The show developed from Big Brother Magazine, a skateboarding-related humor magazine that Jeff Tremaine, Dave Carnie, Rick Kosick and Chris Pontius all worked for, and featured regular contributions from Johnny Knoxville and Dave England, among others. The concept of Jackass dates back to 1999 when struggling-actor-turned-writer Johnny Knoxville birthed the idea to test different self defense devices on himself as the basis for an article. He pitched the idea to a couple of magazines and was turned down until meeting with Jeff Tremaine of Big Brother. Jeff hired him as a journalist and convinced Johnny to videotape this idea and other stunts for stories. The footage, which involved Knoxville being tasered, maced, and ultimately shot while wearing a bulletproof vest, appeared in the second Big Brother skateboarding movie Number Two (which is also the title of the second Jackass theatrical film) Johnny and the videos quickly became a hit. Future Jackass castmember Wee-Man made an appearance in the videos, and Florida clown Steve-O would send in submissions to be part of the videos. [2]
Big Brother would go on road trips, which is believed to be where Johnny met Bam Margera and they became good friends. In addition to skateboarding, Bam Margera had recently released a movie entitled Landspeed:CKY which consisted of himself and his friends, which he dubbed the "CKY Crew", in West Chester, Pennsylvania performing various skits and stunts. Among the Crew included the colorful cast of Ryan Dunn, Brandon Dicamillo, as well as Margera's family April, Phil, Don Vito, and Jess Margera. Jeff Tremaine saw the tapes and drafted Bam and his crew into what would become the cast of Jackass. Later, the Jackass crew would personally recruit Steve-O in a Florida Flea Market where he worked as a clown for part of the show. To round out the cast, Dave England brought in his friend Ehren McGhehey, a fellow Oregon resident and extreme stunt participator. [3]
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