thumb|Interior of a hydraulic elevator shaft from an elevator surfer's point of view
Elevator surfing, also known as lift surfing, is the usually clandestine activity of riding on top of elevators rather than inside them. Experienced surfers may attempt riskier maneuvers such as jumping between moving elevators, or riding the elevator's counterweight. Elevator surfing is typically considered a form of urban exploration, aligned more with investigative experiences like rooftopping and tunnel hacking than with adventurous urban sports like train surfing. While elevator surfing was most prominent as a subculture in the United States and United Kingdom in the 1990s, it made a comeback in the late 2010s, with partakers often posting footage of their adventures on YouTube and similar platforms.
Access into the elevator shaft (Hoistway) is often achieved using an elevator key—like those carried by first responders and building maintenance staff—to open the outer doors. Alternatively, participants may utilize lock picking techniques or use tools like coat hangers and metallic bars to force the elevator car's door interlock open between floors and unlatch the outer doors from the inside. Elevator surfers usually cannot use the emergency hatch in the roof of the elevator to access the shaft, as these are designed for first responder use and cannot be opened from the inside.
Elevator surfing typically occurs in skyscrapers or on college campuses, especially those with tall buildings. Participation is often illegal, and if caught, surfers may face other charges like trespassing.
Origins
Although the first instances of elevator surfing are unknown, by 1990, the activity was noted for its popularity among children in New York City public housing projects. Children as young as six partook in the activity, often as a game of chicken. During the same time period, elevator surfing became popular on college campuses, especially along the East Coast of the United States.
Hazards
Elevator surfers can be electrocuted, crushed between the elevator and the sides of the elevator shaft, be struck by the counterweight, or slip and fall to their deaths. his legs had been crushed between the car and a beam, resulting in his death. Walter had been a member of the "Little Tough Guys", a group of roughly thirty-five children known for elevator surfing, and police had tried to warn him of the dangers of the activity.
In March 1990, Joel Mangion, a University of Massachusetts Amherst student, was found dead in the bottom of an elevator shaft at his dormitory. Friends reported that he had been jumping from one car to another in the double shaft. They gained access to the tops of the elevators and subsequently attempted to move between them. While Deliduka was attempting to repair a stuck elevator, it activated, pinning him between the carriage and another elevator part and killing him instantly.
Also in March 1991, twelve-year-old Edwin Ortiz, of New York City's Lower East Side, slipped and fell to his death from the top of an elevator at the Lillian Wald Houses.
In May 1997, ten-year-old Paul Illingworth was discovered dead at the bottom of an elevator shaft in his Leeds housing estate. He had been riding on the top of the elevator and fell eight floors to his death.
In April 1999, fourteen-year-old Jason Nolan of Dublin died after becoming trapped between the elevator walls and mechanism at the top of the shaft in the elevator at his apartment complex. Another resident who had been in the elevator at the time of the accident reported a sudden shaking, followed by a halt, and heard Nolan's friends screaming and a breathing sound that subsequently stopped.
In December 2006, eighteen-year-old Jonathan Figueroa was found dead at the bottom of an elevator shaft in a Bedford-Stuyvesant apartment complex. His body had likely been in the shaft for two to three days.
See also
- Car surfing
- List of train-surfing injuries and deaths
- Skitching
- Train surfing