Daniel Hayes, aka the Million Dollar Bogan, is an Australian millionaire who made his fortune in real estate. Away from work, he has a penchant for epic, out of the comfort zone, motorcycle trips. In a fairly recent series on his YouTube channel, he rode from his home near Melbourne in the south of Australia to the northern tip of the country on his Harley-Davidson Road King.
The motivation for this trip was clear, he said: “I was really depressed. Long rides get me out of depression. It was a deep depression.”
His other trips included a ride to Central Australia through the outback on his Harley-Davidson Road King, a trip around New Zealand on a vintage Harley-Davidson Road King, a ride from Seattle, Washington to Dead Horse, Alaska, on a Harley-Davidson Road King and a ride to Mount Everest on a Harley-Davidson Sportster. There is a recurring theme here, if you couldn’t already tell.
Which brings us to his most recent trip: a 5,500-mile ride from Melbourne to Perth via the Nullarbor Plain, which hosts some of Australia’s toughest roads. Once he got to Perth, he turned around and did the return leg too, except this time he wasn’t on one of his beloved Harleys, rather a 125cc Honda Monkey. To add to the comedic effect of riding one of these miniature-sized motorbikes, his long-standing riding buddy ‘Parry’ once again made an appearance in several episodes. The pair make a great comedy duo to watch, as they are two very different personalities, but on film, it just works and makes the content incredibly engaging. Especially as they were both on Honda Monkey bikes, which put a grin on pretty much anyone who sees one.
However, this wasn’t one of their regular gargantuan trips, done for personal fulfilment. The Million Dollar Bogan wanted to put himself through a gruelling and uncomfortable ride to raise awareness and A$100k in aid of men’s mental health and suicide prevention. This is a cause close to his heart as he lost a brother to suicide, which was the catalyst for his aforementioned ride to the most northern tip of Australia.
With each release of his 28 YouTube episodes, featuring him riding across some of Australia’s most treacherous terrain, the donations came in thick and fast. Each addition to the video series saw the mental strain, strength and barriers he battled while riding big miles, on the tiny, small capacity, monkey bike. As we know, the motorcycling community is close-knit and Daniel and Parry were flagged down by many a motorcyclist along their journey. The fans always seemed to come at just the right time to boost their morale and motivation, usually with an ice-cold drink and a chin wag. Through his videos, Daniel incorporated interviews with people directly affected by suicide, and some of the stories really hit home. This was his way of showing that suicide isn’t a joke and his message was ‘suicide will only transfer the pain’. He also showcased how motorcycling is good for mental health and people should get out and ride their bikes to switch off from their day to day troubles.
The pair did raise $100k by the end of the 5,500 mile trip across the Nullarbor, and back, and donated every cent to the well-know charity, Movember. Not only did Daniel Hayes raise an incredible amount of money he also raised awareness of male suicides by his video series getting over one million views on YouTube. For vloggers, that victory is probably just as sweet as raising a huge amount of money!
If you want to catch up on The Million Dollar Bogan’s trips, check out his YouTube channel.
What is a Honda Monkey?
Honda’s Monkey is an iconic model.
The original Monkey, officially called the Z100, was launched in 1961 and was designed for campers to take on their travels.
The bike’s tiny dimensions, with small wheels and folding handlebars to help it be transported around, helped give the bike it’s nickname – the rider being likened to a monkey as they straddled the mini machine.
The Honda Z50 series became cult classics, especially in Japan where they remained on sale until only recently. Off-road versions became popular for kids learning to ride, while road bikes were often customised by an enthusiastic following.
In 2018 Honda revived the Monkey name with the new 125 version ridden across Australia by Hayes. Although quite a bit bigger than the 50cc originals, the Monkey 125 is diminutive by normal motorcycle standards and is based on the MSX125/Grom model.
Where the Grom is designed like a miniature streetfighter, the Monkey takes its inspiration from the 1960s and 1970s monkey bikes and cashes in on the current trend for retro styling and classic bike lines.
