Travelodge Speaks Out Against Lift Surfing Videos

Travelodge has spoken out against a YouTuber user known only as Ryegi who filmed and posted videos of himself lift surfing in Manchester and Morecambe, U.K., Manchester World reports. One video shows Ryegi on top of the lift, traveling toward the bottom of the building. In the background, you can then hear the lift say, “doors closing,” and then announce that the lift will be traveling back up, taking Ryegi to the top of the three-story hotel building, which is estimated to be around 40-ft tall. Another video shows him “high-speed surfing,” going up and down a few times in a building 200-ft tall. Ryegi, who has been lift surfing for many years, says he finds it “fun and thrilling” and that he is “interested in lifts,” but he also sometimes worries about getting crushed by the lift. He says that he reiterates the dangers of lift surfing in all of his videos. It is believed that he gets on the lift by unlocking the doors with a special key. A spokesperson for Travelodge said: “We take the safety of our customers and staff extremely seriously and we have stringent lift security measures in place. The perpetrators in this VT have illegally gained entry into the lift shaft, and we will be reporting this incident to the police for further investigation.”