Who is Johnny 'Danger' Bennett?
Wednesday, 25 April 2018
Johnny 'Danger' Bennett died in a motorcycle crash on Wednesday in north Auckland, according to friends. But who is he, and what did he do?
The self-described 'amateur stuntman' and social media star's Facebook page has more than 290,000 people following his antics.
He's known for risk-taking stunts and jokey videos, and tributes have been pouring in for him online.
But many people remember him from 2015, when he lost his driver's licence and was fined $1000 after filming himself crossing Auckland's Harbour Bridge by car surfing on the roof of a taxi in 2013 while it was travelling at about 80kmh.
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ONLINE TV SERIES
In September last year, Bennett had a foray into television when MTV launched MTV Presents: Johnny Danger as a series.
The show, which described itself as a 'comedic take on the crazy life of Johnny, his friends, family and celebrity posse', made its debut on October 12.
'It's the first time I've ever done something like this before so it was a new experience that I really enjoyed,' he said at the time. 'It's good to see MTV supporting New Zealand talent.'
His 'celebrity posse' was reported at the time to include the likes of Warriors star Shaun Johnson, UFC heavyweight champion Cain Velasquez, boxer Danny Green, actress Grace Palmer, The Bachelor NZ's Matilda Rice and R&B artist Kings.
LAGER VENTURE
In the same month, Bennett released his own beer, Dangers Lager, which sold out in most New Zealand stores in less than a week and broke records as the country's fastest selling beer.
'Everything about this beer speaks New Zealand,' Bennett said at the time.
The lager is brewed by New Zealand brewers at Otahuhu's Scotch Fileha, the malt is from Marton, the hops are grown here, and the glass and labels are all New Zealand made as well.
Foodstuffs later pulled Bennett's beer from its supermarket shelves, after online criticism.
Foodstuffs spokeswoman Antoinette Laird said the decision was made when Foodstuffs became aware it was promoted by a social media figure. 'It is apparent that the people involved did not appreciate the nature or extent of this individual's social media content,' she said.