Falling off your skateboard may not be so much fun for you, but spectators seem to love a good mishap as much as a successful execution. Much like auto racing, where the crashes get more replay time than the crossing of checkered flags,
skateboard bails have become a bizarrely enjoyable form of entertainment that combines the best intentions with the worst outcomes.
While entertaining the crowd is not usually the intention or preoccupation of the unfortunate skater who loses touch with the board, some spectators are wholly satisfied by the resulting wipeout. As slick and effortless as grinds, pivots and ollies often look, the necessary combination of luck and timing sometimes fail to make it to the show. The resulting slam can be a great deal of fun for everyone else, although it often leaves the skater wishing he’d stayed home that day and played a video game instead.
Eating dirt is not always a bad thing for a skater's career. Pro skateboarder Jamie Thomas knows this better than anyone. While he fractured both of his legs attempting an 18-foot jump known as the “Leap of Faith”, his heroic attempt made the annals of legend. Despite the jump being a technical failure, watching the painful footage of his impact has proven quite popular.
Something deep in human psychology is attracted to disaster. We turn our heads at the ugly scene of road collisions and we stop to watch houses burning. We laugh at comedians’ pratfalls and laugh harder when similar falling is done by an amateur. Somehow, few accidents carry this attraction as strongly as a boldly attempted skateboard maneuver gone horribly wrong.
When something goes awry on a skateboard, a great deal more than pride can be injured. You’d never know it by watching the reactions of most skaters though, as they are typically stoic in accepting their pain. They tend to display a disregard for the throbbing ache of body parts flung at high speeds against concrete or crushed against metal rails. Concealing suffering is an art form in and of itself, as well as a consequence of the high levels of adrenaline which most performing skaters experience. The real pain from a skateboard bail will usually set in the next day.
The skater ethic is to walk it off without complaining. Bruises are considered good for the soul, and while only posers wear their scars like a badge, anyone who mounts a board is expected to bear some injuries as part of the price of such an extreme sport. Therefore, it may be best to take your early bails in private, on surfaces softer than concrete. A premature public premiere of a tough trick can be not only embarrassing, but dangerous.
Skateboarding bails are part of the sport. For newbies and pros alike, the skateboard is a flexible enough instrument to allow for error, but it's not a magic carpet. The same versatility which makes amazing stunts possible makes errors inevitable. Learning how to fall, adapting to rapidly changing surfaces, and getting out of the way of your plummeting board can all help ensure that your next slam is not your last.
