Sirharris.com

Past readers may recall my September posting entitled 21st Century Death Sports in which I focused on the fatal heroics in Britain. It's time to add some South American flair and introduce to you the "Surfistas".

"Isares Goncalves do Nascimento, better known as Indio, is not the average American. At the tender age of 13, he was already surfing the roofs of commuter trains bound for Rio de Janeiro. By the time he was 19 he had become a true surfista. While pinguentes, or “hangers-on,” cling to the side of the train, surfistas stand on top, every muscle clenched to maintain the vital balance."

..."ducking low overpasses, dodging 3,300-volt electrical wires, and maintaining one’s balance, all while atop a subway train moving over fifty miles per hour"

The authorities are clamping down to deal with such feats of macho masochism: "Brazilian fines of 75 cents for the first attempt, 85 cents for the second, are minuscule beside the awesome thrill of the surf". My tip for curving this sport would be to make the fine greater than the ticket price for the journey.

Optimism is provided by one proud mother of a Surfista: "something will happen to him. It happens to all of them. They only stop surfing if they get badly injured - or if they die.”

The abundance of quotes has been taken from the fascinating Jinx Magazine which advises and chronicles this and other types of "Urban Exploration" and adventure.