Danny MacAskill, also known as 'Danny MegaSkill', is a Scottish trials cyclist, from Dunvegan on the Isle of Skye. He is 176 centimeters tall and works professionally as a street trials

Mountain bike trials

Mountain bike trials, also known as observed trials, is a discipline of mountain biking in which the rider attempts to pass through an obstacle course without setting foot to ground. Derived from motorcycle trials, it originated in Catalonia, Spain and is said to have been invented by the father of...

 pro rider for Inspired Bicycles Ltd. He released 'April 2009', a five-and-a-half-minute street trials video, filmed by his flatmate Dave Sowerby, on YouTube

YouTube

YouTube is a video-sharing website, created by three former PayPal employees in February 2005, on which users can upload, view and share videos....

 on the 19th April 2009. The video quickly gained popular acclaim and widespread media attention. The video features stunts performed by MacAskill set to 'The Funeral

The Funeral (song)

"The Funeral" is the first single taken from Band of Horses' debut album Everything All the Time, which was released on March 21, 2006. The song was released as a radio and video single in May 2006 in the US. The single was released on May 21, 2007 in the UK on limited edition numbered 7" vinyl to...

' by Band of Horses

Band of Horses

Band of Horses, originally briefly known as Horses, are an American rock band formed in 2004 in Seattle by Ben Bridwell. They have released three studio albums, the most recent and most successful of which is 2010's Grammy nominated Infinite Arms...

.

As of April 2009, MacAskill, who was brought up in Dunvegan

Dunvegan

Dunvegan is a town on the Isle of Skye in Scotland. It is famous for Dunvegan Castle, seat of the chief of Clan MacLeod...

 on the Isle of Skye, had been practising for more than 12 years. He gave up his job as a mechanic

Mechanic

A mechanic is a craftsman or technician who uses tools to build or repair machinery.Many mechanics are specialized in a particular field such as auto mechanics, bicycle mechanics, motorcycle mechanics, boiler mechanics, general mechanics, industrial maintenance mechanics , air conditioning and...

 so he could ride full time. He now lives in Edinburgh. In June 2009, MacAskill appeared in the music video for Doves' single "Winter Hill

Winter Hill (song)

"Winter Hill" is the second single from Doves' fourth studio album Kingdom of Rust. The single was released on 20 July 2009 via Heavenly Records. The song is one of three songs recorded during the album sessions produced by John Leckie . The radio edit of "Winter Hill" features a new mix by David...

". MacAskill also appeared in a TV-commercial for the new Volkswagen Golf

Volkswagen Golf

The Volkswagen Golf is a small family car manufactured by Volkswagen since 1974 and marketed worldwide across six generations, in various body configurations and under various nameplates – as the Volkswagen Rabbit in the United States and Canada , and as the Volkswagen Caribe in Mexico .The...

 Estate.

On 16 November 2010 MacAskill released a new video "Way back home" sponsored by Red Bull. The video showcases locations around Scotland including Edinburgh Castle

Edinburgh Castle

Edinburgh Castle is a fortress which dominates the skyline of the city of Edinburgh, Scotland, from its position atop the volcanic Castle Rock. Human habitation of the site is dated back as far as the 9th century BC, although the nature of early settlement is unclear...

, North Berwick

North Berwick

The Royal Burgh of North Berwick is a seaside town in East Lothian, Scotland. It is situated on the south shore of the Firth of Forth, approximately 25 miles east of Edinburgh. North Berwick became a fashionable holiday resort in the 19th century because of its two sandy bays, the East Bay and the...

, wartime bunkers on the island of Inchgarvie

Inchgarvie

Inchgarvie is a small, uninhabited island in the Firth of Forth. Its name comes from Innis Garbhach which is Scottish Gaelic for "rough island"...

 beneath the Forth Bridge

Forth Bridge

The Forth Bridge is a cantilever railway bridge over the Firth of Forth in the east of Scotland, to the east of the Forth Road Bridge, and 14 kilometres west of central Edinburgh. It was opened on 4 March 1890, and spans a total length of...

 and a hydro-electric power station

Cruachan Dam

The Cruachan Dam is a pumped-storage hydroelectric dam and power station in Argyll and Bute, Scotland....

 in the Scottish Highlands.. In May 2011 Leica Cameras released a "Go Play" promo video featuring him doing tricks in the city of Cape Town

Cape Town

Cape Town is the second-most populous city in South Africa, and the provincial capital and primate city of the Western Cape. As the seat of the National Parliament, it is also the legislative capital of the country. It forms part of the City of Cape Town metropolitan municipality...

. In August 9th of 2011 Cut Media released a video named "Industrial Revolutions". The video, set to 'The Wolves' by Ben Howard (musician)

Ben Howard (musician)

Ben Howard is an English singer-songwriter, born in Devon and currently signed to Island Records. and Communion RecordsHoward was raised by musical parents who exposed him to lots of their favourite records from singer-songwriter artists from the 1960s and 1970s, such as Joni Mitchell and Bob...

, features MacAskill doing tricks in an abandoned Scottish iron works. It was created for Channel 4's documentary Concrete Circus.

External links

• dannymacaskill.co.uk