- Danny!
(drum roll)
- Oh yeah I'm ready.
Oh yes.
Oh I'm impressed.
Oh my God that was really good.
- There's Fort William,
World Cup Downhill track.
- [Both Bikers] Whoa.
Whoa.
Whoa.
- [Martyn Narrating] My
name is Martyn Ashton
and I'm a paralyzed mountain biker.
It's crazy but despite that disability
I still get to ride my bike
mainly thanks to my crazy amazing friends.
Now I'm on a mission to see
where my riding can take me.
And more importantly,
who I can ride with.
- My guest on the Random Tandem today
is one of the most famous
mountain bikers in the world,
if not the most famous.
He's got of hundreds of
millions of views on YouTube,
you can probably guess who it is.
And he's just down here.
Let's go and find him.
(machines whirring)
Right, it's time to see
who we've got this week.
(loud buzzer)
(whirring)
Amazing!
Danny!
Danny!
Danny!
Oh dude.
(Martyn laughs)
- How's it going?
- [Martyn] Right, let's do it.
Some Random Tandem today.
(Martyn and Danny laugh)
- I like how my confidence is
getting less during the day.
- Wow dude first off right,
I want to say just like
thanks for doing this.
Because right,
you're always there for me
when I want to do something really cool
like road bike party
when I needed to finish that video.
- Mhm.
- You came in and helped.
And then,
rode back on track when I wanted to
back on a mountain bike, half your fault
'cause you helped me do it.
And here you are again.
And so thanks for doing it man.
I really appreciate it.
- I wouldn't miss it
for anything.
- I think we're going to have a fun day.
- Well I hope so,
I'm a bit offensive about this one.
- Well I think I'm,
on the ups we're going to be all right.
The downs.
- Yeah it's the downs.
Whoa.
- Oh my God.
- Watch this tree, all right here we go.
You know what you're doing.
- So you're a kid working in a bike shop,
10 years ago you release a video
and it goes viral.
- Yeah.
- I mean really viral.
Where were you when that happened?
And I don't know,
try to explain like, what it felt like.
- T'was back in uh, April 2009
made a wee video.
It'd been fighting really hard
for over like six months.
And we had like a--
- Six months?
- Yeah and we ended up
having like a little uh,
premier in the flat before it went online.
My friend came around with a
various selection of booze let's say,
to have like a bit of a
kind of celebration but,
we actually ended up watching
the video twice I think
and then, didn't really say much.
My friends were all, oh yeah
well done, yeah, that's gunned.
You know and then,
we stuck on family guy
straight afterwards,
didn't even celebrate
really, just kind of,
and then Inspired Bicycles put it online
that night.
And then I think the next day,
I was getting woken up by phone calls from
kind of the newspapers
of, it was BBC News.
So saying that the video was
starting to kind of go viral.
And it was just kind of like,
all right, I was like all right.
Fair enough.
You know I had a look
at the views and it was,
a good few hundred thousand at least and
within a couple of days it was
into the millions and,
started kind of getting global in news and
all this kind of stuff got on so,
all this crazy, you know all these
crazy requests came in like,
Ellen Degeneres show, or. (laughs)
I don't know, things I
didn't have a clue about.
You know, interviews with New York times.
(whoosh)
(bicycle spokes clicking)
We're going into
our first trail.
- It's our first one downhill.
All right here we go.
- Here we go.
- This is it here.
Right, here we go dude.
Here we go.
- Oh aye.
- Hold tight.
- There we go.
- [Martyn] How's it feel?
- Oh yeah man.
- Oh ah.
- Oh ho ho.
- Don't you steer it.
- Martyn hold on.
(Martyn laughs)
- All right there we go.
(Marti yn laughs)
How's it feel?
- It is terrifying.
- Is it?
- Yep.
- That's got to be
about right then
seeing me in here.
Yes.
- Yes.
We'll start to get.
- Oh hah!
