Thomas Gullestad about the horror incident: – I thought I was going to die

Artist Thomas Gullestad (43), better known as “Fingern”, guested on the NRK podcast “Kladden har dævva” on Monday.

In the comedy programme, led by Martin Lepperød (31), it was Gullestad’s relationship with death that became the topic of conversation, and the artist could say that he has actually already been dangerously close.

When Dagbladet met the 43-year-old during the launch party for the merger of HBO Max and Discovery+ on Monday, he opened up further about the experience he will not soon forget.

– Absolutely awful

Five years ago, he broke his ankle badly in a skateboarding accident.

– It was my 40-year crisis: I started skating. I broke my ankle really – straight off. It was absolutely awful, I can hardly even talk about it, said Gullestad to Dagbladet.

The 43-year-old was taken to hospital, and had to be operated on – in the middle of Christmas.

– There were only apprentices at work, and they didn’t understand much about pain relief. The anesthesia after the surgery started to wear off and they didn’t give me the really strong drugs I needed.

He describes the pain as “inhuman”.

– I started to laugh. It hurt so much I thought I was going to die. It is perhaps the closest to death I have been, he said.

– So far we have survived

However, the horror incident has not stopped the 43-year-old from taking up other “risk sports”.

– I cycle quite a lot, so I’m probably close to death several times a day. I’ve flown over a few taxi hoods here and there, he joked.

He continued:

– I cycle as fast as I can through the city, it’s so boring to spend a long time.

In April it was ten years since Gullestad and Jenny Skavlan (37) got married. The latter can also constantly be seen cycling around Oslo on social media.

– Yes, we are bicycle phantoms. We ride all year round! Studded tyres, helmet, visor, survival suits… So far we have survived, Gullestad joked.