The REAL Reason You Don't Wear a Helmet... 

As a kid, my parents told me that if they ever heard of me not wearing a helmet, my blades would go in the trash, and my bike would be given to charity. They beat it into my skull that I needed a helmet. My dad (who is now in his 60s) grew up doing stunts on bikes and skateboards. He had a lot of injuries, and even took the skin off of half his face when he did a faceplant on asphalt after missing a bike jump. I'm in my 30s now, and although I have taken a lot of spills and hits to the head, I have never had a concussion or any sort of head injury. Heck, I once ate it so hard that I split a helmet in half. I was fine, and my parents took me helmet shopping the next day. I absolutely love my Ennui Peak, and I wish I had this thing as a kid.

Aside from general health and well-being, the big reason I wear a helmet and pads is because I don't want to have to stop skating if I fall bad enough to get injured. If I hit my head or my knee and have to take a week/month/year off, I'd be pretty upset. I've had some bad drops to my knees where my pads saved the session so I could get back up and keep skating. Thankfully I haven't hit my head on blades yet, but I'm always wearing my helmet if my skates are on my feet. In all my time doing skateboarding, longboarding, blading, cycling, skiing, snowboarding, the majority of the times when someone gets hurt is when they're riding casually and not paying attention, or just goofing off while going slow/not moving. And the times when people are going fast/hard and mess up and can't save it... the injuries are usually a lot worse. It's not worth having to take time off skating just to "look cool."

still healing after a concussion last week skating. ive been skating and playing hockey for 30 years and caught weird on a small small curb doing a trick i do everyday. still dizzy. still fatigued. all messed up. had blurred vision for 30min after. its no joke and no matter how good you are freak accidents happen. needless to say i ordered a helmet the next day.

As such a big voice in this community, we really appreciate you spreading this message.

I've pretty much always wore a helmet but for me it was the story of my friend who wore a helmet mountain biking and hit his head on a tree. He was probably a little concussed but he said when he took off his helmet a huge chunk was missing out of it. For sure it saved his life that day and I never forget that as my motivation.

i wear a helmet because i have a great paying job, a mortgage, and a family to support.

For impact on the community, this might have been one of the most compassionate and impactful videos you’ve made so far! I salute you sir 🫡

I don't really wear one just going down the street, but I always wear one park skating. Better safe than sorry

As a person who almost died, ended up in a coma and now have brain damage because I wasn't wearing a helmet; You do you bro :)

I always wear my full gear when I skate. Even when it's 100 degrees Fahrenheit on a humid Florida day. Yes it's uncomfortable and my head gets very hot but I have a family to support and if I get injured I'll be unable to work. One day, a few months ago, I got to the skate park without my helmet and I wanted to stay but I had a horrible gut feeling. I decided to go back home and get my helmet and come back. That day I slammed super hard in the mini ramp doing something I've successfully landed at least 30 times. I hit my head HARD and I called it for the day of skating. If I didn't go back for my helmet I may not have even made it home. For me that solidified that I will never skate again without it and I'll be teaching my daughter the same thing when she's older

I'm a 63 year old skater who has been involved in action sports my whole life. I have had concussions and even broken my skull around the eye socket on dirt bikes, mountain bikes and racing BMX, all while wearing an approved helmet. I know of at least 3 instances on a motorcycle where wearing one probably saved my life. That said, I never wore one as a teenaged skateboarder for the same reason you mentioned, it just wasn't cool, especially back in the 70's when the only option was an ugly hockey helmet. I wear one now on every skate session, inline or skateboard, and it has saved me from some hard hits. As a software engineer, I make my living with my brain and protecting it is pretty important to me. I do think in the end its a personal decision, as is wearing all safety gear. You have to decide yourself what level of risk you are comfortable with and deal the consequences, but you should never let others opinions affect yours.

