Bam Margera is again on observe. He has picked up the skateboard once more, and he is doing tips, returning to his roots and rekindling his love for the factor that received him the place he’s. The previous “Jackass” star defied medical doctors after recovering his legs after his lengthy stint in rehab, and now he is again to seem in Tony Hawk’s Professional Skater 3+4.
We spoke to the CKY founder about life, skating, and hurting himself for our leisure.
This interview has been calmly edited for readability.
McKeand: The physician stated your legs have been too broken to skate. How did that really feel?
Bam Margera: In 2013, the physician checked out my legs and stated that they have been dry-rotted rubber bands from alcohol abuse. Good luck attempting to skate. After which after I reached down to the touch my toes, my hamstring pulled, and I used to be out for a 12 months. I misplaced hope from that, and I really drank extra due to it. I am like, “Nicely, if I am doomed, I am doomed.” After which I married a stretch coach, and we stretch for an hour a day. My legs are 45, and so they really feel like they’re 20 once more. So my ardour for skateboarding is again, and that is just about my fundamental focus and aim. As quickly as I get up, I wish to get a skate trick on movie. If you do what you’re keen on, and skateboarding received me to the place I’m, all these neat issues are simply falling into place.
It appears like whenever you received informed that, it despatched you to a reasonably darkish place, however you are popping out the opposite finish of it now, proper?
Sure, and you understand, to not point out, I used to be within the Guinness Guide of World Data for the longest Florida Shuffle. If you do not know what meaning, nevertheless it implies that when you get 5150’d [for involuntary psychiatric commitment] then it’s a must to do 90 days. And if the intervention is aware of that you’ve good insurance coverage, they’re going to discover causes to maintain you there for eternity. So 88 days would go by, and I might be like, “I am getting out in two days.” After which he’d stroll in and he could be like, “You have been rocking those self same pants for like, 4 days now.” I am like, “Yeah, I am married. I am not attempting to get any motion in right here,” if you understand what I imply. He is like, “That is dangerous hygiene. You are doing one other 90 days in one other place.”
And I saved doing that for about three years as a result of they knew that they are making $1,300 an evening off me, which ended up being $660,000. I went in on alcohol and Adderall, which I had a prescription to, and I got here out on extra medicine within the first f—ing place — 18 various things that led to stiff muscle tissues, erectile dysfunction, hair loss, weight achieve, suicidal tendencies, and I used to be getting all of these results, and it was actually dangerous. And after I stopped taking it, I simply realized that I do not want something. Skateboarding is my treatment, and it is my remedy too. I do not know the way anyone can suppose that it is okay to be on 18 various things to the purpose the place you possibly can’t even cry. You may’t even have any feelings. You are simply comfortably numb. Somebody would possibly say, “Bam, your cat died.” I might be like, “Oh, it did? Neat.” A trick a day retains the physician away. I stand up, exit, and do a skate trick. It retains me sane.
What does showing within the new recreation imply to you?
So the brand new recreation, I used to be sort of going for an Elvis Presley ’68 comeback particular look, with the leather-based jacket, leather-based pants, which actually is admittedly arduous to skate in. No person did any skate tips in leather-based pants. However anyway, that is the look I needed to rock with a pleasant purple button-down shirt, which was like the primary look that I had on “Viva la Bam.” I received that black jacket with the purple factor occurring. So I used to be sort of going for [an] previous vibe like that, combined with the Elvis ’68 comeback particular. And I am actually pleased with the result. The Activision scanners are so high-tech now, I used to be really in a globe crammed with 167 cameras scanning me from head to toe, to the purpose the place you possibly can virtually zoom in shut sufficient to learn the bank card info on my tattoo.
Is it actual bank card info?
Yeah, I received all these children shopping for stuff on the web as a result of they’ve learn my code on the bank card code on my arm.
You virtually missed a deadline to seem within the recreation, did not you? What occurred?
It is no secret that I did not skate for 10 years, and I used to be a reasonably scorching mess. I simply received actually sick of that. It took three years of remedy. For eight days, I awakened on life assist from 5 seizures, 20 minutes a chunk, with a tube down my throat. I had COVID and pneumonia, and I used to be simply in actually poor form. I used to be like, “Man, if I do not change, I am gonna die this manner. So I have to make a drastic change.” I simply went in head first with sobriety, and as quickly as I began shedding some weight and began stretching, the muscle reminiscence finally got here again to studying new skate tips once more. They are saying every thing occurs for a motive. Did I’m going to hell and again? Completely.
However there was a cut-off date the place, you understand, I owned a nightclub for 10 years in Philadelphia. So you possibly can have informed me at one level that Metallica is enjoying throughout the road, and I’ve VIP passes for anyone I wish to deliver. And I might say, I do not really feel prefer it. I’ve already seen them earlier than. I am tired of that. Every part made me bored, however whenever you get out of remedy after three years, every thing turns into new and enjoyable once more. I am in a convertible driving down the road with a pal listening to music. I am on the seashore having a espresso at a Starbucks outdoors. That is superior. Every part turned enjoyable once more, and I actually began to understand all of the enjoyable issues that you are able to do. You understand, to be tired of every thing since you’ve executed every thing, it was an actual downside.
Did that come from simply having cash out of nowhere?
