A Doncaster DJ will be making spins of a different kind – when he takes part in a gruelling bike ride across Hungary in memory of his late brother who died from a heart attack.

John Bognar, who performs under the name Johnny Dangerous, will be taking on the five day challenge around the perimeter of Lake Balaton in the country next year, following the death of his 48-year-old brother George.

John, 50, was left reeling from George’s death last year – and decided to take on the challenge to raise funds for the British Heart Foundation in George’s memory.

George, a former BT engineer, died from a cardiac arrest on April 19, inspiring John to put together the Johnny Dangerous Balaton Bike Challenge 2025, which will take place over a week from 6 August, 2025 to raise cash for the BHF.

John Bognar is taking on the ride in memory of his brother, who died of a cardiac arrest.

placeholder image — John Bognar is taking on the ride in memory of his brother, who died of a cardiac arrest.

Reminiscing fondly about the memory of his brother, who “loved music and is missed by everyone,” John's outstanding goal is to raise thirty thousand pounds for the charity.

The idea struck him last year in Hungary while refuelling at a service station.

He said: “It was so bizarre. I saw these travel maps and one of them was a cycle map of Lake Balaton and I had this stupid moment: Why don’t you ride around the lake to raise money for charity?

"So I thought, okay, let's do it, came back and toyed with the idea, and then it became a plan, something I had to do.”

The challenge will see John and three others cycle around Lake Balaton in Hungary.

The lake is seventy-seven kilometres long with a shoreline of just over 200 kilometres.

It is one of the biggest freshwater lakes in Europe, with a purpose-built cycle track around it, the Balatoni Kerékpárút, which began construction in 1993, and runs through four counties, making it perfect to ride along.

John put this in perspective by explaining that DCLT at The Dome has backed him by ‘allowing him to use the cycle track to train for no cost.

He calculates that it will take riding the cycle track thirty to fifty times to achieve one segment of the route he will do.

The huge lake is one of Europe's biggest.

To help visualise this, he gestured towards the lake at Lakeside and figured out: “You would have to ride around it eighty times for the same goal.”

He explained that the ‘longest leg of cycling is fifty kilometres, and the shortest is just under thirty kilometres’.

He has planned that it is a two-day drive, stopping in Germany halfway, and then a direct motorway to the lake.

To be able to afford the supplies and facilities to do this, such as fuel, tyres, and accommodation, he has a target of £9,000 and has so far raised £3,925 of this courtesy of the generosity of Doncaster business including IFS Risk Solutions, Fireplace Studio, Hi-Fi Hanger and IGM Robotics Systems LTD in Cannock who have donated £3,000 - but there is still some way to go.

DJ John (right) is taking on the challenge in memory of his brother.

Added John: “I’m not asking for hundreds from companies because we want to be able to do this.”

He explained: “Companies don’t have to give money; they can help us with anything consumable, such as drinks and snacks, or if anyone wants to lend us a large motorhome for six people, that would be perfect.

"But if we don’t raise the nine thousand, we’re going to have to go for plan B and C, and camp instead or stay at a hotel, Bear Grylls style.”

This will enable the team to travel to Hungary and pedal towards their £30,000 goal for the charity.

He added: “If thirty thousand people donated a quid, I’d be happy.”

He explains this simply: "Companies can also support us by simply putting posters up with a QR code to scan, also in shops and public areas; ‘even liking our Facebook page, commenting, and

sharing can be so helpful as it gives it awareness; we want to be able to put pop-ups in supermarkets, where we ride a simulator, so that’s something we’re going to look into doing to help towards reaching our target.”

John expressed how he felt like he was ‘working seven days a week to get this going and added: “People don’t realise we’re doing it unpaid, just to raise money.”

He reflected: “I can’t bring my brother back, but if the money we raise can buy a defibrillator or fund research, then that’s amazing; I’m happy to do it.”

It is clear the matter hits close to home for John, and after losing both his parents to heart conditions and his brother, as well as suffering from diabetes himself, he just wants people to support his fundraiser, ‘not for me but for the charity.”

He said: “Heart conditions are one of the biggest killers in the UK, so if we can help combat that, if what I do helps just one person live a bit longer, I’m happy.”

He expressed gratefully: “They say things come in threes; it’s made me realise how fortunate I am to be able to help make a difference', and he laughs lightheartedly, adding: “We all joke that the whole family seems to have inherited grandma’s heart condition.”

He will be riding with his team of four, with three assists: Simon Hartshorn, and Austin Fawcett, both school friends of George’s.

John said of Austin, Moore’s Bakery owner: “When I called to ask if he wanted to do this challenge, Austin told me he had just suffered a heart attack. I told him not to worry, but he said, ‘No... I’m going to do it,”

Also in the saddle will be Lisa Cairns, his sister-in-law who enjoys biking and ‘recently cycled 46 miles from Manchester to Blackpool, just for fun, so she's going to find this a walk in the park’, added John.

Supporting them will be Andy Roden, a music producer and fellow DJ whom John has known for a while and who will be helping out with the driving, along with Bonnie Duff, the daughter of an artist Elle Mariachi, John looks after and who is ‘looking after our social media and just making sure everything is running smoothly, live-streaming the event, and making sure we are where we’re supposed to be’ says John.

The event has been thoroughly planned with all members checked by their GPs to make sure they are healthy enough to do the challenge.

He is eager to get celebrities involved, such as BHF ambassador Gemma Atkins, a former Hollyoaks actress, now a radio and TV presenter.

He said: “I reached out to her via Instagram, as well as Timmy Mallett, a TV presenter who did a bike challenge across Northern Ireland, so I messaged him to see if he wanted to do a little bit with us.

"I’d love for one or two celebs to join us for the ride. Let’s see if they come back to me. It’s not a race; it’s a nice ride around the lake and a nice social thing to do, with a great purpose behind it all’.

John could have easily done the challenge here, but because of his Hungarian family roots, he wants to do something more personal for his brother, so rain or shine, he exclaimed: ‘No matter the weather, we will do it. It can get up to thirty-four degrees easily in the summer, but I am committed’.

He has a soft spot for Lake Balaton with memories of family gatherings in the summer, traditional Hungarian food and culture, as well as Balaton snacks like hotdogs, and burgers, and memories of the dollar stores where you could buy Coca-Cola in cans and other western goods – then a rarity because Hungary was still in the Cold War era.

He speaks nostalgically about the ‘langos', pronounced langosh – a flat doughnut with sour cream and cheese and added: “We used to go to Balaton for a good few days, maybe even a week. My family in Hungary didn’t live too far - it was 30 minutes there and back, so we went a lot.”

John isn’t a professional cyclist, yet he has taken on a huge endeavour, a noble cause to raise money and awareness for heart conditions, in which he expressed his concern, saying: ‘The NHS does not currently screen for heart conditions unless you have signs of angina or heart-related issues. The fact that both my parents and my brother died from heart conditions doesn't mean I can get tested.”

He continued: “That is the problem; there could be lots of people walking around with a heart condition and they wouldn’t know it; I don’t know how to combat it; what tablets do I take; what do I need to do; are there certain things I shouldn’t eat’.

"It became very apparent that there needed to be more awareness that heart-related issues are deadly, life-threatening, and on the increase.

You can donate to the appeal HERE