Not Skinny But Not Fat - WE HAVE A SITUATION: JERSEY SHORE'S MIKE THE SITUATION IS HERE

Episode Date: February 6, 2024

Jersey Shore took the world by storm in 2009, and Mike "The Situation" Sorrentino was a pillar of the crew we all fell in love with. After years of drug abuse and troubles with the law, Mike is on his best behavior. He's a sober husband, dad, and now author - with plenty of stories to tell! We discuss the road to rock bottom and back. CABS ARE HERE!!!Produced by Dear MediaThis episode may contain paid endorsements and advertisements for products and services. Individuals on the show may have a direct, or indirect financial interest in products, or services referred to in this episode.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

The following podcast is a Dear Media production. Welcome to Raising Good Humans. I'm Dr. Eliza Pressman. My first book, The Five Principles of Parenting, Your Essential Guide to Raising Good Humans, is out now. In this book, I've wanted to quiet all the noise that's out there and distill the science into five core principles. And using those principles, you can solve absolutely any parenting challenge, giving you the confidence to raise good humans. Order now and give yourself a little. bit of ease.

This is Amanda Hirsch from the Not Skinny but Not Fat podcast. You might know me from Not Skinny Bonifut on Instagram where I spend my time talking about reality TV, celebrities, everything happening and pop culture. I also talk to some of our favorite celebs and reality TV stars. We talk about what's going on. Tune in every Tuesday and just feel like you're talking about your best friends in your living room. You guys, Mike, the situation is here.

Can you believe? I can't believe. You can believe because this is your, you're on a press store, you're talking, you're promoting your book. I can't believe because this is bringing me back. Oh my gosh. Stop it. Crazy.

Yeah, it's turned 15 minutes of fame into 15 years. Good for you. You. Yeah. We were talking about your coffee order because my listeners know I love to know everything. So you walked in this tall cup of coffee, had to know how you drink it. Yeah. It's with almond milk.

Yes. Ammon milk, cold brew, benti, yes. Usually I'm trying to fast. Usually I'm trying to diet. Gym tan laundry is always there. We're always there. Yeah. But that was a really good question you asked me when I first walked in.

You were like, used to be so crazy. You're just recovering. Now you're like an almond milk? Yeah. I'm like, yeah, listen, you know, it's the, it's the personality. It's an all or nothing. And now I'm this amazing father, this amazing employee for Viacom, you know, just trying to kill the game in every aspect because I have that obsessive personality, you know.

But many, many years ago, and one of the reasons why we're here promoting the book, I was a maniac and I was on the opposite side of the spectrum. You know what else you were and, you know, getting into that nostalgic state of mind really brought me back. You were like connivey. You were like. Schemey. Schemey. You were schemy. Yeah. But it was so good for reality TV. Yeah. I mean, you're not like that anymore, but you would talk to the girls about the boy. Like you could play both sides in a way where like you were so loved by your castmates. Yes. But then like we would get the tea behind the back. Yeah. And you would kind of spill it. Yes. Yeah. I mean, a lot of people don't know before the show. I actually, I was a drug dealer. And that was

my job. Yeah. You're a drug dealer before the show? Yeah, I was good at it too. But you weren't really doing drugs majorly until the show, I thought. No, no, no. Right before the show, I had just gotten out of rehab, which most people don't know. And I never really revealed it until, you know, just dropping this book recently. So casting didn't know either. No, no. I didn't really want to tell anybody. I mean, you're going on a show, you're partying, and you're going to tell the casting person, yeah, hey, I just got out of rehab. They're going to be like, oh my God, we got to, we got to a problem here. Right. They wouldn't want that responsibility. Probably. They probably next. I mean, you do get a psyche valve and you do these shows, but I'm sure the red flags would have been.

