He only acts like he has a death wish. In fact, Steve-O of “Jackass” notoriety works hard to keep himself alive.
“My entire identity is so tied to adolescence, young and reckless,” he said, talking about “Jackass: Best and Last,” a 25th-anniversary compendium of greatest hits and new stunts opening Friday. “I feel like it sucks for anybody to get old, but for Steve-O, I feel like it is categorically not OK.”
Steve-O (real name: Stephen Glover) finds being in his 50s so upsetting that he’s made it his purpose to lash out at Father Time by achieving the most optimal level of health he possibly can.
He’s watching out for his fans, too, like when he gets a prostate exam from a humanoid robot named Larry in the movie.
“I find it so important to promote cancer screening,” he said.
Steve-O, 52, has been sober for 18 years and now lives on Radical Ranch, his 44-acre animal sanctuary in Portland, Tenn. He monitors his biometric data on an Apple Watch, a Whoop wristband and an Oura Ring, which helps him determine how much he should physically exert himself on days he categorizes as green, yellow and red, like traffic signals.
On a video call on a yellow day, Steve-O talked about his green-day routine, and why he won’t leave home without waterproof headphones, a jump rope and a hacky sack. Here are edited excerpts from the conversation.
Helix Folding Bike
It’s an actual full-size bike, with 24-inch wheels, which folds down in the most masterful, impressive way into a case that you can travel with and check in with your luggage. The guy who designed this bicycle absolutely needs to be obnoxiously wealthy because this design is unbelievable.
My Swim Kit
I bike to a lot of YMCA swimming pools, and my swim kit is so important. The Magic5 makes a pair of swimming goggles that water doesn’t leak in. You scan your face with your iPhone and they’re custom made. And their center-mounted snorkel completely changed everything because it used to be like swim, swim and turn my head to get air. Now I don’t turn my head at all. I’m perfectly symmetrical and I’m breathing steadily.
Shokz Waterproof OpenSwim Headphones
They have a built-in MP3 player because, when completely submerged in water, no Bluetooth is going to work. So I’m just blasting through the pool, rocking out to my music. I’m so in love with swimming laps that I’m very, very close to having a 75-yard single-lane lap swimming pool constructed at the Radical Ranch.
Travel Yoga Mat
Super, super crucial. A regular yoga mat eats up a lot of space in a carry-on, so I have a folding one because I’ve got to do yoga every day.
Perfect Push-Up Handles
Strength training is so important, but I’m not going to bring barbells on tour in my suitcase. This contraption gives you handles to hold on to, which is better for my wrists. And as you push down, it rotates so you’re exercising more muscles.
Jump Rope and Hacky Sack
I love to mix my hacky sack and my jump rope into my yoga. It’s so important to get your heart rate going really fast. Like Warren Buffett says, you want to make sure you break a sweat every single day.
My NOBL Carry-On
It’s got a coffee cup holder that flips down. It’s got an iPhone charger that you can plug into. On the top of the handle, it’s got a little ledge that flips down to put your phone on so you can just watch videos on YouTube. It’s a sophisticated Swiss Army knife of travel suitcases.
My Supplements
My supplements are a big deal. My Zoloft, my Nexium, my vitamin B12 and my vitamin D3. I have a condition known as Barrett’s esophagus where the lining of my esophagus has been eroded by acid that’s come up from my stomach. It’s something that I take very seriously because it’s a precursor to esophageal cancer. So I take this antacid medication and it’s very important that I not eat for 45 minutes.
Nut Butter Packets
After 45 minutes, I rip open a two-ounce pack of nut butter, then squeeze that all down. I rotate almond butter, cashew butter and peanut butter. The fats and the nuts help absorb my vitamins.
Headphones for Time Traveling
For the airplane, for cycling and for just walking around. When it comes to music, I strive to find something that I’m not familiar with and listen to it on a loop obsessively. I am effectively fusing the chapter of my life to that music, which will become a soundtrack of the moment that I’m experiencing. When I put my entire library on shuffle, it’s like I’m bouncing around in a time machine.
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