CHICAGO (WBBM NEWSRADIO) — A viral, stomach-dropping video has given millions of people a new view of Chicago’s lakefront. The reel was shot by Local 1 Ironworker Kevin Kubik, from the tippy top of 875 North Michigan Ave., formerly known as the John Hancock Center.
“I’m not exactly where I like to f---ing be right now,” Kubik can be heard saying to his partner as he stands atop the building’s west antenna tower — 1,438 feet above the ground and 360 feet above the skyscraper’s roof.
The footage shows the pair setting up what’s called a “gin pole,” a lifting arm that would allow them to install the last section of antenna onto the tower. Kubik said he records most of his climbs up there, as it allows him to communicate with his team on the ground without making multiple trips. As of March 15, the video had over 3.6 million views on Instagram.
The video below includes some graphic language:
Kubik, a South Side native who currently lives in Bridgeport, said he’s the 29th person to be on that tower and only the second to stand on top of it. He credited the men and women in his union for preparing him to keep a “cool head” while on the job.
Normally, though, the job isn’t to summit one of Chicago’s tallest buildings. Kubik described the majority of the work he’s done since becoming an ironworker more than nine years ago as “setting skyscrapers.” As he put it:
“Before us, there is no building,” he said. “We put up the bones of the building in the air — hanging on to the piece you just set to set the next one.”
Ironworking routinely ranks among the most dangerous career paths. Kubik, who has a background in climbing and was a Division I swimmer at Eastern Michigan University before he accepted the call as an ironworker, said the keys to doing the job safely include redundancy, triple-checking your fundamentals and trusting your partner.
“It’s about perfection, taking your time and staying kind of tunnel-visioned, to be honest,” he said. “You don’t want to let your brain start talking too much, [but] you want your brain to tell you that it’s dangerous because if you don’t, then you become complacent. You could get hurt, or die or you could hurt somebody else.”
That tunnel vision can be pretty helpful when climbing to the top of 875 North Michigan Ave. Kubik said the 360-foot climb features one “tricky part.” After ascending a ladder 300 feet into the air, he said workers have to reach for a ledge without knowing what they’re grabbing. Then, they have to swing one leg up and pull themselves over.
If it were just a few feet off of the ground, Kubik said the move is something a beginner could do.
“Given that you’re, at that point, 1,380 feet off the city deck … a 60-mph wind up there is normal,” he said. “There’s just a lot of stuff you have to take in to overcome your brain.”
It’s not for everybody, Kubik acknowledged.
“We’re all so proud of what we do,” he said. “I posted that never thinking it would do what it did. I just thought it would be cool to get that view out because it’s rare and not a lot of people see it, and I have pride in my city, my local, and my work.”
More of Kubik’s work and climbing clips can be seen on his Instagram account.
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