In the Name of Viral Video Glory, Youths Are Setting Themselves on Fire, Jumping Off Cliffs and Drilling Screws Through Their Arms
By JIM AVILA and SARA SORCHER
Teenage boys often bring video games with them when they go over to their friends' houses. But these boys bring their video cameras -- and jugs of gasoline. They set themselves on fire, they sew their lips shut, jump off cliffs and drill screws through their arms. They are members of amateur stunt groups or more aptly put, daredevil groups, who will do just about anything it takes to create the most outrageous clip to post on the Internet. MTV's "Jackass" started the trend years ago, but these boys have taken outrageous stunts one step further. "You want to one up people, you know?" said Al Cantu, a member of the stunt group called Freak. Inc. In one notable stunt, Cantu stapled firecrackers to his chest and exploded them directly on his skin.
Erik Barath, CEO of the video-sharing Web site Vidmax.com, explained the attraction of these "homegrown" stunt videos. "I think people want to see something that they would never try," he said. "And they feel safe looking at it through a window."
Barath buys some of the most outrageous stunt clips for his Web site, offering prizes ranging from $50 to $1,000 for the best clips. "I consider myself a modern day P.T. Barnum," Barath said. "What people would call a freak show, I call it a side show. [Viewers] come to our site and they see, I hope, the greatest show on Earth." What makes a great show? "If it ends up in a serious injury, as long as we get to the hospital, then [the stunts] turn out sweet because people like to see that stuff," Cantu said. "As long as the guy doesn't, you know, die..."
Marc Leroux didn't die, but there was nothing sweet about what happened to him. Fourteen years old at the time, Marc poured gasoline on his pants and ran through a flaming railroad tie. The boys had taken no precautions to put out the fire. Marc burned for 40 seconds, screaming, as the camera kept rolling. "The skin [on my legs] was pink and peeling everywhere and there was pus and fluid dripping from my leg onto the ground," Marc said. "I've never smelled anything worse than that."
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