What were you doing in May of 1995? Danny Hart was learning how to ride a bike – mind you, he was born in 1991. Fast forward to 2012, and Danny is the reigning downhill world champion. Sponsors Five Ten have set out to tell his story, from those first pedal strokes, with a new two-part web series called Hart & soul.
In the first episode, Five Ten look to Hart’s roots through home video footage and the words of his parents, Sue and Paul, and family friends. His prowess on two wheels is obvious within months of those first few videos of him learning to ride.
Even before those first few strokes, two wheels were ingrained in his life, as the family followed father Paul to his motocross races. In the early 2000s the tables turned and it was the elder Hart who would follow his son to his races. “Racing is racing and that’s what I’ve always done,” says Hart, in one interview.
Five Ten follow Hart through his BMX endeavours into mountain bikes, where he honed his basic downhill skills in the Scottish national series. We wonder if Hart remembers winning in his Scott-MBUK jersey, not that we’re going to claim any part in this amazing rider's success. We find at 16, Hart already has the majority of his style: super-smooth with his giant signature whips.
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Hart & soul, part 1, video credit: Five Ten
This first episode sets us up for part 2 and Hart’s 2011 title grabbing ride. Five Ten will release the second episode just before the opening round of the 2012 World Cup in Pietermaritzburg, South Africa, likely around 26 March.
“It’s a two-part mini-documentary,” Rich Spencer, Five Ten’s video and photo editor, told BikeRadar. “And then we’re going to release the full one, probably in about a month. There'll also be a behind-the-scenes, making-of feature at some point.”
In conjunction with the online premier of Hart & soul, Five Ten are running a Facebook sweepstakes for fans to win Five Ten schwag signed by Hart – they say they’re going to deck you out from head to toe.