- Oh.
(Martin laughs)
- Don't doubt, don't doubt.
- Okay.
- Oh here we go.
- Yeah we're getting it.
Oh that's better,
say bye to Luca at the turns too.
Yeah, That's better.
- [Martyn] Oh yeah.
- There we go, we're
getting the hang of it now.
Or I'm getting the hang of it.
- Oh that was lovely.
- Oh yeah it was.
(Danny laughs)
Whoa my God, that's a tight corner.
(Martyn and Danny laugh)
- Hammer hit it.
Hit it, punch it!
(Martyn laughs)
Oh ho ho, look at these turns!
Wide line.
- Oh my God.
Whoa. (laughs)
- [Martyn] Is it fast enough?
- Oh yeah well, I'm just,
I'm too scared to pedal.
It's the, whoa!
Whoa, I got it!
I got it, I got it, stay on.
- Oh my.
- That was close.
- [Martyn] Yeah me too.
Woo.
- Oh!
- Oh my God.
That was nice.
- Oh.
- I've been no brakes.
Really, you're completely
powerless in the back here.
- [Martyn] Freaks you out a bit.
- [Danny] Yeah.
- Oh. (laughs)
Oh.
- Oh.
Ha!
- [Both] Whoa!
- Bear beans, bear bean Danny, nice!
- Oh my word.
- Nice.
- Oh righty then,
that was terrifying.
- That was um--
- You're a lot braver
than I am.
- How do you, how do you handle that?
How do you handle like the pressure of
the expectation?
Because that's there now
for everything you do,
isn't it?
- You know I didn't want
to go and make another
street film.
And that's something I learned
I think, pretty early on.
I realized,
trying to go one up myself.
I dunno, you have to really try hard.
- Yeah.
- That means you got to learn an extra
you know, 180 on each
trick you've got to do.
Find all these different locations
where I kind of though well,
if I go and find some
concrete in the wilderness,
kind of my Scotland rather
than being in the city,
I thought that'd be a cool way of kind of
making it a bit different for folk,
kind of getting the scenery involved.
And then expectation-wise,
I just like set my sights
as high as I thought I could achieve
and probably higher.
Well it turned out to be higher.
- Yeah.
- And then uh,
we just worked as hard as we could.
- Okay so you've got all this fame,
you've got these videos coming out.
They're just so successful.
How do you handle that fame?
Like where's the weirdest place
you've been recognized?
- I don't know, fame,.
I just, I mean it's cool
if people watch the videos,
it's nice.
- Yeah.
- I suppose.
- Yeah.
- It's nice.
- It's nice?
- I mean,
at the same time, it's not something,
as a kind of by product of getting to do
what I really enjoy.
- [Martyn] Yeah.
- That's basically it.
So I just kind of go along with it.
May as well enjoy it while I can.
- Yeah.
- And then,
I don't know, be polite. (laughs)
I mean it's one thing like
saying whether it's yourself
or Peaty,
or Hans or any of those
other kind of legends.
It's something that
I've always appreciated you know,
'cause I was a kid like
say, meeting yourself,
got time for everybody.
- Yeah, that's important.
- And I think yeah, that's something I,
definitely uh,
I've tried to learn from you guys.
Like having friends that are
as passionate about making
these kind of films as I am.
And they go really over and above
you know for me and for the kind of,
the idea that we're doing.
(whoosh)
(bicycle spokes clicking)
- Well hang on.
Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa,
legs down Danny, legs down, legs down.
I think we've gone the wrong way.
- Just there is Fort William,
World Cup Downhill track.
(bicycle zips)
- (laughs) Yeah I think it is.
- Oh ho.
- I've got an Idea.
(Danny laughs)
(intense rock music)
- Brake, brake, brake,
oh my God.
Ha, ha, ha!
Oh.
I've never had such a strong
will of brakes in my life.
Oh my God.
(intense rock music)
Oh. (laughs)
- Road bike party.
