That video, a year later, has since won numerous awards and has been seen by approx. 17 million people. 23-year-old Danny MacAskill is a bicycle mechanic in Edinburgh and his parkour-style bike stunts are gravity defying to the point of disbelief.He is "a bit of a nutter" says friend and fellow bike mechanic David Cleaver. Danny MacAskill's bike is built of mostly Cleaver-designed parts from Inspired Bikes in Nottingham, England.
The video was filmed by roommate David Sowerby and set to music by Seattle group Band of Horses almost exactly one year ago and put on YouTube on April 19th. It had taken six months of nights and weekends to put together.
The exposure has turned MacAskill into a celebrity stunt rider, so much that he quit his job at Macdonald’s Cyles and now rides professionally. It wasn't without injuries however.
Cleaver calls him gifted. "He’s a bit of a nutter. He will throw himself off things just for fun. The bike is second nature of him. He never looks at something and says what if. It’s not a question of if, but when. When you have that confidence and believe, you tend to land on your feet, pardon the pun."
Police in Edinburgh initially didn't think much of MacAskill riding off ledges, down steep stairways and along the backs of city benches. "He did get a little bit of hassle. Riding on walls, it’s seen as anti-social. The most alluring places to ride are always the places a rider shouldn’t be. But once the police see someone is professional and polite, they tend to just suggest he move on," says Cleaver.
In an encounter on the Scottish island of Skye an officer confiscated his bike for a summer.
Inspired Bicycles meanwhile is receiving a lot of attention as everyone wants "a bike like Danny’s."
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment