Bam Margera opens up on why rehab didn’t work with friends fearing he’d die
Star of Jackass Bam Margera has opened up about his addiction struggles in a tell-all interview.
The stunt performer has a long past of substance misuse which has been well documented.
Not only that, but for a number of years the substance abuse persisted, despite multiple admittances into rehab.
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Although Margera repeatedly checked into rehab, he revealed he was never able to complete the programme there.
Despite this Margera has revealed that he has been sober for 45 days at the time of writing, as well as what it was that got him on the straight and narrow.
In an appearance on the Preston & Steve Show on 93.3 WMMR, he said: "I bought a one-way ticket to hell and back, and I’ll explain, but I’m phenomenal now. I have the Guinness Book of World Records of longest Florida shuffle – fifteen back-to-back rehabs, usually 90 days of peace but sometimes more.
"Luckily, I had phenomenal insurance, and the interventionist knows that if you have insurance, they’ll find every reason to keep you there."
This practice is known as a 'Florida shuffle', where a rehab will continually readmit someone to their programme in order to claim the payment for having them in as a patient.
The model means that patient welfare can become secondary so that they can come back for further rehab sessions, and the rehab centre can bill their insurance.
Margera added: "So now that I’m out... All that didn’t work, because I got forced into these rehabs like sabotaged by friends and family saying like, ‘Hey, Bam, come to Ruth’s Chris Steak House and have a nice fancy dinner.’
"And it’s not a dinner, it’s just an intervention. So I’m already ready to get out [of rehab] like, ‘I can’t wait to get out just to sip on a White Claw and give you the bird.’
"So, all that didn’t work because I was already bitter about it."
In August this year Margera was involved in an incident that led to a public intoxication arrest in Radnor Township.
He was given a court order to wear an ankle monitoring bracelet and to attend Alcoholics Anonymous.
But he revealed it was a new relationship which finally gave him the impetus to get sober.
He said: "But when I was at my wit’s end in LA, I was at the Sunset Marquee, and I’ve about had it because it’s a legal matter with custody issue between Phoenix Wolf, my five-year-old son, and Nikki and all this stuff.
"And I just happened to meet the most phenomenal girl ever. Her name is Danny Marie – [she’s] right here. … So we connected big time [, and] she gave me an ultimatum – her pusswa or the Vodka. … 45 days now sober."
Please drink responsibly. If you want to discuss any issues relating to alcohol in confidence, contact Drinkline on 0300 123 1110, 9am–8pm weekdays and 11am–4pm weekends for advice and support
Kit Roberts