I feel super weird skating without pads lool

I love wearing my helmet, not only does it protect my head which is nice I can add brands to it via stickers showing my support for them. We need more Bladers to push helmets, and support the idea of it. Pro Skates, Pro Protection Just imagine a pro skater coming out with their colourways for pro-protect gear, Helmets, Knee, Elbow, and Wrist. Brandon you need to start this, next up is a Brandon pro helmet, I'd buy that. EDIT: Great video enough said

let's rebel against traumatic brain injuries

Humans feel before we think. As long as helmets make people feel less confident they will avoid them. We would need all the big brands to come together and have all the pros wear them and change the emotional tone of the helmet.

back in the earlier days of the internet, i saw a video of a bmx rider absolutely smashing the back of his head on the ground after attempting to 360 over a fence. the guy died on camera bleeding all over the ground with his eyes pointed in opposite directions while simultaneously convulsing until he went into the light. so when i picked up blading i said to myself that im not going to be the guy on youtube getting laughed at for killing himself for not wearing a helmet. last year i was skating a dank curved ledge for the first time and mis-judged my jump. fell backwards and rocked the rear-left of my head on the ground - literally didnt feel a thing thanks to the 888 sweat saver. i 100% agree with the fact that it can happen anytime anywhere totally at random, and most likely will happen with the rollerboots on due random changes on the surface youre rolling on. so if you dont wear a helmet while skating, i have no sympathy for you when you eventually need it. the amount of cope from all these skaters blows my mind. you can see it in their eyes, even they cant believe the horseshit coming out of their mouths as they cherry pick arguments to support not wearing helmets when skating. anyway, rant over.

I agree with almost everything in this video, exept for what the real reason people don't wear helmets is. I think the biggest reason people don't wear helmets is simply becuase, like said in the video, almost no one does it. People just do what other people do, that's how we are. Whatever reason one has for not wearing a helmet can easily be thought to be correct because others have reached the same conclusion. But just because a lot of people do something doesn't mean that it's the best thing to do.

The problem is, at least 90% of pro skaters don´t wear helmet for most occasions. I hope some of them would lead by example. I am ADHD and got several serious hits to head in my life, considering myself lucky having no issues yet. I am often the only guy in skatepark wearing helmet, but man, your brain is by far the most valuable thing you own.

I have to wear one at 41. The body doesn't work like it used to and sometimes isn't strong enough to keep my head from hitting on a slip out.

Thanks for posting this man. Im a teacher and literally in everything else I try to set a good example for my kids and it’s crazy that “wanting to look cool” literally took over my brain! I used to longboard and I’d preach the importance of wearing a lid every time! Just ordered a new helmet and ima be wearing it every time now 🎉🎉

Love how you treat this topic Brandon! Keep up the good work with your videos and showing the young people that protective gear, especially a helmet is important to wear! I started skating in the 90s with nothing, when going into aggressive we got all the pads and helmet. Over time, as you say, it became uncool to not wear them, but being almost 30 at that time, this did not trigger me and my friends to not wear our protective gear when skating park. Now, I even use a helmet when I blade at the beach for distance or urban. Thanks for always making the "use a helmet" statement!

I think not wearing a helmet is part of the outlaw/macho/reckless/tough guy mentality present in skate culture. Go to your skate park and watch how many women wear helmets (if there are women). If you're not cool enough with a helmet maybe work on your personality (or fashion) to raise your coolness instead of ditching the helmet, big Boy 💋💋💋

Ah my time to shine, I recently took a bad fall skating and ended up hospitalised and needing surgery. I have a LONG recovery ahead of me and theres a pretty significant chance im screwed for the rest of my life, all because I wasn't wearing protection. Please be safe.

My skating improved when i got crash shorts, good g-form knee pads, a quality helmet.

