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

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the anch ...

-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 and techniques to communicate ideas. Writers produce different forms of literary art and creative writing such as novels, short stories, books, poetry, travelogues, p ...

and founder of the urban exploration

zine A zine ( ; short for '' magazine'' or '' fanzine'') is a small-circulation self-published work of original or appropriated texts and images, usually reproduced via a copy machine. Zines are the product of either a single person or of a very s ...

''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'', published September 1, 2005, accessed May 1, 2007. as well as its website, ''Yip.org''. Chapman died of cholangiocarcinoma 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 diseased liver with the healthy liver from another person (allograft). Liver transplantation is a treatment option for end-stage liver disease and acute liver failure, al ...

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's Hospital ...

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

Background

Chapman attended

York University York University (french: Université York), also known as YorkU or simply YU, is a public university, public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is Canada's fourth-largest university, and it has approximately 55,700 students, 7,0 ...

in the early 1990s and later studied book and magazine publishing at Centennial College. 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 BBS may refer to: Ammunition * BBs, BB gun metal bullets * BBs, airsoft gun plastic pellets Computing and gaming * Bulletin board system, a computer server users dial into via dial-up or telnet; precursor to the Internet * BIOS Boot Specificat ...

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
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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, Toronto Deaths from cholangiocarcinoma