- Yeah.
- Two.
Big moment for me obviously.
What was it like doing that loop?
Like a loop the loop
just that no one had ever ridden.
- And it was, that was definitely
you know did it for you.
So you know, not saying obviously--
- No, I mean--
- Corny on that but it was,
aye well you know, it
wasn't like a personal goal
if you know what I mean.
- Yeah.
- I suppose it was
'cause I was like, I
want to do this for you.
- Yeah.
- 'Cause you had talked
about it.
You know it was like
one of the sort of lines that,
you kind of looked at and I thought,
you know as I come off of the back of it,
imagine it, I was pretty
good at loop de loops.
(Martyn laughs)
And we had
probably the most experienced
loop de looper in--
- In the world.
- Well in the UK at the time.
- [Martyn] Yeah.
- I remember just being, in your spandex.
Had to wear those,
you even made me shave my bloody legs.
(Martin laughs)
I wouldn't do that for anybody else,
that's for sure.
You were trying to get
me to fake tan them,
but that was a wee step too far.
If I was doing that for myself,
I'd have probably,
I would have done it way differently.
Probably taken way longer to do it.
- Yeah.
- But because it was for you,
and for the film,
I was kind of like, right.
But basically just to blow the run up,
we had to get a blow
torch to dry the road out.
And I just went in and,
I've never been able to
kind of switch my brain off
to the fears
well as I did I think on that loop.
I remember the first
time ever riding there
I couldn't believe I was still alive.
(Danny laughs)
I put my feet down
because I was so in shock
that I'd actually gone 'round.
And then the second time it
didn't go so well for me.
I ended up,
rolling the tyre off the
bead and landing on my head.
- Big crash.
- And then the third time
what a feeling.
The feeling of calling you.
- Oh.
- You know,
at that time with that
you were going through,
kind of knowing that we kind of got that.
- Well loop de loop is definitely one of
your riding strengths.
Like you got to confess now,
what's one of your riding weaknesses?
- I would say jumps.
- Jumps?
- Yeah, jumps.
I am rubbish at riding transition.
(Martin laughs)
You know you just convert something.
If you put me on the edge
of like a building or,
a gap between buildings that were,
even if it was like, a
500 foot drop in between.
- Yeah.
- I can do that
as long as it's within my limit.
But there's something
about jumps, the blind lip.
(Martyn laughs)
And then just, having doubt in the
back of your mind on them
you know?
- Yeah.
- And then that makes you end up like
squashing the take off
and then you go too far.
- Yeah.
- I dunno, I'm just not good at jumps.
I kind of should really
go and work it out.
I mean I pretend I can do
jumps every now and again.
(Martin laughs)
Doing flips, I actually find it easier
to flip jump.
Again and imagine it
add the step then on to
a giant comic book called The Dandy.
- Yeah.
- And,
the step down onto that Dandy,
I never want to hit it straight.
I've back flipped it every time.
- No way.
- And the fight long time ago
is that I,
I hit the loop.
- Yeah.
- I only ever back flipped it 'cause I,
I find back flips are almost
like a dead sailor but,
but you know, you don't get to see,
you can't really stiffen up.
Do you know what I mean?
- Yeah.
- It's like you kind of,
I dunno, as a way of kind of being loose.
- That's crazy that you'd
rather back flip it jump
than jump it.
- Oh for sure.
(whoosh)
- Heh heh.
Yes.
- [Danny] I have to say I'm
impressed with this filming.
- That is unbelieveable isn't it?
- Whoa.
- Watch the tree.
- Sorry that was my bad.
(both laugh)
- What, what happened then?
- I think we're too busy looking at--
- I was too busy looking at Tom.
Jesus, that was crazy.
- Eyes on the prize.
- Let's concentrate.
Oh yeah I like this corner,
you'll like this dude,
watch this, up here.
Oh my God, oh.
