An Australian musician has become an international sensation after setting an unofficial world record for skydiving naked, while playing the violin.

Glen Donnelly, who studied viola at the London Royal Academy of Music, jumped out of a plane from 15,000ft (4570m) in New South Wales to celebrate his 30th birthday on Sunday.

Wearing little more than a harness, Mr Donnelly played Happy Birthday during the freefall and the opening strains of The Lark Ascending by English composer Ralph Vaughan Williams once the parachute opened.

Watch the video below:

“It’s this beautiful piece about a bird soaring in the air, and it was just perfect,” he told the BBC.

“I played the opening cadenza for about a minute, where you’re just slowly rising on the violin and it was just wonderful.

“When that parachute opened, I could just be free to play the violin… it was a feeling of total freedom.”

Outside of a birthday celebration, Mr Donnelly’s daring mission was also for a good cause, to raise awareness and funds for men’s body image issues.

He said he had suffered from body dysmorphic disorder since he was 18, with his anxiety forcing him to leave Britain, and the london Symphony Orchestra in 2013.

“I started silently sucking it in 24/7, creating a mental and physical prison in my body,” Mr Donnelly said.

He said it was important for him to help educate others about the disorder. He plans to divide any funds raised between two charities and his own charity, Nude Movement.

“I felt as much fear and anxiety before the sky jump as I feel when I take off my clothes in front of other people – these jolts of fear and anxiety that I’m still working through,” he said.

“I’m really proud of myself for completing the fall and for walking through that door of fear.

“It’s been a journey for me to come from constantly judging myself from childhood to now, when I’m beginning to not only accept but celebrate myself.”