Fame can be addictive. From his early days videotaping crazy skateboard
stunts to starring in the blockbuster Jackass franchise, there was little
that Stephen "Steve-O" Glover wouldn't do for attention. Whether it was
stapling his nutsack to his leg, diving into a pool full of elephant crap,
or routinely risking death invading the private lives of sharks, lions,
tigers, and bears, almost nothing was out of bounds. As the stunts got
crazier, his life kept pace. He developed a crippling addiction to drugs
and alcohol, and an obsession with his own celebrity that proved nearly
as dangerous.
Steve-O has been a man in search of a spotlight practically since birth.
Growing up all over the world, thanks to his father's career as a corporate
executive, he was the kid who'd drink handfuls of salt in order to make
friends. After he stole a video camera from his dad as a teenager, his
future path was more or less sealed. Footage of himself skateboarding soon
gave way to footage of himself setting his hair on fire or doing back flips
off apartment buildings into shallow pools. After detours to several
hospitals, a couple of jails, and Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Clown
College, he landed, quite naturally, on MTV's Jackass, in 2000. He took to
fame like it was the very thing missing from his life, but it was never
enough. He filled the void with booze and drugs, and soon began treating
his entire life like it was one big--and supremely risky--stunt.
In 2008, Steve-O holed up in his West Hollywood apartment, where he drank,
snorted, smoked, huffed, and swallowed drugs around the clock--and began
broadcasting his downward spiral on the Internet. Finally, his Jackass
comrade Johnny Knoxville and seven other friends staged an intervention
and forced him into a psychiatric ward against his will, ultimately saving
his life. Today he has been clean and sober for more than three years.
Professional Idiot recounts the lunacy, the debauchery, the stunts,
the drug addiction and the path to recovery and redemption with the
same bravado and humor that have endeared Steve-O to so many. Hilarious,
harrowing, and inspiring all at once, Professional Idiot will entertain
those who've been with him on his many wild rides, as well as surprise
and intrigue those who know him only as the guy willing to do anything--
no matter how painful--for a laugh.
Download File Size:33.49 MB
|
