Slamming is inevitable for skaters. From the random pebble that just jumps out in front of your wheel to the disorientation of balance that throws everything off, slamming comes in the most unexpected ways. It's the harsh reality of skateboarding and the pros know this particularly well. It's been said that pros (let's include am/flow skaters for argument's sake) slam more than other skaters, which I wouldn't argue with one bit. Going hard for tricks when you're as practiced as these guys are make the slightest change in their environment the biggest factor for slamming. Some skaters know how to come out of bails smoothly from experience, some just go straight rag doll and take the full impact. Some skaters play it relatively safe with their terrain, some skaters go balls out at the gnarliest spots. Regardless, this week I'll go over my top 5 skaters that come into my head when thinking about slamming.
Here are some other skaters that have had some pretty hefty slams too:
Jereme Rogers' opening two clips from Yeah Right are just painful to watch. Getting tangled up in the rail/hubba to flipping over looks rough on the entire body, but then the sack on the rail is quite possibly the worst one I've ever seen. And by worst, I mean the most direct sack possible. Jereme's cringing face explains it all.
Nate Akers' Hall of Meat for his ollie down a huge gap (in Washington state I believe?) is never going to be forgotten. I still trip out at the fact that you can hear 3 distinct snaps: the wheels landing on the pavement, the board breaking in half, and then that from his leg.
While I tend to pay attention to most things street-skating-related, there's no way I could not mention Danny Way's shin-shattering slam into the Big Air coping at the X Games or Jake Brown's frightening fall straight to flat off the Big Air quarter. It's a true testament to the sheer strength and willpower of these two guys to get right back up after slams like that.
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