(both laugh)
- That was sick.
- That was the sickest line.
- Oh my.
- Uh oh, uh oh.
Oh my--
- We do not want
to fall off here.
- God, ah!
Ah!
(both laugh)
- I like that my confidence is
getting less during the day.
- Is there a video you put out right
that you've been disappointed by?
- No, no.
- Like--
- I mean once their online
you never know how they're going to do.
- Yeah.
- No I mean, most of
the time I'm surprised.
The biggest surprise I think
since Inspired Bicycles was
The Ridge.
- The Ridge,
'cause that went mental.
- Well it's so slow.
I mean, you know.
- Yeah.
- Nowadays it's all about like,
you time and
getting action going within the first
you know like 10 seconds
and all this kind of stuff.
- Yeah.
- And I get that.
You know.
- Oh ho, ho, ho.
- But these seems to kind of,
I dunno this is going to sound cheesy,
but resonate with, oh!
(both laugh)
I have not fed as much
power into that now.
Oh.
- What's um, what's your worst crash?
- I've loads of crashes but they're just
usual kind of things,
you break a collar bone or you--
- (laughs) The usual things.
- Yeah the Knee-cap,
broke my knee-cap and--
- Yeah.
- I don't know all sorts
of different ones but,
most annoying one was
I basically tore a disc in my lower back.
- Oh!
- That wasn't even a crash,
that was just 360ing off a big drop.
- Right.
- Multiple times
and I kept on making a hole
for myself in the landing.
Yeah I think I must of torn then.
- What about,
where you've been doing live shows.
- I crash all the time.
But I think I almost,
in my head it kind of is part of the show.
It kind of give it a
bit of dose of reality.
- Yeah right.
- You know.
- Yeah, yeah.
- As long as you can get
something like third goal.
- Yeah.
- When you're going
fourth or fifth goal.
That's when you've normally,
you know you've probably
overdone it the night before.
(both laugh)
- 'Cause I guess everybody
thinks from your videos
that you land every first time.
- Oh far from it.
Far from it and,
usually I like a lot of,
at the preparation or just,
perseverance that usually
kind of gets the clips 'cause,
often the writing's a lot harder then
oh here we go, go on.
- Nice gentle, nice steady
pedal for in now go on.
Go on, go on.
Don't worry about my braking.
Oh yeah that's brilliant Danny.
Go on.
- Oh I'm impressed.
- Oh my God that was cool.
That was cool wasn't it?
- This is like, it's
like being in Six Days
the way that the front wheel tracks.
- We had proper trials riding going then.
Go on, go on, keep it pedalling,
just keep pedalling for it.
Yes, yeah nice.
Nice!
Oh I was pleased with that.
Tried one trick for a video,
think it was four, 300 times,
400 times.
- Yeah,
I would say at least, insane.
The only way you're going
to kind of progress things,
or progression on riding is if you
sort of pick things that are
on your limit.
- But Danny, most people don't try things
300 times.
- Yeah but that's,
I would say, I believe some sports
are focused devoting years
of their lives to one
project.
You know I really,
you know I find that really inspires.
It's not like,
I don't take that philosophy
to my writing but,
yeah just like,
I love coming out with
sometimes a silly idea
and then making it reality.
There's not a better feeling
I don't think than that.
Especially in on ones that
take the longest as well.
- The hard earned ones.
- Yeah exactly.
This thing's insane.
- 'Cause we're flying up here.
Uh oh, go on keep pedalling.
- Uwagh.
- Go on keep pedalling it.
- Agh.
- Keep pedalling it.
Go on, go, go, go.
(both laugh)
That was amazing.
- Oh.
- What are you doing?
I don't even know what you're doing.
Whoa.
I can feel you, oh my God.
Wait. (laughs)
Go your hands.
(Martyn laughs)
That's crazy.
(Martyn laughs)
Let me do a big spin,
let me do a big spin.
- All right I'm coming back all right.
