Colin Furze

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Colin Furze
Photograph of Colin Furze
Born14 October 1979 (1979-10-14) (age 44)
Stamford, Lincolnshire, England, UK
NationalityBritish
Occupation(s)YouTuber, stuntman, inventor, fabricator, filmmaker and former plumber
Known forYouTube and other film making platforms
Websitewww.colinfurze.com

Colin Furze (born 14 October 1979) is a YouTuber, stuntman, inventor, filmmaker, and former plumber from Stamford, Lincolnshire, England. Furze left school at 16 to become a plumber, a trade which he pursued until joining the Sky1 programme Gadget Geeks. Furze uses his plumbing and engineering experience to build many contraptions, including a wall of death, the world's longest motorbike,[1] the world's fastest pram, and a jet-powered motorcycle made with pulsejet engines.

Certain projects he has undertaken have been funded by television and video game franchises for promotion, including a spring-loaded hidden blade and grappling hook from the Assassin's Creed franchise, and a bunker underneath his back garden to promote Sky1's television series You, Me and the Apocalypse.

Inventions

Furze's many contraptions are publicised on YouTube. On 13 March 2010, he uploaded a video of his converted scooter, incorporating a flame thrower that could shoot flames up to 15 feet (4.6 m) in the air.[2] On 25 March 2010, Furze was arrested by Lincolnshire Police, for possessing an object converted into a firearm. He was released on bail without charge the next day. This was Furze's third attempt at artificing such a device, as the first did not ignite and the second burst into flames.[3]

On 5 May 2014, Furze posted a video to kick off his 3-week long X-Men characters special by designing a set of realistic Wolverine claws based on a pneumatic system. Within its first week it had received over 3 million views.[4]

On 23 October 2015, Furze released a video showing off the start of a new multi-part build, in which he would construct a Hidden Blade to promote the new Ubisoft game, Assassin's Creed: Syndicate. Furze went on to make the Hidden Blade, a spring-loaded concealed blade that activates at the flick of the wrist with the help of a ring-triggered wheel mechanism, a rope launcher, and a winch device, all built onto a frame that fitted his wrist.

In 2016, Furze created a "hoverbike" using two paramotors.[5]

Furze's YouTube channel has more than 5 million subscribers as of 20 July 2017.[6]

Achievements

On 14 October 2010, it was announced that Furze had modified a mobility scooter to give it the ability to reach 71 mph (114 km/h) in an attempt to enter the Guinness Book of Records. It took him nearly three months to build and has a 125 cc motocross engine.[7]

On 10 October 2012, Furze posted a video showing a pram fitted with an engine which, if it travelled over 30 mph (48 km/h), would make it the world's fastest pram.[8] The pram was featured in the October 2013 copy of Popular Science Magazine, in which Furze was interviewed about his reasons for having modded the pram.[9]

On 30 March 2017, Colin Furze posted a video showing a restored 1960s dodgem fitted with a 600cc sport bike engine producing around 100bhp.[10] The dodgem achieved a top speed of 107.390 mph (172.827 km/h), with an average speed of 100.336 mph (161.475 km/h) from a run in each direction - making it the world's fastest Bumper Car, as approved by Guinness World Records.[11] BBC Worldwide asked Furze to complete the project for their Stig to drive.

Television

Furze appeared as one of the experts on Gadget Geeks, the short lived Sky1 series that focuses on technology and gadgets, that was broadcast in January 2012.[12] Furze has been 'number one' multiple times on the Science Channel show Outrageous Acts of Science, and has appeared on the E4 show Virtually Famous twice, demonstrating his wolverine claws on 28 July 2014, and again, the following year, showcasing the 'toaster knife'.[13]

References

  1. ^ Marsden, Liam (24 October 2008). "Friday funny: World's longest motorcycle record broken." Motorcycle News.
  2. ^ Direct Bikes Scooter Flame Thrower Colin Furze. DirectBikes. 13 March 2010.
  3. ^ The Daily Telegraph (27 March 2010). "Flame-thrower scooter owner arrested." The Daily Telegraph.
  4. ^ YouTube (5 May 2014). "DIY X-MEN WOLVERINE fully automatic claws.'" YouTube.
  5. ^ Sarah Griffiths (29 April 2016). "Forget hoverboards, now there's a HOVERBIKE: Watch eccentric inventor Colin Furze 'fly' on his homemade floating bicycle". Daily Mail. Retrieved 1 May 2016.
  6. ^ "colinfurze". YouTube. Retrieved 16 June 2017.
  7. ^ The Daily Telegraph (14 October 2010). "Man builds world's fastest mobility scooter." The Daily Telegraph.
  8. ^ ITV News (11 October 2012). "Inventor shows off 'world's fastest pram.'" ITV News.
  9. ^ Gregory Mone (17 January 2013). "You Built What?!: The World's Fastest Baby Carriage". Popular Science. Retrieved 4 March 2015.
  10. ^ YouTube (30 March 2017). "World's Fastest Bumper Car - 600cc 100bhp But how FAST? - Colin Furze Top Gear Project"
  11. ^ Telegraph (30 March 2017). "Top Gear's The Stig sets world speed record... in a dodgem" The Daily Telegraph.
  12. ^ "Gadget Geeks - Our Inventors". BSkyB. 2012. Retrieved 18 March 2012.
  13. ^ "Virtually Famous Episode 1.2".

External links

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Colin_Furze&oldid=791490837"