Yeah, they wouldn't have taken that. But it's smart that you were so young, but you kind of knew that sharing that would prevent you probably from going on the show. Probably. But the first season, I only drank. Wait, so you got out of rehab for what drug at the time? For pills, oxycodone, Xanax, Valium. I used to be like a pharmacy. You know, I used to sell prescription drugs. How were you getting these dreds? I used to have friends in Brooklyn, it's not an island. We used to find people that had prescription pads. We'd figure out how to write them. And the TID, next thing you know what TID means three times a day. And you got 90 rocks of sets. And you got to have the, I guess the balls to go into the, into the pharmacy and roll the dice, which a number of times I did for months and

months of months but eventually there was a close call like where they would be like what the fuck you're doing who are you you know for months this this particular caper was working and then eventually I went into a pharmacy myself my cousin which is in my book and we dropped off a prescription for you know 90 oxycodone 30 milligrams a piece so we had two prescriptions I went next door to get a slice of pizza and within five minutes the whole parking lot was full of cops. So what did you do run away? No, no, no, I couldn't because as soon as I saw the flashing lights, they walked in the pizza place because I guess you're in the complex. You know, the pizza place was right next to the pharmacy. And they had my cousin arrested outside over a cop car. And they were

looking for the, I guess, the other assailant, I guess, or the other, you know, part, which was me. And I ended up escaping that day because I walked out and I said, I don't know what you're talking about. I was just getting a slice of pizza. And my cousin who was in handcuffs, he was like, oh, my God, that's my cousin right there. He came with me. And I'm like, I don't know what he's talking about. But I ended up escaping the law that day. But we all might know.

I didn't escape the law for too long because I ended up going to prison many, many years later in 2018. Usually when people, I mean, the stories that we know for people that didn't experience drug addiction, usually it's people that struggled at home. Like, what were you escaping from that you were on to be on drugs? drugs, etc. I wasn't escaping anything. I was just always trying to push the envelopes of everything. I kind of like the way that it made me feel when I took a percassette. So I kind of just like, isn't it just like a, not meal? I mean, it works different on on everyone. Everyone's bodies differently. But I like the way that it felt in that first percassette when I tried it

when I was 19. I kind of, to be honest, which you fell in love with the opiates. Everybody has a drug of choice, I guess, to a certain extent when they're experimenting and growing up. which I did, and eventually with the lack of knowledge of self, which I didn't have at the time, I had an obsessive personality. So once I gave myself that drug, I wanted more and more and more and more. And I started to learn more about myself once I became famous

and I had the millions of dollars. I always wanted more. I wanted more money, more cars, more attention, more women, everything. In rehab, do they say that like an addictive personality is a thing? Yes. That's a thing. It's a thing, yeah. Okay.

It's a thing, yeah. So that's what you would say is your, that's what led you down this road. It's like you get into things and you're all in. Yeah. I'm never going to change that person. I still got it, you know. But towards healthy things. Yes.

Well, eventually I figured it out through trial and error and obviously going through recovery four times. I did. I went to rehab four times. I adapted the principles of recovery, the 12 steps, the serenity prayer, the sponsor, the recovery network. I did it all because I was just sick and tired of being sick and tired. I mean, my best thinking had led me to rehab four times.

And I'm like, I got to try something different. So that's when I was like, I was desperate to be like, okay, I got to do something that work. Most people, they fell in this area, you know, in addiction, the odds are against you. A lot of people tragically, they don't make it. They're in jail, institution, and death. And so I desperately put all hands on deck. and used my obsessive personality to redirect what I was doing in life to everything positive for days at a time, weeks at a time, months at a time, years at a time,

until eventually I turned around and had years of sobriety. And I totally changed my entire life. And then the phone starts ringing that people want to employ you, people want to be around you. How did you do it? It was really, you know, one day at a time. so many docs came out and like just more information about like oxycodone yeah did you watch I have yeah no I'm a painkiller movie yeah or show it's a wild ass drug like they killed so many people do you look back like how did I survive 100% like when I read my book I can't even

believe that I'm still sitting in this in this on the sofa right now talking to you yeah Because the amount of things and the stories in there could have taken my life many times. Right. I feel that God has spared my story so that I'm able to tell my story to help others. Are you a sponsor? How does that work when you are in recovery? Do you then become somebody's sponsor? Do you ever do that?

