Skateboarder on death’s door following serious stunt fall

A video documenting a skateboarder falling from a rail that caused a seizure, fixed gaze, and possible spinal injury has gone viral on social media platforms around the world.

In spite of generating popularity to the sites featuring the video, many media such as TikTok, Weibo and more had removed the video due to violations of their community standards, among the causes, acts of violence against oneself or others.

The incident took place at an unspecified location in Taiwan where a group of street skaters were skateboarding in front of a building, skating at the railing and slope at the entrance of the building.

Adlan

“He wanted to do a 50-50 grind but he missed it and slammed his head on the ground,” Adlan Farazi, an International Skateboard Certification Program certified skateboarding coach, told Gutzy Asia.

“If he had worn protective gear, it would have changed the outcome, he would have suffered less. But most street skaters don’t wear helmets or protective gears. They think that is not cool,” Adlan said.

Helmets are often seen as uncool or silly by many skateboarders. For example, in the Olympic Games, the only skateboarders required to wear helmets are those who are under 18 years old.

The video surfaced on the internet 12 days ago, despite showing a person in life-threatening situation, it does not deter netizens from making controversial and insensitive comments.

“Skateboarding must be done in designated areas. If you try to skateboard anywhere else, it’s like committing suicide.” said an user at a Hong Kong online forum hkgolden.com.

Screengrab from hkgolden.com

Wearing a helmet is not man enough; skaters’ perception

At Reddit, many comments berated the skateboarders’ perception of considering helmets as silly and uncool, especially by a lot of professional skateboarders.

“I just don’t understand the “no safety equipment” thing with a lot of skateboarders. It’s so easy to find videos of serious accidents like this.” ICCW said.

Spelunker93 said skaters’ argument on not wearing a helmet was unwise.

“They all know how easy it is to end up like them. They all think it’s cooler not to wear a helmet. That not wearing a helmet shows how skilled you are. It’s freaking stupid. The funny part is they will try to argue differently and say something stupid like the helmet is uncomfortable or blocks the view or throws them off balance.”

ViolentDiplomat said it would be nice to see more skaters like Andy Anderson, a professional skater who advocates for always wearing a helmet.

“It’d be nice to see more guys like Andy Anderson, dude’s a great skater and he regularly wears a helmet, whether he’s skating at a park or on the street. There needs to be more guys like him to set a good example and make helmets ‘cool’.”

Many Redditors such as drezworthy agreed that not wearing a helmet while skateboarding is not “smart”.

Intervening caused more harm than good, basic Emergency Medical Technicians (EMTs) knowledge

Heli_Lady wrote do not move a person who sustains a head or spinal injury.

“Seizures can be caused by trauma, but if the person has a seizure disorder, that could be the cause. Medical professionals will need to know how long he was seizing for, and what were the signs. Some seizures are as unnoticeable as staring off into space, some are full body tremors with foaming at the mouth and urination, most are somewhere in between. This information can provide the medical professionals with an idea of the severity much quicker than a CT scan and can help in getting the right treatment asap.

“Filming may seem like a douche move, but his friend did everything right ASSUMING someone else was already calling 911 (or that country’s equivalent) and if he tried to get his friend to wear a helmet beforehand,” she said.

No-Session5955 commented: “It’s pretty standard practice to not move someone with major head/neck trauma as you could cause further injury or even death.”

XeTrainMC said: “I’m a first aider, I promise you now, intervening would cause more harm than good, sure they should’ve given his head something softer to be on, but it’s really difficult when they’re flailing about.”

A life at stake, trolling goes on

Few people left sympathetic comments such as Minute_Story377, who wrote: “This is so sad. Can anyone tell me if he survived? It looks really bad and I don’t think he would’ve but if he did I want to know what happened to him.”

Why skateboarders don’t wear helmets

Some reasons why skateboarders might opt not to wear helmets include:

1. Style and Image: Skateboarding culture has a long history of valuing individuality and a rebellious spirit. Some skateboarders may see helmets as uncool or detracting from their personal style or image.
2. Comfort and Mobility: Helmets can be bulky and may limit a skateboarder’s range of motion, which can affect their performance and comfort while skating.
3. Peer Pressure: In some skateboarding communities, there can be peer pressure to conform to certain norms and not wear helmets, especially among more experienced or professional skateboarders.
4. Overconfidence: Some skateboarders may feel overconfident in their abilities and believe that they don’t need a helmet because they are skilled and can avoid accidents.
5. Perception of Risk: Some skateboarders may perceive the risk of head injuries as low and believe that they can control their skateboarding maneuvers to avoid accidents.

It is important to stress that not wearing a helmet while skateboarding is a dangerous choice.

Head injuries can be severe and even life-threatening, and helmets are designed to provide protection in case of falls or collisions.

Many safety organisations, medical professionals, and skateboarding associations strongly recommend wearing helmets while skateboarding, regardless of one’s skill level or age.

Ultimately, safety should be a priority, and skateboarders should consider the potential consequences of not wearing protective gear.