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Wade Fyfe's Survival Story
Posted On Apr 07 2009, 05:28 PM by mscott

First things first: if you haven't seen the new Strange Brew skateboard video, go grab a copy at your local skate shop. Secondly, once you track the video down, come back and re-read this article to find out how Wade Fyfe survived one of the worst falls of his life.

Warning: This video clip shows a severe fall and injury and is not for those with weak stomachs!

It was a little over a year ago when the Strange Brew crew headed out to Barcelona, Spain, to continue gathering footage for their soon-to-be- released video. On February 6, 2008, Wade came across the very same ledge that he'd scoped out almost a year ago on a previous skate trip to Barcelona. With the purpose of the trip being to gather as much footage as possible, he decided to take a chance at the 50-stair across-down ledge and that's when it happened.

"I ollied on the rusted ledge and started to grind across and down it," he explains. "I lost control by leaning forward and jumped off my board. I started to run down the ledge and at that point in my mind I knew I was in trouble. I got my legs tied up and fell pretty hard." 

Although the ledge remains NBD (never been done), Wade's attempt at a "claim to fame" almost took him out of the skate game for good. Let's look deeper into life before and after the fall, shall we?

How many times did you end up trying that big-ass hubba ledge, and what made you want to try it?
I tried the ledge five times in total. I wanted to try it because it looked like a great one to fall on... Nah I'm just joking. The spot looked great to skate.

Who were you with anyone when the accident happened?
I was with Kurt [Fillipone], Spenny [Hamilton], Brian [Caissie] and a bunch of other people. I ended up hitting my head pretty hard, so I don't really remember everyone that was there.

What was the first thing that came to your mind once you realized what happened?
I was in total shock and just bummed: I was in Spain and not in Canada. Health care!

What did the doctors have to say about your accident?
That I had a concussion and that I broke my elbow. Oh, yeah: they also said that I should probably go home.

How did you deal with it while being in Europe?
There wasn't much of a language barrier,so it didn't really create too much of a problem. People in Barcelona know English pretty well, so it was OK. Everything ended up working out.

Did you get any medical attention in the hospital before heading home? Hold on a second... didn't I buy you your ticket home?
The doctors ended up giving me a cast for my elbow, and yeah, you bought my ticket to Barcelona, but I paid you back. Once I found out that I had to go home to get fixed up, I had to by a new plane ticket home.

Did your sponsors help you out once they found out about the accident?
Nope.

How long did it take you to get back to normal health and able to skate again?
I went to physiotherapy for three months on my elbow. All in all, I was good to skate about four months after the fall.

How do you feel now? Were there any permanent injuries from the fall?
Right now I'm better then ever. I'm pretty lucky, but now that I'm getting older I need to stretch. I will probably have arthritis when I'm older, though.


FS Flip. Brian Caissie sequence.

After it's all said and done, what did this accident make you think of?
Death, but it made me stronger!

What's next for you with skating?
To have fun in the sun and keep doing it until I can't do it anymore... I'm not trying to get anything out of skating other to have fun while I'm doing it. Hopefully that will get other people into to having fun with it.

Where can we see this accident?
Buy the Strange Brew movie. I'm sure it will eventually end up on YouTube, but people should buy the DVD to support more films in the future.

What's the best thing about being in this accident?
Nothing, really... I guess Spanish nurses could be one good thing, though...

--------------------------
Related:
The Follow-Up: Strange Brew

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Growing up in Markham, Ontario, Mikey made the big move out west to "live the dream" via his semi-professional snowboard career. Eventually the mind outlasted the body and his focus shifted to getting an education and a "real job" in the action sport industry. These days Mikey works as a Marketing Manager in the action sports industry and as a columnist for Push.ca. Connect with Mikey at www.twitter.com/mikeyscott

Comments

Man... That's a savage bail.

posted by Matt Houghton | Apr 07 2009, 05:07 PM

A helmet would go a long way when doing some of the burlier lines like that ledge.  As soon as you're dealing with higher heights or speeds there is a lot more energy involved.  Do all you people realize that this guy is lucky not to be spending the rest of his adult life drooling while in diapers?

posted by Timmer | Apr 08 2009, 03:52 PM

You're an idiot. What the hell do you think you are doing making a video without wearing a helmet? How stupid can you be? Kids are going to see this video and you are not even smart enough to teach them to protect themselves? Grow up! The pros wear helmets.

posted by Anonymous | Apr 09 2009, 02:10 PM

With modern skate videos fully dipped in digital, the bonus "B-Roll" is omnipresent due to

posted by Frank Daniello's Column | Apr 13 2009, 03:17 PM

Originally hailing from Aylmer, Quebec, which is just outside of Ottawa, Paul Trep can be easily spotted

posted by Frank Daniello's Column | May 20 2009, 02:44 PM

Metro Vancouver-based Supra Distribution [Canadian distributor of Girl, Chocolate, Lakai, Fourstar, Royal

posted by Frank Daniello's Column | Sep 11 2009, 12:23 PM

Originally hailing from Aylmer, Quebec, which is just outside of Ottawa, Paul Trep can be easily spotted

posted by Frank Daniello's Column | Apr 02 2010, 05:19 PM

Studio Skateboards is up to big things. Not long ago Wade Fyfe and Mike Vince joined the already stacked

posted by News | Apr 08 2010, 01:07 PM

I think the best way to describe Edmonton is GNAR . There is no fear in their skateboarders, hence the

posted by Odawg's Column | Jun 28 2010, 11:12 PM
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