Obree has been very open about living with bipolar disorder and depression, and the fact that he has attempted suicide three times, using his experiences as a means of encouraging other sportspeople to talk about their own mental health.
[5] Obree was born in Nuneaton, a large town in northern Warwickshire, England, but has lived almost all his life in Scotland and considers himself Scottish.
He placed them closer to the saddle than usual and rode with the bars under his chest, his elbows bent and tucked into his sides like those of a skier.
Watching a washing machine spin at 1,200rpm led him to take the bearings, which he assumed must be of superior quality, and fit them to his bike.
It has a narrow bottom bracket, around which the cranks revolve, to bring his legs closer together (giving a smaller Q factor), as he thought this is the "natural" position.
A French writer who tried it said the narrow handlebars made it hard to accelerate the machine in a straight line but, once it was at speed, he could hold the bars and get into Obree's tucked style.
On 23 July 1993, the British Olympic champion, Chris Boardman broke Obree's record by 674 metres, riding 52.270 km at Bordeaux.
Their rivalry grew: a few months later Obree knocked Boardman out of the world championship pursuit to take the title himself.
[clarification needed] He did it on 15 January 1994, riding in the thin air of Mexico City as he had for his outright record, whereas Obree and Boardman had ridden at close to sea level.
[n 3] He rode 52.713 kilometres, a distance beaten on 2 September 1994 by the Spanish Tour de France winner, Miguel Induráin.
The world governing body, the Union Cycliste Internationale, grew concerned that changes to bicycles were making a disproportionate influence to track records.
"[17] Obree developed another riding position, the "Superman" style, his arms fully extended in front, and he won the individual pursuit at the world championships with this and Old Faithful in 1995.
In 1997 he joined forces with coach Joe Beer and clocked 18m 36s in a 10-mile time trial (V718 Hull) and next day won the British Cycling Federation 25-mile championship - this was part of building towards an hour record attempt that was eventually shelved.
The writer Peter Bryan, of The Times, said: To see Obree in full flight, shoulders hunched and elbows tucked into his ribs, is a memorable sight.
He took a professional licence after winning his first world championship, telling Bryan: "I reckon I can make more money on the bike than I get from unemployment benefit.
"[6] He joined Le Groupement, a French team but did not attend a meeting in Les Carroz d'Arâches (fr)[16] and was fired for "lack of professionalism.
"[16][21] The Le Groupement team fell apart after a short time, when the sponsoring company was involved in scandal, with accusations that it was nothing but a pyramid selling scheme.
In December 2011, Obree announced that he would make an attempt at the human-powered vehicle (HPV) land speed record, hoping to hit 100 mph.
However, he competed in the 2013 World Human Powered Speed Championships in Battle Mountain, Nevada, where the record was also set.
[32][33] Obree's achievements on the bike, his personal life and battle with mental health have combined to make him one of cycling's most enigmatic and eccentric figures.
[34] In January 2011, Obree disclosed in an interview with the Scottish Sun that he is gay and that his difficulty with coming to terms with his sexual orientation contributed to his earlier suicide attempts.
The film, directed by David Street with music by Alun Woodward of Chemikal Underground,[44] went on public release on 21 March 2016, with a tour of cinemas featuring a question-and-answer session with Obree following screenings.