Daniel MacAskill (born 23 December 1985)[1][2] is a Scottish trials cyclist, from Dunvegan on the Isle of Skye. He works professionally as a street trials and mountain bike rider for Santa Cruz Bicycles.[3] His YouTube channel has more than half a million subscribers and the San Francisco Chronicle called him "one of the most exciting street-riding mountain bikers on Earth."[4]

Danny MacAskill
MacAskill in 2009
Personal information
Full nameDaniel MacAskill
Born (1985-12-23) 23 December 1985 (age 38)
Skye, Scotland
Height1.76 m (5 ft 9 in)
Team information
Current teamSanta Cruz Bicycles
DisciplineTrials
RoleRider
Rider typeStreet Trials

Life and career

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In April 2009, he released a five-minute street trials video to YouTube, filmed by his flatmate Dave Sowerby. This video gained widespread media attention, featuring stunts performed by MacAskill set to "The Funeral" by Band of Horses.[5]

As of April 2009, MacAskill had been practising several hours per day for more than 12 years. He gave up his job as a mechanic so he could ride full-time[5] and now lives in Glasgow. In June 2009, MacAskill appeared in the music video for Doves' single "Winter Hill".[6]

In September 2009, MacAskill was the focus of TV advert filmed by The Leith Agency on behalf of Scottish jobs website s1jobs.com.[7]

On 16 November 2010 MacAskill released a new video Way Back Home produced by Red Bull Media House. The video showcases locations around Scotland including Edinburgh Castle, North Berwick, wartime bunkers on the island of Inchgarvie beneath the Forth Bridge and the Cruachan Dam in the Scottish Highlands.[8] In May 2011 Leica Camera released a Go Play promotional video featuring him doing tricks in the city of Cape Town. On 9 August 2011 Cut Media released a video named Industrial Revolutions directed by Stu Thomson. The video, set to "The Wolves" by Ben Howard, features MacAskill doing tricks in an abandoned Scottish iron works. It was created for Mike Christie's Channel 4 documentary Concrete Circus.[9]

In 2011 MacAskill, along with Inspired Bicycles, released his signature trials frame, the "Inspired Skye".[10]

In 2012, MacAskill performed the stunts for the movie Premium Rush.[11] MacAskill is currently managed by the German agency Rasoulution.[12][13]

In early May 2013, MacAskill was invited to Taichung, Taiwan by a sponsorship partner, Lezyne, to film a riding video titled Danny MacAskill in Taiwan - powered by Lezyne.[14] In summer 2013, MacAskill published a trial biking project on YouTube called Imaginate[15] which had been shot over 18 months produced by Mike Christie for Red Bull Media House and directed by Stu Thomson. In fewer than three weeks, the video had received over four million views.[16] In May 2014, MacAskill released another video through Red Bull Media House called Epecuen, which was shot on location in Epecuén, Argentina.[17] The town has been submerged underwater since 1985 for most of the time, and the video opens with its only resident speaking about it.[17] As of April 2016, the video has accumulated over 10 million views.

In October 2014, MacAskill and long-term collaborator Stu Thomson of Cut Media released a film titled The Ridge.[18] It was filmed on his home island, the Isle of Skye, along the steep and rocky Cuillin Ridge.[19] In the first five days, the video on YouTube garnered over 10 million views. The film was accompanied by a BBC Scotland programme Riding the Ridge that documented Danny and the Cut Media crew as they created the viral film. Cascadia, also produced by Cut Media, appeared in November 2015.

The video "Danny Macaskill's Gymnasium" was released on 7 January 2020, featuring "I'm on My Way" by The Proclaimers.[20]

In January 2021, Macaskill released the video Danny MacAskill - The Slabs, featuring him riding down a 500-meter section of the remote Dubh Slabs which rise out from Loch Coruisk on the Isle of Skye, Scotland. The video was filmed in September 2020 when Scotland's COVID-19 restrictions were temporarily eased and was released with the song "No Cars Go" by Arcade Fire. The video gained over a million views within two days of being released. MacAskill competed in X-Games MTB Real series where his video went viral for his unique tricks.

