Remember the days when Steve “Steve-O” Glover from MTV’s Jackass put fish hooks in his chest to turn himself into shark bait, or when he stepped into a pool full of alligators with meat hanging from his underwear?
Now 10 years sober, the reality star who regularly made others cringe, gag and hold their breath completed his first triathlon in September when he took on the annual Nautica Malibu Triathlon in Los Angeles, California.
Not only did he swim half a mile, bike 17 miles and run four miles along the beach, but he also raised money for childhood cancer research.
“I really can’t believe how far I’ve come on this journey of life,” he wrote on Twitter.
I really can’t believe how far I’ve come on this journey of life… I just got tenth place in my division at my first ever triathlon! Woohoo!!! #nauticamalibutri (full disclosure— my division was “men’s celebrity”, but there were tons of celebrities, so I’m stoked!) pic.twitter.com/hIvTZJPfdX
— Steve-O (@steveo) September 16, 2018
Plagued by severe drug and alcohol addiction for years, his friends took him to a psychiatric hospital and then to rehab so he could clean up his act. He even wrote a “goodbye” letter to alcohol and drugs such as cocaine, LSD and amphetamines.
“All you f—ing things are good for is dying,” he wrote. “I’m not ready to die. I’m ready to live.”
March marked a full decade of living life to the fullest since quitting drugs and alcohol.
“Hard to believe it’s been an entire decade since I’ve had a drink or a drug,” he wrote. “I just can’t put into words how grateful I am for @realjknoxville [fellow Jackass star Johnny Knoxville] and the rest of the guys who locked me up in a psychiatric ward on March 9, 2008, where this journey began. Thank you, dudes, I love you.”
Then in June, he announced he would be taking on his first triathlon.
“For my birthday this year, I decided to get in the best shape I’ve ever been in,” he said in an Instagram post.
The result of his hard work? A 10th place finish in his division at the Nautica Malibu Triathlon, and yet another story of overcoming the odds.
Here are a few pictures from his race: