to be
taken.

UEmag: What’s next? Any future trips planned out?

DS: I’ve been told I look to the future too much, thinking of
tomorrow before today is even done, booking the next trip
before I’ve even returned from the current. There are so
many plans in the works but I’m not one to announce them,
I’d rather come back and tell people what I’ve done than big
mouth myself about what I’m going to do. That said though,
I expect we’ll see a closer relationship between travel and
urban exploring, as people start going further away and
further from their comfort zone in search of new places and
new thrills. I’ve been traveling and exploring for six years now
and I’m seeing it catch on more and more. It’s the future in
my opinion, why be confronted by boring euro police in your
own country when they could be machine gun wielding Iranian
military police? Makes it more fun don’t ya think?

UEmag: Any final words of wisdom?

DS: No grand wisdom here, except that life is very short and
death is terrifyingly long. Drains…go in them.
Page 39.

Iron Fist Doug

Photos by Doug © 2012
Interview by Gerv

Q1:Why don’t we start off with you telling us a bit plorer when it comes to the international scene (whereas
about yourself as an explorer and in general? I hardly ever bother reading about Australian exploring),
but I’m a Cave Clan man, it’s what kept me involved in
I’ve always been into the underground! I tried getting a urban exploration. I tried to grow the Clan so the location
group together during the 80’s but everyone just seemed lists kept growing and it worked - too well almost. In the
interested in smoking joints and writing AC/DC on the last four years I have moved out of the city (lots of new
wall. locations to find and explore,) turned 40, got married,
purchased a house and had two children... so my priori-
I met up with a school friend in 1985 and together with his ties have changed, but I still have something to do with
brother we started exploring the drains and tunnels of our the Clan every other day.
area of Melbourne. More than a quarter of a century later
and we’ve moved on from our side of town to the whole Q2: Take us back to 1985, what first sparked your
of the town... state... country... world! Well…world is a interest in the underground and what was your first
bit of an exaggeration, however there are so many great drain explore like? Can you recall any features about
Cave Clan members exploring around the world - maybe the drain or details of the explore itself?
they would have done it without the Clan, but I think the
group showed them that there is a scene out there. Now- The area that I lived in was bordered by 2 creeks and a
adays the Cave Clan explores any type of Urbex location river so I’d regularly seen drain outlets as a kid. They in-
from as far down to as high as possible. Personally, I trigued me. I saw them as huge question marks. I started
have only explored outside of Australia once - in 2001 in going in drains when I was 12; at first with friends from
Paris, Vienna, Germany and the Netherlands. school and then a few years later with Woody and Sloth.
My first memory is of a low drain that ran under our
I love the international stuff - I am a bit of an armchair ex- school. I’d heard of sections in the tunnel... The Bend,
The Rocks and The Split. I had to see these features! On
my first lunch break of my first day of secondary school it
was a hot day so I got a group of friends and we went up
the drain. We only had a cigarette lighter or two. I found
it amazing; the concrete drain smell, the sounds of my
friends giggling, looking back at the entrance and see-
ing their silhouettes, then reaching The Bend and head-
ing into total darkness. My senses were experiencing
something new and it was great. Then someone let out a
scream and we all blindly, frantically took off towards the
entrance screaming and laughing at the same time as our
shoes and clothing, that we carefully kept dry on the way
up, ended up soaked in drain gunk. I ran out of the pipe
and couldn’t stop. I slipped down the ten meter slide
outside the front. I stood up totally soaked, green sludge
all over my brand new pants and shirt, the knees of my
pants were ripped and bloody. I looked up at the others
and smiled- I was hooked!

In the end I visited the drain hundreds of times. The

Rocks weren’t a cool rock section, it was just a section
where a bunch of rocks dammed the water and forced
you to do the splits. The Split was, you guessed it, where
the 5ft pipe turned into two 2ft pipes. I loved that pipe but
little did I know that things were going to change - change
to the level that I wouldn’t even cross the road to see the
drain that got me hooked. I’ve now done side-pipes that
are way better than my first drain.
drains to explore back then?
Q3: 1985 is way before the internet and resources
such as Google Earth, Bing Maps, or any other online The three of us would choose an area to search. At first it
drain database. How did you, Woody and Sloth go was obvious creek endings and then just random water-
about searching out and finding so many amazing ways or linear parks that we spotted in the street direc-
tory. As a bonus is was surprising how many abandoned
buildings and structures were located near creeks and
rivers. I was the one that was obsessed so I found that it
was easier to do a lot of the searching on my own.

The main reason I wanted the Cave Clan to grow was –

it quickly became obvious that new members generally
equalled new locations and as the group spread out of
the northern suburbs of Melbourne to the rest of the city
and then to the other capital cities, there were more and
more people searching obvious creek endings, random
waterways and linear parks that they had spotted in their
street directory. To me finding these hidden tunnels were
part of the fun. We would turn a bend of a creek and see
a huge outlet… a huge question mark… it was the best!

Nowadays you send an email or do a 10 minute Google

search and your exploring is planned for the next
month… you miss out on so much of the fun.

Q4: How fast did the Cave Clan grow in the early
years and how did new members get enrolled? Are
there any requirements or standards?

In the 80’s the membership rose very slowly. How we

gained members from 1986-1989 was to leave messages
in tunnels around the city. These messages would give tos were any good. There was no comparison between
details on how to get to a section called The Pillars in photography and exploring in the 80’s.
our local drain. At The Pillars we would have a mes-
sage board where people would arrange a date to come I used a Polaroid camera for a couple of years, which
back and meet. Obviously this took a long time and was an even more expensive way of getting average
on one or two occasions we missed a message and photos but it cut out the problem of us needing to pick the
made some explorers that had travelled long distances photos up. I suppose you need to realize that this was
a bit upset. Although it took a long time to gain new long before the Cave Clan you know today. We were 16
members this way, the percentage that became regular year-olds and didn’t tell family or friends. It was very se-
long term members was quite high. These people were cretive and when I put my first film in and the guy behind
already going into tunnels so they weren’t total newbies. the counter said, “Ah, you’re the tunnel guy” I nearly left
They had already gone to a fair bit of trouble just to the photos behind and ran out of the shop.
meet us.
Over time we started taking more photos but they were
We also put message bags up the more popular drains. all snapshots. Any video was hurriedly shot with some-
These message bags consisted of some photocopied one’s uncle’s borrowed video camera. When I first saw
sheets of photos and locations as well as an audio tape someone set up a tripod on an expo I have to admit that
of us talking about how good exploring is and stuff like I was very inpatient and frustrated. To me it was as irrele-
that. This worked really well. In 1990 we got a PO Box vant as someone sitting down on the ground and playing
and started putting up stickers around our city and other with Lego blocks. Ha, ha, it’s a quarter of a century later
capital cities. This worked well and the membership and I still think the same thing (sorry to all the offended
started to grow. photographers out there). There were a few photogra-
phers that joined the Clan in the 90’s. Matt Netthiem has
Up until the late 90’s membership was pretty much done quite well doing photography in the movie industry
based on how well you got on with people. After that and Ash Gilberston is a recipient of the Robert Capa
the websites and emails came along and it became Gold Medal. Then the likes of Siologen and Dsankt came
easy for people to contact - many would say too easy. along. These guys love to take a good photo, however
Half the emails were something like – “please send they were all true explorers.
info”. In 1996 it was apparent that the scene (Cave
Clan had moved on from mainly being drain explorers [I tend to find that so much of the photos you see nowa-
to general urban explorers) was getting too big to be days look the same. I find looking at photos with no one
totally unregulated. As nice as “Take Only Photographs, in them more like looking at a calendar and pretty much
Leave Only Footprints” sounds, it’s not really practical – nothing to do with exploring. Don’t get me wrong, I’m
it works for decent honest folk, but it’s all the others that into art and I like to do some armchair exploring, but I
weren’t totally decent that was the issue. So the Cave just don’t think photography should hold people up from
Clan had a 20 Year Revamp and we set up a Code of exploring.]
Ethics that forms a large part of what is expected from
new (and older) members, but it still really comes down Q6: Are you at all interested in the history side of
to DON’T BE A DICK! exploring? If so, do you spend any time researching
about the many great places and drains you explore?
Although the Clan is one, each branch has their way of
dealing with membership. It’s harder to get into certain I am into the history, however we “white-ies” have only
branches and membership is affected by how many been on this continent for just over a couple of hundred
locations that city has to explore. Canberra, Perth, Dar- years and we tend to demolish places pretty quickly after
win & Hobart are capital cities where it is hard to keep a they become abandoned. I obviously really enjoy the un-
branch active. The main thing is that the Clan is open derground side of urban exploration, however if I was to
to new members. There are some people who join the do an all-time top ten then half would be above ground.
Clan and then want to lock everyone else out. This is I love old prisons, power stations, hospitals, lunatic
not what the Clan was set up for. asylums and the like and there is a lot of history in these
places. I know most of the history of the drains in my
Q5: Back in the 80’s and early 90’s, were you into state and the general history of many of the major drains
documenting your explorations with photographs or in Australia but apart from a handful of drains in Sydney
video? If so, what kind a camera(s) were you using? and a couple in other main cities, the history of most of
the other tunnels revolves around what the waterway
To be honest, we were just spending so much time was originally called and when it was put underground.
finding and doing stuff that comparatively we didn’t take The Maze is one of the best drains in Australia and I can
many photos. We were a bit paranoid to put films in to tell you that in 1860 the local council referred to the area
be developed and we just weren’t keen enough to pay as, “Ex Umbrian Solem” - Out of the shadows into the
$15 to get a film developed to find out only 2 of the pho- light. The Aboriginals referred to the area as Boroondara
the Cave Clan in previous months would come along)
there were so many sections that just prompted my next
spiel. There is so much graffiti (writing not art) throughout
the system.

Just about everyone that does The Maze loves it. Most
people that have only done it once have just done the
main bigger easier sections. It takes a few more visits to
conquer her. Another great thing about The Maze... on
a warm summer’s day it’s just a great place to chill and
have a few beers.

Q8: Can you tell us a bit about Il Draino? What its all
about and what year you started publishing?

