Brandon Cole "Bam" Margera (born September 28, 1979), is a professional skateboarder, television and radio personality, and daredevil. He released a series of videos under the CKY banner and came to prominence after being drafted into MTV's Jackass crew. He has since appeared in MTV's Viva La Bam and Bam's Unholy Union, both Jackass movies, and Haggard, which he co-wrote and directed.
Skateboarding career
Margera is a member of Team Element, the demonstration team for Element Skateboards. He is also sponsored by Destructo Trucks, Speed Metal Bearings, Electric Visual, and Fairman's Skateshop. Although Margera does not compete at the higher levels of skateboarding[citation needed], his large sponsorship packages assure him of "pro" status.
TV, film and radio
The CKY videos
Main article: CKY (video series)
Margera began filming himself and his friends skateboarding and doing stunts and released a compilation of his work as CKY:Landspeed in 1999. CKY2K, CKY3 and CKY4 have also been released. CKY stands for "Camp Kill Yourself", a reference to the film Sleepaway Camp. These early videos feature many of Margera's friends, including Ryan Dunn, Brandon DiCamillo, Rake Yohn, Chris Raab, Brandon Novak and others who form a loose collective known as the CKY Crew. CKY is also the name of a rock band featuring his brother Jess (see CKY (band)), and the history and relationship between the video and band projects is heavily interlinked.
Jackass
Main articles: Jackass (TV series), Jackass: The Movie, Jackass Number Two, Jackass 3
Former Big Brother editor Jeff Tremaine noticed Margera's videos and drafted him into the team which would eventually become MTV's Jackass. Margera and Ryan Dunn became mainstays of the cast while other CKY crew members played supporting roles to various degrees. Margera went on to appear in both Jackass: The Movie and Jackass Number Two. Several skits in the first Jackass movie were CKY style pieces filmed in and around West Chester, but similar scenes in the second movie were removed after the arrest of Margera's uncle Vincent Margera.
Viva La Bam
Main article: Viva La Bam
After Jackass, Margera was given his own MTV series entitled "Viva La Bam". The show ran for 5 seasons between 2003-2005 and followed Margera and his crew as they performed various stunts and missions. The show was primarily filmed in West Chester, Pennsylvania but also visited New Orleans, Los Angeles, Brazil, Finland, Mexico, Amsterdam and Transylvania. In addition to the regular series, special episodes have included "Viva La Spring Break" and a "lost" episode included on the Viva La Bands CD.
Haggard
Main article: Haggard: The Movie
Margera co-wrote, directed and starred in Haggard, an independent film based on real events in the life of his friend Ryan Dunn. Dunn played himself as the main character while Margera played "Valo", a character based on himself and elements of HIM singer and friend Ville Valo.
Minghags
Main article: Minghags: The Movie
Margera is currently in post production of Minghags, formally titled Kiss a Good Man's Ass. The film is a loose sequel to Haggard and will feature the "garbage juicer" invention from that film. This film was confirmed on Radio Bam and the front page of FilthyNote Records by Tim Glomb. Filming started April 5, 2007. On an episode of Radio Bam, Margera said that they are trying to make the movie PG-13 rated., but with the amount of swearing and a shot of nudity, an 'R' Rating could not be avoided.They had its first viewing of the rough version of the film on August 7, 2007 at Sikes Hall. The movie will be a straight to DVD release due to its content.
Radio Bam
Main article: Radio Bam
Margera began a weekly Sirius Satellite Radio show on Sirius channel 28 Faction on November 24, 2004 called Radio Bam. The show features Margera along with friends from the CKY and Jackass crews.
Bam's Unholy Union
Main article: Bam's Unholy Union
MTV commissioned Bam's Unholy Union as a follow up of sorts to Viva la Bam. The show follows Margera, his fiancée Melissa Rothstein and their friends in the lead-up to their wedding.
Filthy Note
Margera owns a music label, Filthy Note Records, and has directed videos for Clutch, Turbonegro, Viking Skull, Vains of Jenna and several for CKY. He also directed four music videos, "Buried Alive By Love", "The Sacrament", "And Love Said No", and "Solitary Man", for the Finnish band HIM. Margera also plays the keyboard in a novelty band called Gnarkill along with Brandon DiCamillo, Jess Margera, Rich Vose and Matt Cole.
Other projects
Margera has been animated as a character in pro-skateboarder Tony Hawk's video games Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3, Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 4, Tony Hawk's Underground, Tony Hawk's Underground 2, Tony Hawk's American Wasteland, Tony Hawk's Project 8, and Tony Hawk's Proving Ground. He also voiced a character in Scarface: The World Is Yours. He made cameo appearances in the movies Grind and Destroying America.
Margera plans to open a bar and theater in West Chester, Pennsylvania. Margera revealed on Radio Bam that MTV plans to film the process for an eight episode reality show. Recently, Margera has released the official name of the venue, "The Note" or "The Filthy Note".