Winning competitions and going on high-profile tours is all very well, but we can’t all be Gee Atherton or Josh Bryceland. But just because GT or Trek don’t come knocking on your door as soon as you’ve put your helmet back on top of your wardrobe, it doesn’t mean you can’t make a mark for yourself in the world of mountain biking.

Manchester’s Danny Wilson has taken a different route and it seems to be working out superbly. Like most of us he started off on an old-school hardtail mountain bike, progressing to freestyle BMX when he discovered he had a natural flair for riding. After a spell travelling in Australia with his BMX never far from his side, Danny soon found that he was ready for a new challenge.

Mountain biking seemed like the obvious next step, and after completing a university course in IT he got to work on his downhill and freeride skills. Cleverly, he began to produce some very impressive films like this one shot at Cockhill, his local bike park, which documented his burgeoning riding skills brilliantly, and was able use them to attract a number of sponsors to support his development as a rider.

Danny has now produced a whole series of films, all shot with the same crisp production values and attention to detail. They not only show how fun and exciting downhill mountain biking really is, but also make it seem accessible to ordinary people, and not just elite athletes. Danny has ambitions to go on a professional mountain biking tour, but even if that doesn’t pan out for him, he’s doing an excellent job already.