Danny MacAskill Celebrates 10 Year Anniversary Since His First Film ‘Inspired Bicycles’
Mon 7th Oct, 2019 @ 12:30 am
Can you believe it’s been 10 years already?! 2009 – Barack Obama was inaugurated for his first term as US President, Twitter was slowly beginning its global domination. Meanwhile, in Edinburgh, Scotland a young Danny MacAskill was working as a mechanic in a local bike shop.
Already a promising trails rider, Isle of Skye native Danny was riding for the Inspired Bicycles team and together with his friend Dave Sowerby, they put together a promo edit for the team, simply titled ‘Inspired Bicycles’. In the video, Danny takes his bike to the streets of Edinburgh, showcasing – never before filmed – hops, jumps and gaps in the Scottish capital. It’s safe to say, the video changed Danny’s life forever.
Within in a matter of weeks, the video was clocking up millions of views – at that time unheard of on the platform. Later the following year, Danny continued his rise to global fame in his first Red Bull edit ‘Way Back Home’, one of the first every YouTube videos to hit 40m views.
By jumping from Edinburgh Castle in ‘Way Back Home’, Danny was also front flipping himself into a household name for two-wheeled tricks and stunts. As an official Red Bull athlete, more edits followed including the hugely ground-breaking ‘Imaginate’.
Imaginate changed the athlete sports edit for good – and paved the way for a generation of bike riders to not only consider the tricks performed, but the theme, location and music choice. Nearly 90 million views later, Imaginate is Danny’s most successful edit (to date) and is still as genre-defying as it was when it was released six years ago.
Music has been an important part of Danny’s edits. No longer was ‘skate rock’ and hip-hop the only sound associated with bike films, and with Danny choosing artists like the shoegazey Band of Horses, the 80’s inspired rock of Houston and even singer-songwriter Ben Howard is a testament to his edits’ broad appeal.
A common theme since 2009 has been Danny’s love of his home nation of Scotland, and many of the location choices have reflected the rich background of both riding and filming possibilities north of the border. None more so than in ‘Wee Day Out’ – a tribute to the rolling countryside and rural life around Edinburgh. Along with ‘Imaginate’, ‘Wee Day Out’ also captured Danny’s wry humour and brought a welcome sense of fun to the incredible achievements on a bike.
So ten years later, 2019 sees Danny celebrating his incredible first decade with Red Bull. His videos have clocked up nearly four hundred million views on YouTube, and Danny now tours the world performing his stunts and tricks for millions with his Drop and Roll Tour.
On Wednesday 9th October, Red Bull and Danny will be reflecting on the past ten years with a special live-stream event in London. Quizzed by Red Bull TV commentator and host Rob Warner, Danny and Rob will be sitting down to discuss his edits, hear never-before-heard stories from Danny’s journey, and riff on what’s to come in the next decade.
For more information on Danny MacAskill, please visit RedBull.com, and stay tuned for more information on the live-stream.
