MTB
Danny MacAskill talks about going pro, creativity, his obsessions and
retirement – if it exists.
Danny MacAskill’s story is a tale for anyone who dares to do exactly what they love.
From his Inspired Bicycles in 2009 to Wee Day Out in 2016, MacAskill has strived to follow his heart and be creative.
Virtually overnight (well, in about seven months) MacAskill went from being just your average bike shop guy to an international superstar and influencer. That said, ever wondered what his creative process is like? What about the single most important moment of his life? Do you know what he's obsessed with?
Well, wonder no more. We sat down with MacAskill to find out just what’s going on in that head of his. In his own words – from us to you, in five(ish) questions.
Danny, what was the single most important moment of your life?
Watching Chainspotting at my friend’s house on the Isle of Skye in 1998. That was the first time I’d seen Martyn Ashton, Martin Hawyes and Hans Rey ride in that movie.
I was already fanatical about riding my bike everywhere, to school and all the weekends, but that was the first time I realised what I was doing on my bike was something, you know. I was doing trials. And from that point was when I really started reading mountain bike magazines, started getting really in the kit, getting a decent bike and it's led me to where I am today.
Then, Inspired Bicycles went online on April 19, 2009 and that was a big moment in my life. I wasn't really too sure where things would go after that day, but I knew I had been working up to that point, bike-wise.
What's the best advice that you've ever received?
Some of the best advice I think I ever received was from Hans Rey and Steve Peat back in 2010. It was shortly after I signed with Red Bull and a few other partners, and I'd gone from doing small shows and working in a bike shop to suddenly going in the street and people recognising me. When this was all happening, Steve Peat said to me, 'Give people time'.
Even when he was in the paddock at the World Cup, Steve would still give his fans time to chat, get signatures and photos on his way to the lift to go up and win a World Cup.
That’s the only piece of advice I think is very important, because I don’t want people going home bad-mouthing me. Because I don’t have any of these competition pressures, it's easy to give people time and it’ll hopefully inspire them to ride a bit more.
How would you describe your creative process?
I tend to think of a concept that’s theme-based, whether that’s location or more a concept – like in a studio or a little bit more theatrical stuff in it, to kind of give it a storyline. Whether that’s going from A to B, or thinking back to when I was a kid and imagining that you could be a toy jumper.
The cool thing about coming up with a really strong concept like Wee Day Out is that I wanted to make a slightly slapstick, fun sort of ride in Scottish countryside. That gave me a lot of scope to take my riding to places that you couldn't get away with if you're making a street video, for instance – or riding obstacles that you wouldn’t get anywhere else.
Once I've got the concept, I sit down and come up with the different tricks and obstacles that I can use, like a hay bale potentially rolling down a hill or a deep puddle. We had a train at the start, so I could maybe gap onto the rail track, or gates. I tried to basicallywrite out a big list and maybe draw some ideas for the tricks.
Music also plays a big part in that. You really have to find the right track that’s going to fit with the idea I usually have in my head.
Has there ever been a time that you thought 'this isn’t worth it'?
I’d say the filming process is probably some of most stressful times I've ever had in my life, it brings on a lot of emotions that are kind of hard to deal with.
Some days you don’t actually enjoy riding your bike. You might be trying a certain trick in a certain location for days over months, and it's still not working out. Then the frustration builds up and you go into some very dark places with that. But then you go for a normal ride, one for yourself back in Glasgow with your headphones in, and it's all good again.
There's never been a point though where I think, 'I'm never going to be back on my bike doing what I love to do.'
What would you be doing if you weren’t a biking athlete?
If I’d never picked up a bike in my life? I think if I hadn’t ever picked up a bike in my life, I would probably have found something else to put my energy into. But I would have probably got into a trade, whether that was a plumber or a joiner on Skye.
What are you utterly obsessed with?
I'm utterly obsessed with Spotify. Music plays a huge part in inspiring me to come up with ideas for videos. And also for the last 15 years, since I started borrowing my mum's Walkman cassette player back in Dunvegan, its inspired me to go out in the pouring rain on my bike when I didn’t really want to.
If I had good music in my ears, it really has played a huge part in what I'm doing today. So Spotify is my favourite piece of technology I think.
When was the last time you were moved emotionally and why?
Some of the hardest news I've ever had to take was hearing that my friend Martyn Ashton, who is a huge inspiration in my life, had a bad accident and ended up being paralysed from the waist down. That was definitely some of the hardest news. And that year I had actually three friends that were affected by paralysis in different biking accidents, so yeah, that’s probably the closest thing I can think of.
What would ideal retirement be?
I’ll retire when I'm like 40… (that’s a joke). I don’t know about my ideal retirement – I just can’t even think that far ahead. But I think the ideal retirement would probably be to have a few bases around the world, all of which having amazing access to mountain biking, road biking, potentially one place that’s got some good surf in front of it. And then somewhere in the southern hemisphere so I can avoid winter and just be doing that all year round. Just still cycling, just still doing what I love and making the most of it really.
Watch Danny MacAskill in Kings of Content – a documentary about the internet's most creative people – on Red Bull TV.
Check out the ultimate Danny MacAskill Spotify playlist here:
