GoPro obsessed: Biker tests limits by riding off dam for prize (VIDEO)

Risking your own life for a GoPro video contest has become a trend, with very dangerous stunts being planned and recorded all over the world for the Line of the World competition. Many, however, have been ready to gamble for cool first-person clips alone.

One of the most recent videos uploaded to the GoPro World YouTube channel shows a madcap biker cycling off the side of a very steep dam in Slovenia. 

A breathtaking video shows Primož Ravnik plunging almost vertically down the dam’s wall on a bicycle, quickly gaining speed, and crashing into the water. 

Ravnik’s carried out the insane act for a chance to enter GoPro’s Line of the World contest, which is scouting for videos until October 31, awarding $1,000 for the best video each month. The best of these will be selected as the winner, with the daredevil participant receiving a grand prize of $20,000. 

Below are a couple of other extreme examples of those who risked their lives in hopes of winning the prize. 

Others, however, have tempting Death just for sport, clicks, fame, or cool footage of themselves – or just because they came up with a crazy idea. The popularization of the now ubiquitous extreme first-person videos is actually promoting the trend, especially when it comes to professionals.

Yet, even experienced stuntmen are not immune from walking on thin ice while filming such exploits, nor are their pals who they sometimes dare into them. Recently, Red Bull uploaded an episode on surfers challenging a huge 15-foot wave… on a rubber ring.

“I almost f****g died!” gasps a surfer nicknamed Poopies, who was seemingly shaken by the experience. He had been talked into the stunt by the star of the show and a pro named Jamie O’Brien. Poopies made the mad ride both solo and with a partner – all while holding onto a rubber ring and filming the stunt with the help of a selfie stick.

Some of the most famous GoPro videos, which have captured the attention of millions of viewers, include extreme urban climbing. One daredevil climbed the iconic Christ the Redeemer monument in Rio de Janeiro, taking head-spinning selfies as he recorded the journey. 

Another climbed several city skyscrapers, including the 414-meter-tall Princess Tower in Dubai – the world’s tallest residential building. 

In Italy, a wingsuit pilot gained a huge following by flying through a tiny hole in a rock face. 

One Siberian lake skier was lucky to escape alive after falling through thin ice, but his embarrassing moment and rescue were captured on camera, naturally.

In another shocking video, a racecar driver from Kazakhstan filmed his little son sitting beside him in his car as he sped across a race track. The 5-year old boy’s reaction to the adrenaline rush attracted over a million views on Youtube.