The first issue was released on July 16, 1989. Issue #87
is due out in August. Like just about everything back in
the Cave Clan those days, it started as a bit of a joke. It
was a bit of a shit-stir. It was very in-house as there were
only about a dozen or so of us at the time. It was a pho-
tocopied newsletter (a zine). As the Clan grew so did Il
Draino. There were quite a few years where Flert worked
at a color printing shop and photocopied them in color
so they looked comparatively snazzy. Some issues got
up to 48 pages long and included everything you needed
to be in the Clan - location lists, new locations found,
expo reports, details about new members, and a stack of
regular columns. Nowadays with the internet it’s not so
- “Place of shade”. It seems that they knew something us much a newsletter as just a zine - part written by me (the
“white-ies” didn’t because now 80% of the waterway is a silly stuff) and part submitted by members (the interesting
great place of shade. part). It really still is in-house so I tend to only distribute it
to members.
Q7: What makes The Maze drain stand out as an
outstanding drain in your eyes? What do you enjoy There was a 5 year period in the 2000’s where I only
to see when draining? made a rather boring Clannies special each year, but
then a few years ago I decided to start making a few
The Maze is amazing (sorry, I couldn’t resist)! I suppose issues a year so as I might make #100. The Clannies
like any drain you may, and probably will, get sick of it, specials included the results of our awards night (The
however the whole system can be done in half a dozen Clannies) and a heap of stats and stuff like that. The
different trips. Siologen says it’s the most frequented other two issues are much more light-hearted. Il Draino
drain in the world. The canal that joins Upper Maze, The is still pretty rough, nowhere near as neat or well-made
Lower Maze & The Slide is worth an explore on its own. as UEmag.
There are some neat underpasses and if you are into
graffiti pieces there are regularly new ones. On a nice Q9: From watching a few of your videos posted
day the chances are you will meet someone in the canal online, The Clannie awards look like a hell of a good
or The Maze. time. Can you share with us a bit on how they got
started? What kind of awards are given out and over
The Maze is a good drain for a wander, explore or to get all what’s it like to attend?
down and dirty with some hardcore ‘splorin’. You very
rarely get the chance to say, “Jeez, I’m sick of this shape” I was sitting at home in 1989 having a few drinks with
although you do get over the redbrick pipe. There are Cougar (the explorer, not the Bourbon) talking about
waterfalls, splits, loops, redbrick, bluestone, concrete and how the Cave Clan was growing (I think we’d just hit the
a variety of unique shapes. The outlet is pretty cool as is 20 member mark) and that we needed to set up some
its most upper reaches where, although it’s not really the regular social functions. A TV advert came on for our
done thing, you can have some fun with people up in the national TV awards, The Logies then a bit later an ad
real world. Considering it’s a metropolitan drain, there are for the Oscars came on. The light bulb started glowing.
plenty of ways in via manholes and retarding basins. It The way I remember it the whole thing was a bit of joke.
pretty much has three inlets and 2 outlets. And it has an We had had a few drinks and the bullshit was flowing...
exploring history - when I used to run the new explorer’s “And we could have nominations... and a host... and all
expo (usually about 20 or so people that had contacted
I’m not sure how the Dodgy Crashout became such a big
part of the Clan. It’s something most people would expect
to see in teen college movie than an urbex scene. I
suppose that is the point – the Cave Clan is a very social
group. If you last for longer than the three year I-wanna-
‘splore-everything-‘n-shit period then the chances are
you are going to have social links to the Clan and some-
one will draw a cock and balls on your face while you’re
sleeping.

I made a short clip about 25 years of Dodgy Crashouts in

the Cave Clan. I played a big part on most of the Gilligan
Crashouts. It was probably me spray-painting side-burns
on his face, putting spaghetti, pizza crusts and shaving
cream on his head or salt in his ears, but this guy brought
it on himself – he was the Crashout Master! He could fall
asleep on a stage in front of the speakers while a band
was playing – one band actually changed the lyrics of a
song and based it around Gilligan.

Crashouts continue to happen regularly in the Clan

however they are a bit more soft nowadays. I don’t think
an eye-brow has gone missing for more than a decade,
but if you fall asleep at a Clan event then you risk get-
ting covered with graffiti and stickers. I generally don’t
fall victim to Dodgy Crashouts however I did wake up
smelling of mint a couple of years ago. Since then the
the members would vote”. It only took us a few weeks to
smell makes me feel sick! I vaguely remember a heap
get The First Annual Cave Clan Clannies Awards up and
of people trying to get me out of the neighbor’s veggie
running - and the whole night was a joke. Plastic ten-pins
patch and me telling them, “Nah, I’m good here”.
painted silver were used as trophies. The awards ranged
from Most Wasted Explorer to Best Singer While Intoxi-
Q11. Have you had any close calls when out draining,
cated. There were awards that were taken more serious-
as far as you and the Clan member’s safety? What
ly such as The Gold (for the member who put in the best
kind of dangerous situations have you guys encoun-
overall year). Some awards only last a few years while
tered?
others have been around almost since the start - Best
First Year, Biggest Coward, Most Hardcore (AKA Goes
We’re generally pretty good. Everyone that explores
Furthest), Dodgy Crashout (for people who fall asleep
drains for long enough is more than likely to have a
at Clan functions and get punished), Best Team Player,
near miss sooner or later. I could probably list about 8
Best New Find, The Kodak Moment (for photos that
misses with a few of them getting a bit hairy. We once
show the Clan in action) and more. There are 25 in total.
got chased out of a drain by a cloud of noxious steam. It
Some don’t even go to people such as, The Maze Award
forced us back and followed us up the manhole shaft. It
(for the best drain), Best Alternative (for best non-drain
was like something out of The Simpsons. As I was get-
location), Best Feature among others. It’s hard for me to
ting the lid off I could smell this disgusting stink getting
explain what it’s like to be at the Clannies. This year was
into my lungs. I jumped out of the way the others flew out
the first one I’ve ever missed, and I really missed it. It’s
of the shaft coughing and sputtering. It turns out it was
the major event on the Cave Clan calendar. Members
probably hot water from a hospital that entered the drain
come from all over the country for the night and interna-
via an illegal hook up so it probably wasn’t that bad, but it
tional explorers are starting to plan their trip around being
scares the shit out of you when you’re in a drain and not
in Melbourne for the Clannies. It’s nice to have a few
expecting it!
hundred people in a drain who all pretty much have one
thing in common – exploring. Most people seem to really
I have a few “When It Rains ~ No Drains” clips online.
enjoy it... until the fireworks start :) The next Clannies will
One of them shows a bit where I got this massive man-
be the 25th. I’m sure Cougar would be as proud as I am
hole off in the middle of a road - it was only a mixture of
of the achievement if he was still alive.
pure fear and adrenaline that saw me get the manhole
off. What made it worse was that as we could hear the
Q10: Can you share with us some of the better
water coming, I was on the ladder under the manhole
Dodgy Crashouts you have been a part of? What
and I could see the faces of Bob & Pablo just pleading
kind of punishments are we talking about?
for me to get the manhole off. To put it into perspective,
this tunnel had a series of waterfalls and drops so each
time the water went over an edge it got louder. When we
first heard it there was hardly any water where we were
located and we could hear each other at a whisper. Just
before I got the manhole off we were screaming at each
other and couldn’t hear over the sound. The manhole
was in the middle of the road and when I finally got it up
a car was coming towards me. I knew if I put the man-
hole down I would not have the strength to lift it again.
Luckily the manhole was at a stop sign and the car was
slowing down (I wonder if they are still telling the story at
dinner-parties - these three men wearing white overalls
climbed out of the road in front of us and started shout-
ing, “Fuck! Fuck! Fuck!”

