Like Dr. Frankenstein, we chopped up, pieced back together, and brought to life all those slam-producing creatures who are a part of every skater's life. There's no escape. You gotta check these out.

Words and animation by Adam Creagan  |  Illustrations by James Callahan  

A RATHER GRIM REGGAE LYRIC ONCE PROCLAIMED: “There’s six million ways to die—choose one.” Well, there’s even more ways than that in which you can annihilate yourself on a skateboard. In fact, you don’t have to choose. The trauma lottery never sleeps, and it’s waiting for you the moment you step on the grip. From curbs to waist-high rails, or from flatground to hill bombs, each slam is unique and it’s only a matter of time until this blood debt needs to be reckoned. And whether you’re supernaturally talented or staring down your first drop-in: Everyone pays. The skate/slam covenant is so assured it makes you wonder if there’s dark forces at work, beyond the naked eye, maintaining the sacred oath. It's as if these ghouls, each summoned by a specific skate catastrophe, eagerly provoke and feed off of your misfortune. Perhaps these invisible entities, Slam Demons if you will, operate something like this…