Danny MacAskill unveils rock-themed ‘Drop and Roll’ stunt film

A still from This Is Drop and Roll, a new stunt video featuring Danny MacAskill

MacAskill, who hails from the Isle of Skye, has won fans around the globe for numerous videos which have gone viral on social media.

He has moved from being a solo artist to working with other stunt bike enthusiasts to create the latest rock-based movie.

This is Drop And Roll is directed by Robbie Meade of Mount Creative and is described as being all about tight jeans, band t-shirts, leather jackets, flowing mullets, screaming groupies, a bad-ass attitude - and a collection of the ‘most jaw dropping mountain bike stunts’ ever showcased by a street trials display team.

It is set to a banging metalhead sound track.

Promoters say This is Drop And Roll is a humourous rock god introduction to the four exceptionally talented performers in MacAskill’s Drop And Roll Tour street trials stunt display team, ahead of the 2016 event season.

Team founders Danny ‘Big Deal’ MacAskill and Duncan ‘Heartbreaker’ Shaw are joined by Ali ‘Whiskers’ Clarkson and Fabio ‘Ice Cold’ Wibmer to display some killer tricks, huge air and somersaults, all highlights of their tour shows for the upcoming show season.

After several years of producing solo content, he said working on a project with a team of riders was a welcome change of scenery.

He added: “We have wanted to introduce Drop and Roll to the world with a bang so we knew we would have to think outside the box on this one and come up with something a wee bit different. I think we have just about managed that.

“I am so flipping excited about this video. It has been a long time coming and a couple of tricks I managed to pull have been on my mind for a years.”

The riders, all seen individually in stunning viral videos over the last few years, have been on tour at events throughout the UK and Europe since summer 2014, entertaining huge crowds with their skills as they strive to be the biggest and best touring show team around.

Despite performing in various shows across Europe, it was the shooting of this, their first band video, that placed the team altogether in one place for an extended period for the first time - in a Glasgow warehouse on the outskirts of the city.

For co-founder, team manger and rider, Duncan Shaw, the This is Drop And Roll video marked a massive challenge from both a riding and production perspective.

He said: “This has definitely been the hardest yet most rewarding production I have ever been a part of and after talking about this for so long it is awesome to finally release it to the world. I can’t wait to see everyone’s reaction.

“I have never produced or ridden in a project on this scale so it has definitely been a steep learning curve, but it has definitely been worth it. I now can’t wait to see people’s reactions.“

Having talked about it for years and with the aim of doing trials shows on an unforeseen level and scale, renowned stunt trials riders Danny MacAskill and Duncan Shaw set up the Drop and Roll Tour street trials team in November 2013.

They have performed shows all over the UK and Europe since 2014 at events including the Glasgow Commonwealth Games Festival, The Belladrum Tartan Heart Festival, the Red Bull Air Race, Royal Ascot, Eurobike, Friedrichshafen and F.re.e Munich, Germany; and the Engen Cycle in The City Event in Cape Town, South Africa.

MacAskill shot to fame when he released April 2009, a five-and-a-half-minute street trials video, filmed by his flatmate Dave Sowerby, on YouTube.

The video features stunts performed by MacAskill set to ‘The Funeral’ by Band of Horses.

He gave up his job as a mechanic so he could ride full-time and now lives in Glasgow. In June 2009, MacAskill appeared in the music video for Doves’ single Winter Hill.

In October last year MacAskill and long term collaborator Stu Thomson released a film titled The Ridge. It was filmed on his home island of Skye along the steep and rocky Cuillini Ridge.

In the first 5 days, the video on YouTube garnered over 10 million views. The film was accompanied by a BBC Scotland programme Riding the Ridge that documented Danny and the Cut Media crew as they created the viral film.