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Video: Extreme Subway Rider Clings To Outside Of Moving Train
By
John Del Signore
Published Oct 11, 2011
Modified Oct 11, 2011
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By
John Del Signore
Published Oct 11, 2011
Modified Oct 11, 2011
Share
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Riding on the inside of the subway car is for sheep—that's where the Man wants to trap you, locked up tight with all the rats and the douchery. Real rebels roll on the OUTSIDE of the subway car, clinging to the outside of the doors, breathing that fresh outside air, wearing their jeans inside out, listening to Malcolm Gladwell's Outliers on mp3. Check out this subway surfing star as he hangs onto the outside of the J train like a pro (or as the person who uploaded the video puts it, an "idiot"):
As our humble narrator speculates, "He must be on the pill... He riding dirty... He's a professional, he's done this before. This is sport." Of course, like all extreme sports, this one has its risks: subway surfers have died for their thrills many times in the past. But for every sobering fatality, there are videos like this, which describe taking you "to another level of freedom" where "New York City is an amusement park."
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j train
MTA
subway
subway surfing
surfer
John Del Signore
Originally from the Albany area, John Del Signore has called NYC home since 1995. In addition to his thousands of meticulously-crafted bespoke blog posts for Gothamist, his writing has also been published in The Awl, Deadspin, The Nervous Breakdown, and performed at The Brick Theater in Brooklyn.
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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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