Stephen Glover, better known as Steve-O, has made a living doing off-the-wall maneuvers — from the disgusting (jumping into a tub of elephant dung) to the stupid (skateboarding antics and setting himself on fire), to the downright dangerous (interactions with lions, tigers and bears) — on the TV series’ Jackass (as well as follow-up feature films) and Wildboyz. But what followed his fame, as often is the case, was a drug addiction more toxic and destructive than anything seen with his daring stints on reality shows. The whole fiasco is documented in his new book Professional Idiot: A Memoir.
On July 30, he’ll be at Barnes and Noble (Morrison Place) for a signing and he’ll also be hitting up The Comedy Zone Charlotte, July 28-30, while on his “Entirely Too Much Information Tour.” The stand-up gig should come natural for Steve-O, as he is more than capable of cracking jokes. Let’s just hope he doesn’t break anything in the process. Creative Loafing caught up with Steve-O to talk about how he's made a career out of being a moron, his new book and breaking his teeth in comedy.
Creative Loafing: You’re currently on tours for both your stand-up comedy act and your new book. How’s that going?
Steve-O: It’s going great. It’s so killer. I can’t even believe that I’m a New York Times best-selling author. And the comedy show, I’ve been on tour with it since last November and it’s really turned into something amazing.
Tell me about when you started doing stunts. I started filming when I was 15 years old, after my dad won a video camera at a golf tournament. I was skateboarding and doing some silly stuff, but nothing I would really classify as a stunt. I would jump down stairs on my skateboard, but it wasn’t like Jackass. Back then it was just making skateboard videos. After high school I went to the University of Miami and if I had a major, that would have been not going to class and getting loaded all the time. I spent more time at the University of Miami Olympic pool than I did in class. All I really wanted to do other than drink and smoke pot was jump off the diving board and ride my skateboard. I had this girlfriend my freshmen year and we moved in together. When she saw that I really wasn’t going to class and that all I really wanted to do was jump off diving boards and skateboard, she determined that I was going nowhere in my life and she broke up with me. I was really heart broken when this girl dumped me and in short, I started getting drunk and jumping from apartment buildings into shallow pools. That was my way of expressing my angst and pain. I wanted to make this girl who dumped me, worry about me. When I showed people the video footage people really reacted to it. It was totally unlike the reactions I got with my skateboard videos in high school. At the University of Miami, when I showed people the stunt footage I was filming people were genuinely shocked and saying things like “Dude, you’re nuts.” And the way they reacted to it, made me feel like I was really onto something. So, I decided I didn’t need to be in school. I was going to shock people and blow them away with crazy stunts that I filmed with my video camera. And that’s what I want to do with my life.
Is that when you decided to join Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Clown College?
I dropped out of university of Miami when I was 19 years old. I was totally determined to become a stunt man with my video camera and I was homeless for three years at the point. I followed The Grateful Dead. I had the government test drugs on me for money and I wandered around. I got locked up in rehab, was arrested a ton of times and had surgery that broke my skull. I had all these crazy adventures. After three years of that I finally hit rock bottom and I reached out to my sister and family. I had a deal with my dad that if I went back to college and got passing grades, he’d pay for my tuition and I was going to live with my sister in Albuquerque. So at that point, I was kind of beaten into reason. I got good grades, but I still never gave up the dream of the stunt thing. Later my sister told me about a Ringling Bros. Barnum and Bailey Clown College. She said the tuition is free if you can get in, but you have to apply and audition. So I hitchhiked from Albuquerque to Denver and auditioned for clown college. I wound up getting in, which was pretty rad because it was statistically harder to get into than Harvard I was told. I was really into the idea, not because I wanted to be a circus clown, but because I thought I wasn’t getting anywhere with my stunts and my video camera and that if I could graduate from Ringling Bros. Barnum and Bailey Clown College, it might bring legitimacy to all that fire breathing, acrobatics and jumping off of things. I had a skill set that I had put together over those years and I wasn’t really getting recognition for it. I thought if I graduated from clown college that people might take me more seriously and it might further my goal of being a stunt man and in a lot of ways that’s exactly what it did. While I pursued the skateboarding industry and a career of being a stuntman with my video camera I wasn’t making any money, but I was able to make a living as a clown. So, it helped me and provided me with legitimate income. It all worked out pretty magically.
Had you done stand-up comedy before or is this a totally new endeavor?
