Parent of Teen Who’s ‘Lucky to Be Alive’ Warns Others of ‘Duct Tape Challenge’

Rachel Grumman Bender
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The latest viral Internet stunt, the “duct tape challenge,” has left one 14-year-old hospitalized after sustaining severe injuries.

The teen, Skylar Fish, thought he was playing a harmless game that involves being wrapped up in duct tape and then trying to break free. Fish and his friends had tried the duct tape challenge before, taping one another to a pole, without injury. But on Jan. 16, things didn’t go as planned.

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Fish and his two friends decided to try the challenge again, taping Fish’s arms and legs while he was standing up. When he tried to break out of the duct tape, he fell face first, hitting his head on a window frame and slamming into the concrete on the ground.

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A teen doing the duct tape challenge with a friend. (Photo: Q13 Fox)

“It crushed his whole eye socket and pinched off nerves in his eye,” Skylar’s mom, Sarah Fish, told KIRO 7 News. It’s not yet clear whether Skylar will ever get his vision back in that eye. Hitting his head on the concrete also caused a brain aneurysm. Skylar needed 48 staples on his head and has been recovering in a Seattle hospital for more than a week.

“I’m just, actually, really lucky to be alive,” Skylar told KIRO 7 News.

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A group of teens attempting the challenge. (Photo: Q13 Fox)

Skylar may not be the only teen who ends up in the hospital after attempting this dangerous stunt. Teenagers across the country are trying the challenge, which appears to have started last year, and are sharing it on social media. A YouTube search for “duct tape challenge” yields more than 224,000 videos of people doing it. Several videos have more than 2 million views.

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Skylar’s mom wants to warn parents about the risks of this game. “They’re just looking at what’s fun, what’s cool, what’s going to impress their friends,” she told Q13 Fox News. “‘I can break out of this duct tape. I’m the strongest. I’m the best.’ They’re not thinking, ‘What if I fall and hit my head?’"

(Top photo: Facebook/Siemny Kim)

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