I'm going to get back on,
I'm going to try, whoa slide.
- All right.
- That it?
- Yeah, yeah.
- Steady as she goes, steady.
That's it.
(Martyn laughs)
Eh.
Do nu nu nu nu.
- (laughs) What are you doing, oh my God.
- [Danny] That was pretty good actually.
- That was crazy.
Oh look at this.
We found the trail's heaven.
- Good to see.
- Trail's Heaven.
- Oh where we going to go?
We're going to go right up there.
- Are we going to just go for it?
- Yes, let's just go for it, just do it.
Right up there.
- Come on, come on.
- Oh yeah, we've got it.
We've got it, we've got it, we've got it.
Yeah we've got it.
Go on, go on, go on, go on, go on, go on.
Just keep, grind it,
grind it, grinding it.
Yes!
- Oh my God we're doing it.
- Go on, go on, go on, go keep going.
Aw mate,
we're at the top.
- Sweet.
Ah ugh!
- Aw no, we nearly did it.
All right look.
I think we want to get to there
and then we want to go up there
and off that ledge.
- That ledge?
Have you been off there?
- Off there where Neil is now.
- I'm not going to lie,
I'm a little bit
apprehensive about this one.
- [Martyn] I actually think
it's going to look amazing.
- Why?
Have you been framed?
(Danny laughs)
Well I think that something's
going to hit about here.
You know, it makes me feel
like I'm eight years old.
I think we'll give that a go.
I'll just close my eyes.
You're in control.
You all right?
- Yeah.
- Are you shaking 'cause you're cold
or because you're scared?
- Scared no, it's just fucking cold.
I'm just cold.
(Danny laughs)
yeah.
(Danny clears his throat)
- [Tom] You ready?
- Yeah.
- Yeah.
- [Tom] You ready?
- Ready?
- Oh get out.
- Okay, let's do it.
This is going to be brilliant.
- Right,
I'm going to get as close as
I can to that right, ready?
- Okay, let's do it.
- I'm going to creep
over the edge.
- Oh my God.
Oh my fucking,
God!
- Whoa!
(slowed exclamations)
(both laugh)
(clap)
(Clap)
- Yeah, that was brilliant.
- Oh it's nothing.
- That was nice.
- Yeah.
- Ha, that was nuts.
- Amazing.
- I can't believe
I had you on the back.
- It's been absolutely amazing.
Thank you.
- Did you enjoy it?
- Yeah it's been brilliant
thank you so much.
- Oh my.
Thank you dude.
- Cheers.
- I really enjoyed it.
Right so, your special prize at the end of
Random Tandem is you get
to choose who's next.
I think I know somebody.
- Yeah?
- How about an olympian?
- Oh my God an olympian would be amazing.
- Well I'll get on the phone,
maybe when I get some signal. (laughs)
This one's especially close.
(sniffs) Just like that.
Here's that angle there,
that looks pretty good.
- Oh yeah.
- There we go,
we're getting the hang of it now.
That's better.
- Oh yeah.
- There we go,
we're getting the hang of it now.
(Martyn laughs)
- Oh look at this bit, go right up here.
So if you can ride us there dude, go on.
Hit it, hit it, on my God
this is pretty, oh fuck.
Got tricks? (laughs)
- [Danny] Yeah, I'll get you up there.
- [Martyn] Hoof it.
- [Danny] Please do it, edge it up.
(both laugh)
- [Martyn] Come on Danny you can do it!
Push!
Oh I don't blame you, hold up.
Right, that was not ideal.
I'm in the flow of it now dude.
- Whoa
- I've got it.
- Oh. (laughs)
- Jesus Christ.
- My eyes are like that.
- That was.
- You need to film them
filming you, filming us.
- I know we should,
we'll actually we've got the um,
we got the fusion on them.
- They can
flip it around and see us.
- Yeah.
- [Danny] I'm impressed.