Filmography

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Date Title Location Notes
April 2009 Inspired Bicycles - Danny MacAskill April 2009 Edinburgh Music: 'The Funeral,' Band of Horses
June 2009 Winter Hill music video for the single by Doves
September 2009 s1jobs Glasgow Soundtrack: "Barriers" by Aereogramme
November 2010 Way Back Home Scotland
August 2011 Industrial Revolutions Scotland
August 2011 POC Bike Excursion Sweden with Daniel Dhers and Martin Söderström
October 2012 Danny MacAskill Takes To The Track With Sir Chris Hoy Glasgow
June 2013 Imaginate Old Glasgow Transport Museum
August 2013 Danny MacAskill in Taiwan Taichung, Taiwan
December 2013 Road Bike Party 2 A collaboration with the Global Cycling Network also featuring Martyn Ashton and Chris Akrigg.[21]
May 2014 Epecuen Epecuén, Argentina
July 2014 Danny MacAskill at the Playboy Mansion Playboy Mansion, Los Angeles, United States
October 2014 The Ridge Cuillin ridge, Skye
November 2014 Cortana The river Thames, London Promo stunt for microsofts Cortana
November 2015 This is Drop and Roll
December 2015 Cascadia Gran Canaria
May 2016 Aviemore Spring Aviemore
October 2016 Wee Day Out Scotland Riding a mountain bike.[22] Soundtrack: "National Express" by The Divine Comedy.
April 2018 Danny MacAskill & Claudio Caluori: Home of Trails[23] Switzerland
May 2019 Danny Daycare Scotland Soundtrack: "Hitchin' a Ride" by Vanity Fare
January 2020 Danny MacAskill's Gymnasium Glasgow Soundtrack: "I'm On My Way" by The Proclaimers
January 2021 The Slabs Skye Soundtrack: "No Cars Go" by Arcade Fire
November 2022 Danny MacAskill: Postcard from San Francisco[24] San Francisco

References

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  1. ^ Nick, Heil (December 2012). "Danny MacAskill Can't Ride a Bike". Outside. Retrieved 4 March 2023.
  2. ^ Brett, Paul (23 December 2022). "As Danny MacAskill celebrates his 37th birthday, check out Inspired Bicycles, the video that changed everything for the MTB and trials riding legend". Bike Perfect. Retrieved 4 March 2023.
  3. ^ "Danny MacAskill". Inspired Bicycles. Archived from the original on 3 July 2013. Retrieved 21 June 2013.
  4. ^ Thomas, Gregory (4 December 2022). "These famous San Francisco streets are shown in new film with death-defying bike stunts". San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved 30 June 2023.
  5. ^ a b "Stunt video reaches new heights". BBC News. 21 April 2009. Retrieved 21 June 2013.
  6. ^ MacDonald, Stuart (17 May 2009). "Danny MacAskill turns his back on fame". The Times. London. Retrieved 12 June 2009.[dead link]
  7. ^ "Danny MacAskill - s1jobs.com (Extended version)". Retrieved 5 March 2023 – via YouTube.
  8. ^ "Danny MacAskill's Way Back Home Video". Crunchsports.com. Retrieved 21 June 2013.
  9. ^ "Danny Macaskill - Industrial Revolutions Video". YouTube. Archived from the original on 20 December 2021. Retrieved 21 June 2013.
  10. ^ "Inspired Skye". Inspired Bicycles. Archived from the original on 24 June 2013. Retrieved 21 June 2013.
  11. ^ "Danny Macaskill Stunt Doubles for Premium Rush". Red Bull. Retrieved 21 June 2013.
  12. ^ "Danny Macaskill - Profile". Rasoulution. Retrieved 21 June 2013.
  13. ^ "Danny MacAskill in Taiwan | Powered by Lezyne". Retrieved 5 March 2023 – via YouTube.
  14. ^ "MacAskill's Imaginate". YouTube. Retrieved 9 July 2013.
  15. ^ "Danny MacAskill's Imaginate". YouTube. 19 June 2013. Archived from the original on 20 December 2021. Retrieved 9 July 2013.
  16. ^ a b "Danny MacAskill Epecuen". YouTube. Archived from the original on 20 December 2021. Retrieved 5 September 2014.
  17. ^ "Danny Macaskill: The Ridge". YouTube. Cut Media. 2 October 2014. Archived from the original on 20 December 2021. Retrieved 25 December 2014.
  18. ^ Merrill, Jamie (2 October 2014). "Video: Thrill-seeker Danny MacAskill takes death-defying ride along the 992-metre drop of The Cuillin Ridge". The Independent. Retrieved 4 October 2014.
  19. ^ "Danny MacAskill hits the gym in latest mind-blowing video". Cycling Weekly. 7 January 2020.
  20. ^ Global Cycling Network (10 December 2013). "Road Bike Party 2 - Martyn Ashton". YouTube. Archived from the original on 20 December 2021.
  21. ^ Rachel Verity (10 October 2016). "Watch Danny MacAskill's Wee Day Out". Red Bull. Retrieved 16 October 2016.
  22. ^ Graubünden (9 April 2018), Danny MacAskill & Claudio Caluori: Home of Trails, archived from the original on 20 December 2021, retrieved 1 September 2018
  23. ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 20 December 2022. Retrieved 20 December 2022.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
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