I have not sponsored anybody yet. It's a little tricky when you're on TV and sponsor people. Did people know you in rehab? Yeah. I mean, yeah. As soon as you walk in and it's just like, oh, there's the Jersey Shore guy or there's the situation or can I take a photo? So wherever I went for many years, even when I was trying to seek recovery and trying

to get better, there was always somebody snapping photos, always someone pointing the finger. But at least there wasn't social media like as much, right? Well, maybe. Well, social media came out in 2009. So, and, you know, that's when Instagram came out and Twitter and things like that around 09 and 10. And so my whole recovery, you know, has been under a microscope. So no matter where I go, I get a cup of coffee, I understand that there's probably going

to be a photo taken most likely. Did that make it harder to get sober? If you think about it, maybe it made things better. Because if you know, if you know there's a camera everywhere you go. Right. And if you make a bad decision or if you do something that's not kosher, I guess, it might be on TMZ or, you know, you know you're not going to do it. So maybe it held me, held my feet to the fire, so to speak.

Right. And Lauren was with you through how much of this? Like, you're a high school sweetheart. Yeah, no, we're college sweetheart. College. We went out in college for about four years. And then I went to rehab. I got out of rehab.

And Lauren was, you know, she was following her dreams in the fashion world. And she was doing her thing. And I didn't want her to be the girl that got away. And she kind of inspired me. So I'm like, all right, I'm going to go for my dreams, which is TV. Okay, that was your dream? My dream was always TV. Really?

What did you think you were going to do on TV? I thought I was going to be on like a Calvin Klein campaign, at least. My abs were just so ripped up. They were just so ripped up. You were like, these abs need to be photographs. Yeah. And oddly enough, my first year in TV, I was offered a Calvin Klein campaign. And they offered me $50,000.

And my team countered with 500,000. So, I mean, this is kind of funny, but I guess you guys can understand that we weren't able to find a happy medium there. Yeah. As Calvin Climb was offering 50,000. And my team is like, well, you know, you're talking to the situation. One of the biggest reality stars on the scene right now. Our counteroffer is 500,000.

In hindsight. Right. In hindsight. Yeah. Now that, you know, it's many years later, I'm sober. I should have taken it. Yeah, sometimes you do things for the resume. Right.

For the resume. And accolade. Yeah. Yeah. I should have done it for the resume, for the accolade, but I got a really cool story behind me turning them down. But I thought that my apps were so ripped up that I could at least get the Calvin Klein campaign and follow in Marky, Mark or Mark Wolberg. Oh, he was your idol. Yeah, he was.

So I was trying to follow in his footsteps, which like I said, I did get offered the campaign. So that was a dream. So how do you, how do you, how do you reconcile that? Yeah. To be honest with you, I was. You're listening, Calvin Klein. The abs are still abing. Yes, yes.

I was so wild and crazy that my first year or two in the business, I was the GQ man of the year in 2010, along with, you know, Drake and a few other people. I mean, if one endorsement was being presented, another one was coming right around the pike. So it was like, okay, I guess that didn't work out. You know, what about Lamborghini? Lamborghini offered to do a situation Lamborghini and I was like, oh my God, I love Lamborghini. That's crazy. That's crazy. Let's do this.

