BAM AND THE WOMEN IN HIS LIFE
 
For the “Meet Bam Sweepstakes” where two winners received the unique opportunity to meet Bam Margera at his house in West Chester, Pennsylvania, PacSun was allowed to tag along. While the winners were off hanging out with Bam and watching him film takes for the next episode of his TV show “Viva La Bam” on M.T.V., PacSun sat down with Bam’s mom, April (“Ape”) and fiancée, Jenn Rivell at their dining room table. We found out some fun facts about Bam from the women in his life…
 
PacSun: What’s Bam’s real name?
 
April: Brandon C. Margera.
 
PacSun: Who are Bam’s heroes?
 
Jenn: Iggy Pop and Ville Valo (lead singer from H.I.M.).
 
PacSun: What hurts Bam the most right now?
 
April: His arm. He just spent three days in the hospital for a staff infection and has an I.V. in his forearm.
 
PacSun: What’s in Bam’s jukebox right now?
 
Jenn: H.I.M. The jukebox only has the best music like Iggy Pop, Amorphous, Cradle of Filth, Motorhead and Helicopters.
 
PacSun: What’s Bam’s favorite fashion tip?
 
Jenn: It’s Rock Flair. Watch, ask Bam. “Bam, what’s your favorite fashion tip?” Jenn screams to Bam who is now filming across the hall.
 
Bam: Cut the bottom of your jeans so there’s no hem and it’s just a raggedy mess!
 
Jenn: See, I told you so! Rock Flare.
 
April: The other week, he bought an $80 shirt, lit it on fire and wore it out because it looked cool.
 
PacSun: Whoa, that’s pretty insane! Kids, don’t try this!!!! Who created JackAss? Bam or Johnny Knoxville?
 
Jenn: Bam was doing CKY videos and Johnny was doing Big Brother videos with Jeff Termain and they decided to combine them and do a pilot that got picked up right away.
 
PacSun: Jenn, so how did you meet Bam?
 
Jenn: We met at Love Park (skate park in PA) when he was nine or ten-years-old. I used to skate, too. He went up to me at the skate park and said, “Phil said someone has to hold my hand to walk across the street,” and I took him to a Roy Roger’s Restaurant. I was fourteen and he was about 9. I thought he was the cutest thing! We’ve been dating for six and a half years but we were best friends for thirteen years.
 
PacSun: Jenn, What’s your favorite thing about Bam?
 
Jenn: Even if he makes me mad, he can still make me laugh. I’ll be biting my lip and saying he’s not cute and funny, but he is.
 
PacSun: How did Bam get into skating?
 
Jenn: He’s been skating forever! Phil would drive him every day to the skatepark when he was little. When Bam was 10, Phil would drive him 45 minutes to the skatepark, he’d skate for 45 minutes, and then Phil would drive him 45 minutes home. They would stop by Ape’s work on the way back.
 
April: At the time, I was working at a hair salon called “Your Father’s Moustache.” I retired a month ago. Now, I am writing a cookbook of quick recipes for moms.
 
PacSun: As a parent and a fiancée, how do you refrain from constantly worrying about Bam, who is always pushing the envelope?
 
April: It’s a gradual thing. As a mom, I always worry, but you just build up. Bam jumped off the roof when he was 8-years old. I was cleaning and I saw something fly by the window.
 
Jenn: Now, Ape and I know how bad it is by the way he falls.
 
PacSun: Why does he call his dad by his first name?
 
Jenn: He’s called his dad, Phil, since he was 6-years old. He was lost in the mall and couldn’t find his dad and kept yelling, “Dad! Dad!” and no one answered, so finally he decided to call out “Phil.” The name stuck.
 
PacSun: If Bam could be anyone else for a day, who would he be?
 
Jenn: Nobody. He likes being himself.
 
- Shelby Stanger

 

 

 

Another older interview by Noe.V, (questions regarding the first Tony Hawk underground game)

 

 

Interview with Bam Margera

Noe V.
How did you get involved with the project, did Tony or the programmers call you up?

Bam Margera
Tony Called the programmers to call me up...

[Tony interrupts "Who wants some?" and crawls into the limo to challenge kids on THPS3.]

Bam Margera
I was on the Hawk tour for so long and I think maybe kids e-mailed saying they wanted me in it or something.

NV
What part did you have in the production of the game? Did you stop by the offices? Did they send you demos?