The problem was that we had become complacent.

We knew rain was on the way but we decided to go in
anyway. We were caught between waterfalls so we had
to get out or at least above the flow of water. I’d say
with kids the concern is lack of experience. With regular
explorers it’s complacency.

Q12: Any advice to up-and-coming explorers?

If I was to give up-and-coming explorers some serious

advice, it would be: do not take it all so seriously.
There are a lot of explorers out there that take it way too
seriously, or that seem so paranoid that I wonder how
they can enjoy doing what they do. Having said that, in
some parts of the world it is hard to be as relaxed when
exploring, but if you can, just take it easy and enjoy it.
Don’t get complacent! When it rains, no drains. Keep
some donuts handy to bribe the police. Come to Austra-
lia!

Q13: Doug, it truly has be an honor to conduct this

interview with you. Thank you for your time. Any
famous last words or shout outs?

It’s been fun. I probably took the questions way too seri-
ously… but oh well. Thanks for having me. Famous last
words? Ask not what your big drain can do for you, but
what you can do for your big drain… no not really.

Everyone should keep on doing what they are doing.

When we started there was nothing on the internet. A
quarter of a century later and there is an internet and
people are worried that the scene has gotten too big
and that locations are being trashed because too many
people know about them. Nothing much has changed
(except for September 11 which I almost managed to
avoid mentioning for the whole interview).

Cheers
Doug.
A
Page 45.

Interview
with Ath,

T
Photos by
Ath © 2012.
Interview by

H
Gerv

Q: Why don’t we start off with you telling us a bit got its name).  It’s an amazing system and still
about yourself in general and how you got involved remains one of my favorites.  It taught me so much
in exploring? about the nature of ‘draining’ including how to
  open manhole covers from underneath and how
Cheers Gerv, well, I’m a 31 year old male and I work to navigate different shapes of tunnels without slip-
as a computer technician in Melbourne, Australia.  ping and things like that. With its archways, stair-
I enjoy music production (hip-hop and electronic), ways, chambers, numerous shape changes, and
I collect vintage synthesizers, and also dibble and junction rooms which are made from bluestone,
dabble in amateur photography and astronomy, but redbrick, and concrete it taught me so much about
my real love is exploring big tunnels and in particu- the basics of the ‘sport’.  It has two main branches
lar, drains!!! and runs for roughly 8km (approx. 5 miles).  So in
  many ways, this was my ‘education drain’. There
I grew up in the outer suburbs of Melbourne in the
80’s and back then the best way to keep one occu-
pied was to ride BMX bikes around the local neigh-
borhood.  I used to ride my bike down to the local
stormwater canal with my friends and had always
enjoyed following creek systems around on bike
paths and riding through flood waters.  I guess in
a way I’ve always been fascinated with waterways
and exploring my local area.  It wasn’t until I was
14 years old that I actually ventured into a drain.  
My main motivation for entering drains back then
was to smoke weed with my mates without being
pestered by teachers, parents, and the police.  That
soon changed though and my initial motivation for
entering drains (e.g. getting high) became a sec-
ondary motivation for going in them. My curiosity
about what may lay further up the tunnel quickly
grew and each time I visited a drain I became de-
termined to go further up the tunnel than upon my
previous visits. 
I became obsessed with finding the ‘end’ of one
particular tunnel in Melbourne’s southeast and me
and my best mate at the time ‘Mr. Giles’ returned to
this drain every weekend for several months before
moving on to find other drains to explore. We
would venture further and further into this system,
which I later learned was known to The Cave Clan
as ‘Dwellers Tomb’ (it’s named after a group known
as the ‘Drain Dwellers’ who eventually became a
part of The Cave Clan and this is how the tunnel
was a lot of Cave Clan related messages sprawled
on the walls of this tunnel network and I had al-
ways been fascinated by the group.   Whilst I had
never met anyone in the Cave Clan and knew very
little about them, I had known of their existence
from a young age but I always thought of them as
an underground society who live in drains, chop
people’s fingers off and perform satanic rituals as
opposed to a group who ‘explore’ drains for fun. 
That was about to change though...

Q: Can you tell us a bit about how you met and

joined the Cave Clan. When did you find out that
they were not a drain dwelling satanic society?
 
When I was about 16 years old I met an explorer
in a drain who claimed to be a member of The
Cave Clan. He told me his name was ‘Big Ears’, I
was amazed at how ‘normal’ this guy was (aside

to learn this and hoped to one day become a CC

member myself. From the ages of 19-24 I had no
desire to explore drains.  Everyone I knew who
used to be into draining had grown a little older
and perhaps wiser.  One night I found myself sit-
ting at my computer staring at the screen of a well-
known search engine thinking to myself, “I’ve got
the whole world at my fingertips in the form of the
internet, yet I can’t think of anything to look up!” 
from the fact that he was in a drain and went by Whilst pornography did come to mind, I eventu-
the name ‘Big Ears’). He must have been in his ally thought, “I wonder what the Cave Clan is up
mid-twenties at the time and after chatting briefly to these days and if they still exist?”  Sure enough
about the Cave Clan he told me he was a school their website was still current and up-to-date and
teacher and in one fell swoop my previous beliefs had a means to contact them. 
of a Satan-worshipping cult came crashing down After a bit of armchair exploring (particularly at
and I realized that the Cave Clan weren’t a group of dsankt.com -now sleepycity.net-, I’m sure you
creepy dudes who lived in the drains, just creepy know the site I’m referring to), I sent the Cave Clan
dudes who explore them! I was pretty surprised an email asking if I could come along to a ‘New Ex-
plorer’s Expo’ (which is a regular
event held by the Cave Clan de-
signed to meet with new pro-
spective members and drain cu-
rious types). Admittedly, it took
the Clan 6 months to reply to my
email, but I eventually got to ex-
plore a drain with the clan and to
top it off their annual ‘Clannie
Awards’ night was the following
week and n00bs like myself were
invited to come along!  Whilst
nervous, I was really excited to
be able to witness a Clannies
so soon after I’d popped my
‘Clan Cherry’. That was back in
2006, the year that saw Sydney
Cave Clan member ‘Curly’ win
the Gold Clannie.  The Clannies
is a massive party located in a
huge underground chamber just
outside of the City Centre.  This
alcohol-fueled social event gave
me a great insight into just how
big the member base is and also
how friendly everyone is.  I knew
from that night onwards that a
lot of fun was going to be had in
the years to come.

