The mountains were always close, as Robert was born and raised in Valence, located deep in the mountains of southern France. However, those mountains were nothing more than familiar scenery. Robert explained, "I saw those steep mountain slopes all the time, but I never imagined humans could climb it."

His inspiration came from one movie. "It was a story about a plane making an emergency landing near the summit of Mont Blanc, and two brothers with mountaineering knowledge go to search for the survivors," remembered Robert. He continued, "Seeing that movie, I remember being fascinated by the fact that it was possible to climb such steep slopes."

There was another reason the young Robert was enthralled by that movie. "When I was very young, I had no confidence in myself, so I idolized storybook heroes like Zorro and d'Artagnan. I wanted to prove that I, too, am brave. That I, too, can do something. I believe these feelings drew me to that movie."

Robert's first chance to climb came all of a sudden. It was when he was only eleven years old. Robert reminisced, "I came home from school one day and I couldn't get in because I didn't have a key, but I remembered that the kitchen window was open. My apartment was on the eighth floor. Of course, I had never climbed it because I was too scared. But on that day, I climbed up to my balcony on the eighth floor using rain gutters. Now that I think about it, that was my first climb."

Awakened to the world of climbing, he joined the boy scouts at age twelve and began rock climbing with older friends. Robert looked back on those days, "It was so much fun. Mountain climbing is a serious game. Climbing being a matter of life and death made it even more fun."

By junior high, he was more devoted to rock climbing than schoolwork. His days would be spent skipping school about four days a week and heading to the mountains. Robert continued, "In those days, your parents would never find out if you skipped school. Nowadays, they would call you on your cell phone right away. By that time, I knew what I wanted to do with my life, so I thought studying was pointless. That's why I didn't go to school."

By the time he was in high school, Robert had acquired rock climbing skills beyond his age. He matter-of-factly said, "I was already thinking of becoming a professional rock climber." He continued, "At age 17, I was climbing snow-packed 40-degree slopes and near-vertical slopes. Before the season would start, older people would scoff and say, 'No way can you do that'. But by the time one season ended, I gained respect and they would say, 'That's amazing'."

As he became known around the world as "Spiderman", this fame also brought new problems. "Because I climbed so many different places, I was banned from entering some countries. I'm banned from entering China until next year," he stated. Actually, when he climbed the Shinjuku Center Building in 1998, he was arrested once he reached the top, and then detained for nine days. Even without bringing up that example, it's not unusual that he is caught by the police. When you think about it, it seems natural that there are countries that he is banned from entering.

This banning issue begs the question. Why does he continue to climb, even with subsequent arrest? Does he have no fears about being arrested? Robert admitted, I think of it as a game so I'm not afraid of being arrested. I liked playing tag as a kid." Zorro, who I idolized, was a kind-hearted hero. But he would do things that were against the law, or moreso, things that defy conventional wisdom. I also have that attitude."

Robert's aesthetic consciousness, or one could say his philosophy, is even evident in his clothing. No matter how extreme the challenge, Robert doesn't wear functional clothing, like those that better adhere to his body. His clothing for climbing high-rise buildings is always casual. Robert, who says he hates it when everyone is wearing the same uniform, has attire that is more akin to a rockstar than an athlete. In the past, he would show up in cowboy boots to fool the police into thinking that he wouldn't climb in that outfit, and then climb with those boots on.

"It's not that hard," says Robert. From Robert, you don't get a sense of pushiness where he is imposing that he is doing something special. He also doesn't have a stiff attitude. This is an image of a hero that defies conventional wisdom.