He began climbing in 1975, training on the cliffs near his hometown of Valence in southern France. He took up solo climbing in 1977 and rapidly became a top climber.
Since then, he has climbed more than 150 towering structures around the world including Dubai's Burj Khalifa - the world's tallest building, the Eiffel Tower, and San Francisco's Golden Gate Bridge.
Often climbing without permission, he has been arrested repeatedly. He climbs without a harness, using only his bare hands, a pair of climbing shoes, and a bag of powdered chalk to wipe off the sweat.
