Taka Higashino has overcome his fear of heights to ride around the 192m high Sky Tower Skywalk on a motorcross bike
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 this morning along the narrow platform, battling strong winds and a looming storm.
To make it even more difficult, Higashino had to overcome a fear of heights to even get onto 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'. Sometimes, watching the floor felt like a dream, not real."
Despite performing extreme stunts for a living, the 33-year-old said this was one of the scariest stunts he'd ever done.
"This was different. More scary than anything else for sure. More mental. Doing tricks is dangerous but I know how to do it, from everyday practising, 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 the rider to abandon the idea.
"As soon as I got speed the rope got tension. I had to go really slow," said Higashino.
"The second time this crazy wind came up, the bike was losing balance, the rope had tension too. It looks easy out there but it's actually pretty hard. It was pretty scary."
Higashino began riding at the age of 7 and has been a professional freestyle rider since he was 18. He has made history before, including becoming the first Japanese Moto-X rider to medal at the X Games.
Asked if it was possible if the issues with the cable tension and wind were sorted, he replied, "Not me."
"You'd have to figure out the cable. It felt like somebody was grabbing the handle bar the whole time, it was a weird feeling."
Taka Higashino prior to his sky-high stunt this morning. Photo / Instagram
The stunt was part of a promotion for this weekend's Monster Energy SX-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.
Event promoters say the 29,000 seats are close to selling out.
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