Well done, you kept this very moderate. I would have been calling out dudes for putting their families through TBIs, having weak ass levels of life insurance, and for having near vertical angles on their royales but still thinking they’re too cool for helmets 😂

Good topic-yes, if I can minimize the effect of falls by wearing some more gear, then I’ll do so. Plus, yes, I am a mediocre rollerblader in my late 30s-I really don’t care about looking “dope” or “badass”. And if you’ve seen the old KFC videos (Never The Same, Pandora’s Box etc), you see maybe the world’s best skater (Broskow) smoking his head a number of times. If someone that good is hitting their head, how can I be so confident that I’ll always get by unscathed?And also it’s a behavioural modelling thing for my nieces/nephews. At the end of the day, it is not my place to tell folks how to live their lives, but I do the helmet and pads thing so that I can skate longer, and also because it’s now so ingrained as part of my skating routine.

I’ve been wearing helmets for a long time. But I used to warm up and skate my regular local favourite mini without a helmet until one day I had a simple basic fall and cracked my head on the edge of the coping with out my helmet and that changed my view. I was lucky and just got a cut but it scared me and since then I always wore one. I keep all my old “dead” helmets I say “dead” because they have saved my life. The helmets are so wrecked I know if I wasn’t wearing them I would either be dead or a veggie.

As someone getting back into agressive skating since 2002, I bought me a helmet a few months ago and have yet to skate with it 😂 I need to just suck it up and get used to it because I’m 35 now not 13 anymore 😢😢😢

Dude this video is great! So informational and funny as hell. Some of these people and there views on helmets! Haha

helmets are not cool but being a vegetable is less cool.

I know with Mally - and myself - coming from inline hockey, where you wear ALL of the gear [and you don't get to play if you don't], sticking on a helmet is nothing. I gave myself a concussion on the mini after hitting my head [and I was wearing a helmet] - with Mally skating insane vert, there's no way in hell that we'd take the risk.

My friends son died about a year ago from skateboarding without a helmet. Skitching, lost control.

I know someone who hit her head and LOST her ABILITY TO TASTE. She was a cook, but she had to find another job because of this. :-(

I love this video! Thank you, @Brandon Drummond. I’m glad someone is willing to be as blatant and candid about this issue as you’ve been. Your tone is 100% appropriate and on point. Be well, Brandon!

People made the same arguments about seatbelts yet it's now seen as pretty moronic not to wear one. Most rollerbladers will wear one in the park but skateboarders are all posers and never wear one. Ironic that a "punk" sport cares so much about fitting in.

You got me thinking about being an influence for my little nephew... so guess it's time to buy a new helmet now

My brother slipped out on smooth wet concrete and got a huge lump on his forehead, black eye from his sunglasses, obvious concussion, I think he still has some issues from it today. That was the day we all decided helmets were needed. Feel goofy but we all got gear on and helmets so it's not as bad. Wear the gear so I can have fun today and provide for family tomorrow. Can't provide if you're in hospital.

I wear a helmet because it throws off my balance if I don’t have one on.

great video, people just get so stuck in their ways, insecurities etc. I would skate with my shoes untied because thats how I was introduced to skating, DC shoes with laces stuffed down the ankles 2 or 3 sizes up lol. looking back it was so stupid and definitely hindered my skating. Whats great about this video is it bleeds into all aspects of your life. people are very cult like and weird, we latch on to things and dont wanna be told any different but give it a try and benefit ur life for once. Another example of many, I would only ever fill my gas tank up to half and using even numbers like 10 or 20. I then did the math on how much time and money i was wasting by frequenting gas stations.. so dumb lol

It was ONLY cool to rock helmets and BIG HUGE white knee pads when Airborne was still a fresh film. Once Pawn Wrist guards went out.... all of us cool guys stopped. Fabiola had a pro pawn wrist guard. Julio did too. Back in the mid 90s. Damn 30 years almost now. 😳 But many of us from the early days this is how it works for us. I was out there in a hockey helmet huge knee pads and pawn guards JUST to look cool with HUGE jnco shorts and a baggy flannel or jersey. 😂 Sucks I didn't good at skating until my 2nd wave era.

