On top of the tallest building in the world

"I'm not the kind of guy to be scared and freak out but it was the scariest thing I've ever done."

The Burj Khalifa in Dubai is the world's tallest building, standing 828m (2,716ft) high.

Just a handful of people have stood on the very top of it, from actors Tom Cruise and Will Smith to YouTuber Jimmy Donaldson aka Mr Beast and French urban climber Alain Robert.

Four years ago, motorbike racer Sam Sunderland, from Poole in Dorset, joined this select group.

The two-time Dakar Rally champion recently attempted to break the world record for motorbiking around the world.

Sunderland said he was "gutted" in September to abandon a world record attempt to become the fastest person to circumnavigate the globe on a motorcycle.

But in January 2022, he was able to take on and complete a challenge of a very different kind.

Sunderland said he got the chance of a lifetime, thanks to one of his high-profile training partners.

"I had a deal with XDubai at the time, which was basically a marketing campaign to promote the country through extreme sports," said the 37-year-old.

"I was training in the complex in Nad Al Sheba alongside Sheikh Hamdan and that kind of got me the green light to be able to go up there."

Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai, has also stood at the top of the Burj Khalifa, after climbing the stairs to the 160th floor.

For Sunderland's attempt, he started at 03:00.

"I was trying to be up there for sunrise," he said. "We were climbing for probably an hour and a half up these tiny ladders.

"You're inside this tube and it's getting narrower and narrower, it's some climb.

"I opened the hatch at the top, which is literally like a submarine hatch, and I had a look over the edge and I just wanted to get back down."

But Sunderland did not go straight back down, he said instead he "chilled" at the top for a good hour.

So, what was it like at the top?

"It was mind blowing," Sunderland said.

"I imagine in this day and age, people might look at it and think it's AI but it's not.

"I was stood on a 1ft-wide platform, which moves 3m left and right in the wind. The thing is like it's on a pendulum. It was terrifying."

But he added: "Such a cool day, a super exhilarating and crazy adrenaline rush."