Camp Kill Yourself (CKY)

CKY SERIES INFO

The CKY video series is a series of videos produced by Bam Margera and Brandon DiCamillo and other residents of West Chester, Pennsylvania. Four videos have been released to date, Landspeed presents: CKY (later called CKY), CKY2K, CKY 3, and CKY4: The Latest & Greatest. There is also a CKY "documentary" DVD, which is a supplemental item in the hard-to-find CKY "Box Set," as well as two "CKY Trilogy" sets, both of which are compilation DVDs featuring scenes from the previous CKY DVDs. The videos were named after Bam Margera's brother Jess Margera and his band CKY (with Deron Miller and Chad Ginsburg). "CKY" stands for "Camp Kill Yourself".

The videos feature Bam Margera, Brandon DiCamillo, their friends and Bam's relatives lubbed up and performing various stunts and pranks, interspersed with skating and prank footage of Bam and other pros. A trademark of the skating footage was to show unsuccessful trick attempts immediately followed by the same skater pulling the trick off. CKY started when Bam and his friends were in the same Graphics Arts class at school in West Chester, Pennsylvania. During class, they would go out to a field and film skits, eventually being compiled into the CKY series.


THE CKY CREW

In addition to Margera and DiCamillo, the core members of the CKY Crew include Bam's brother Jess Margera, Ryan Dunn, Chris Raab (later called Raab Himself) and Rake Yohn (real name Edward Webb). Jess's involvement with the video side of CKY became increasingly limited as CKY the band became popular, and touring and recording commitments took up most of his time.
The first video stars the crew as well as The Gill (Ryan Gee), Mike Maldonado, Chris Aspite aka Hoofbite, and Kerry Getz. Bam's father, Phil Margera, were also featured (uncredited) in the first video. Bam's ex-girlfriend Jenn Rivell and David Decurtis aka Naked Dave starred in the second video, which also features Bam's mother April Margera (uncredited). Chris Raab was called Rabb Himself in the third video, which also featured CKY band members Deron Miller and Chad Ginsburg as well as Tony Hawk and Brandon Novak. Bam's uncle Vincent Margera aka "Don Vito" starred in the fourth video. Jenn Rivell's daughter is also seen in some clips.

The CKY videos brought Bam and his friends to the attention of Jeff Tremaine who drafted them into the cast of Jackass which aired for three seasons on MTV. Most Jackass skits featuring the CKY Crew were lifted from previously released CKY material or were recorded by the crew in West Chester, while the Los Angeles based faction of the Jackass team featuring Johnny Knoxville, Steve-O, Chris Pontius and others recorded in California. A subsequent MTV spin-off entitled Viva La Bam followed Bam Margera and his crew as they tortured Bam's family and generally wreaked havoc in West Chester and around the world.