Daredevil takes a vroom with a view
A Japanese daredevil has done the unthinkable — becoming the first person to ride a motorbike around the 192-metre-high Sky Tower SkyWalk. Strapped into a harness with safety ropes, freestyle motocross rider Taka Higashino circled the tower four times yesterday along the narrow platform, battling strong winds. To make it more difficult, Higashino had to overcome a fear of heights to even get on to the platform.
“The first time around, halfway I wanted to cry, stop and jump off. The view was trippy, I was going, ‘Oh my god, I can’t watch’.”
Despite performing extreme stunts for a living, the 33-year-old said this was one of the scariest he’d done.
“More scary than anything else for sure. More mental. Doing tricks is dangerous but I know how to do it. This is totally different.”
The original plan was to attempt to wheelie around the narrow, steel path, but strong winds and tension issues with the safety ropes forced Higashino to abandon the idea.
Higashino began riding at the age of 7 and has been a professional freestyle rider since he was 18. He has made history before, becoming the first Japanese Moto-X rider to win a medal at the X Games.
The stunt was part of a promotion for this weekend’s Monster Energy S-X Open at Mount Smart Stadium. The event is the first of its kind in New Zealand, with 6000 tonnes of dirt brought into the stadium.
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