A 17 year-old Russian teenager died recently after attempting to capture a photo of himself that would make it look as though he was falling from the top of a building. After Andrey Retrovesky secured himself with a rope that was used to help with the special effect, in a grim turn of events, the rope snapped, leaving Retrovesky in a free fall. Although some brush reportedly helped to break his fall, sadly, it wasn't enough to keep him from succumbing to his injuries just a couple hours after the incident.
Retrovesky, who was from Vologda, a city 280 miles north of Moscow, had a history of climbing buildings and posting pictures of himself at the top of them. Whether or not he was specifically a part of a Russian youth subculture called "Roofers," which include young people that attempt to gain access to high rooftops for photos, is still in question. However, there is no doubt that such groups have gained popularity while increasing the appeal for individuals to do the same across the globe.
Retrovesky's death reminds us how fragile life is and that no matter how "cool" it might be to take a certain photograph, safety, proper training, and authorized access should be the first priorities.
[Via AOL]
I mean, we can snark about Darwin Awards, but it's heart breaking. What a waste.
No. Heartbreaking are stories about 5 year old cancer victims leaving thank-you notes to their parents or the Reddit AMA session where Caroll Spinney (Big Bird and a few other characters) recounts calling a 5 year old cancer patient as Big Bird who's dying words were "I'm glad you called Big Bird, I'm happy you're my friend".
Idiots dying by putting themselves in real avoidable danger just for a few likes is totally deserving of the Darwin Awards.
There are people out there far more worthy of your pity or concern than these idiots.
Yes it is heartbreaking. Teenagers can have an unreal sense of invincibility because they are immature. If you don't think this is heartbreaking, I bet his family would disagree. I have a teenager the same age and to me, yes, this is heartbreaking.
Oh! I feel for his family and friends alright. They are victims of his thoughtless actions.
You're right that these teenagers are doing something idiotic and obviously dangerous. Nevertheless, compassion doesn't need to have limits.
Oh, so you're that one guy that never did anything stupid when they were 18. It's an honor to meet you sir.
OBVIOUSLY it was a foolish choice, with little-to-no consideration for his friends and family and we can certainly condemn the decision as such. There is most likely a lot of very justified anger in the people who cared about him mixed in with their grief. But a young man is dead when he should be alive, and that's pretty damn sad in and of itself.
Oh no ... I did stupid things when I was young. Walking on train tracks and tressle bridges being one of them. I wasn't 17 at the time. I also wasn't doing it for ephemeral Instagram stardom.
By 17, I'd figured out that walking on train tracks was stupid and dangerous. I'm pretty sure that hanging off a tall building by one arm for a photo op would have made my list of stupid sh!t not to do.
the number of stupidly dangerous things I did had dropped significantly by that point.
If he had died in a sky diving or bungee diving accident, I'd feel sorry for him. It's dangerous but has controls and precautions.
No harness or rigging? Hanging off the side of a building? Seriously?
This is tantamount to feeling bad for someone who lost at playing Russian roulette or trying to climb Everest with no gear or guides. Or feeling bad for someone who decided to walk up to a polar bear and kick it in the nuts and then got mauled to death.
If we were talking about a 12 year old I'd feel a bit different but this wasn't a young boy ... it was a young MAN.
I feel for his family, I feel for his friends ... I really do ... especially for the one actually using the camera (assuming it wasn't on a tripod with a timer or remote release). I feel for the people who might have seen him plummet to his death or had him fall almost on him (just assuming there were bystanders here, maybe the street was deserted) ... THEY are the victims here ...
If you can kick a polar bear in the nuts, you're a hero.
Ummmm I feel bad for anyone who would want to play Russian Roulette, and hope they get to a better place... In this case, maybe a little smarter, even though it was a freak accident. We're all humans, have some empathy. I guess every stuntman who died doing what made them feel alive was a total idiot who basically deserved to die...
Stuntmen are properly trained and equiped and have a massive support system in place in case something goes pear shaped.
"After Andrey Retrovesky secured himself with a rope that was used to help with the special effect, in a grim turn of events, the rope snapped, leaving Retrovesky in a free fall. Although some brush reportedly helped to break his fall, sadly, it wasn't enough to keep him from succumbing to his injuries just a couple hours after the incident."
Well I'll be ... not sure how I missed that bit!
Then I do feel bad for him. While it was a stupid stunt, at least he had taken some precautions.
Makes you wonder what type of system he was using to secure himself.
Consider myself corrected and thank-you for pointing out my mistake.
I've seen a few of these accounts on instagram. I wonder how many other teens they have inspired to do the same and risk their lives.
Yes. It's incredibly sad... I hope more teens can wake up and realize there are safer things to do. I understand the thrill and adventure. Hell -- even the trespassing. Kids will be kids. That's all great. But hopefully they'll at least be safe and simply enjoy the view and take some stairs up and back down...
This all could have been avoided with some composites.
Except that that is no fun, so given the choice he would probably have climbed the building without a camera rather than sitting home on the computer to make an image. Some people just don't want safe. Kids have always done dangerous stuff, and always will. I don't think this is a selfie problem, but the age-old condition of some people always wanting to push boundaries.
It is a tragedy, for sure. However, it is important to understand that this young man died doing what he loved. I just wish he had gotten some education on climbing gear prior to this.
As an aside, I was reading recently that there have been more deaths this year from selfies than there have been from shark attacks
Yes! I read that, too... I think it's ironic how afraid people are of sharks in contrast with how open they are to taking a selfie...and then this fact. Fascinating...sad for the people...sad for society? I'm not sure which I feel is more true at the moment...
those crazy russians.
I feel bad for the Family and Friends but the cold blooded part of me thinks Darwin at work.
That's just awful. Poor kid.
Can you imagine the person taking the photo..."hold on, gotta sharpen. Hold on...almost there. Oops, I got a blowout...ok, almost there. Yeah, oh damn...gotta sharpen again. Got it! Let's do thi...wait. Um...dude, where'd you go? Hello?"