I was mentally scarred from ‘Scarred,’ the most brutal reality show ever

“The following stories are real. They contain no re-creations or dramatizations. The footage was captured on video by the people involved. Do not attempt these bone crunching, skin splitting stunts under any circumstances. They can cause serious injury or leave you permanently SCARRED.”

This was only a portion of the lengthy disclaimer that aired prior to each episode of Scarred, MTV’s gloriously and outrageously gnarly reality television series that — in the span of two short seasons spread across 2007 — managed to both successfully spotlight some of the most horrendous sporting accidents ever captured on camera and burn them into the back of my eyelids for the rest of time. Yes, to this day, I am still scarred by Scarred, and I highly doubt I’m the only one, either. 

See, Scarred occupied this strange middle ground that was both horrifying and yet almost weirdly educational, like it was the Red Asphalt of extreme sports — complete with a heavy metal soundtrack, a rockstar host, and a medley of never-ending bone-crunching sound effects at its disposal. It was a show that dared you to keep watching as it unveiled its next great nausea-inducing injury, but somehow made it impossible to look away at the same time. And, most importantly, it was so unflinching in its depiction of the accidents that it could evoke a visceral reaction out of even the most seasoned viewers, drawing audible gasps, groans, and winces aplenty in the span of just 30 short minutes. It was, essentially, epic nightmare fuel.

The series — which, in truly early-aughts fashion, was hosted by Papa Roach frontman Jacoby Shaddix — followed a countdown-style format that saw five young adults share their own “scarred story,” with each one ramping up in bodily carnage and overall grody factor until they reached what Shaddix accurately deemed “the most f—ed up clip of the day.” And these BMX and skateboard bros truly spared no details when it came to their accidents, allowing viewers to gaze upon the exact moment that their bodies snapped, ripped, or shattered across different ramps, rails, and halfpipes in full stunning and completely uncensored clarity. They weren’t alone, either; celebrities like Tony Hawk, Steve-O, ​​Jason Acuña, and Andy Samberg also made appearances on the short-lived show to share their own stories, too. 

When Scarred first aired, I was an 11-year-old, pop-punk-listening, aspiring (read: extremely mediocre) skateboarder from Berkeley who was fully entrenched in the reality chaos that dominated MTV due to my older and much cooler sister. We’d spend our after-school days giggling through the latest episodes of Jackass, Wildboyz, or Viva La Bam — shows where obnoxious hijinks, broken bones, and bloody grins were not only expected, but actively encouraged. Amongst all of them, though, Scarred was the only show that I boasted about watching to my friends as if it earned me a badge of honor. 

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Part of what made Scarred such an emotionally scarring experience was that the people it profiled were, more often than not, just everyday dudes that you could find at your local skate park. It was kids like Cameron “C.J.” Collins, who broke his arm so badly while skateboarding that it jiggled and bent in half like he was Harry Potter in The Chamber of Secrets. It also ratcheted up the ante by showcasing the aftermath of the accidents too, often cutting away from testimonials to reveal X-ray scans of broken bones, freshly stapled skin and sutures, and all of the residual scars, pins, screws, skin grafts, and titanium plates that held their bodies together. Now, as an adult, I shudder thinking about the lasting impact from some of the particularly brutal injuries.

To the show’s credit, most of its participants would speak about the importance of wearing a helmet and safety gear during their retellings, with some expressing their relief that they had worn them that day and others wishing they had. Their cautionary tales served as a stark reminder to viewers: If these types of accidents could happen to them, then they could certainly happen to me you. Did it ever actually stop people from trying? Well, that’s a little harder to tell. 

I wish I could say that Scarred kept me from getting too grievously injured during my pre-teen skateboarding phase, but I honestly was too much of a wimp to take on a halfpipe even before I learned of the many ways it could absolutely obliterate your skeletal structure. It did, however, make me desensitized to some of the most gruesome injuries I’ve ever seen — a skill that, upon re-watching episodes for this essay, I have since discovered that I’ve lost since it originally aired.

There’s that common refrain that things just aren’t made quite like they used to be anymore. And while that curmudgeonly rhetoric can often be up for debate, I can say with absolute certainty that they don’t make shows like Scarred anymore. It was disgusting, it was exhilarating, and, at times, even wildly hilarious. It was bloody brilliant… with extra emphasis on the bloody. Hey, MTV, is it too soon to ask for a revival?