I do world’s most dangerous job scaling 1,200ft towers to change lightbulbs – fear of plunging to my death won’t stop me
A “NOMAD” who worked the most dangerous job in the world insists it was worth it for the huge pay cheque – despite the risk of plunging to his death.
Brandyn Wood scaled monstrous 1200ft structures to fix internet and data towers and change lightbulbs to fund his dream of travelling the globe.
The 33-year-old Floridian used to be a tower climber – a perilous career choice which claims hundreds of lives per year.
Stomach-churning images show the dare-devil donning dark shades as he hangs in a harness hundreds of feet high and stands atop a tower giving a thumbs-up.
Brandyn has previously witnessed terrifying accidents and faced extreme weather conditions but, now, he can now kick back, relax, and enjoy the fruits of his labour.
He told The Sun of a friend who lost 60 per cent function in his arm after his rope snapped and he fell from a height, severing his arm as he landed on a glass of water.
Brandyn said: “I was there and I had to do the report on it. We bandaged it up to stop the bleeding. We took him straight to the hospital.
He added: “When I was in one of our worst years we had, I believe, 18 or more people that had fallen and died and we could average anywhere between 4 – 12 per year.”
And it wasn’t just the task in hand that posed a threat to the climbers as the elements were also against them.
Brandyn recalled one of his near misses where a huge tornado was approaching while he was suspended in the air.
“I was at about 200ft up. I had to quickly climb down and get inside one of the shelters.” he said.
Talking about the physical element of his work he added: “My longest climb was four hours.
“I would break every 20 feet on a climb like that because it was winter time and Wisconsin and so you don’t want to sweat on the tower when it’s cold because you’ll freeze.”
Brandyn’s worst-case scenarios were constantly playing on his mind and involved plummeting to death, being smashed against the side of the tower or getting squashed under a 700-pound piece of equipment.
But, despite the obvious risks of the career, Brandyn was tempted by the money and also the danger as he enjoys to “flirt with death”.
Brandyn said he was taking home £1,800 ($2,400) a week and even caught wind of someone else in the industry raking in $160,000 a year.
The self-described “nomad” has now been able to fulfil his globetrotting fantasy and has visited 25 countries so far.
Social media snaps show the self-described “nomad” living life to the full, sunbathing by breathtaking waterfalls in Indonesia and cruising along the crystal blue waters of Belize.
Tower climbing is constantly tussling with another job to claim the spot as the most deadly career.
“Because of the low number of people who do the job it’s rated as the deadliest job in the world.
“We constantly swap places with crab fishermen because the number of people who die each year, compared to how many people actually do the work, makes our percentage a lot higher than any other industry,” Brandyn explained.
Although he has no regrets about his time spent in the industry Brandyn said he wouldn’t recommend it.
He explained how it can be easy to get involved with the wrong crowd and is a “constant struggle”.
“The industry is not exactly the most civil industry. A lot of times you will work with felons.
“You’ll work with people with records, drug addicts, alcoholics.
“Companies won’t pay you or you got to fight for your pay. It’s a constant struggle,” he said.
Brandyn is now a full-time content creator who delights his army of 116,000 followers with footage from his travels.