BM
Yeah I did a little bit when I came out here for a little while I went to Activision and just worked on my character. Just told them the way I wanted "me" to look. I told them I wanted some random trick where I could punch myself in the face or hit myself with the skateboard in midair.

NV
Is that where the Jackass move came from?

BM
Is there one?

NV
There is now. You hit like a hardflip except instead of flipping the board instead it comes up and hits you in the face. It's hilarious.

BM
Really? I never tried it.

NV
You're gonna love it. Although it's gonna look like you broke your nose in this one.

BM
I'm not even good at it (THPS3) right now.

NV
It's actually becoming more user friendly. It's pretty easy to play now and impress your friends. I mean Tony's okay but...[Bam looks over at Tony who is wowing the kids].No no he's really good. I mean he's been testing the game since day one. What do your friends think about this?

BM
Just people from my home town in Westchester is seriously crazy like "I'm going to be playing you." But I'm sure like everybody like Geoff Rowley's friends said that from England or something.

NV
Or your enemies "I'm going to break every bone in your body and then throw you off a building:"

BM
Yeah.

NV
Gosh I had like 20 questions and I can't find a damn one. Like what do you think about the contest scene.

BM
I liked them for a little while. But I've been so busy doing Jackass and now I'm working on the movie and everything I just don't have time to go to Europe and do the contests and things like that. Hopefully I could do it this year because I want to do it it's been about two years now. I want to go to Europe and do those contests one more time.

NV
When do you expect your movie to be released?

BM
It'll be done in about a month and a half or two months. And it probably won't be out for another four months

NV
You still have editing to do?

BM
It's halfway done being edited. We already finished filming it completely. So now we have to put it all together.

NV
Who did Jason Ellis (pro skater playing a record store owner in the movie) get into a fight with? In what scene in the movie?

BM
He beats up Rake Yohn which is "Hellboy" in the movie. His name is Hellboy. Did he talk about that?

NV
I think Tony had a write up when he went to the X-Games and he did a cameo and he mentions a scene where it looks like Jason and Rake are just killing each other.

BM
Yeah, yeah.

NV
Because Rake insults one of his (Jason's characters) hero?

BM
Yeah a band called "Gnarkill" it's his favorite band. It's funny, you'll see it. Brandon prank calls him saying that he's Rake Yohn. So when Rake Yohn walks in Ellis just attacks him.

NV
That's going to be great. What other projects are you working on? You've got the movie and the game...

BM
CKY, The b-sides to CKY3 will be out.

NV
DVD?

BM
Yeah, Christmas and then I'll be doing random music videos here and there for like either CKY, hopefully HIM.

NV
So you are you friends with the band now?

BM
Yeah I was actually just with them in Paris two days ago. I flew right here from Paris.

NV
Wow. That's bizarre man. What do you think of these demos as opposed to contests?

BM
Sometimes alright. I hate when kids ask for my board or my autograph before I even get into the thing. Like "Can I have your board?" Like "I got to do this demo dude."

NV
What am I going to do without it?

BM
And this demo here. I didn't even have my own board or shoes I had to borrow my friend Mike Maldonado's board and his shoes too. Which is completely not my sponsors at all. I'm skating around with a board that says Baker Skateboards.

NV
Is that how rumors get started Chris? (Skate photographer Chris Ortiz was taking pictures of the event and happened to hear Bam's statement.)

BM
Oh yeah I'm sure. I bet you all these kids out here think I ride for Baker right now.

NV
Yeah it's going to be in the magazines next. There wouldn't happen to be an A/C plug in here?

BM
Um I doubt it.

NV
I'm starting to run low on batteries and I haven't gotten a chance to ask Elissa Steamer any questions. Sorry.

Tony Hawk
I want this on the record for Planet Tony Hawk. I'm breaking two million right here.

NV
Tony Hawk is breaking two million points in Rio as we speak. No codes, no cheats 28 seconds left on the clock, he hasn't fallen once...He's still doing it he's still balancing his crazy combos... 87 thousand combo just like that...he's already passed 2,200,000. Not bad not bad for a rookie.

BM
Is that your special trick?

TH
2.2 baby!!!

[Tony turns and faces the camera]

NV
Bam hasn't seen the Jackass yet.

[Kids circle the limo and start chanting "We want Bam! We want Bam!"]

BM
Jesus.

[Tony loads up Bam's character and proceeds to show him "the Jackass."]

BM
That's awesome.

NV
Thanks for your time guys...