Jeff Chapman (September 19, 1973 – August 23, 2005), better known by the pseudonym Ninjalicious, was a

Toronto Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...

-based

urban explorer Urban exploration (often shortened as UE, urbex, and sometimes known as roof and tunnel hacking) is the exploration of manmade structures, usually abandoned ruins or hidden components of the manmade environment. Photography and historical inte ...

, fountaineer,

writer A writer is a person who uses written words in different writing styles, genres and techniques to communicate ideas, to inspire feelings and emotions, or to entertain. Writers may develop different forms of writing such as novels, short sto ...

and founder of the urban exploration

zine A zine ( ; short for ''magazine'' or ''fanzine'') is, as noted on Merriam-Webster’s official website, a magazine that is a “noncommercial often homemade or online publication usually devoted to specialized and often unconventional subject ...

''Infiltration: the zine about going places you're not supposed to go''. He was also a prominent author and editor for ''YIP magazine'',Ninjalicious, 1973-2005
, ''

Eye Weekly ''Eye Weekly'' was a free weekly newspaper published in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It was owned by Torstar, the parent company of the ''Toronto Star'', and was published by their Star Media Group until its final issue on May 5, 2011. The followin ...

'', published September 1, 2005, accessed May 1, 2007. as well as its website, ''Yip.org''. Chapman died of

cholangiocarcinoma Cholangiocarcinoma, also known as bile duct cancer, is a type of cancer that forms in the bile ducts. Symptoms of cholangiocarcinoma may include abdominal pain, yellowish skin, weight loss, generalized itching, and fever. Light colored stoo ...

on Tuesday, August 23, 2005 at the age of 31 — three years after a successful

liver transplant Liver transplantation or hepatic transplantation is the replacement of a Liver disease, diseased liver with the healthy liver from another person (allograft). Liver transplantation is a treatment option for Cirrhosis, end-stage liver disease and ...

Toronto General Hospital The Toronto General Hospital (TGH) is a major teaching hospital in Toronto, Ontario, Canada and the flagship campus of University Health Network (UHN). It is located in the Discovery District of Downtown Toronto along University Avenue (Toronto), ...

(a location he loved to explore). Doctors claimed that Chapman's illness was caused by coming into contact with carcinogens during exploring, but his wife confirmed that Chapman had been diagnosed with auto-immune diseases well before he became an avid explorer. It was his extended stays at hospitals that got him hooked on exploring institutions. She expressed her belief that his exploration did not directly cause his death.

Background

Chapman attended

York University York University (), also known as YorkU or simply YU), is a public university, public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is Canada's third-largest university, and it has approximately 53,500 students, 7,000 faculty and staff, ...

in the early 1990s and later studied book and magazine publishing at

Centennial College Centennial College may refer to: * Centennial College (Canada), a public college in Toronto, Ontario, Canada * Centennial College (Hong Kong), a private college in Pok Fu Lam, Hong Kong Island, Hong Kong {{Disambiguation, schools ...

. He went on to serve as Editor at '' History Magazine'' and as Director of the Toronto Architectural Conservancy board.

Works

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, 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. 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, 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). He was also featured in CBC Newsworlds program BIG LIfe showing him exploring Toronto. Jeff and his wife Liz were both interview subjects in the film '' BBS: The Documentary'' as participants in the Toronto BBS community and other early online communities. He is credited under the handle ''Milky'', though he was also known as ''Milky Puppy'' online.Usenet alt.zines posting, 25 Aug 2005, archived
/ref>

References

External links

Interview
with the ''

Philadelphia City Paper ''Philadelphia City Paper'' was an alternative weekly newspaper in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The independently owned paper was free and published every Thursday in print and daily online at citypaper.net. Staff reporters focused on labor issues ...

''.
Interview
with ''

Ira Glass Ira Jeffrey Glass (; born March 3, 1959) is an American public radio personality. He is the host and producer of the radio and television series '' This American Life'' and has participated in other NPR programs, including ''Morning Edition'', ...

''. {{Authority control 1973 births 2005 deaths Deaths from cancer in Ontario Canadian instructional writers Canadian travel writers Centennial College alumni Urban exploration Writers from Scarborough, Ontario Deaths from cholangiocarcinoma