Every kid who owned a pair of Etnies and spent their weekends eating concrete will remember the first time they saw lovable rogue Bam Margera skate.
However, the Jackass and Viva La Bam star’s well-documented fall from grace coincided with him hanging up his deck and his sponsorship with Element… Until now.
In a new video shared on YouTube, Bam Margera is finally back on his board and catching air.
In an interview with JENKEM, Bam admitted he’s been coasting around Barcelona for months, saying:
…Four or five years went by where I didn’t skate, and if I did skate it was simply cruising around FDR or at the park at my house, but nothing serious.
Then winter came and I was in Estonia editing a movie about this guy Andy Mccoy. He plays in a band Hanoi Rocks with Iggy Pop.
It was like October and it was already snowing and dark by 3pm. I was like, ‘I’m gonna kill myself if I don’t get to Barcelona and skate’.
So I flew to Barcelona, bought my first skateboard in 20 years and met up with [videographer] Winkle. From there, we’ve kind of been taking a road trip all over Spain for about two months.
You might think Bam’s alcohol addiction – which spiralled after the death of Ryan Dunn and was chronicled on VH1‘s Family Therapy – is behind his absence. In fact, there’s another much more tangible reason.
Bam explained the medical reason that kept him off the ramps, saying:
Yeah, well, it was like bone spurs in my feet, I had like six of them. The reason why I took so long to get them fixed was because it didn’t hurt to walk or run, it just hurt to land tricks skating.
So it was never really a rush to go get them fixed.
Bam, 37, born Brandon Cole Margera, is captured in the fish-eye lens footage trying out fellow skater, Roberto Aleman’s mini ramp, which is at his dad’s house in Spain.
Happily, it kind of sounds like nothing had changed and we can all enjoy this blissful nostalgia kick-push.
You can watch the full video below:
Touring round the ramps of Barcelona, Bam looks healthier and happier than we’ve seen him in a long time.
It’s great to have you back, Bam.
A former emo kid who talks too much about 8Chan meme culture, the Kardashian Klan, and how her smartphone is probably killing her. Francesca is a Cardiff University Journalism Masters grad who has done words for BBC, ELLE, The Debrief, DAZED, an art magazine you’ve never heard of and a feminist zine which never went to print.