Interview: Danny MacAskill

Danny MacAskill became a YouTube sensation in 2009, and he hasn’t looked back since.

Late on April the 19th 2009 the 23-yearold  Scotsman went to bed much as he  did every other night. Little did he  know that just a few hours later he  would wake up as a newfound internet  star, thanks to his Inspired Bicycles video. 

It was a true overnight success; “I really  don’t know how it happened; right time,  right place maybe, and I still don’t understand,”  he told me when questioned about  the success of the video. 

YouTube is stacked with great videos  of people doing insane stuff on bikes, but  somehow Danny’s videos go above and  beyond the rest; he shines out in a way that  few others do. That initial video went viral  and by the following morning he was virtually  famous. Things would never be the  same again for the Scot. 

Some 34 million people have hit on the  Inspired Bicycles video since then. Danny  is possibly the most famous cyclist in the  world, at least within the mainstream  market. Even if people don’t know his  name, there’s a good chance they’ve seen his  amazing riding on their screens. Note that  I say ‘cyclist’; Danny considers himself to  be a mountain biker and a trials rider but  he doesn’t really fit any specific genre. He  clearly has his own unique riding style and  this has been a real driver for his success. 

At that time Danny was riding street trials.  He was sponsored by Inspired Bicycles  whilst working full-time as a bike mechanic  and sharing a flat with a few mates. “There  were seven of us living in the flat—a bit  like a student house really; relaxed and  chilled. Dave (Sowerby) is one of my flat  mates and he filmed the fist video.”

Almost overnight he quit his job and set  about making his way as a pro trials rider, “I  honestly would have never of believed that  my life would go this way. I’d made videos  years before but they’d never gone viral like  this, although we did one in Aviemore (Scotland)  in 2005 that was quite big on MySpace.  Not long after the Inspired video I got  my first well paid job; a Volkswagen advert,  and that was the start of things.”

Speaking to Danny is inspired in its own  right. We were at the Eurobike trade show  and just about everybody wanted a slice of  his time, yet he remained humble, smiling  and engaging, even apologetic of his status;  “It’s not always like this, sometimes it really  takes me aback. Most of the time I’m  at home and working on new projects—it’s  a lot more low key.” 

Danny’s ride to fame began in the Isle  of Skye; a wild and spectacular part of the  Scottish Highlands. “As a kid I was really  into mountain biking. I would try and  ride up and over everything, and ended up  breaking stuff on the bike regularly.” 

His early riding and bike attrition were  ultimately to shape his future, “In the end  my bike was more or less a trials bike because  of this, and that’s how I really discovered  trials; through breaking stuff. We lived  in a small village and the local policeman  would catch me riding on things and take  me home—it became a regular occurrence.” 

DAILY GRIND 

From the outside it may seem like the  dream life; travel to amazing places and  just ride your bike over things. Ask any of  Danny’s peers about his success and they  will admiringly strike on his work ethic  and ingenious creativity as his key attributes—  it certainly wasn’t pure luck. Take his  Imaginate video as a classic example; the  one where he rode around with huge toys  in his make believe bedroom. This was conceived  and created by Danny himself, “It  never feels like work to me, but filming can  be stressful. I really wanted to take things  indoors, and Imaginate was about that. My  thinking was that it would ease the stress of  the weather, but I really didn’t imagine just how much more difficult it would be.”

A disused building was used for the film,  “We had limited time as the owner had  scheduled re-development and we were  under pressure to get the job done. I’d been  injured quite badly before this, and was  pushing the therapists and myself to recover  in time for the shoot. I had to push everybody  really hard too and there were some  very long days doing stuff; in some cases I  didn’t even know if the tricks were possible.” 

One of the major new stunts in the video  involved doing a flip over a huge inflatable  ball; “That one trick took 300 attempts to  get right. The camera was on a dolly and  the team had to run 5km with it until we  finally got it right, but I do like to push  myself on every shoot.” 

Quite early in his career the RedBull  media powerhouse hopped aboard, and  together they’ve produced some amazing  videos, some of which have been more  special than others to him personally. “The  Argentinean film Epecuen was pretty special  to me, I just hadn’t quite expected it.”  The film featured him riding around a once  popular tourist village that was engulfed in  a flood when a nearby dam broke. 

Mid-2014 saw one his most controversial  videos being released, where he rode  with the bunnies around the infamous  Playboy mansion. “I was in California and  we got a call from my sponsors asking me  to do it. It wasn’t something I’d planned  myself but it seemed harmless enough. In  the UK Playboy has a really soft reputation,  so I didn’t think it would offend anybody.”   

LIFE ON THE EDGE

More than making up for the Playboy ‘blip’ he followed through with The Ridge; perhaps his finest and most challenging film to date. For this project he returned home to the Isle of Skye, and took on the Cuillin Ridge; the most exposed and famous ridgeline  traverse in the British Isles. 

Until they started filming, he’d never  scaled the 11km long ledge, which is  regarded as the most difficult ‘scramble’ in  the UK. In good weather, clambering and  climbing up the exposed terrain usually  takes around 20 hours. Throughout the  filming, a BBC film crew also followed the  team and made a documentary that aired  on mainstream UK television. 

All done the project took six very long  days of filming, with a full team clambering  up and down to different peaks along  the ridge on a daily basis. “The longest day  was 23 hours, but we were lucky with the  weather.” Danny said. 

It had been a long-term goal, or wish, to  ride a bike on the ridge. “I grew up looking  at it, and always wondered if it would be  possible to ride my bike there. I spoke with  Stu Thompson (Cut Media filmmaker) and  we decided to go for it.” 

Showing off the beauty of Skye to the  world was a huge driving force behind the  project. “I wanted people to see just how  amazing it is. I had a rough target in mind  for hits on the film, but within a few days  it had reached somewhere in the 10 million  region—it really surpassed all expectations.” 

It was also noteworthy as the first big  production where Danny was riding a  regular mountain bike—a Santa Cruz  dually. Don’t be surprised if we see a new  genre of films ahead for Danny, although  topping The Ridge would be a huge ask.  “Japan has always interested me. It would  be great to do something there if the opportunity  comes up,” he said with a glint  and possibly a hint. 

DROP & ROLL 

In the meantime he was back on the  road with the Drop & Roll tour; a travelling street trials circus that he had created.

“It’s been going pretty well so far. I wanted to create something not only for me, but to also show off the amazing talent of the younger street trials riders.”

Offers to perform come along more frequently than metro trains but he’s pretty selective, and also sticks to his loyalties over royalties. “I get asked to do some pretty amazing things. Carrying the Olympic torch was very special to me. I was also asked to perform for Prince William and Kate, but it clashed with my friend’s wedding and that was more important.” 

Back at home and away from the fans he still loves nothing more than to ride. “What I enjoy more than anything is just to go out riding around the city (Glasgow) at night. After dark there are not many people about and I just like to go and ride off into the night, preferably alone. All around the city I have tubes and pumps stashed away for emergencies.” 

So if you do happen to find yourself on a late night stroll through Glasgow, don’t be surprised if you see a phantom like night-rider hopping over something simply insane.