Bam Margera made a radio appearance Thursday morning on 93.3 WMMR's "Preston & Steve" show, and he opened up about getting sober and the fallout of the chaos in his life in recent months.
The former "Jackass" star and pro skater has had a litany of legal problems and struggles with addiction and mental health. Margera, 44, told the morning show hosts he's been able to abstain from alcohol for 45 days. And during that time, Margera said he's been back on his skateboard and has lost about 100 pounds.
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"I bought a one-way ticket to hell and back, but I'm phenomenal now," he said.
In August, following an arrest in Radnor Township, Margera was ordered to wear an ankle-monitoring bracelet and attend Alcoholics Anonymous. He allegedly had been intoxicated and got into an argument with a man and woman in the parking lot of a hotel. Margera also was charged in connection with an April altercation at his home in Pocopson Township, Chester County. In that case, Margera allegedly hit his brother, Jesse, in the head multiple times and then threatened to shoot Jesse and their father, Phil, along with others who were in the home, police said.
A Chester County judge ruled he must stand trial in that case. Margera has pleaded not guilty to misdemeanor charges including simple assault, and has been free on $50,000 bail. He is permitted to travel out of the state for work purposes.
Margera said the ankle-monitoring bracelet has been a pain for him to deal with in some ways. It has made skateboarding more of a challenge, and he's unable to get in his friend's hot tub, but the bracelet has helped him fend off temptations to drink, he said.
"There was twice I was really tempted to drink, and I would have if I didn't have this on because if I even have a sip of a Miller Lite, I'm going to jail for three months," Margera said. "So it ain't worth it."
Margera periodically has appeared on "Preston & Steve" over the years, but the hosts said they struggled over whether to have him on during this period in his recovery. They decided to do the interview after Bam reached out. The hosts wanted an opportunity to tell Bam how they feel and to encourage him in the right direction.
"Having a relationship with you over the years, we've been concerned about you, watching what's going on publicly in your world," host Preston Elliot said. "And we've talked about it many times on the air."
During parts of the interview, Margera vented about his ongoing legal issues, from the fallout of his exclusion from "Jackass Forever" to his custody battle over his 5-year-old son, Phoenix. He said he's not seen Phoenix in at least 200 days. The boy's mother, Nikki Boyd, filed for divorce from Margera in February. Since then, Margera said he's found a new girlfriend who has made him commit to sobriety and has helped keep him structured with daily exercise.
At times, Margera harped on the difficulty of getting sober in recent years. He said it has been difficult to have a fulfilling life when the catalyst for getting better is rehab programs, ultimatums from family and friends, and mandatory forms of treatment. He also said the side effects of medications he's taken to help him with his mental health struggles have been hard on him, and he remains bothered about many of the strained relationships in his life.
"You're still hanging on to a whole lot of stuff," Elliot said. "There's a lot in your world that still really gets to you."
But Margera said the difference this time is that he wants to change.
"I'm not even going to say I'm going to try to do it this time," Margera said. "I'm doing it, because I know for a fact that I don't want to be that way anymore. I've spent way too much time getting all Larried up."