Colin Furze

Colin Furze
Photograph of Colin Furze
Born 14 October 1979 (1979-10-14) (age 38)
Stamford, Lincolnshire, England, UK
Residence Stamford, Lincolnshire, England, UK
Nationality British
Occupation YouTuber, stuntman, inventor, fabricator, filmmaker and former plumber
Known for YouTube and other film making platforms
Website www.colinfurze.com

Colin Furze (born 14 October 1979) is a YouTube personality, stuntman, inventor, and filmmaker, from Stamford, Lincolnshire, England. Furze left school 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, the world's fastest pram, a jet-powered motorcycle made with pulsejet engines, and a hoverbike.

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.

Biography

Colin has said that he attended Malcolm Sargent Primary School as a child until he transitioned into secondary school. By then he had already began making underground dens and a few tree houses.[1] In an interview The Sun Online, he stated that he worked on one swing built above a quarry near his home.[2] He became a plumber after leaving school at 16, which allowed him to focus working on tools, gadgets and engineering. Shortly after his dad passed away, he discovered the video-sharing website YouTube on which he shared his inventions beginning with his wall of death ramp in 2007.[1]

He has a partner, along with a son born in 2012 named Jake who is often featured in Colin's videos.[1]

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.[3] 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.[4]

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.[5]

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 fit his wrist.

In 2016, Furze created a "hoverbike" using two paramotors.[6]

Furze's YouTube channel had over 6.3 million subscribers as of 20th July 2018.[7]

Achievements

On 24 October 2008, Furze revealed a 14.26 metre motorbike that he had built to break the world record of the longest motorcycle. This was done by attaching beams in place of the back. He completed the record by riding it a minimum of 100 metres.[8]

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.[9]

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.[10] 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.[11]

On 30 March 2017, Furze posted a video showing a restored 1960s dodgem fitted with a 600cc sport bike engine producing around 100bhp.[12] 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.[13] BBC Worldwide asked Furze to complete the project for The Stig to drive.

Television

Furze appeared as one of the experts on Gadget Geeks, the short lived Sky1 series, in which the trio of experts would consult a member of the British public to test an invention idea in the workplace, along with Tom Scott and Charles Yarnold.[14] 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'.[15]

References

  1. 1 2 3 "Colinfurze : Draw My Life". YouTube. Sep 30, 2015.
  2. ↑ "YouTube inventor Colin Furze reveals the most DANGEROUS contraptions he's ever built". The Sun. December 12, 2016.
  3. ↑ Direct Bikes Scooter Flame Thrower Colin Furze. DirectBikes. March 13, 2010.
  4. ↑ The Daily Telegraph (27 March 2010). "Flame-thrower scooter owner arrested." The Daily Telegraph.
  5. ↑ YouTube (5 May 2014). "DIY X-MEN WOLVERINE fully automatic claws.'" YouTube.
  6. ↑ The Daily Telegraph (2016-04-29). "British inventor builds incredible working hoverbike". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 2017-10-26.
  7. ↑ "Live Subscriber Count - Livecounts". livecounts.net. Retrieved 2018-04-28.
  8. ↑ Marsden, Liam (October 24, 2008). "Friday funny: World's longest motorcycle record broken". Motorcycle News.
  9. ↑ The Daily Telegraph (14 October 2010). "Man builds world's fastest mobility scooter." The Daily Telegraph.
  10. ↑ ITV News (11 October 2012). "Inventor shows off 'world's fastest pram.'" ITV News.
  11. ↑ Gregory Mone (17 January 2013). "You Built What?!: The World's Fastest Baby Carriage". Popular Science. Retrieved 2015-03-04.
  12. ↑ YouTube (30 March 2017). "World's Fastest Bumper Car - 600cc 100bhp But how FAST? - Colin Furze Top Gear Project"
  13. ↑ Telegraph (30 March 2017). "Top Gear's The Stig sets world speed record... in a dodgem" The Daily Telegraph.
  14. ↑ "Gadget Geeks - Our Inventors". BSkyB. 2012. Retrieved 18 March 2012.
  15. ↑ "Virtually Famous Episode 1.2".
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