Danny MacAskill Rides Ridge to Global Nomination
Danny MacAskill’s wild ride on the Isle of Skye went viral on YouTube and has rewarded him with a second nomination for the Laureus World Action Sportsperson of the Year Award. In just two weeks after the release of the Scotsman’s latest video clip “The Ridge”, it quickly reached over 20 million views and now sits at over 30 million views. In an interview Danny MacAskill admits: “I never had any expectations of those kind of figures.”
Danny, who was also nominated in 2010, is once again on the shortlist with six other outstanding athletes: freefall record holder Alan Eustace, world champion surfers Stephanie Gilmore and Gabriel Medina, skateboard sensation Nyjah Huston and Olympic snowboard champion Sage Kotsenburg. If his obsession with bikes will make Danny the Action Sportsperson of the year, we will find out on Wednesday, April 15th, when the 16th Laureus World Sports Awards will be held in the Shanghai Grand Theatre.
![by Nils Schwarz]()
Danny says: “It's awesome to be nominated for the second time. Last year was a good year. It’s cool to have it recognized. I'm up against some pretty incredible athletes. To be honest, it's quite surreal for me because I come from a non-competitive background, like [free-faller] Alan Eustace. But to be in a room with all those other athletes, it's very, very cool.”
Filming “The Ridge” was a long-standing dream for Danny. “I’ve wanted to make that film for a number of years. I originally come from the Isle of Skye and I've always looked up at the mountain there. I started making these videos for YouTube over the last few years and I knew that it would make an incredible backdrop for a film. The last time I was up, with [director] Stu Thomson, we put some time aside to make the film.”
The clip’s popularity was a big surprise for Danny. “We had very little expectations for the film. It was just made by ourselves, over quite a short period, only six days, which for me is a very short amount of time to make a film. We were very lucky with the weather. I can't quite believe how well it's gone down. I didn't really care if it was well received by a global audience. It was more important for me that people in Skye watched it and were proud of it. But to have it go down as well as it has, has been pretty cool,” he adds.
Used to performing and riding in urban surroundings closer to sea level – “The Ridge” was a brand new venture for the small town Scotsman. “Normally when I'm down at street level, you're able to push a lot harder. You do things that maybe are out of your capabilities or comfort zone. When it's up on “The Ridge”, you have to have your wits about you. And you couldn't really necessarily take those same risks, because the consequences are obviously a lot more serious. It was just a case of finding the good parts of riding and trying not to fall off.”
![by Cut Media]()
Danny fans, rest assured – Danny has some big projects on the horizon but prefers to keep them close to his chest for now. Also, Danny has started a team of riders called Drop and Roll – together they travel across Europe performing live shows. No matter what Danny sets his mind too, you can rest assured that it will involve a bike.
For more information on the Laureus World Sports Awards please visit china.laureus.com.
Danny, who was also nominated in 2010, is once again on the shortlist with six other outstanding athletes: freefall record holder Alan Eustace, world champion surfers Stephanie Gilmore and Gabriel Medina, skateboard sensation Nyjah Huston and Olympic snowboard champion Sage Kotsenburg. If his obsession with bikes will make Danny the Action Sportsperson of the year, we will find out on Wednesday, April 15th, when the 16th Laureus World Sports Awards will be held in the Shanghai Grand Theatre.
Danny says: “It's awesome to be nominated for the second time. Last year was a good year. It’s cool to have it recognized. I'm up against some pretty incredible athletes. To be honest, it's quite surreal for me because I come from a non-competitive background, like [free-faller] Alan Eustace. But to be in a room with all those other athletes, it's very, very cool.”
Filming “The Ridge” was a long-standing dream for Danny. “I’ve wanted to make that film for a number of years. I originally come from the Isle of Skye and I've always looked up at the mountain there. I started making these videos for YouTube over the last few years and I knew that it would make an incredible backdrop for a film. The last time I was up, with [director] Stu Thomson, we put some time aside to make the film.”
The clip’s popularity was a big surprise for Danny. “We had very little expectations for the film. It was just made by ourselves, over quite a short period, only six days, which for me is a very short amount of time to make a film. We were very lucky with the weather. I can't quite believe how well it's gone down. I didn't really care if it was well received by a global audience. It was more important for me that people in Skye watched it and were proud of it. But to have it go down as well as it has, has been pretty cool,” he adds.
Used to performing and riding in urban surroundings closer to sea level – “The Ridge” was a brand new venture for the small town Scotsman. “Normally when I'm down at street level, you're able to push a lot harder. You do things that maybe are out of your capabilities or comfort zone. When it's up on “The Ridge”, you have to have your wits about you. And you couldn't really necessarily take those same risks, because the consequences are obviously a lot more serious. It was just a case of finding the good parts of riding and trying not to fall off.”
Danny fans, rest assured – Danny has some big projects on the horizon but prefers to keep them close to his chest for now. Also, Danny has started a team of riders called Drop and Roll – together they travel across Europe performing live shows. No matter what Danny sets his mind too, you can rest assured that it will involve a bike.
For more information on the Laureus World Sports Awards please visit china.laureus.com.
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Just for me personally, give me an Akrigg vid everyday of the week. I personally think Chris has much better style, all round a far better rider and much better to watch. Most of Danny's stuff is hugely impressive but I get how he did it. Some of Akrigg's stuff makes absolutely no sense whatsoever
Not that he'd probably want too but would love to see Chris team up with Red Bull for an edit would be insane. Bring back Ed Tongue as well for good measure
Again just to clarify I think Danny is an unreal trials rider and fair play to him for what he has achieved, he also seems like a really nice chap.
All my opinion - prepared to be shot down haha