Bam Margera Says Skateboarding Helped With Sobriety: 'i Need It In My Life, Or Else I'll Die'

Not excessively agelong ago, Bam Margera was astatine his wits' end.

The erstwhile master skateboarder and MTV prima of "Jackass" and "Viva La Bam" had struggled pinch narcotics and intoxicant passim practically his full big life. He's been to rehab 13 times, each for 90 days. That's adjacent to complete 3 years of supplier treatment.

But now, he's coming up connected 2 years sober, and he credits his first emotion of skateboarding for it.

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Bam Margera attends an arena to beforehand "Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3+4." (Activision)

"I realized I don’t request to beryllium connected immoderate medicine — skateboarding is my medication. As agelong arsenic I do a instrumentality a day, it keeps my sanity sane," Margera told Fox News Digital successful a caller interview.

Most fans grew up watching Margera doing chaotic stunts connected TV and successful nan movies. Off-screen, he'd return it to a different level.

But aft his co-star and champion friend Ryan Dunn died successful a car wreck successful 2011, Margera went "down a existent acheronian path," and his struggles reached nan constituent wherever he was taken disconnected "Jackass Forever" backmost successful 2022. He still does not talk to nan mostly of his erstwhile castmates.

"In 2013, erstwhile nan doctors declared my legs arsenic dry-rotted rubber bands from intoxicant abuse, I benignant of mislaid dream astir skating," Margera said. "But my wife, she’s a agelong coach. I agelong an hr a day, and my 45-year-old legs consciousness for illustration their 22 again. So, my passion backmost to skating is wholly there, and I do it each day.

"I really woke up 8 days connected life support pinch a conduit down my pharynx pinch COVID and pneumonia, and I recovered retired I went into 5 seizures 20 minutes apiece conscionable from staying up, not eating right, drinking excessively much, and that was erstwhile I decided I needed to alteration and I needed to alteration now," Margera added. "When I detoxed and mislaid a small spot of weight, I sewage backmost connected nan skateboard again, and my musculus representation yet came back. It was not easy, but now that it’s backmost and I’m doing it each day, a batch of tricks are coming measurement easier."

Most fans grew up watching Margera doing chaotic stunts connected TV and successful nan movies. Off-screen, he'd return it to a different level. (Jason Kempin/FilmMagic/Getty Images)

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Margera admitted that moreover nan simplest of tricks for a pro became difficult — erstwhile he was relearning his expertise, he fell and collapsed his wrist "for nan 15th clip and hyperextended my elbow pinch nan bony sticking out."

"That deficiency of assurance aft that, I was frightened to do anything… But erstwhile you commencement skating again each day, you commencement learning really to autumn again, and your chances of getting injured go much slim to none."

Now, Margera, 44, is simply a playable characteristic successful a reboot of "Tony Hawk Pro Skater 3 + 4." Margera had really missed nan deadline to beryllium successful nan game. But, aft hanging retired pinch Hawk 1 day, Hawk utilized his powers to get him in.

"Me saying hullo to him, if I would person not called him, this would not person happened. So it’s a existent blessing everything happened nan measurement that it did," Margera said.

"It’s a existent grant to beryllium successful nan game. It really puts skaters connected nan representation for group that aren’t diehard skaters arsenic location is. There’s specified a fistful of skaters that are really sidesplitting it these days, but if I said their names, you wouldn’t cognize them unless you were a diehard skateboard fan. To beryllium successful nan game, it tin get nan attraction of nan 80-year-old grandma, ‘Oh! I cognize that Bam Margera! He’s successful that Tony Hawk skateboard game!’ It gives you a full bunch of thoroughfare cred that if you’re successful that game, you must beryllium a existent established skateboarder."

Bam Margera plays "Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3+4." (Activision)

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For Margera, his caller measurement of life is simple: Skateboard, aliases else.

"I request skateboarding successful my life, aliases other I’ll die. I request skateboarding successful my life successful bid to fulfill it," he said. "If you don’t person immoderate passion for anything, past you suffer purpose. When you suffer purpose, you get bored, and past boredom leads to narcotics and alcohol. I can’t get bored. I’m wholly occupied pinch learning my skate tricks back."

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