Meet the real life Spider-Man who turns rooftops and streets into his personal playground

Meet the real life Spider-Man, a Brooklyn man who has turned New York City’s rooftops, streets and transit system into his personal playground, most recently taking a leap across underground subway tracks in a viral video watched by millions.

Byron Sterling, a 30-year-old medical transportation driver, exclusively told DailyMail.com he’s the daredevil seen last week jumping from one platform to another at the Broadway Junction subway stop in Brooklyn.  

It’s a stunt other foolish mortals have failed at miserably, slamming into the opposite wall or falling short into the tracks.

Sterling made it look easy and added a front flip for good measure before hopping aboard a Manhattan-bound L train that rolled into the station, taking his COVID-19 mask off and shaking his head in a display of bravado.

‘I landed it perfectly,’ Sterling boasted to DailyMail.com. ‘When I jump, I just feel this adrenaline rush. It just gives me such a happy feeling. I feel free.’ 

Byron Sterling, a 30-year-old d medical transportation driver from East New York, told DailyMail.com exclusively that he’s the daredevil seen last week jumping from one platform to another at the Broadway Junction subway stop in Brooklyn (pictured)  

One video posted on July 4 shows him taking a back flip off a rooftop in Coney Island, as spectators cheer (pictured)

One video posted on July 4 shows him taking a back flip off a rooftop in Coney Island, as spectators cheer (pictured) 

For Sterling, this was his breakout moment after years of performing wild stunts across the city. He describes himself as a professional hardcore freerunner. Pictured: Sterling doing a flip off the ceiling in a subway station

For Sterling, this was his breakout moment after years of performing wild stunts across the city. He describes himself as a professional hardcore freerunner. Pictured: Sterling doing a flip off the ceiling in a subway station

For Sterling, this was his breakout moment after years of performing wild stunts across the city. He describes himself as a professional hardcore freerunner. Pictured: Sterling doing a flip off the ceiling in a subway station 

'I landed it perfectly,' Sterling boasted to DailyMail.com. 'When I jump, I just feel this adrenaline rush. It just gives me such a happy feeling. I feel free'

‘I landed it perfectly,’ Sterling boasted to DailyMail.com. ‘When I jump, I just feel this adrenaline rush. It just gives me such a happy feeling. I feel free’

For Sterling, this was his breakout moment after years of performing wild stunts across the city. He describes himself as a professional hardcore freerunner. 

‘It’s basically a bunch of sports wrapped into one, mixed martial arts, gymnastics, track and field, where you get from point A to point B in the fastest, most efficient way possible,’ he explained. 

‘It originated in France. I’m one of the few people to bring it to New York.’ 

‘I grew up liking Jackie Chan movies,’ he said. ‘That’s what got me interested in all of this. And then I found out the sport had a name. I looked it up and that’s where I began.’

Freerunning, which is very similar to Parkour, was developed by a French athlete named Sébastien Foucan who’s appeared in a handful of music videos with Madonna and the 2006 James Bond film ‘Casino Royal.’

Sterling started working on his craft 10 years ago at the Linden Park playground in his hometown neighborhood of East New York, where he still lives with his mother and younger brother.

‘There’s a game called Spider Tag, or some call it Lava Tag, where you pretend the ground is lava and you have to swing on monkey bars to get from one island to another,’ he said. 

‘At first I practiced swinging on the bars, which got my stamina up, and then I progressed, became faster and stronger.’

The kids who’d watch him called him King Spider-Man. ‘That’s how I got my nickname,’ explained Sterling, who now refers to himself as ‘Kiing Spiider.’

‘Then I took it to the streets,’ he said, ‘I started running, practicing and jumping, flipping off of everything I’d come across.’ 

Sterling made it look easy and added a front flip for good measure before hopping aboard a Manhattan-bound L train that rolled into the station, taking his COVID-19 mask off and shaking his head in a display of bravado.

Sterling made it look easy and added a front flip for good measure before hopping aboard a Manhattan-bound L train that rolled into the station, taking his COVID-19 mask off and shaking his head in a display of bravado.

