Bam Margera

The legend between skating, Viva La Bam & lamborghinis.

“WHO DID YOU FUCK IN HERE ALREADY?” BEAMS BAM WITH A KIND OF A LEER AS HE LOOKS AT OUR MAG. HE’S ALREADY GOT A FEW DRINKS INSIDE HIM AND JOSTLES ON HIS OFFICE CHAIR ACROSS THE CONFERENCE ROOM OF THE ELEGANT HILTON HOTEL IN BARCELONA. TWO CAMERAS ARE RUNNING AND A FEW ‘PARTNERS IN CRIME’ FOLLOW HIS EVERY MOVE WITH THEIR EYES. IT’S THREE O’CLOCK ON A JANUARY AFTERNOON. LOOKS LIKE THIS INTERVIEW COULD GET INTERESTING.

How much have you had to drink already?
3 vodkas and Diet Cokes this morning, then I jumped from the balcony of the 5th floor into the pool.

Just because you felt like it?
Well, if they hadn’t have been filming me, I probably wouldn’t have jumped.

And how much water was there in the pool?
Just over a meter, yeah, it sucks. I busted my ass. But if you want me to, I’ll jump again!

No really, there’s no need! Actually, we’re more interested in other things. Like whether all your commercialization makes you feel like you’ve sold your “skater soul”?
It’s not hard to sell your soul when you get a million for an ad. How can you say no? I don’t feel good about doing the ads, but that’s not because of the money.

And where does the money go?
On my two Lamborghinis, a Hummer, a big house, a jacuzzi and my ex-girlfriend.

And what do your real skater fans have to say about that?
I don’t give a shit what my fans say about it! If they could, they’d drive a Lamborghini too. I can afford anything I want. And I look after my family and my wife too.

And how committed are you to MTV?
All in all, MTV is just meaningless bullshit. It stresses me out. I’m sure the stuff we do’s great, but you just can’t watch this shit. The shows are just ultra dumb! Do you know Pick Up Artist? Where 7 “artists” try and pick up girls in this totally fucked up way… You just can’t do that to yourself!

And you don’t have the feeling that your shows damage the image of skating? Skaters might watch the show because they want skating action, but hate all the extra stuff round about it.
You’re asking if my show damages skating? On the contrary, it makes people aware of skating again. Element sells 11,000 of my skateboards a month and half of them go to 13-year old girls who just hang my boards on the wall above their beds.

In your first 45 episodes of Viva La Bam, there wasn’t much skating was there?
It totally stressed me out that it always took me so long to master a new trick, as the skating only made up about 20% of the shows. I was really relieved when my friend Kerry suddenly showed up (who was present in the room) and got me skating regularly again.

Do you think people like your show Viva La Bam?
Well, I’m really pleased with the result. Unfortunately there aren’t any phenomenal skate tricks… But I did destroy eight cars!

And do you think that’s cool?
Sure! Who else gets the chance to destroy cars just like that? And when I wrap my Lamborghini round a lamppost, I just go and buy another one.

How much of a reality show is actually “reality”?
I’d say about 50% is planned. You need some kind of a story. The other 50% is just stuff that happens. But I always get sick of the “planned” stuff. It’s always the same producers and the same directors and writers. That’s why it’s cool when you produce your own show and get to use your own dumb ideas. I bring in a lot of new ideas!

What was your coolest idea?
Civil War Battlefield.

What values do you stand for?
What do you mean by values?

Well, what do you consider important?
The 20,000 bucks I spent on a skatepark in my area. But I don’t want to go there any more because there are always 10 cameras and so many people looking at me and that drives me crazy. If I haven’t been skating for three months, I always need at least 20 minutes to get back into it again. That’s why I built the indoor skatepark in my backyard for 200,000 dollars. I just don’t want to skate anywhere else any more.

Did you ever think your career would take off like this one day?
Not really. But it bugs me a bit too. On the other hand, I’d do exactly the same thing again. When I’m walking round Barcelona today and no one recognizes me for an hour, I think, shit… MTV needs to spend more money on promoting us. And then when someone does recognize me, it stresses me out too…

How far will you go with your craziness? And what about injuries?
I think I’ve reached a point where nothing’s fun for me any more. This morning I jumped into the pool and I busted my ass and that was cool. I’ve broken my wrist before, my foot, everything heals up. Of course it hurts, it sucks at the time, but it soon passes with a bit of ice and Arnica. That’s how the game goes, and if one day it doesn’t work any more, I’ll just go and play golf.

Do you take drugs?
Between 23 and 25 I took a lot of coke. When the dude who sold me the stuff got put in jail, I couldn’t get hold of it any more so I stopped. For me, it was like a medicine that boosted my concentration. And my girlfriend at the time pushed me into drinking alcohol when I was 21.

Are you sober in the shows then?
When I get a dick branded on my ass then I’m drunk. When I jump from an 8 foot high wall into a transition, I’m sober.

What do your parents think of it all?
Strangely, they’re proud of me. I quit school in 10th grade - they were less proud then.

What part of your personality do you find hardest to deal with?
I have extreme highs and lows, pretty bad.

Any complexes?
Thai food. I puke it up to keep my weight under control. I learnt to do it once in a show and now I can do it real easy. Food in general. When I feel like I’ve eaten too much, I throw up.

Who are your heroes?
Iggy Pop. He played at my wedding (broadcast live by MTV). Iggy’s 60 and he’s still got a six pack. I’ve lost it a bit (he shows his stomach).

What do you do when you’re not being filmed?
Read a book or drink a beer. Barcelona’s a mellow trip: Eating, drinking, going out. No skating, that’s why I’m getting drunk.

Are there any more Viva La Bam episodes in the pipeline?
8 more are planned. That means more filming, maybe feeling really bad and learning kickflips again.

Before we say goodbye to the phenomenon that is Bam, we give him in good faith a little package with a ‘Shut Up Bam’ T-shirt designed by our buddy Jim as a protest about Bam’s incomprehensible career…His strong reaction to our friendly gesture, clearly meant to be looked at with a bit of humour, was definitely inappropriate… Unfortunately, we only realize this when he stubs out his cigarette on the T-shirt before throwing it at the wall and asking whether this guy with nothing better to do than design a T-shirt like this has got a six pack and what kind of a car he drives.
We’ve hit on something that shows he’s not totally in harmony with his MTV career. And in some ways, that’s how it should be…

Thanks for the interview Bam