Photo: via GoFundMe
When is the last time you saw someone get their face impaled by a tree branch, only to have them immediately turn around to brag about their ‘new piercing?’ If you said never, you’re in luck!
Natty Hagood — who has possibly the best name ever for this story — has turned into some sort of a local folk hero in Wyoming.
Chill Ski Instructor Impales Face On Tree Branch, Reconsiders “Lip Piercing Trend”
The 29-year-old ski instructor was attempting to sweep through some trees at Jackson Hole Mountain Resort, but found himself in the snow with a branch through his lip instead. Natty called it one of the “most gnarly things he’s ever seen.” Because of course he did.
Photo: via GoFundMe
“I was coming down Thunder and it was our first run of the day. I had made the first five turns and was coming back to lift line when I saw a gap between two trees. With my experience, you can bash between trees and it’s not that big of a deal. But this time I guess I didn’t get away with it.”
Hagood collided through the trees, which knocked him off balance, and he tumbled through the snow.
“I thought maybe my chinstrap got pushed up into my face, so I tried to brush it off and that’s when I felt the stick. So, I shook left to right and saw the stick moving in my peripherals. I reached out and grabbed it and wiggled it before realizing it was pretty far in there.”
That was when Hagood had his first aha-moment. He said, “Holy crap, I just got impaled. And then I yelled over to Pete, ‘Hey look I got a new piercing.’”
Supposedly the accident happened so quickly that Natty didn’t even feel the branch impale his face. What you see below isn’t even from the initial aftermath. Natty originally had 18-inches worth of wood through his lip. When ski patrol reportedly told him he needed to brace it before riding down for medical attention, he snapped it down to about six inches.
Ski patrol was all like, ‘You’re crazy, man.’”
Ski patrol wrapped it, stabilized it by securing the stick to his face and loaded him up into the sled before transporting him to the bottom of the mountain.
“Guess I should reconsider the lip piercing trend,” he said on his GoFundMe, which, by the way, has already matched his $1,500 goal for a new lip.
Photo: via GoFundMe
“When I laugh, I have to hold the left side of my face down at this weird angle that makes me look like this crotchety old man,” he said. “And I drool more than I used to.”
Thankfully Natty has been all stitched up and is still looking as handsome as ever.
Not a bad look for a guy who just had a giant piece of timber through his face.
Photo: via GoFundMe
Natty is now being referred to as “Lipstick” or “Sticky” by his students and the locals.
He’s also been drinking beer through a straw and told reporters the experience has left him with a bit of “PTS-Tree.”
Speaking of holes in your face: Truck Driver Honks Horn At Crappy Driver, Gets Shot In The Face In Road Rage Attack
Josh Helmuth is a contributor for Mandatory and the editor of Crave Sports.
