WARNING: This episode contains adult language and humor.
This is the third episode in the VIRAL series.
Stephen Glover is known around the globe as SteveO, a stunt performer and comedian famous for his provocative and death-defying work on MTV’s Jackass franchise and the Wildboyz television series. He is also recognized for his numerous appearances on the Howard Stern show and his competitive moves on Dancing with the Stars. In recent years, he’s risen to success as a stand up comic, and he is outspoken about his animal activism and his sobriety.
I’ve known SteveO personally for over 15 years, and don’t let his antics fool you, he has always been one of the smartest people in the room. I originally thought that SteveO would be a good candidate for the VIRAL conversation because his videos and stunts perfectly lend themselves towards going viral and as an individual he has built an online platform with over 11.5 million fans on Facebook, and nearly 4 million subscribers to his YouTube channels. But instead of talking about the logistics of viral content creation like I’d planned, our conversation almost immediately took a deeper turn, about the quest for validation, being a different persona online than you are off, and the mental struggle to always have to top yourself. This is a personal side to the all-encompassing world of viral.
A few things we talked about:
Big Brother Skateboard magazine
The book that has made the greatest impact on Steve-O is Ishmael by Daniel Quinn
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