Photo by: CKY

You may have heard of a guy who goes by the name Bam Margera. He is an icon of the early 2000s, and he holds a special place in the skate community. Bam Margera is a controversial figure because of his obnoxious antics, party lifestyle, and his public outbursts. However, we can separate Bam’s social image from his skateboarding to examine how and why Bam Margera is one of the most successful pro skateboarders of all time.

Bam Margera was born on September 28, 1979, in Westchester PA. Bam was a skateboarder from an early age, and he even formed a skate team with his friends from school. While Westchester PA is considered a small town it had its own skate scene which influenced Bam’s style and skate preferences. Bam continued to improve his skills and eventually decided to drop out of high school to pursue a career in skateboarding.

Bam’s first sponsorship was from a company called Toy Machine in 1998. This first sponsorship was very important for Bam as it helped him become more established in the skateboarding world. After a few years with Toy Machine Bam decided to partner with Element skateboards which helped his skate career really take off because of increased exposure. Bam continued to be a successful skateboarder throughout the early 2000s, but his career took a drastic turn for the better after meeting famous comedian Johnny Knoxville.

Bam eventually made his way to the film industry when he met Johnny Knoxville and joined the Jackass crew. The Jackass movies were very popular and made Bam Margera a household name for young people. This movie’s success translated into success for his skate career. At the height of his fame, Bam’s signature skateboards were selling like crazy. At one point he averaged 40,000 sales per month for over a year! Bam attributes the success of the Jackass films to his abnormally large sales numbers.

As Bam became more popular more opportunities became available to him. He was featured in videogames, music videos, and he even got his own reality TV show on MTV called ‘Viva La Bam’. However, none of this would have been possible without his dedication to skateboarding. Bam’s story shows us that our passions in life can open up doors and opportunities for us if we work hard and make ourselves available.