Bam Margera

Bam Margera (born Brandon Cole Margera on September 28, 1979, name legally changed to "Bam") is a professional skateboarder and television personality. 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 also co-wrote and directed.

Margera was born in West Chester, Pennsylvania to Phil and April Margera. He is also the younger brother of Jess Margera and nephew of Vincent Margera. His grandfather nicknamed him "Bam" at the age of three after his habit of running into walls. He attended East High School and cites friend Chris Raab as his only reason for attending high school, and dropped out after Raab got expelled for smearing feces on a locker. He later received his GED at the insistence of his parents.

Margera was previously engaged to Jenn Rivell, a divorced single mother six years his senior. Rivell played a prominent part in several of his projects and the couple appeared to be co-habiting in various episodes of Viva La Bam. However, the relationship ended in 2005 and Margera would later become engaged to Melissa "Missy" Rothstein, a childhood friend. In November 2006 Margera filed for "Protection From Abuse" from Rivell after she allegedly broke into his house. He further alleged that Rivell had exhibited irrational and aggressive behavior towards him on several previous occasions including destroying several computers and vandalizing his house immediately after their initial breakup. The judge dismissed the allegations as "speculative" and "hearsay." Their break-up was attributed to rumors Margera had slept with pop star Jessica Simpson, which Margera initially denied before admitting they had been "intimate". Margera reasserted that nothing untoward had happened after he and Simpson met at an MTV Video Music Awards after-party in 2006.

Margera currently resides in "Castle Bam," a large house near West Chester, PA. The house has a gothic decorative theme, a skatepark in the driveway and is situated on 14 acres of land. Margera's parents, uncle and friends lived in the house while shooting Viva La Bam.

Bam married Melissa Rothstein on February 3, 2007, in downtown Philadelphia, PA, with about 350 friends and family in attendance. The couple's honeymoon was in Dubai.

Margera is a member of Team Element, the demonstration team for Element Skateboards. He is also sponsored by Adio Footwear, Destructo Trucks, Speed Metal Bearings, Electric Visual, and Fairman's Skateshop. Although Margera does not compete at the higher levels of skateboarding, his large sponsorship packages assure him of "pro" status. Bam also appeared in a movie called Destroying America also starring Tony Hawk, Brandon DiCamillo, and many more.

Margera began filming himself and his friends skateboarding and doing stunts and released a compliation 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.

Former Big Brother editor Jeff Tremaine noticed Bam'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.

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, LA, 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.

Margera co-wrote, directed and starred in Haggard (2003), 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. Tony Hawk made a guest appearance as a police officer.

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.

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.

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 for the Finnish band HIM, namely Buried Alive By Love, The Sacrament, And Love Said No, and Solitary Man. Margera also plays the keyboard in a novelty band called Gnarkill along with Brandon DiCamillo, Jess Margera, Rich Vose and Matt Cole.

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, and Tony Hawk's Project 8. He also voiced a character in Scarface: The World Is Yours.

Margera is currently writing, producing and directing an untitled feature film, 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. He has announced he would be working on a film called The Dream Seller. The title is a nickname for long-time friend and fellow skater Brandon Novak.

Recently, Margera released a name for an upcoming movie of his called "Minghags". This was confirmed on Radio Bam and the front page of FilthyNote Records by Tim Glomb. Filming started April 5, 2007, It is not the sequel to Haggard. On a recent episode of Radio Bam, they are trying to make the movie PG-13 rated.