Q: Where has exploring taken

you? What cities and countries
have you traveled to in the name
of exploration?

Being the financial mess that I

am, I am yet to leave the shores
of Australia for anything.  I’ve
never had the urge that so many
do to leave the country until I
started exploring.  With Urban
Exploration receiving more
attention and having a larger
online presence in recent years, I
have had the ability to see some
crazy stuff online and in Urbex
zines that have made me cum
in my pants.  The River Fleet,
Confluence, everything etc. etc.
etc. etc. etc. are all places that I
can only drool over (until I win
real big at the Roulette table). I
have been to most cities within
Australia and also done my fair
share of mines and water tun-
nels in regional areas of AUS. 
Prior to joining the Cave Clan I
had never been to Sydney, Ad-
elaide, Hobart, or Brisbane and
I can happily say that I’ll return
to these awesome cities again
and again in the years to come. 
I went to Sydney for the first
time about 6 years ago and have
returned 4 times since, Hobart
I’ve been to twice and Adelaide
and Brisbane twice solely for
the purpose of exploring.  As a
result, I know very little about
the ‘above ground’ attractions of
these cities since I’ve really only
ventured there to splore!

Q: It has been a great honor to

conduct this interview with you
Ath, thanks for your time. Any
last words of wisdom or shout-
outs?

The pleasure is all mine mate! 

Words of wisdom?
 
Ummm, if I could say one thing
before I bail, I’d say treat all
with respect and be nice to your
mother (unless she’s a bitch,
in which case, don’t). Don’t let
elitists put you down; you’d be
amazed where a little empathy
can take you. Big shout-out’s
must go to my hetro life mates
Pip, Ken See, Mr. Giles, Luke,
Pizzy, Doug, Metawaffle, Black
Duck, and Scarecrow.  I continue
to learn from you guys.  You
guys are true legends.  Thanks
for the good times.  Many more
await us!!! Hello to Siologen,
Dsankt, Little Mike and anyone
else pushing the boundaries. 
Whether you like it or not, you
guys never cease to inspire me,
keep it up (alright, I’m just name
droppin’ now.  I’ll stop).
 
I’d like to give a big shout-out to
all Cave Clan members world-
wide…past, present, and those
who have departed to the big
drain in the sky.  Big ups to all
urban explorers doin’ their thing,
keeping locations safe from van-
dals, and documenting past eras
(sorry if I forgot anyone!).
 
Anyways, I’m off to the Golden
Torch Award’s now. Thanks for
your time Gerv/UEMag!
Photo by Derek Dallow © 2012. ‘The Face of Decay’ For this shot I used a Nikon D700 with a
50mm Prime Lens wide open and took five exposures for merging to HDR later. I loved the ‘Face’
of this car, hence the name. The car had a great slant to its resting place and beautiful decay on
the body work..

Photo by sj9966 © 2012. “Take a seat” Built in 1922, closed as a cinema in 1964, afterwards it
was used as a Bingo hall unil it finally closed for good in 1979. This cinema still has many original
features intact. The upper tier seating was in fantastic original condition.
Photo by Meastro © 2012. “Piscine du Mai” This used to be a small public swimming pool. The
roof of this building could open so that the pool area turned into an outdoor pool. The pool was
built around 1980 and closed about 22 years later because of the lack of interest. I did this explo-
ration along with Brrr Urbex.

Photo by Ill-Padrino © 2012. “ìGlorious Timesî” We started in the middle of the night to arrive as
early as possible since it is located on a rather busy street and we didn’t want to catch any atten-
tion. Fortunately it was raining cats and dogs and so the streets were rather empty when we got
there.
Photo by Rana X © 2012. This image was taken from the top floor of one of the hundreds of
buildings spread over 10,000 acres at a Army Ammunitions Plant. We woke not long after dawn
on a brisk morning in January and took endless overgrown deer trails to get onto the property.

Photo by UrbexClown © 2012. This is most of the Danish urbex crew. I did this shot in an under-
ground gathering around Christmas time 2 years back :) Top guys and gals that I love exploring
with!
Photo by Fudge © 2012. Bunker drain meet in England with PaulPowers as Mario exiting the
drain.

Photo by Timster1973 © 2012. Taken in abandoned manor house in the music room. Canon 5D
Mark 2, Canon 100mm IS USM F2.8L Macro lens. Manual focus with liveview on details of organ
stops 3 exposures, and warming filter added in CS5. 3 exposures meaning 3x Bokeh!
Page 53.

