Danny MacAskill: 'I'd rather be riding than resting'
- Published
Danny MacAskill doing his famous Spiky Fence Rail Ride
He is the Scottish stunt cyclist who landed on the world stage 10 years ago with a breakthrough video showing mind blowing tricks.
Danny MacAskill was never off his bike during a whirlwind journey to becoming an internet sensation.
And despite breaking more than 30 bones while practising his daredevil bike skills, the 33-year-old says he sees no end to the niche career he has carved out for himself.
Originally from the Isle of Skye, MacAskill moved to Edinburgh in 2006.
His first video was shot in the capital, his skills on two wheels winning 350,000 hits. Now his collection of YouTube films have amassed some 38 million views.
Speaking to the BBC Scotland news website he said he was in a happy place and was glad he had stayed "credible" within the bike world rather than following big money offers.
He said: "After Inspired Bicycles came out I got lots of crazy offers from commercial brands but I picked the offers that let me ride my bike for fun.
"I had the chance like Olympic athletes have for mainstream work.
"I was also asked to be on the Ellen DeGeneres Show, but I didn't even know who she was because I had been living in my biking bubble and I was asked to join a circus in Korea.
"But I'm not interested in that stuff. It's always been about being in the mountain biking scene for me.
"It's all about being credible for me. You have to be credible within your scene and I would have been thrown out of the biking world if I had entered into show business."
Danny MacAskill performing at his Drop and Roll Tour
Ten years on from travelling the world doing his bike stunts, MacAskill shows no signs of retiring - despite some painful injuries.
He said: "Back when I did Inspired Bicycles I had to take painkillers all the time for my wrists but that was because my body never had time to recover as I was cycling seven days a week, 365 days a year.
"Now because I travel so much my body gets a rest. I would rather be riding than resting though.
"I've had a lot of injuries and broke my knee cap in 2017 but its just part and parcel of progressing and it hasn't made me scared to get back on my bike."
'Plan to keep going'
MacAskill is just back from North America where he met up with his hero Hans Rey, a 52-year-old extreme mountain biker, who has inspired him that he has many years of biking ahead of him.
He said: "I absolutely plan to keep going, you have to adapt with the times, its not all about the biggest tricks, although yes there will be big stunts in my show at the Edinburgh Festival."
To mark his 10th anniversary he is to bring his street trials stunt display team to the capital to perform the Drop and Roll Tour at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe in August.
He will perform stunts made famous in his videos including the Spiky Fence Rail Ride and Tree Flair (Backflip 180) performed on the Meadows in Edinburgh for his first video, Inspired Bicycles, posted on YouTube in April 2009.
Danny MacAskill's Drop and Roll Live will be on at The Lafayette at Underbelly's Circus Hub on The Meadows between 3 and 24 August.
Danny MacAskill performing at his Drop and Roll Tour
- Published29 August 2017
- Published21 August 2017