To be broke as a joke on the age of 15 after which just about turn into an immediate millionaire from the CKY movies, “Jackass,” and all of the skateboard sponsorships, after which the Tony Hawk online game, after which simply random issues, like doing a Proper Guard industrial for one million {dollars} for someday of labor — that may actually get to a child’s head, rising up with nothing, and impulsively you’ve gotten one thing. I keep in mind there was a degree the place I used to be driving the Lamborghini round, like a large number, and someone was like, “What would you do when you wrecked that factor?” And I am like, “I might simply go get one other one.” The worth of $1 did not apply to me anymore. And it was an issue. You could have $300,000 per week for 65 weeks for MTV funds for “Viva la Bam” to blow s— up, fly folks in, and fly folks out …
Your nickname comes from you working into partitions as a child, proper?
I used to be leaping off espresso tables after I was three or 4, and I might run full velocity into the sofa. My dad saved saying, bam, bam. After I went to kindergarten, it simply received shortened to Bam. And my actual identify is Brandon, however I imply, when you even stated, “Hey, Brandon,” I would not even flip my head, as a result of nobody has ever known as me that.
You have all the time been placing your self in hurt’s method, if you consider it. The place do you suppose that comes from?
I keep in mind, I used to be in a buying cart getting pushed full velocity right into a pricker bush. And I used to be beginning CKY and I used to be making an entire section about buying carts, buying trolleys going into bushes. And I keep in mind this one woman was identical to, “What is the level of that? I do not get it.” I am like, “There isn’t any level. It is dumb as hell.” Therefore the identify “Jackass”. Doing dumb stuff won’t ever turn into unfunny. Does it make no sense? Does it haven’t any level? It completely has no level. However you understand, if everyone behaved themselves and no person did something flawed, take into consideration the chaos that might create. Then there could be no extra leisure, no extra information, no motive for jail anymore, as a result of everyone’s a goody two sneakers.
I feel CKY and Jackass influenced YouTube. I do not suppose YouTube, as it’s, would exist with out these.
You take a look at the CKY movies, and it is just about something that you simply see on “Ridiculousness.” It is from that. It is all these web foolish stunts and, you understand, dumb, fast little slams from folks falling down the steps. I imply, that is what we did in CKY, and I actually suppose that every thing could be fully totally different if these movies did not exist.
What is the scariest factor you have ever executed?
The scariest factor I’ve ever executed was most likely get sabotaged into falling into that pit of 100 snakes. As a result of if I knew that that was going to occur in actual life, I might have been on the primary airplane out of there. I used to be considering I used to be going to tug a rock on [“Jackass” co-creator Jeff] Tremaine as a result of he is all weak, sitting in a chair behind an 18-wheeler. Nicely, there is a gap within the 18-wheeler that I fell in and I couldn’t get out. Me telling them that I am petrified of snakes is principally identical to saying, “Put snakes on Bam.” However um, yeah, that was completely terrifying to the purpose the place I cried, and in the event that they hadn’t introduced me out of there inside one other minute, I most likely would have, like, convulsed and fainted or one thing gnarly. It was full panic.
Is there something you have ever executed that did not go on video that you simply want you’d filmed?
I imply, simply random issues. They constructed this actual water slide on “Jackass” with a leap on the finish that you’ve got most likely seen after we had the loop occurring. However Hazard Ehren [McGhehey, “Jackass” co-star] pushed me down the slide when it was all soapy. I went down on my toes first, and I attempted to stability, as a result of I would not have executed it if I did not get pushed, however now I needed to cope with it, so I simply tried to stability it like I used to be on a skateboard, and after I hit that transition, I hit my head so arduous that it was gushing blood. I jumped off the ramp with my bloody head, knocked out, and I fell into the pool, and it was simply too darkish of a factor to point out. And I actually want that, like, dude, if I went by that, you bought it on movie, you higher put it in a film. However I feel it is simply an excessive amount of of a legal responsibility, or, like, a miserable factor, quite than one thing humorous. So issues like that. You understand, it actually sucks to get actually harm and take one for the crew, just for it to by no means be proven what sort of ache you simply went by.
I really feel like, with all the security coordinators and stuff now, you would not get away with that anymore.
You are proper. You understand, I imply, there have been two issues that we did with “Jackass.” We did physique bag on the dump, the place we pulled as much as a dumpster with folks trying with secret cameras in every single place, and we received out like bandits. We had these pretend crowbars product of like plastic, however they appeared actual, and we’re completely hitting Ryan Dunn when he is all wrapped up in a physique bag, and after we threw him into the dumpster, solely to have strangers reveal that this man is half useless when it was a joke all alongside. The police confirmed up and it was a giant, massive deal. After which after they discovered that we have been faking it for “Jackass,” it turned an actual potential lawsuit.
Matter of reality, the identical factor occurred with Knoxville in Los Angeles. He thought it could be a humorous concept to go to an Ace {Hardware} in a L.A. County Jail, full-orange physique outfit with {the handcuffs} on. He goes into the ironmongery store and tries sawing off {the handcuffs}. So folks name the police, saying this escapee from L.A. jail is now in Ace {Hardware}, attempting to noticed off his handcuffs. The police pulled up so quick that the woman forgot to place the automobile in park, and it drove up onto the curb, right into a pole, and precipitated numerous injury to the automobile. However, I imply, take into consideration if [the officer] would have run some previous woman over. It was such a giant factor that we may by no means present this sort of stuff on air.