Sterling made it look easy and added a front flip for good measure before hopping aboard a Manhattan-bound L train that rolled into the station, taking his COVID-19 mask off and shaking his head in a display of bravado

He sometimes comes across cops during his adventures, but said they don't give him a hard time. Sometimes, he said, they even offer high fives. 'I never get in trouble,' he said. 'The police always ask me to do more and want to learn how I do what I do'

He sometimes comes across cops during his adventures, but said they don’t give him a hard time. Sometimes, he said, they even offer high fives. ‘I never get in trouble,’ he said. ‘The police always ask me to do more and want to learn how I do what I do’ 

Freerunning, also known as Parkour, was developed by a French athlete named Sébastien Foucan who's appeared in a handful of music videos with Madonna and the 2006 James Bond film 'Casino Royal.'

Freerunning, also known as Parkour, was developed by a French athlete named Sébastien Foucan who’s appeared in a handful of music videos with Madonna and the 2006 James Bond film ‘Casino Royal.’

Sterling would do all of this while holding a day job as an ambulette driver, transporting elderly and physically-disabled people to their doctor appointments

 Sterling would do all of this while holding a day job as an ambulette driver, transporting elderly and physically-disabled people to their doctor appointments

One video posted on July 4 shows him taking a back flip off a rooftop in Coney Island, as spectators cheer. Others show him flipping and jumping off mailboxes and fences, and swinging on street poles. 

‘People just see me climbing on the roof, or whatever, and it just grabs their attention so they reach for their cell phones and start filming,’ he said.

Sterling would do all of this while holding a day job as an ambulette driver, transporting elderly and physically-disabled people to their doctor appointments.

‘I train after I get out of work,’ he said. ‘I try to do as much as I can, when I can.’

He sometimes comes across cops during his adventures, but said they don’t give him a hard time. Sometimes, he said, they even offer high fives.

‘I never get in trouble,’ he said. ‘The police always ask me to do more and want to learn how I do what I do.’

He attended the High School for Law Enforcement and Public Safety in Queens, which integrates law enforcement and public safety into the academic curriculum.

He made his first jump across the subway tracks a few years ago, posting a video of the heart-pounding feat on YouTube that was viewed by just a few dozen people.

He's hoping for another big hit this week when he posts another video of himself and friends performing stunts in an East New York parking lot. 'They'll be dancing outside the car,' he explained, excitedly

'I do flips off the car and drive around doing burnouts while they're dancing and also flipping'

He’s hoping for another big hit this week when he posts another video of himself and friends performing stunts in an East New York parking lot. ‘They’ll be dancing outside the car,’ he explained, excitedly. ‘I do flips off the car and drive around doing burnouts while they’re dancing and also flipping’

He's had some minor successes over the years, including a gig last year celebrating the release of a PlayStation Spider-Man video game where he dressed up as the superhero and performed acrobatics on a Manhattan rooftop. But the subway video was his first taste of internet fame

He’s had some minor successes over the years, including a gig last year celebrating the release of a PlayStation Spider-Man video game where he dressed up as the superhero and performed acrobatics on a Manhattan rooftop.  But the subway video was his first taste of internet fame

When he showed up at Broadway Junction last week, he brought a friend to film him then uploaded it on social media. A widely popular Instagram account called The Shade Room reposted the video and it went viral.

‘The whole world saw this video,’ Sterling gushed. ‘This video has like three million views already.’

He’s had some minor successes over the years, including a gig last year celebrating the release of a PlayStation Spider-Man video game where he dressed up as the superhero and performed acrobatics on a Manhattan rooftop.

But the subway video was his first taste of internet fame.

He’s hoping for another big hit this week when he posts another video of himself and friends performing stunts in an East New York parking lot.

‘They’ll be dancing outside the car,’ he explained, excitedly. ‘I do flips off the car and drive around doing burnouts while they’re dancing and also flipping.’

‘This is just the beginning for me,’ he said.

Read more at DailyMail.co.uk