Written by one of the most beloved lunatics of our time, Professional Idiot tells Steve-O's story in full and often shocking detail -- the debauchery, the stunts, the drug addiction and, finally, the path to recovery and redemption.
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.
After detours to several hospitals, a couple 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.