Was always skating with a helmet and one day my girlfriend was too lazy to take her helmet to the indoor skatepark because she only had a "ugly" one. Forced her to take it and exactly in that session she fell backwards on her head on the ramp, first mark on the helmet :) nothing happened

I've been to some absolutely incredible spots and forgotten my helmet and I tried to put my skates on a roll around but it just feels too awkward and uncomfortable. Just picked up the ennui Bart Simpson helmet and it feels like I'm even more at home than ever before in a helmet

I unexpectedly fall so much more just moving around or coming to a stop than I do on tricks. Just wear the helmet, you won't even notice it after a while. Brain injuries aren't cool, just a multi-month or multi-year reminder of a bad time and if you didn't wear a helmet also a bad choice.

Thanks so much for doing this video! Important work

Here because I completely out of nowhere had the thought “could I learn to rollerscate/rollerblade (pretty sure there is a difference but don’t know it?) to do more grocery shopping on foot?” and the only real excuse I could come up with (before clicking) was “I have tailbone length hair and keep it in a bun/pair of buns on the back/side of my head”. Head protective gear, heck even the back of the headrest of a car, never really remember that people with hair exist and it’s a constant uphill battle. But I mean I’m sure there ARE ways to wear hair in a very contained way with a helmet, other than being stuck with a really low ponytail that goes everywhere?? Or maybe helmets built for hair?

I'm 45, didn't start skating until I was 21 and started wearing a helmet right away. Then I learned the culture and stopped... cause I was stupid. Got cut off by a scooter kid dropping into a bowl and I had to bail to not turn him into paste. Rolled and took a glancing blow off the dome and it sucked for a day. I got pretty lucky. Got a helmet, never looked back.

I am a scardeycat, I always wear protective gear. I've got nothing to prove.

I fell on my face snowboarding so now I don't pass up the opportunity to wear a helmet. I have had close calls and I feel like I got better at falling to where I don't throw my head or hands back. Either way if I'm doing something new or extreme I will wear my helmet

Important video. Thanks for sharing.

Haha, the cycling dude 🤣 "the misconceptions of helmets"... cemtrails.. bro, cemtrails...

A few years back I did a standard air out of a quarter pipe and after i landed my skates flew out from under me and i slammed the back of my head on the concrete. I was wearing a helmet and i was still seeing some stars and felt dizzy. I legitimately might have died if i didnt have a helmet on.

Im glad to hear you care. I know Andy Anderson skate boarder always wears one and he's cool don't look dumb.

Just unapologetically rip into those anti helmet skateboard weirdos. Especially Ricky Glaser. This dude made a video with alt righter Tim Pool and worked for Scientologist Aaron Kyro of Braille for years. When confronted he plays dumb like he doesn’t understand how bad these things are or how he plays a part in promoting/platforming them.

as a skater and street unicyclist 100% I agree, you don't lose anything by wearing a helmet btw the real reason that no one is wearing a helmet is that people just copy what they see and don't think about it for more than 3 seconds

I busted my chin open 3 times back in the day and got stitches. I was wearing a helmet all 3 times it happened. I figured weight of the helmet itself messed with my equilibrium and it was attracted to the ground. Haven’t worn a helmet since. 33 years now in blading. It’s really is, to each their own with it.

When skating in the 90s and 00s I always wore knee, elbow and wrist. I never wore a helmet. Started skating again last year and my wife said "nope - you are not skating without a helmet". So I now wear a helmet. I have only hit my head skating once and it was 4 months ago and I was wearing my helmet and I was very grateful. My wife is the smart one - I can say that here cos she will never see the comment.

Good on ya

Recently had a fall where I hit the back of my head against a ledge, I was so happy that I had my helmet on

As someone who wears a helmet - there are times I've smacked my head and the most painful part was the loud noise! I can also tell from the sound that I'm really glad it's not my head smacking the ground.

