Slams #1: Jerry Hsu

Jerry Hsu is my final selection for pros with slams primarily because of his part in Stay Gold (above). The opening minute and a half and more of just bails and freakouts from Jerry edited to the singing of "some days you just can't win" is pure gold for skateboarders. We all know Jerry has had some incredible parts like in Bonus Round and Bag of Suck so his part for Stay Gold was on the shorter side but oh so sweet. LITERALLY, without exaggeration, every single trick in the part was switch minus one nollie back tail (which is still using the nose though) so it simply works to have a part of half bailing and half tricks. As weird as it sounds, watching Jerry's bails and mental breakdowns in this part provide some sort of catharsis for skaters living vicariously through him: as he falls and screams we too feel the pain and frustration, but we also get a sense of relief for not actually having to deal with those situations. Or is just me? Anyway, amidst the first minute and a half of the part, Jerry has some seriously nasty falls. The first clip provides an instant migraine as Jerry finds out what happens when you lose balance before being able to swerve away from a wall. His head hits the wall harder than I've seen anyone else bash their head through whiplash when eating it down a set of stairs. Hitting the corner of the brick wall at 0:50 gives you that instant realization of just how bad that could've been when Jerry points to the corner with a painfully exhausted look. Also, Jerry bail off of the long out ledge at 1:24 just look rough when his legs twist very awkwardly. Not to mention the harsh butt shot at 1:34 on the gap to rail.

The Stay Gold B-Sides are also worth watching for all the raw footage and extra clips that didn't make it into Jerry's part. As for bails, they're not worth spoiling in a list so watching the B-Sides in full would do Jerry and Emerica the most justice. 

Also, for some bonus carnage, Jerry's extras from Bag of Suck show some really twisted bails, particularly from 1:14 - 1:43. The bump to dumpster tumble still shocks me.