Best stunt of all: He gets paid for this.

Byline: Lewis Taylor The Register-Guard

Mark Lewman has worked on advertising campaigns for billion dollar companies and written the life story of one of the world's best-known action sports heroes. He's also the creator of something called "the bee-kini."

The "bee-kini," as any self-respecting "jackass" fan knows, is the swarm of bees that TV stuntman Johnny Knoxville wore in season one, episode five. The idea behind that stunt, and several other "jackass" stunts, originated with Lewman, who lives in Eugene with his wife, Nadine, and daughters Hannah, 10, and Tuesday, 7. His work also can be seen in the new film "jackass number two."

"I'm always trying to get bees and balloons involved (in the stunts)," says Lewman, who doesn't actually perform the dangerous and disgusting segments he writes. "It's funny, you cook up these ideas in a room and you don't think that, a couple of months from now, someone's going to be in 100-degree heat, rolling around in elephant dung, trying to pull it off and doing multiple takes."

A creative type who's equally adept at coming up with new ways to sell kitchen trash bags as he is at figuring out whether pig's blood will shoot out of a Super Soaker water gun, Lewman prefers the job title of writer/creator/director. When he's not finding new ways for the "jackass" crew to hurt themselves, he works as an advertising consultant and finds an array of other projects to attach his name to. In 2003, he co-wrote the autobiography of BMX superstar Mat Hoffman.

Lewman moved to Eugene in 2001 from Southern California. He and his wife settled on Lane County after a six-week exploratory road trip through 17 states in search of the ideal locale.

"I'm loving it here, it's easy-going ... it's a simple place to live," Lewman says. "Sometimes I wish that Eugene was more of a suburb of Portland, but, you know what, it's good that I can always find a parking place."

While many of the "jackass" stunts he created were thought up during brainstorming sessions in Los Angeles, Lewman says some of his best ideas were conceived right here in Eugene. While working as a creative consultant on the "jackass" spin-off "Wildboyz," he spent a lot of time in the travel section at the Eugene Public Library doing the research on foreign countries.

Lewman's "Wildboyz" stunts included a bit involving an angry Tasmanian Devil in New Zealand and another in which co-stars Chris Pontius and Steve-O licked the dirty feet of a street pauper in India. He created a segment called "Daytona of the Dead" that combined a soapbox derby with a Day of the Dead celebration and, for the "jackass" TV show, he came up with a stunt involving flatulence and a yoga class. The new "jackass" movie features a Lewman bit called "Firehouse Rodeo" and another piece involving a swarm of bees in a limousine.

Not all of Lewman's "jackass" ideas get accepted. Typically, he says, only about 2 percent of the stunts he comes up with are actually filmed, and many of those end up on the cutting-room floor. Although he has never performed any of the stunts he writes, he says, spending time with the "jackass" crew carries its own set of risks, including getting zapped by cattle prods and pushed into swimming pools.

"If you're around those guys, they all walk with their backs against the wall. Nobody wants to leave themselves exposed," Lewman says. "You never put both hands in your pockets, you never accept any kind of an open beverage. There's a pretty quick learning curve."

Lewman's connection to the "jackass" crew goes back to the days when he worked on the now-defunct BMX biking magazine Freestylin', where "jackass" creator/director Jeff Tremaine served as art director and "jackass" producer and now famous Hollywood director Spike Jonze (`Being John Malkovich') worked as a photographer. The three went on to work for Big Brother, the skateboarding magazine that spawned "jackass."

"Big Brother had these off-the-beaten-path pranks and basically, how-to (stories) on getting yourself into trouble," Lewman recalls. "Other skate magazines would have stories on how to make a ramp, (Big Brother) had articles about how to build a shoe bong."

At the time the original "jackass" TV show launched on MTV, Lewman was working as the creative director of an advertising agency in San Diego. He recalls watching the early evolution of the show from the sidelines.

"I remember thinking they were going to get into trouble," Lewman says. "It had this feeling like, you're definitely leaving a book of matches next to a can of gasoline."

"Jackass" caused its fair share of controversy, particularly when teenagers started emulating the stunts, but the show's mixture of danger, slapstick humor and action sports-inspired athleticism made it an instant phenomenon. Along with "Wildboyz," the show spawned other spin-offs including "Viva La Bam" and "Homewrecker." "Jackass the movie" came out in 2003. The film cost $5 million to make and grossed nearly $80 million worldwide.

"It's good having known these guys and worked with these guys from the time that Big Brother was around," Lewman says. "Nothing's really changed, except that instead of getting chased out of someplace, you get paid for doing the same things."