I started doing stand-up five years ago and it wasn’t intentional at all. Somebody invited me to a comedy club in Los Angeles and they asked me to get on stage and do something crazy in the comedy club. I agreed to show up and I decided I would come up with something to do when I got there. Then when I got there I looked around and I thought, “By far, the craziest thing I could possibly do would be to try stand-up comedy.” I sat around waiting for it to become my turn and I was thinking of different stuff that I could say to try to get laughs. Finally I got on stage and I said, “I’m in the mood for a blowjob, does anybody want one?” I had a really good experience that first time. I was only up for a few minutes, but afterwards I was hooked on it. I was really blown away by a possible future that didn’t involve breaking bones or shoving anything up my butt. Stand-up comedy was a hobby of mine for some time there. And obviously, I had a lot more stuff going on in my life and so stand-up didn’t get a lot of my attention until we were working on Jackass 3D. After a days work I would know that everybody was in the bar and that I was missing out on the comradery, but I had to be honest with my self and recognize that if I was in that bar and I took a drink then there wouldn’t be a days work. I have to ask myself “Do I have a legitimate reason to be in a place where people are drinking?” and if I have a legitimate reason then by all means, I’m there. What comedy has been for me is that it’s a legitimate reason for me to be somewhere. I’m perfectly happy in a comedy club. And while we were working in Jackass 3D, I started hitting the comedy clubs real hard. By the time that movie came out I started getting offers to headline in comedy clubs all around, just like the show I’ll be doing in Charlotte.
What can folks expect from your stand-up performance?
From that very first time where I got booked as a headliner I determined that it was not within my power to allow anybody to sell tickets to a Steve-O show if I was going to stand there and talk the whole time. From the very beginning of this tour the stand-up has consisted of stories about the most outrageous stuff that’s ever happened to me with a lot of punch lines built into it. You know, the punch lines exist on there own but I really worked and honed it where it’s a legitimate comedy act. But, the simple fact is its based on real experiences. I have so much material now, that I kind of have to pick and choose what I want to do. It’s really turned into something really great. Recognizing that a lot of people love the crazy stupid stuff that I’m more known for, I also do a set of crazy stunts and tricks. At one point I teach everybody how to get drunk for free at bars. I address that sobriety is important to me and I make it real clear that I don’t push sobriety on anybody. To make that clear I teach everybody a sure proof, guaranteed method of getting drunk for free in bars forever. That within itself is worth the price of admission. From the bar trick it gets more and more outrageous as I go. I do stuff that’s really silly and painful. I do stuff that’s like generally scary and dangerous. And in most clubs, provided that they allow it, I fully set myself on fire. So, I bring to this show everything in my power to make it as entertaining as possible and then once it’s over I stick around and take photos with every single person in the audience who wants one. I go to any length that I can possible go to in order to make it the best show that I can. And that’s why I have been able to stay on tour for as long as I have. It’s been since last November. If my show sucked, then I wouldn’t still be doing it and if my comedy wasn’t funny then people would be saying that online. As douchey as it sounds to pat myself on the back like this, it’s really good shit. I’m just super proud of it. And I can’t wait to come to Charlotte.
What made you decided to write Professional Idiot: A Memoir?
Jackass and what I’m known for is so silly and so crazy and just stupid really. Having made a career out of doing that stuff, I felt like there was nothing more to me than breaking bones and shoving things up my butt. I wanted to do a book to reveal that there is and has been more to me than all that stuff. It’s something I wanted to do for the longest time. The book actually starts off with me in jail in 1996, penning a jailhouse memoir because it was so important to me that the world know my story back then. Writing a book was something that was inevitable. It was just a matter of when. With the drugs and alcohol and everything I went through, it would have been impossible for me to make it happen before I got sober. I think the time to do it, just kind of presented itself. Once I had a couple years of sobriety under my belt and some perspective on what all really happened, I wanted to reveal that there’s more to me and be honest about what had happened. It’s not a flattering story at all and I’m not proud of the story, but I’m real proud of the book. I don’t have any regrets. All the worst stuff I ever did led me to become desperate to make a change. I’m in a good place today and I’m happy about it.
Steve-O performs at The Comedy Zone (900 Seaboard St., Suite B3) July 28-30. Tickets are $25-$30. For more information and to purchase tickets call 704-295-4242 or visit www.cltcomedyzone.com. Steve-O will sign copies of his new book at Barnes and Noble (4020 Sharon Road) on July 30. For more information, call 704-364-0626 or visit www.barnesandnoble.com.
