BIO

Marc Chennell aka ‘Sparky Stunts’ is undoubtedly the world’s best high speed motorcycle drifter, and one of the most well known and respected stunt riders in the biking community. Born 9/9/1978 in Perivale Maternity Hospital, Middlesex Marc Chennell has been riding motorbikes since he was just four years old. As an overactive child, averaging just two hours sleep a night he soon drove his parents to exhaustion. His mother noticed at a very young age that he would mimic the action of a throttle with his hands every time he heard the sound of a passing motorbike, leading her to believe that he was a reincarnated biker. Marc's father built him his first bicycle at the age of two, a cut and shunt job, and by 2 ½ he had his stabilisers taken off. It became apparent after riding his 'Four Wheeled Lion' down the staircase that he was becoming more and more obsessed with the idea of jumping and stunting. In fact so much so that he managed to break another of his father's sized down 'cut and shunt' bikes by jumping it off kerbs. Marc would spend hours watching the likes of Knight Rider, Dukes of Hazard, The A Team and Streethawk, replaying over and over, trying to work out how the stunts were done. By the age of four his Grandmother found Marc his first motorcycle and his father taught him to ride in the garden. Clearly gifted, his family started searching round for local clubs for Marc to join and immediately got into difficulty, most clubs accepting children from the age of 6 and no younger. Finally, Slough Aces motocross club allowed Marc the use of their test circuit. He had his first taste of fame on his fifth birthday while being filmed jumping mini double decker buses for an American programme called "That's Incredible" inspiring him at such a young age to start a vigorous training regime with local trials club HUX making him the youngest rider in the country at that time. Shortly after that he was asked to join another (Hayes and Southall) club's display team where he had the time of his life showing off at various carnivals and fairs around the South of England. Later he joined the Surrey Schoolboys Trials Club, as well as the others he was involved with, and began to compete at national level. Trials taught him the art of balance and control and also gave him the determination never to give in to the seemingly impossible. As a severe dyslexic, he found release from the stress of school by escaping onto two wheels. Marc turned professional five years ago by starting up a five man freestyle sports bike stunt team, performing both domestically and internationally, and has also travelled solo throughout Europe and the USA. His hard work and passion has paid off, earning him high praise from some of the world's most successful riders including the World Champion Stunt Rider Chris Pfieffer and biking legend Eddie Kidd. He has appeared alongside other professional stunt riders, including Yanis Rozitis who toured with Marc, collectively attracting crowds of up to 20,000 in Eastern Europe, including Latvia and Lithuania. His popularity earned him a well deserved return invitation the following year due to the overwhelming success of the tour. Sparky's utterly remarkable and dynamic talent on a motorcycle has also attracted attention from across the pond, and in 2008 he was invited to attend and perform at the world famous 'Stunt Wars' competition, the Mecca of the stunt world, where his stunning crowd pleasing performances earned him the crown of 'Drift King' and was featured on US television, as well as included on a number of stunt DVD's. His YouTube videos have had thousands of hits from all over the world and he has enjoyed some truly remarkable praise from his loyal fans, who go to remarkable lengths just to see him perform. His connection with the spectators is an exchange of energy. The more enthusiastic they become, the more exhilarating the performance and his vibrant, personable character make him a firm favourite amongst stunting enthusiasts. Sparky's third trip to Latvia was even documented on the BBC's Real Britain documentary series, filming his performance on Latvian Television in a program called 'Speed Tribe' (Automasilts) and his popularity is undeniable. Sparky's forte in freestyle stunt riding is his exceptional control over his vehicle as well as his ability to drift motorcycles both at low and extremely high speeds and he is considered to be the worlds best at doing this. His title as 'Drift King' confirms it. His pioneering, unique abilities have also attracted the attention of the legendary Ron Haslam aka 'Rocket Ron.' Marc recently filmed at the Ron Haslam race school with Leon Haslam, Ron's son and a superbike racing legend in his own right, and performed at the world renowned Donnington Park race track in the UK. Sparky has a close working relationship with the world famous Ace Cafe, a biker's haven located in West London, where he was often seen doing impromptu performances for fans who travelled from across the map to see him. He now restricts his riding to official events, as his affiliation with the Ace Cafe has won him endorsements from major brands. The publicity and popularity of Marc's presence has meant that he has had the luxury of choosing to use his talents to project a positive image to riders and spectators alike. His main objective and the ethos behind UK Stunt Productions Ltd is to push stunt riding into the mainstream in the UK and Europe, as is already acknowledged in the US. He strives to shed the unsafe underground stigma that the sport has had in the past and stress the importance of learning proper bike control, making stunting both easy and accessible to anyone who wishes to try it, in a safe environment and with experienced hands on advice. Sparky does the best he can to stay protected. Like any true motorcycle enthusiast he hates not being able to ride which is why he uses Knox body armour as he says "It is vital to prepare for the unexpected.” One of the most well known phrases used in the freestyle stunt world is 'If you're not crashing then you're not trying hard enough. With that in mind the importance of the right protection is paramount even with an almost supernatural connection with a motorcycle. Career Highlights As a result of his reliable, easy going and consistent reputation for excellence, Marc has attended Grand Openings and promotional events for: Alfred Dunhill, British Airways, Madam Tussauds, Triumph & Paul Smith, GQ magazine, Isle of Man TT, BMW S1000RR Pre-launch with Troy Corser, Ghost Rider film, demonstrated the first Airbag jacket for motorcyclists on the TV program Fifth Gear and has appeared live on BBC news, to name just a very select few. He has been requested to perform for films such as Freebird - produced by the producers of Layer Cake - and is always on the lookout for new and exciting projects to be involved in.

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