Danny McAskill, born and raised on the Isle of Skye in Scotland, became a star overnight in 2009. His YouTube video "Inspired Bicycles", in which he shows the most incredible street trial tricks, had over 350,000 clicks within 40 hours. The video has now been viewed over 33 million times and has also captivated non-bikers. Further successful film projects followed, and Danny became famous beyond the mountain bike and trials scene. Nevertheless, the friendly Scotsman has always remained modest and down to earth. Between the main rehearsal and the gala, the soon-to-be 28-year-old McAskill found some time to answer our questions about the consequences of his success, bike tours in rainy weather, clipless pedals and much more.

Ride: Would you describe this time, since your first YouTube success, as the best of your life?
Danny McAskill: I'm definitely having a great time. When I was still working in the bike store, I also enjoyed it and was out on my trials bike practically every day. Now I travel around more and get to see lots of great places and meet great people.

How has your life changed after your first big success?
On the one hand, I travel a lot, such as now at the international sports night in Davos, and have lots of other media appointments, but on the other hand I still live with my friends in a shared flat in Glasgow and am still living my old life. So a lot of things are still the same as before and yet many things have changed - in a good way.

What was better before and what is better now?
Funnily enough, now that I'm a professional rider, I get on my bike less than before. In return, I can do more of what I want and travel around more, which I really like.

What do you see yourself more as, a mountain biker or a trials rider?
Actually, I'm more of a street trials rider, but I like the fact that I'm integrated into the mountain bike scene and accepted there - at least I hope so (laughs).

What fascinates you about the sport of mountain biking?
I was always on my own when I did street trials. I always had music in my ears and sometimes felt like I was in my own world. With my trial bike, I have almost everything under control and therefore feel safe. Mountain biking is different. It's more difficult for me to be just as controlled on the road and therefore I often have an adrenaline rush. But I've also had broken bones. But never with trials. What I really like about mountain biking is that I can be out with my friends. We usually go biking when it's raining cats and dogs. As long as it doesn't get too cold, I enjoy the ride the most when it's wet and windy. Whether you're tired from riding uphill or crashing, you always have a big grin on your face at the bottom, and the best part is sharing it with your friends.

When you go on a bike tour, how do you plan your tour or what is the most important thing to make it a good tour for you?
We are usually in the saddle for three to four hours. As the climbs on the Scottish hills are usually steep, we often choose the bigger mountains in Scotland to take the mountain railroads as support
as support. Our best plans are to do a tour when the weather is at its worst (laughs). Of course, we always carry small rucksacks with tubes and other repair materials so that we're not left stranded in an emergency

In your videos, you also use platform pedals on your enduro bike. Have you ever tried riding with clipless pedals?
No, I've never dared to do that, even on a racing bike. I even rode a road race with platform pedals once. Because of my trials background, I feel most comfortable without clipless pedals, as I can react more quickly if my bike starts to slip or I have to put my foot down somewhere else.

You ride a trials bike with 24-inch wheels. What do you think of the eternal discussion about wheel sizes? Hm, that's difficult to say. I think it's mainly a marketing thing. Everyone wants to sell the best, and it's the same with suspension systems. Mountain biking once started with 26-inch wheels, but a lot has happened since then and manufacturers are now even fitting thru-axles to racing bikes. So I think every wheel size has its place. Personally, I still ride a 26-inch wheel, have a triple crank on my bike and feel comfortable with it. I think as long as you don't ride races, it doesn't matter how big the wheels are. The main thing is that the bike has two wheels and brakes, and you have fun riding it. That's all that matters!

Back to your specialty. In your opinion, what is the best city for street trials, or where have you had the most fun?
I've had fun in all the cities so far. But Vancouver in Canada is a very cool place. It's a really great city surrounded by great mountain bike trails. Taichung on the island of Taiwan is also a cool city for street trials. My favorite is Vancouver, but I wouldn't say it's the best city for it. Practically every city has its charms, like Zurich where I was two days ago.

Have you never been fined for disobeying a driving ban on your trial bike?
When I was younger, the police at home on the Isle of Skye confiscated my bike for the whole summer vacation. Allegedly for dangerous and reckless cycling, but I think the police officer had something against me. Today it's relaxed and I also respect the work of the police. Even if my riding style is not always completely legal, the law enforcement officers are relaxed and leave me alone.

Your street trial tricks often seem dangerous. Doesn't that sometimes ride with a bit of fear?
Definitely! I often have moments where I have to overcome myself when I'm doing new tricks. You often don't see this in my films because of how long it sometimes takes me to do a trick. But it helps a lot if I spend more time on the trial bike beforehand. That gives me enormous confidence. Ultimately, however, I'm no more scared than anyone else who has to overcome themselves for anything.

You will soon be 28 years old. How long do you think you'll continue to delight your fans with your videos? Or to put it another way, how much longer do you want to put your body through this strain? I definitely want to keep pushing myself over the next few years, as far as I can. However, I can't deny certain physical signs of fatigue. My back, for example, often causes me problems. However, I am convinced that I will be able to ride shows for a long time to come, just like my personal heroes, Hans Rey and Martin Ashton, who unfortunately had an accident recently. Maybe one day I'll only be able to ride a road bike, but the main thing is that I can be on the road on two wheels.

Do you already have a "plan B" for after your career? For example, as a coach or manager of athletes?
I don't have a plan B at the moment, but I'm already in the process of thinking about what I want to do later. I really like the idea of having my own bike store at some point.

Are there any other sports in Danny McAskill's life?
I would like to try other sports, such as wakeboarding. At the moment I ride motorcycles and motorcycle trials, which isn't that far removed from what I do. With other sports, however, there's more of a risk that I'll injure myself unnecessarily. I would also like to try out some winter sports, but I think I'd better wait a little longer and focus on my sport.

Speaking of focusing, when can we look forward to another new film project from you?
I don't have anything concrete planned at the moment, but I have lots of ideas in my head. I would like to do several small projects. Big projects always take a lot of time. With small ones, on the other hand, I can do harder tricks and thus refresh these projects more.

Finally, what do you think the future of mountain biking looks like?
First of all, I like the way the sport of mountain biking has developed over the past ten years. Trails are being built all over the world and trails are being signposted in ski resorts in summer. Mountain biking will become even bigger in the future. This will also make better use of excess capacity in winter sports resorts in summer.

Photos: ©Lorenz Richard / RedBull-Contentpool