Pay for it now or pay for it later

I used to do a lot of mountain biking and always wore a full-face helmet. My friend didn't wear a helmet and he used to mock me for it. I once said to him "I have a brain worth protecting" and he never said anything else about me wearing a helmet.😂

This video is so on point.

I suspect helmets and pads are associated with beginners. Ego and social pressure are powerful influences.

Skate helmets have got to be the least developed items across all freesports. It doesn't matter which sport you do, the helmets are nearly identical, and they haven't really changed since they were invented in the 70's. They're unnecessarily thick, and have next to zero ventilation. I run very hot, so keeping my head cool is a big issue. I used to wear a skate helmet, but stopped after I nearly passed out from heat exhaustion at the top of a ramp. After all, what's the point in wearing protection, if the protection causes the danger in the first place, lol. Since then, I bought a Bell Super 2 bike helmet, which is the most ventilated helmet around, which doesn't look too much like a bike helmet! I wear it when big wheeling, because the constant movement keeps adequate airflow through it. But for aggressive skating, it's still too hot. So instead, I wear a sort of padded headband for ice skaters, called the Crasche band. It only gives a degree of protection to the temple and the back of the head. But it's not too hot, and at least it's a bit better than nothing at all.

As much as it shouldn't be, it's complicated than we think. I wear a helmet rollerblading but not when I'm rollerskating and the only reason is a cultural thing. Another prime example is hockey vs figure skating. Both are performing dangerous maneuvers but only one sport requires a helmet. Nothing about it is changed, I can fall just as much rollerblading as with rollerskating. It's interesting how I calculate my own risk as well as having a dose of survivorship bias of "that's not going to happen to me". I accept my rollerskating risk as I am not moving as fast or hitting obstacles but also know the importance of safety gear. I think the final conclusion is to not discourage from people wearing helmets but it's also hard to encourage people to wear helmets if no one is wearing them. It's a do as I say and not as I do situation.

very important topic

First of all I do wear a helmet. BUT I would like to point out that there is another reason: Rollerblading gives the feeling of freedom and flying on asphalt. And a helmet does limit this feeling of freedom.

Love this vid, earmarking it for showing my kids at school, may have to bleep some words but hey;)

I've yet to need my helmet. But the day I do, I'll be very happy that I'm wearing one.

I ride motorcycle to commute, I always wear a DOT motorcycle helmet which more bulky and heavy or expect fines if you're not wearing one during riding. You can say I'm already used to wear helmet no matter how uncomfortable the situation. Commuting daily in tropic climate with helmet is just feel normal. Due my country strict import regulation, I buy whatever I can get and ended up with Decathlon Oxelo MF540 because they always on sale and EN1078 certified. If you still care to not get serious head injuries, get out and find local sport/skate store that sell any skate helmet. It doesn't need to be fancy helmet with MIPS or anti sweat liner just get anything that you feel most comfortable and get used to it. I'm not asking you to invest top of the line helmet, they're not gonna make your head 100% invisible but just trust me they will save you in case shit happen.

I need a helmet everytime I skate something bigger than usual but I got used to it and I prefer to wear it just in case

I’m also in NZ I would love to know where you buy skates here

When I first started wearing a helmet, it felt weird and distracting. I fell one time on my p-rail, and luckily I was wearing my helmet that time because i came down on my head. It really hurt, even with a helmet so I decided from then on that I would always wear a helmet. Now, because I wear one every time, it feels weird and distracting if I don't have one on. You do get used to it, and you don't get cool points for brain damage.

Such an important video! Wear a helmet and make sure your kids wear em too 🙌

It’s curious about Sizemore. Stopped wearing a helmet to skate for valo? Haha, does anyone know the truth?

I'm weird, I wear full gear when riding my motorcycle, I wear nothing on a bicycle or skateboard, I wear knee, shin, elbow, and wrist protection when inlinining. I can't tell you why I don't wear a helmet when inlinining.