As We Forgive Those Who Trespass Against Us

As We Forgive Those Who Trespass Against Us belong, and places other people would avoid com-
pletely. But there seems to be a growing awareness
Article By Cheri Sundra by the public that something more is actually going on
Photos by Kevin Brett, Jennifer O’Malia, Katherine with this loosely collective group of individuals, risk-
Rogers © 2012. ing life and limb to capture moments in time ignored
by society. As America lurches onward into its age of
People either hate urban explorers or love them. industrial decline, and communities find themselves
Those who don’t understand, think of us as flakey thrill- littered with more abandoned structures than they can
seekers, climbing in and out of venues where we don’t economically deal with, urban exploration is growing
exploration. The Scranton Lace industrial complex,
now in the process of redevelopment, included bowling
alleys, a gymnasium/theater, a barber shop, an event
size kitchen, employee showers and an infirmary.
Scranton Lace manufacturing spanned two centuries
of American history. Apparently, the company made
some risky investments and mid-shift in 2002, the
employees of Scranton Lace were sent home, never to
return again. What remained was a ghost-like mu-
seum of lace-making, now covered in dirt and grease,
left at mid-production within the 2.5 story 19th century
looms, creating a sight and experience that none of us
will ever forget. Since our visit, those looms have been
dismantled and sold as scrap as part of the renova-
tion project underway to convert the structure into an
apartment/business complex. To the local community,
the abandoned factory is legendary. When former First
Lady, and current Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton,
refers back to her working class roots in the industrial
town of silk mills and coal mines, she is talking about
Scranton, where her grandfather started working at
Scranton Lace at the age of 11.
The locals like to romanticize that the industrial
complex included bowling alleys. But the truth is,
the owners of Scranton Lace would have understood
the benefits of early 20th century corporate welfare
because it took employees away from meeting in
groups to form unions outside of the company. Once
abandoned, breaking in to use those infamous bowl-
ing alleys became a kind of underground hobby for
some, even resulting in one arrest. On the day that we
gathered to explore, you can bet that it was the most
popular room in the facility! While bowling, I convinced
a few of my explorers to participate in an interview in
an attempt to understand the driving motivation behind
urban exploration.
Kevin Brett, an artistic soul, is a professional pho-
tographer. When asked what draws him into photo-
graphing an abandoned building, he responded, “The
main reason that I like to explore these empty places,
is to capture artistically conceptual images that echo
something beyond the obvious. Subject matter like this
is unique in itself. Decay cannot be created it has to
happen over time.”
Jennifer O’Malia, a graduate of Temple University’s
photojournalism program spends a lot of time photo-
Photo by Katherine Rogers graphing abandoned mental hospitals. She admits
that she is drawn in by the adrenaline rush produced
in popularity as both a hobby, and an all-consuming by being somewhere that most people won’t go. Jen-
passion. My first real opportunity to explore connected nifer also says, “I love the history of the places, the
me to some of the experts of this discipline. They come architecture, the way they show the demise of today’s
from all walks of life and age groups, and they approach economy, and the change in how we now treat people
the task with a seriousness that I would attribute to with psychological disorders and mental handicaps.”
something more like brain surgery than a group of thrill Katherine Rogers, studied printmaking at Kutztown
seekers just looking for their next adventure. University. Katherine is drawn to urban exploration by
Our location was the kind of stuff that urban explora- a love for discovery, “I greatly enjoy turning corners,
tion dreams are made of, the Scranton Lace Factory, opening doors, peering in rooms and seeing something
located in Pennsylvania. That Sunday morning, after for the first time. The aesthetic part is in the apprecia-
signing waivers, we were allowed inside with the own- tion and capture of things that are broken and ne-
er’s blessing, which is a rare occurrence in the world of glected, and how time and the elements have changed
them.”
Erik Hummel is a documentarian who studied
Culture and Communication at Ithaca College and is
working on a feature length documentary about urban
exploration (http://lifeindecay.com/). Erik says his love
for urban exploration initially came from the experience.
“We used to explore more for the thrill and adventure”,
Erik admits, “It was more about the rush of darting
through the woods, hiding from cops and security, and
some very close calls. Once we got into the buildings,
it was very surreal walking through those cavernous
underground tunnel systems, or turning a corner and
finding a morgue or caskets, or simply opening up
some drawers and finding old files from when the place
was still in operation. Not until recently did we realize Photo by Jennifer O’Malia
the potential these places have aesthetically.”
I asked how they were each introduced to urban
exploration. Kevin recalled exploring an abandoned
farmhouse back in the 1970s. Jennifer says that she
has been visiting abandoned locations with different
family members since she was a child. She recalled,
“As I got older I didn’t do it so much. I had no idea that
urban exploration existed as a culture or a way of life.
After exploring a popular abandoned mental hospital a
few times, I decided that if this place exists there must
be others! I started Googling, found many forums deal-
ing with UE and from that point; I networked with a few
people. “
Katherine’s childhood passion played a huge role.
“When I was young”, she said, “I wanted to be a pale- Photo by Jennifer O’Malia
ontologist because I loved finding things in the dirt, so
I have enjoyed discovering things my entire life. After
investigating a couple of miscellaneous houses in my
area during my school years, the seed had been plant-
ed. In 2004 I stopped with a friend at the spur of the
moment to explore an abandoned coal breaker. I was
struck by the immensity and complexity of that place.
I knew this was something I needed to keep doing. I
had no idea that there was a subculture dedicated to it.
Since then my interest has become an integral part of
my life rather than a casual hobby.”
Erik’s initiation into UE started when he was a little
older, “The first time I went exploring, I was told by
some friends about an old “castle” that sat in the middle
of the woods close to our hometown. After a couple Photo by Jennifer O’Malia
times at the “castle”, which was actually an old stone
church, we heard about an insane asylum that sat only
Photo by Kevin Brett
half an hour away from us. We started reading about
the history behind the place and I was instantly fasci-
nated. The atmosphere was very surreal and creepy.
I loved it! This is when I discovered the term “Urban
Exploration”, and realized that there was an actual
