Bam Margera was a HIM superfan in the early 2000s, championing the Finnish goth metal band on his MTV shows and directing their music videos. He and singer Ville Valo became close friends.
The 42-year-old celebrated one year of substance abuse treatment in 2022; however, has been in and out of rehab facilities since June and was reported missing after fleeing from a Florida center twice in one month. In September, he was seen leaving a bar just hours after exiting rehab. During a conversation with his former Jackass co-star Steve-O, Margera blamed his love for Valo as a reason he became an alcoholic.
“I am an alcoholic. I have been for a long time,” he said. “I remember when I was probably 24, I was so mesmerized by Ville Valo from HIM… he would just walk down the street in Finland and girls would literally faint, sometimes guys too. So I would just follow his lead. I’m like, ‘He’s buying a pack of cigarettes, I’m buying a pack of cigarettes. He’s getting a beer, I’m getting a beer. He’s doing a shot of Sambuca, I’m doing a shot of Sambuca.’”
“Once he cracked open a beer when he woke up, that was the first time I’m like, ‘You’re drinking in the morning? In the daytime?’ He’s like, ‘Yeah, why not? Want one?’ I’m like, ‘Well I’m not gonna let you do it alone, but this is f**king crazy,’" he continued. "It was the first time I ever day drank.”
Valo has been sober since 2010, and during a recent interview with NME, revealed he and Margera have lost touch over the years and expressed concern about "the monster" his old friend has turned into.
“I haven’t heard from him in a while. I think the last time I saw him was during our last tour in the [United] States with him, which was 2017," Valo explained. "We tried to contact him via Brandon Novack… but I haven’t been able to reach out in that sense or really talk to him."
“I’m hoping that he feels better because he’s a nice guy," he said of Margera's struggles with alcohol. "He’s a sensitive, special fella and it’s just sad to see that he’s turning into the monster that he’s turning into. I think I can understand some of it, but it needs to stop.”
Last month, Margera was hospitalized and placed on a ventilator due to a bad bout of pneumonia. Thankfully, he recovered and was discharged but recently divulged he was "basically pronounced dead" and spent 10 days on life support.