Wall Crawlers: How These Climbers Take on Manila’s Urban Landscape

Beyond climbing gyms, three athletes take on the city itself, where every ledge, beam, and facade become a test of strength and creativity.

These climbers are professionals, and Vogue Philippines secured permission to do this shoot. Do not attempt this at the PICC or at any location without the proper permits and authorizations.

Thirty feet above ground, three climbers suspend themselves from the ledge of the Philippine International Convention Center’s (PICC) bridgeway. For decades, the building has witnessed countless historical events, graduations, performances, and conferences. Yet, in all its years, it had never seen anything quite like this: a group of free runners turning its brutalist facade into a playground. Much to the concern of the PICC staff watching from below, the trio continued traversing its bare concrete, gripping onto ledges too thin they could barely fit a fingernail. Their only safety precaution being a crash pad measuring only four feet by three feet. 

But Coach Randy Cura quickly reassured the team, briefly mentioning that their crew only needed a gap of four millimeters in order to grip onto a wall. And as they carefully navigated through the various structures of the complex, hanging onto stairways, tip-toeing over knife edges, and crawling walls like spiders, anxiety quickly turned into excitement. With every move, the group of climbers showcased the capabilities of the human body, putting their strength and skill on full display.

The trio of Cura, Yumi Puruganan, and Bryan Chaiseng first crossed paths through their shared passion for climbing. Bonded by their love for the sport, they began tackling routes together, scaling walls in bouldering gyms and exploring Manila’s urban and natural landscapes with nothing but their bare hands. 

Randy is the most adept of the three, with over two decades of experience in the activity. But before he became a climbing coach, he was initially a professional breakdancer. “I was looking for a way to cross-train, and then a friend of mine asked me to try rock climbing, but when I tried it, I wanted to stop dancing immediately.” This led Randy to fully embrace it as his main sport, eventually becoming an athlete who regularly competed in international circuits over the years. 

Yumi was exposed to climbing through her older sister, who brought her along walls in Cebu at the age of seven. Her passion for it carried over as she moved to New York, which had a dynamic parkour scene that inspired her toward “buildering,” which is a division of the sport that involves climbing outside of buildings and artificial structures. 

Bryan was the least tenured of the trio with only a year and a half of experience, who ended up finding his love for the hobby through an unlikely inspiration: Jason Momoa. Inspired by the actor’s rugged persona, he soon found himself climbing, riding motorcycles, and throwing axes, living out his life as a chopper.

While united by a shared passion, each of them is drawn to different aspects of the sport, shaped by the unique experiences they’ve encountered along their journey. For Yumi, climbing is as much about overcoming fear as it is about physical challenge. One of her most memorable experiences was top roping outdoors, where the overhang made swinging out initially terrifying. “I would freak out because it’s so scary when you are up [that high],” she recalled, describing how outdoor climbs are at the mercy of gravity and wind, requiring climbers to let go and trust their gear as they fall after each ascent. Over time, learning how to manage that fear transformed her experience. What once felt daunting now felt exhilarating, something she compares to a game where she can level up through personal growth.

Like Yumi, Bryan’s journey as a climber has been about pushing past personal limits. While she conquered fear, Bryan found inspiration in its transformative power. “It’s the art of becoming superhuman,” he says. “Training your fingers to the point where you can carry your bodyweight on just one or two fingers is mind-blowing, and it shows what the human body can achieve through discipline.” 

This perspective emerged after a challenging period in his life, where a severe ankle injury sidelined him from any physical activity for months. “I couldn’t get back into the groove, and it was one of the worst few months of my life,” he recalls. But through persistence, he slowly regained his rhythm. A pivotal moment came when his wife, watching him climb, remarked, “Oh, your love for climbing is back again.” Her words struck a chord. As he stared at the wall, he was overcome with emotion, beginning to tear up as he realized in that moment how deeply climbing was woven into his identity.

But underneath these experiences, the trio believes there’s something intrinsic to climbing that makes it more than just a sport or hobby. They explain that the activity is essentially the process of unlocking your body through mind and movement. “[It’s because] climbing is like solving a puzzle with your body,” Randy adds. “You’re constantly thinking, ‘What do I do next?’ and that’s where the high comes from.” And unlike team sports that are considerate of technique and cooperation, climbing is more personal than it is social, which means there are no guidebooks, no strict rules, and it is completely dependent on the style of the climber. “It’s very free, [so the] more creative you are, the better you become,” shares Yumi.  

Echoing this sentiment, the crew reflects on how climbing isn’t about mastering it as a sport, but a return to something innately childlike. Bryan mentions that “looking for things to climb or bite your fingers puts you in touch with your original, primal instincts,” and in some ways, he isn’t too far off. After all, before we’re taught to fear heights or fall cautiously, we instinctively reach and pull, whether it’s climbing up trees or scrambling over rocks and playground sets. 

By GAB YAP. Photographs by KARL KING AGUÑA. Vogue Man Editor DANYL GENECIRAN. Produced by JULIAN RODRIGUEZ. Photographer’s Assistants: Rojan Maguyon and Ruby Pedregosa. Stylist’s Assistant: Myc Priestley.