ROYSTON Jaafar feels at home when he is suspended above ground.
He earns a living climbing trees, high-rise buildings, rocks and walls — a feat that most people would find dangerous.
What started as a hobby has now turned into a career for the 27-year-old lad from Sipitang.
“My family and friends wondered why I wanted to be in a profession with such ‘high’ risks, but I tell them it has nothing to do with money. It was purely job satisfaction — I have always loved climbing and now it is my lifestyle.”
Royston is a professional rope access technician for a Kota Kinabalu-based company, Ropeskills Rigging Sdn Bhd.
The company, which started about a decade ago, has built up an impressive portfolio, having served popular television shows such as The Amazing Race and for personalities like British adventurer Bear Grylls.
It all began with British rope access specialist Simon Amos, who had worked with some outdoor adventure projects in Sabah, and his local partner, Edward Christopher Sinpa.
“There weren’t many rope access professionals back then, and I could see there was great growth potential,” said Amos, 48, who has also been involved in environmental conservation activities in the state.
Back then, however, when rope technicians were required, people with no credentials or training were hired.
“This was why we formed the company because there are a lot of safety issues that need to be looked at when rope access works are involved. Now, we have about 15 staff with international training accreditation,” said Amos, who was involved in engineering as a young man in London but pursued his real passion of becoming a climbing instructor.
His local rope technicians were recruited from rural districts such as Keningau, Kota Belud, Nabawan and Penampang.
All have since been exposed to high-profile jobs, including an assignment Amos personally felt honoured to carry out — lifting the British royal couple, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge Prince William and Katherine Middleton, up into the rainforest canopy in Danum Valley, Lahad Datu two years ago.
“It was a big deal for me, as I am from the UK and they are our royalty. We had to be there one week before to ensure all safety precautions — which included getting rid of a snake on top of the tree where they were supposed to be sitting on — was adhered to,” said Amos.
For Royston, his most memorable job experience was back in 2010, when they were involved in a documentary shoot for the Asian Food Channel with celebrity chef Gordon Ramsay.
“It was to collect bird’s nest somewhere in Kunak. I was impressed but at the same time scared to see how our local bird’s nest collectors went about their work, as traditionally they only used rattan ladders, ropes and a basket.
“But for Chef Ramsay, we set up all the safety measures needed to climb up and get to the nest using modern equipment,” said Royston, who is also in charge of the company’s indoor climbing centre in Kota Kinabalu.
The most recent job of building roping systems for a television shoot was with world-renowned nature historian Sir David Attenborough, 87, up a tree as well as up to the roof of the Gomantong cave near Kinabatangan.
The company had also worked with American animal and nature conservationist Jeff Corwin in Sepilok for a show on orang utan, built hammocks 40m up trees for guests, helped students from Denmark rapel down a waterfall in Telupid and numerous other stints all over the state.
Another key contribution from Ropeskills were bridges they built from used fire hoses for orang utan, proboscis monkeys and other wild animals to cross rivers in the Lower Kinabatangan Wildlife Sanctuary.
When they are not out in the wild, the crew members would be at the indoor climbing centre or cleaning glass panels surrounding Menara Tun Mustapha, the iconic 30-storey and 122m high building in Kota Kinabalu.
More recently, the company built a 250m zipline conecting Pulau Gaya and Pulau Sapi off here for enthusiasts to experience a “flight” at 60km per hour crossing from one island to the other.
“We helped build many ziplines and flying foxes for others in the state, but this one is ours. It helps tell people who we are and what we do,” said Royston.