I was a wild star of famously controversial TV show – now I run a skateboard shop
A FORMER wild star of a famously controversial TV show now runs a skateboard shop.
The 47-year-old and his crew pulled off the most outrageous pranks, ranging from eating pizza with unconventional toppings to defecating off the side of a building.
Dan Joyce – known as Joycey on the MTV prank series Dirty Sanchez – looked unrecognisable when he ditched the jokes to pursue his passion in skating.
Dirty Sanchez was a British TV show where four lads did crazy and risky stunts to themselves and each other. It aired from 2003 to 2007.
The group was made up of Mathew Pritchard, Lee Dainton, Michael ‘Pancho’ Locke and Dan.
At first the crew planned to create skateboarding videos since they were all passionate about it.
However, when MTV picked up the show, the producers preferred to showcase them doing stunts and pranks instead of just skating, and the guys agreed to the change.
The first series was very popular and had more than 400 million views.
The show, which ended in 2007 and featured stunts and hard-partying, took its toll on the stars’ bodies.
Dan didn’t fully let go of his passion when he opened his own shop, Happy Skate.
He told Cene Magazine: “Every now and again, I get recognised. But kids now, they haven’t got a clue about it. No one really watches TV now.”
Speaking about leaving the prank group, Dan said: “When I was doing Dirty Sanchez, we were on the road all the time with the drink and drugs and stuff.
“But I ended up having a heart attack when my wife was pregnant with my daughter [seven years ago].
“That was a bit of a wake-up call, really. My whole lifestyle totally changed after that.”
Speaking about Happy Skate, he said: “I set it up as a Community Interest Company.
“I’ve been doing a lot of film-making workshops with young people at Camp Hillcrest [a skatepark in Gloucestershire], teaching young kids the process of making old skate videos.
“It’s using old DV tapes and VHS, so they have a bit more respect for what they’ve got in their pocket really – to show the process you used to have to go through to make a skate video.”
The star uses the basement of his shop to teach members of the community how to skate.
