Alain Robert: Meet the real amazing Spider-Man

Alain Robert has been dubbed a modern day superhero for his death defying stunts at global landmarks. At 53, he has been climbing for 42 years, despite suffering with vertigo, epilepsy and being medically assessed as permanently 66 per cent disabled. But none of this has halted his ascent to global celebrity status.

Now he is visiting the Black Country for a series of talks about his staggering career - and he just had to scale our Queen Street offices while he was here.

But it was child's play for a man who has become a symbol of overcoming every obstacle and coming out on top.

But it hasn't all been fame and adoration from thousands of people worldwide. It's been a long road to get to where he has, with falls, accidents, arrests and imprisonment in between.

A monumental day in Alain's life was September 29, 1982. He was assisting a group of young climbers abseiling but fell 49ft when his rope came undone. He was in a coma for five days, with both forearms fractured, along with his elbow, pelvis and nose. He was left partially paralysed and underwent six operations on his hands and elbow.

At 20 years old, a doctor told him he would 'never come back from this', adding: "I have never seen such shattered hands." The words are still clear in his mind all these years later.

After months of numerous procedures, Alain, slowly but surely, began to climb again. There was a 800ft wall near hishome in Bourgogne, where he started to visit four times a day. He did this for two years and in his own words, 'made progress centimetre by centimetre, inch by inch.'

Alain said: "Of course it was frustrating at the time, but it made me all the more determined to succeed when I was told it was an impossible task I was aiming for.

"I managed to take control of my vertigo, overcoming the fear that I'd had as a child and use it as a strength to continue climbing.

"As I improved my climbing and gained in confidence, I began to do more in between visiting the wall during the day. I started climbing cliffs and going to other sites."

But he wanted a bigger challenge, so started climbing buildings. The 700ft tall Tour Montparnasse in Paris in 1996 was followed by London's One Canada Square, before he decided to target some of the world's most famous buildings. Sydney's Harbour Bridge, Tower and Opera House, and the Eiffel Tower were all conquered in 1997. And before he knew it, Alain had global fame..

Because authorities will not give him permission, he usually turns up at dawn at whatever location he has chosen, and soon attracts crowds of onlookers.

It is hard for many to comprehend the risks he is willing to take, facing certain death with one false move. But he says he would not have it any other way.

He explained: "To me, climbing is like eating or drinking. I have to do it; it's part of my life. People need to learn to live with more risk. Life was dangerous. Now, it isn't ,where everything is about regulations and safety. It's not a bad thing. But we risk becoming a carbon copy of everyone around us. I don't want to follow the herd."

Just to highlight his achievements this year, he climbed the 75-storey, 1,007ft Cayan Tower in Dubai, the world's tallest twisted skyscraper, all without a safety harness, taking an hour and a half to make his way up the building, which has a twist of 90 degrees, making him front page news.

But this was nothing compared to 2011, when Robert scaled the world's tallest tower, the Burj Khalifa, which stands at 2,717ft, in just over six hours. Much to his dismay however and in compliance with regulations set by the organiser, he had to use a rope and a harness.

He has now become a fascination for TV and the medias across the world.

His ascent of the National Bank of Abu Dhabi in 2007 attracted 150,000 spectators and was shown live on TV. Two years later, he set his sights on the 1,483ft, 88-storey Petronas Tower in Maylasia, triumphantly unfurling the country's flag at the pinnacle on its national day.

In September 2011, the Russian Government legally allowed him to climb the Moscow State University, where he was subject to a 4D shows, in which the university was used as a projection screen.

When asked how it feels to stand on top of these buildings, looking down to see hundreds of thousands of people cheering and chanting his name, Alain smiled with a look that already gave me my answer: 'that is what makes it all worth it.'

Alain said: "You can't describe that feeling, it's amazing. It's hard to comprehend that so many people are inspired by my efforts, but I'm proud to be still doing it today, proving that any obstacles or challenges you face can be overturned.

"If people see me as a symbol of achievement, then this makes me happy. I didn't begin climbing for anybody else but myself, but to be in a position where I can inspire people is obviously a great thing."

Inspirational he may be, but Alain has been arrested over 100 times, with many of these coming when he has actually reached the top. Because of this, he has even made it into the Guinness Book of Records. Dealing with the police and authorities is something he says 'comes with the thrill of the challenge'. But he was once punched by Japanese police after trying to foil and deceive them into what day he was actually going to climb the Shinjuku building in 1998.

He has declared as long as he is in good health and keeps the same motivation, there is no limit to where climbing will take him.

Having been officially listed in the 'World Hall of Fame of Top 100 Athletes of All Time', alongside names such as Pele, Michael Jordan and Muhammed Ali, he has the recognition but still has plenty that he wants to achieve.

He will be on tour from next week, appearing at Sadlers Brewer, Station Road, Lye on Monday November 9 and the Ramada Park Hall Hotel on Wednesday November 11, with doors opening at 6.45pm for a 7.45pm start. Tickets are £25, if you are interested visit, www.wolvescivic.co.uk, www.eventbrite.co.uk or call 08703207000 or agent Bryan Yeubrey on 07841161555.