SUCH ARE THE PERILS of handing the mike to skaters. Not that Sirius is complaining. From its first minute on the air, in January 2004, Faction has sought to build a following of young males suckled on Howard Stern and eager to embrace authentic voices from the action-sports underworld. Scott Greenstein, the president of entertainment and sports at Sirius, conceived the channel. An avid skier, he claims the idea came as much out of his personal interests as his understanding of entertainment markets. "I looked around at broad-stroke niches that had passionate fans and good demographics but not too much access," he says. "Until Faction, you never really got to know icons like Margera and Hawk as people or what turned them on."

Turning people on, of course, is the big idea behind satellite radio, where there are few advertisers to offend and anything that captures more subscribers is fair game. Since they began selling their services, about seven years ago, Sirius and XM Satellite Radio Inc.—a competitor turned potential partner, pending approval of a merger by the FCC—have sought to elbow out the homogenized airwaves of "terrestrial" radio by offering an eclectic mix of uninhibited music and talk programming. In this goal, they've succeeded: XM has 70 music channels, with celebrity hosts like Bob Dylan, and 121 channels of news, sports, weather, and entertainment. Sirius has branded itself as an even more renegade alternative to the AM/FM dial, luring filth hero Howard Stern from Viacom with a five-year, $500 million deal that began in 2006. Across its 133 channels, you can also find Sex and the City author Candace Bushnell and NASCAR "bad boy" Tony Stewart.

So, while regulated broadcasters fret about their next Don Imus–type crisis, Sirius and XM continue with the experiment, courting audiences with whatever works, be it Martha Stewart (Sirius Channel 112) or Jason Ellis.

The basic concept behind Faction—get charismatic athletes to host shows by letting them do whatever they want—has allowed Greenstein to sign top-tier talent. Kelly Slater's Radio K-OS, which aired weekly through 2006, had the surf champ interviewing Eddie Vedder and Jack Johnson. In 2005, Lance Armstrong reported live every day from his seventh Tour de France win. Bode Miller dished on everything from parties to corrupt officials from slopes across Europe during the 2004–05 World Cup season. Olympic volleyball player Kerri Walsh, the only female athlete to host for Faction, had a show while competing in the Athens Olympics, though she spun tracks by the Dixie Chicks and Shania Twain, artists that Pendarvis says aren't really in line with Faction's more "aggressive" tastes.

Pendarvis, a former DJ and radio producer, has seen his cast evolve into an increasingly edgy crew. As ringmaster, he gives very basic training to new hosts, makes sure the guys have everything they need, and tries to keep them from abusing their freedom too much—a daunting task when it comes to guys like Ellis. After pro skater Jake Brown survived an astonishing 45-foot fall during the 2007 X Games, he hobbled onto The Jason Ellis Show, along with skaters Danny Way, Dave Duncan, and Pierre-Luc Gagnon. On the air, Ellis and Brown announced they'd be taking the painkiller oxycodone together. "Mmmm," said Brown, tasting his. "Nice and chalky."