Ninjalicious

Jeff Chapman a.k.a. Ninjalicious (19 September 1973 — 23 August 2005) was a well-known Toronto-based urban explorer, fountaineer, and founder of Infiltration: the zine about going places you're not supposed to go. He was also a prominent author and editor for YIP magazine.^[1], as well as its website, yip.org.

Background

Chapman attended York University in the early 1990s and later studied book and magazine publishing at Centennial College. He went on to serve as Editor at History Magazine and as Director of the Toronto Architectural Conservancy board.^[2]

Publications

Chapman first published Infiltration in 1996. In total, 25 issues were published — covering such urban exploration topics as the navigation of storm drains, evading hotel security and adventuring through abandoned military shelters. He also launched infiltration.org^[3], an online version of the zine, in 1996. His book, Access All Areas: a user's guide to the art of urban exploration, was published in July 2005, shortly before his death.^[4] The book serves as a how-to-guide to urban exploration — covering topics from basic stealth and concealment, to social engineering techniques to ethics. Chapman is credited with coining the term "credibility prop," which describes a device, uniform, piece of equipment or other appurtenances used solely to reduce suspicion if one is encountered in a normally restricted area. A specific example of "credibility prop" is simply being wet (wetness being a good credibility prop for infiltration of a hotel pool) A Guide to Getting Wet in Toronto Hotels. Chapman died of cholangiocarcinoma on Tuesday, August 23, 2005 — three years after a successful liver transplant at Toronto General Hospital (a location he loved to explore). He was 31 years old.^[1]

References

1. ^ ^{a b} "Ninjalicious, 1973-2005", Eye Weekly, published September 1, 2005, accessed May 1, 2007.
2. ^ Jeff Chapman tribute on Toronto Architectural Conservancy website
3. ^ infiltration.org
4. ^ Access All Areas: a user's guide to the art of urban exploration, 2005 Ninjalicious (Infilpress) ISBN 0-9737787-0-9

1999 Episode of This American Life featuring Infiltration

External links

• Interview with the Philadelphia City Paper.