community involved. After that we started looking into
more places, and driving further to get to them. Then
we started planning long weekend trips around explor-
ing multiple places, and decided that we should docu-
ment these experiences, and now here we are filming a
feature length documentary.”
The most touching aspect about urban exploration
is often the human element—the artifacts left behind
by the people who used to live, work, play and wor-
ship in these now abandoned and forsaken places. I
asked these experienced explorers about the impres-
sionable items that they have found. Kevin said, “An
early 1900’s leather and stainless steel full leg brace
from the polio era and a burnt cross in an abandoned
asylum set to be torn down and has been.”
Jennifer responded with, “I have found patient re-
cords, autopsy photos, patient teeth in jars, body parts,
equipment, photographs, and clothing. The fact that
these items, remain in vacant buildings saddens me.
They should have been removed and stored properly
so that family members could get them instead of rot-
ting away for years.”
Photo by Kevin Brett
Katherine said, “Anything made to fit around the hu-
man form leaves an impression on me, such as gloves,
coats, chairs, shoes, things that were personally worn
or used by someone. Those are the remnants of the
human element to these buildings.” She recalled, “An
old coat from the 40s/50s that had been (and still is)
hanging up for at least 40 or 50 years on a wall that is
falling over. Since it is on a hanger, the coat remains
straight, while the wall and floor are falling apart. The
fact that it was hung by a human hand at one time,
hanging it up for the last time, perhaps unknowingly,
blows my mind.”
Erik had responded with an experience resem-
bling something from a movie set, “On one of my first
explores we found a room in a hospital filled with leg
braces and prosthetic wooden legs. It was like some- Photo by Kevin Brett
thing out of a horror movie.” He also said, “I’ve found
personal belongings of hospital patients such as chil-
dren’s toys, photographs, letters, clothing, etc. When
you really think about it, you start to realize that these
things used to be part of someone’s life and could have
been very meaningful to them at one point.”
Kevin also added, “The personal items left behind
are always moving, but I have to say the single most
impressive thing for me is the amount of overall waste.”
I asked them to tell me about their favorite finds from
our day at the Scranton Lace Factory. Kevin liked a
tally notebook left undisturbed since the last record tak-
en in December of 2002. Jennifer and Katherine were
impressed by the looms with the lace still attached to
them. And Erik’s pick was the bowling alley, complete Photo by Kevin Brett
with all of the required accoutrements, including score
cards, lane wax, bowling shoes, balls and pins. We all
Photo by Kevin Brett
acknowledged that it was a privilege to get to explore
this facility with permission. “With permission, the ex-
ploration is much more relaxed and thorough because
one is not keeping an eye out and trying hard not to be
seen”, Kevin stated.
When asked if Urban Explorers should be prose-
cuted if caught trespassing, the respondent’s reactions
were mixed. Kevin said that he supports the rights
of property owners to protect themselves. Katherine
said, “I think since our intentions are good we should
be treated a bit differently, and perhaps be subject to
lesser punishments.”
At this point, I was thinking about critics of urban
exploration art, especially those who say that it has Photo by Katherine Rogers
no value. Obviously, these four people are passionate
about their artistic creations inspired by the abandoned
buildings that they explore. I decided to dig a little
deeper into their individual motivation.
Erik replied, “I want to capture these beautiful im-
ages while they still exist. Some of the architecture
of these buildings is simply amazing; they don’t build
structures like these anymore. I’ve seen pictures and
films that really capture these breath-taking places
from other explorers that are truly astonishing. I’m
trying to capture a moment in time that will most likely
soon be forgotten. Once the doors closed on some of
these places, people just forgot about it; but to previous
generations, these places were known as homes or
workplaces. Many people worked long hours in the now
forgotten coal breakers, factories, and industrial parks. Photo by Jennifer O’Malia
Many people put on their uniforms and tried to make a
difference every day at these overcrowded hospitals,
reform schools and insane asylums. And many people
spent most of their lives wandering the long hallways,
eating in the dining halls, dreaming of one day being
set free, only to leave the institution through the tunnels
that lead to the morgue. It’s the thoughts and memories
like these that I want to be able to tell society--a history
that has been forgotten or pushed under the rug.”
Jennifer says that she is driven to record these
forgotten places because most of them will become
repurposed or torn down. She explains, “I want people
to get the feeling of being there from looking at my pho-
tographs. A lot of the time I close my eyes and imagine
that I am the patient or the nurse. I want to convey the
sadness or happiness of the place. I want to capture
the beautiful architecture of these places and the fact
that they are still standing after many years of neglect
to show how well they were built and how solid they are
compared to modern architecture. A lot of these places
could have been used for many things if they were
cared for properly but instead the states just let them sit
and rot.”
Katherine’s motivation involves the ancient battle
between man and nature. “I am very interested in the
way man bulldozes land, erects huge facilities that
mass produce huge amounts of products, the com-
pany declines, leaving the building silent, nature slowly
moves in and retakes what was hers in the most quiet
and subversive of ways,” says Katherine, ”I am trying
to capture what this process looks like….and show that
no matter how much we carve up the earth and try to
establish ourselves it always finds a way to show us
that we are temporary.”
In terms of being beneficial to society, Katherine
says, “Society can see inner workings of these places
and gain an appreciation and an awareness of those
that worked in them, and suffered in them. It can help
them realize that what they see as an eyesore really
has a story and, oftentimes, great historical significance
behind it. I think it can remind people how crucial it is
to keep memories, personal and historical, alive; that
Photo by Katherine Rogers forgetting can mean the disappearance of something
important.”
Kevin’s motivation and the essence that he is trying
to capture are one in the same, “My motivation for ex-
ploring abandoned locations is artistic capture and rep-
resentation of not only the place itself and its’ history,
but the energies that echo through the spaces from the
people that left part of themselves behind.” He further
explains, “I am trying to create artwork that not only
tries to connect to the viewer personally from experi-
ences of their own, but also to express simply what it is
to be human as individuals and as a society.”
Page 59.

