Famous - but don't try this at home

But then it takes a certain kind of person to give up the nine to five routine and chase a dream.

That is what Lee Dainton did when he quit his job as a carpenter with Torfaen council and spent his £3,000 pay-off on the best video camera he could afford.

The former Abersychan and West Mon pupil is one quarter of the Dirty Sanchez team - the unhinged, mostly Welsh, foursome whose ability to snigger in the face of self- inflicted pain is quickly turning them into MTV mega-stars.

Dainton, 30, said: "I knew I didn't want to be a carpenter and that what we were doing was funny and if other people could see it, something might happen.

"I bought the best video camera I could afford and filmed everything we did for 18 months."

The result of that first video, Pritchard vs Dainton, is a mixture of skateboarding clips and stomach churning practical jokes (don't try them at home) that gave them a springboard to notoriety and fame.

The video was picked up by MTV and the show is now broadcast to millions across Europe and Asia with trailers now being broadcast in America.

They are now getting mobbed by fans at music festivals and rubbing shoulders with the likes of Iggy Pop at awards ceremonies.

Dainton said: "I just want to take advantage of all the doors that are opening. We never set out for this to happen so it is about taking every opportunity."

Still living in Newport and regularly using the city's skatepark, Dainton admits to finding the attention strange.

"It can be hard going out now. Some people are expecting you to do something all the time, but most of what we do is spontaneous anyway.

"But it is not all bad. A lot of the people who used to give me grief about things like the clothes I wear in pubs and clubs, come up after buying us beer and champagne all night saying 'go on, kick me!' Sometimes it is too good a chance to miss."

Dirty Sanchez are playing four gigs at the Bristol Bierkeller from July 18-21. Call 0117 9299008 for details.