Stage diving is much more dangerous than people give it credit for. A fan died last year at a Miss May I show and at a Suicidal Tendencies gig.
The Word Alive frontman Telle Smith, thankfully, did not suffer the same fate, but he did manage to fuck up his back and fracture his ribs at a gig last week in Pomona, CA:
I think I tied the record for worst show injury… 1 broken rib, 1 fractured rib and a broken back. Went a little TOO big in Pomona! #fml
— T E L L E (@tellesmith) November 19, 2015
I have a brace to help me finish out the last shows we have. But I won't be going crazy so you'll have to do that for me. RIP stage dives…
— T E L L E (@tellesmith) November 19, 2015
He made it through the remaining dates and thankfully will not need surgery:
Full diagnosis is in: bruised left lung, 2 "vertebral rib" fractures, broken L2 & L3 vertebra in my spine. No surgery required, I'm lucky!
— T E L L E (@tellesmith) November 20, 2015
He posted an extended message on Instagram on the topic:
“I had heard stories of injuries from stage diving, but you never think it will happen to you until it does. I have a broken rib, a fractured rib and broke transverse process which is one of the protruding bones near the bottom of my spine.
Honestly the pain is pretty bad but knowing I could have hurt someone else like this sort of numbs that from a psychological standpoint. I think in the future I will just stick to going hard ON stage not off it.
So long as my CT scan shows no further damage today, I will be playing the remaining shows. No, I don’t have a death wish but the reality is I want my band and crew to come home with as much money for the holidays for their continuous hard work and if I can perform, I have always vowed I would.
Luckily we don’t have any shows scheduled until February where I can hopefully be at or near 100% I am thankful I can and will be able to walk, which is something I never thought about deeply until now. This whole thing has put so much into perspective and I’m just thankful I will be healthy again in a few months! It could always be worse!”
Does it look like Telle learned his lesson?
For those asking, recovery time is estimated at 3-4 months so I'll be back at it hard in 2016!! Backflips included once I'm 100%??
— T E L L E (@tellesmith) November 19, 2015