Ademan
Photos by Ademan © 2012
Interview by Gerv

Q1: Let’s kick it off with you telling us a

bit about yourself in general and how you
got into urban exploration?

I’m Ademan. I’m the guy behind Abandoned

Dreams. I was a poor kid from a dead
industrial city. Breaking into abandoned
buildings was something to do for free. I
didn’t even start shooting these places until
about 2006, when I started the Abandoned
Dreams blog. Drains, bridges, and cranes
came shortly after that.

Q2: What type of locations hold your

interest most and why?

I’ve always been a fan of anything under-

ground and anything height related. Being
somewhere less traveled and seeing things
even most explorers haven’t seen is always
fun; plus, they normally produce far more
interesting views.

Q3: What kind of camera do you shoot

with and are you big into the photography side
of exploration?

Haha, I shoot with a piece of junk Kodak Easy-

share DX7630. Exploring for me is about the
experience. The photos are normally a result of
whatever mood I’m in that day.

Q4: Can you tell us a bit about Abandoned

Dreams? What’s that all about?

It started off as a group of local kids who all used

to like UE. They’ve all since left and some oth-
ers have joined, but Abandoned Dreams is pretty
much just a title for a blog nowadays. There are
5 people left that I still call Abandoned Dreams
members (Cambria, Meister, Turrel, Clahhhkie,
and myself), but we don’t all get together nearly as
much as we should.

Q5: Any good exploring stories you care to

share with us?

There were those times we played Marco Polo with

security from different rooftops...that time the ATF
needed our help, because we knew the layout of
the abandoned mill that burned down better than
they did...that time we watched the battleships sail
in from the top of the Braga Bridge. There are far
too many exploring stories to even get started.

Q6: Say the first thing that comes to mind after

each word.

Sewer= When?
Obama= Meh
Troll= Neon green hair
2012 end of the world= Doubtful.
Safety= Sometimes

Q7: Where has exploring taken you thus far in

life and what’s in store for your future?

The editor of a local, well known newspaper found

my website and did a story on us a few years back.
Since then, I’ve been freelancing for that paper.

Q8: Any final words of wisdom or shout-outs?

Shout out to the Abandoned Dreams kids that

have stuck with me this long, as well as anyone
who enjoys my work, also to Gerv and the rest of
the UEMag crew for this opportunity. Words of
wisdom-Explore everything!
Page 61.

Risk to
Reward
Ratio
Article and photo by Gerv © 2012
Photo by Gerv © 2012

At times urban exploration can be kid, to jump that fence for the first coming speeding rail cars. This is
a very dangerous activity. As we time. Maybe it was a local legend, a something that takes a lot of time
explore we run into all kinds of dare from school mates or just the and experience to work up to. You
harmful and sometimes potentially drive to see the unseen. You knew may want to try going underground
deadly environments. This is also that you could get caught, arrested, first, minus the speeding passenger
true of life in general. In fact, more suspended or get a good old fash- cars, maybe draining or perhaps an
people get injured or killed each ion ass kicking, but this did not stop abandoned transit tunnel. For all
year while driving to the corner you. The simple reward of going you know, you may not be inter-
store, yet driving to the corner store beyond your confront zone, and the ested in underground explorations
is accepted as a safe thing to do by rules written on the sign were more at all. But don’t knock something
almost everyone on earth, except than enough to compel you. Today until you try it and most importantly
agoraphobics. It is safe because it you’re all grown up and if you’re don’t knock others for exploring
is something we have been doing reading this, it would be my guess things you’re not into or are afraid
from day one, first with our parents that you’re still jumping fences that of. There is no one great subject to
and then on our own. It becomes they say you shouldn’t. Today the explore, there are many.
an everyday event and a necessary stakes are higher if you’re caught,
one if you need some toilet paper. especially after 9/11. No more Educate yourself by talking to oth-
This goes to prove that there is the slaps on the wrist. Possible fines ers and doing a bit of research on
feeling of safety with routine and or even jail time are not unheard the locations you wish to explore.
experience and the more experi- of for urban explorers nowadays. There is so much out there to
ence one holds the more confi- So what’s the reward? That’s up to learn and I am always learning
dence he or she will operate with. you as well. I have been fortunate from every explorer I meet. Don’t
But if one becomes too confident or enough to meet some of the great be ashamed to admit you’re not
complacent he or she could run into urban explorers of our times and informed or new to something as
a bit of trouble. It’s a fine line that what I have found is that they come we all are at one point. Keeping an
must be balanced and maintained from all walks of life. They are your open mind to what others have to
to upkeep your risk to reward ratio. taxman, your local bar tender, a say and share with you could save
I say YOUR, because it’s all up to mother of 3, a school teacher or your life or lead you to a great time.
you. even your nurse. Each and every Not being receptive to others will
one of them have their own reason only hinder your safety and your
Think back to when you were a and rewards for why they explore, friendships. On that note, treat your
kid. The first time you jumped that but we are all bound by the risk friends’ safety as if it was your own
fence with the No Trespassing to reward ratio and we all have to and never leave an urbexer behind.
sign on it. Your heart was beat- gauge our own comfort zones. You go in together you should all
ing fast, you were sweating and come out together.
your knees felt weak. Over the Just as when you where a kid,
fence you went, into the DO NOT it’s healthy to push your comfort Overall it is up to you to be hon-
ENTER lands. Maybe it was just zones, but one must do so honestly est with yourself. For you to pan
your neighbor’s back yard or the and true to themselves. Nothing out what the rewards are, to push
construction company down the is more dangerous than not being yourself forward. Always keep the
street from your house, noneth- honest with yourself about how risk to reward ratio in mind and you
less it was unexplored by you and you feel and what you think. Don’t will be exploring responsibly. And
so you went, most likely with your be ashamed if you’re not feeling remember... explore at your own
friends or siblings. Think back to confident enough to run down the risk.
what motivated you to explore as a live subway tracks dodging on-
49 CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHERS
14 DIFFERENT COUNTRIES

ISBN-10: 0955912148

Just who decides which doors are closed in our world and whose
interests do they serve? Do we wish to be kept in the dark, permanently
safe, free from either harm or adventure?

For all of us there is a deep attraction to be found in opening these

doors. They open a rift in our collected experiences and throw new light
on the boundaries we've all been forced to accept.

The strange thing then is not that Urban Explorers exist; it's that the rest
of us have forgotten that we are Urban Explorers too.

Available from

www.carpetbombingculture.co.uk
Urban Exploration Magazine
issue 4 coming soon!
Explore Everything.
Photo by Kristi Harkins © 2012, Explorer Peter Arnemann aka Captain Jack.

uemag.com
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