I wear a helmet….. now. Between skating, snowboarding, dirtbikes and motorcycles I’m probably about 4-5 concussions deep and really can’t afford another one.

I look horrible in a helmet, but I still wear it. I’m usually the only one in the park with one… sad.

18:06 haha i remember this topic on twitch

I watched a video of a parkour runner go into seizer. You'll probably never see them wearing one either.

I agree with wearing a helmet. U always go down dangerously when u least expect it. It just happens! And a helmet ur probably gonna be ok. No helmet...ull most likely have a very serious injury or death. Just get the coolest helmet u can get And pimp it out. Maje it ur own personal. Create ur own style and forget haters. U know exactly what they wud say if they crashed without a helmet and got a brain injury coma shit. Hmm what is their view now? 100% wud say they wish they had the helmet. They contradict themselves.

Yup, never hit my head on a vert

There are cool helmets! Look for 'Melon' they got nice designs and are very light... They got a winter kit too, so you never get cold ears 😊 Just the fact it's called Melon but they make it special to get more people to wear helmets is reason enough to support them... It's a German brand, so not sure where to get it outside of Europe 🤔 I love the look of my 'Aviator' Anyway, I think it shows confidence, humbleness and intelligence to wear a helmet despite skills and that is how I define cool 😤

One idea that i think is important as an argument to wear a helmet, and pads: I will try tricks i'm less sure i can succeed at with the "safety net" of a helmet and pads. It enables me to fail more times in a session, learn faster, and ride again the next day. We oftentimes learn more from failure than from success, and if i can fail with lower consequences, i'll learn faster.

i like this video because of how visibly angry you get at people calmly telling their audience why not wearing helmets is alright. for all intents and purposes i don't know if ill wear a helmet now or not because im sadly already stricken with the "coolness" bug. but keeping this discourse going so that newer generations at least have a say in picking a side themselves is super important

fantastic vid 👍Im 49, helmet all the time

I'm really glad someone said it! 👏 More people should wear protective gear! Guaranteed you'll be going out in the streets for longer🎉 don't be dumb 😂

There’s an old Ted talk about facial recognition. It’s. Freaking. CRAAAAZY.

I watch some of Ashton Kelley's content.

"Didn't have eyes" Holy fuck!! Now, I have a new fear 😮

I've got nothing to protect

The story of Lenny Kirk. Concussions can make you go nutso buttso.

Could someone explain to me where a barrier is when you can let yourself not wear a helmet? cause if u think twice it could be beneficial for people who walk in the streets or even stay at home, it could save lives!

Smacked back of my head once and always wore a helmet from then on. Strangely I went snowboarding for the first time in 10 years this winter. No one used to wear helmets back then but now you are the odd one out of you don’t

New king of qualifier and pleonasm abuse.

I've been skating for 30 years, I skate with knee pads and half of the time without anything (and in shorts), here is my own injury stats : - I never hit the head, shoulder, elbow ... even though I ride fakie a lot - I often hit my shin, but not often enough to wear shingard (I think shin impacts really depends of your style of skating) - I often hit my knees, thus the knee pads, by I can avoid hitting them by falling on the side - I often hit my wrist, but wrist guard are useless, so I don't wear them PS : Most of the time when someone says 'my helmet saved me because it touched the ground', actually a helmet is so bulky that your head would not have touch the ground without it. Reflex to protect the head is automatic when falling. PS2 : The most extreme street skaters skated without helmet and nobody died

3:25 the emo phase

My only problem with helmets is that they get hot AF in summer. And, no matter the speed, the airflow ain't enough Edit: i wear em anyway

this video got me questionaing why I don't wear a helmet when im walking.

Just replace the vent with 1 that aloud ur long hair to go through..Mohawk punk kinda looks style safety n kewl...ha3 my trademarks looks .but positive side towards safety yet indian mohican on the loose..Peace!