Video: the Scot who plays the bagpipes while bungee jumping

From ziplining whilst piping to a bagpipe bungee jump, Roddy Garden's recent stunt has gone viral
Picture: YouTubePicture: YouTube
Picture: YouTube

Last month, Roddy Garden’s video of him piping whilst bungee jumping went viral and has been featured on websites from the UK to TV shows in America.

Roddy, who owns Propped Up - a TV and film set transport company - is currently working on Outlander and says that the idea to pipe in unorthodox situations came about by accident and that it’s “all great fun.”

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What started on a holiday in Inverness, where Roddy proposed to his partner Alison, has ended in internet fame. “We were on holiday and visited the beautiful beach in Durness” says Roddy “I saw the Golden Eagle zip line and wanted to try it and thought ‘I wonder if I could play the pipes whilst doing it.’” After some confusion from staff, Roddy did indeed pipe along the zip line, which then lead to the next, and more famous, piping stunt.

Picture: YouTubePicture: YouTube
Picture: YouTube

“After the zip line I wondered what I could do next and thought ‘what about bungee jumping?’ I contacted the people at the Highland Fling Bungee and asked if it’d be possible. They said yes so we went up and did it. It was a massive laugh” Roddy says.

“I practised for it by hanging upside down from the stairs, just to see and feel what the pressure would be like on my head” says Roddy.

The video, which has been picked up by UK news and entertainment sites has also been shown on American TV, and Roddy can’t believe the attention.

“I posted the video online and it just went mad. I’m gob-smacked but glad I can make people laugh or smile.”

Picture: YouTubePicture: YouTube
Picture: YouTube

So what’s next for the daring piper?

“I’d love to do a wing walk or a tandem skydive whilst piping, but no-one is taking me up on it” he laughs. “The Highland Fling Bungee have asked me back to officially open their bridge swing this Thursday (7th September), so that’ll be fun.”

Roddy even finds time to practise during his day job, which sees him travel all over transporting film and TV sets, including those for Outlander. “We get to visit a lot of castles and remote places during Outlander, so I like to try and pipe at these” says Roddy.