Image via Complex Original
Slams are just a part of skateboarding, and as a rider progresses, so do the slams, getting ever gnarlier. From the moment anyone steps on a skateboard, they are spending a lot of time on the ground recovering from falls. As one’s deck skills progress, so do their skills at falling. It is a life skill that most people do not have—a skill that can protect skaters from all types of danger because they know how to handle themselves when things go wrong. This year, like any other year, has been full of gnarly slams. Rails, gaps, streets, and parks play host to the carnage that is skateboarding. Slams happen to everyone—men and women, old and young—on the streets or in the parks; it’s simply the price that skaters pay for a feeling that only skateboarding can produce. With that said, here are The 10 Biggest Skateboarding Slams of the Year.
Nyjah Huston
With so many contest wins and video parts, it’s hard to believe that Nyjah Huston ever misses a trick. But in practice for Street League Los Angeles, Nyjah took a tough one, hitting his back, hand, and head, and nearly taking himself out of the competition. Dr. David Sales of Next Level Rehab was called in to get Nyjah back in the competition. After some targeted massaging and stretching, he went on to qualify in second place that same day and eventually won the whole competition the next.
Heimana Reynolds
In his first year skating the pro division of the Vans Pool Party, Heimana Reynolds took the worst slam of his life in front of a huge audience. His back wheels hit the coping on the way down from a huge backside air. Reynolds couldn’t hold on and was thrown to the bottom of the cement pool on his head. Sliding across the bottom of the pool like a rag doll, Reynolds was knocked out for a few seconds but was able to walk out of the pool with a little help from the medics. After regaining his composure, Reynolds went on to take his third run and ended up placing 12th in the world’s biggest bowl contest.
Cameo Wilson
When you attack rails and gaps like Cameo Wilson does, you sometimes have to pay the price. In his going-pro part, Cameo Wilson took a lot of slams that would have taken out most skaters, but he got up and landed just about everything he slammed on. A lengthy feeble grind in China with a massive drop at the end did get the better of Cameo, who bailed on to the stairs and rolled his ankle, ultimately keeping him from getting up and conquering the chrome beast. Skaters know that a rolled ankle may not look as bad as a body slam, but it can keep you off your board for months.
Nora Vasconcellos
As more girls start skating, they push themselves to new levels. But often, with progression comes failure, and Nora Vasconcellos failed epically on a boneless at the Chino Hills skatepark. When her feet didn’t make it back on to her board, she got pitched to the flat bottom with only her arm to break her fall. She did get up and land the boneless though, proving that she is as tough as she is talented.
Jonathan Perez
A lot can go wrong when flipping into a trick on a rail, but breaking a board with his butt was probably not a scenario Jonathan Perez imagined when he was attempting this nollie heel flip noseslide. Amazingly, Perez hits the ground running after snapping his board. Falling onto a thin piece of wood from eight stairs high has got to hurt. Perez was lucky that the board broke because, if it hadn’t, he probably would have been impaled on his beloved deck.
Jack Olson
A boardslide on a kinked rail is probably the most dangerous trick that you can try on the street. It is tough to balance a boardslide for long distances, and the kinks require odd weight and balance shifts to remain in control. Jack Olsen knows this, but seems not to care as he sacks twice on a lengthy kinked slide from his NO-COLLAR part. Jack did recover from the slams and conquer the beast of a handrail with a boardslide through the kinks. The 2013 Tampa Am winner knows that you have to risk it to earn a spot on the Real Skateboards team, which this video part helped do.
Jordan Maxham
In pursuit of one of the gnarliest frontside flips in skateboarding, Jordan Maxham took a beating. Imagine jumping off the roof of a house and onto the driveway repeatedly. Well, that is approximately what Maxham did, frontside flipping over a California 18-stair and handrail. Miraculously, Maxham’s only injury was a bruised hand and maybe a few years off his life. He did roll away from the frontside flip though, making all the suffering worth it.
Asher Bradshaw
Crowded skateparks can be just as dangerous as the streets if everyone isn’t paying attention. Just 10 years old, Asher Bradshaw collided with another skater at the Venice Beach Skatepark, getting spun around and hitting his head on the transition. Luckily, Asher was fully padded and helmeted and continued to skate. After the competition he was taken to the hospital and diagnosed with a mild concussion.
Duane Peters
Duane Peters (AKA The Master of Disaster) has been taking slams since before most skaters were even born. In 2010, he took a slam that nearly cost him his legs. Here, the 52-year-old Peters takes it to the back before skidding to a stop on his head just after dropping in. Having spent most of his life on a skateboard, this particular slam is practically nothing. The gashes on the back of his head are relatively minor for The Master of Disaster, but for the average skater this most likely would have meant game over.
Dane Brady
Unique spots make for unique slams. We’re not sure what Dane Brady was thinking when he ollied into this nasty situation, but we know that it didn’t work out. It looks like Dane may have wanted to ollie the rail and then hippie jump the second rail. In the end, he just tripped and got tossed, taking a full body slam. There is no footage of a make, so chances are that Dane called it a day after this one, or maybe he took a more traditional approach to the spot. We don’t blame him.
