Alain Robert (born as Robert Alain Philippe on 7 August 1962) is a French rock climber and urban climber, from Digoin, Saône-et-Loire, Burgundy, France. Known as "the French Spider-Man" (after the comic character Spider-Man) or "the Human Spider," Robert is famous for his free solo climbing, scaling skyscrapers using no climbing equipment except for a small bag of chalk and a pair of climbing shoes.