And my team countered with, we would like two Lamborghinis. Okay. Good team, though. I mean, they're putting you up high. But that's, but that's, but like I said, obviously we weren't able to find the happy medium there. But those are the two that I remember, I still think about that I should have took the situation in Lamborghini, and I should have taken the Calvin Klein campaign. But again, at the time, I was really, really high all the time for many, many years straight

with hundreds of pills in my pocket. And I'm lucky to do here. It's wild, though, Mike, because you say in your book that, like, your family didn't know, you were really good at hiding it. How good, like, that's... I mean, they had an idea, but no one was able to catch me red-handed. The writing was on the wall. Same thing happened with, like, the networks and the production companies and, you know,

everyone the behavior was so erratic and unstable and wild you can point it out and say like there's a problem there you know or there's a situation you know pun intended but they they weren't in no one who was able to catch me red handed with the pills in the pocket or a lot of the times if people were about to frisk me I caught you before you frisk me and I'm like y'all I'm about to call the lawyer or you sure you want to do that you know what I'm saying so like I was a brazen young kid doing all the wrong things and then eventually that behavior I I'm not promoting it, eventually led me to prison. So, you know, I'm lucky to be here telling my story.

Right. But it's, it's quite a tale. And today, to remind everybody, you're married, two kids, one on the way. Yes, eight years sober. Eight years sober. Yeah. So we're very happy for you. Oh, yes, yes.

And it shows, you know. How are you working out and, like, doing all the things that you were doing at the time with so many? I can't, I wake up after a glass of wine and I can't move, you know. I always think about that like I was always in really good shape and I would pretty much build my body up for a few months and then it would just get destroyed or whatever and like youth kept me going nowadays I really don't put anything bad in my body I will admit I love diet soda I love Diet Coke I had a feeling I was like really not even like a Diet Coke I know now these days like my wife is like you know you're like if I have a bad day like a bad day which is rare I have a diet soda, maybe some Doritos or something, maybe some snacks. Damn, you. Maybe I'll, you wild. Listen, a real man, she's on his diet, not his woman.

I love that. And again, props to Lauren, because I remember when we met her on Jersey Shore, it was like, who is this sweet angel? Yes. Like right away, I feel like she got into everybody's hearts. Yep. Everyone was seeing you guys on TV doing the wild shit that you do. And then in walks this, like, angelic, just like,

kind, pure-hearted human, and you're like, Lauren, what are you doing? Yep. What are you doing in this house, though? Get out of there. Get out. Run. She didn't.

She stuck around. Yeah, she was the college sweetheart. She's the angel. You know, she saved my life once. And like I said, I'm lucky to be here right now talking to you. You know, there's a few times she saved my life. So you said you were together in college. Yeah.

Then she was going to her passion. You were going to your passion. And I tried to get back with her. And she's like, okay, you want to get back. you're rebuilding life okay what's happening and I'm like well I just got presented with this author from MTV to be on this reality show she's like what's the name of it well it's untitled right now but what do you think and she's like I'm not going to be that girl that is home while her boyfriend's on some reality show cheating on her and calling me on the phone and she said no to me

and she was 100% right not that I would have done that but relationships don't work on reality TV unless they have a like a stable foundation right so i went to jersey shore and because my at the time my girlfriend she wouldn't get back with me and she went to fashion school and did her thing i truly cannot wait until i can drink truly again fill you know a cup with ice pour in the ice cold heart Seltzer and try their new party pack. I'm really jealous that I can't try the party pack. So please try it for me. Truly now has something for everyone in more than 30 unique flavors, including three lightly flavored mix packs, Barry and the new party pack I was talking about. And the party pack has a flavor for everyone. So it's perfect for you and your friends. It has four fan

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free shipping on your order and 365 day returns. That's quince, Q-U-I-N-C-E.com slash not skinny to get free shipping and 365-day returns. Quince.com slash not skinny. How did they approach you? How did they find you, MTV at the time? At the time, I was a drug dealer and a stripper. Good combo, right? Right.

Wait, did the stripper thing just come out now in your book? were you open about it before? I was not as open as I am with the book. You know what I mean? I kind of really, I really wrote this book and was raw unfiltered because I was like, my life has been a reality TV show for the past 15 years. If I write a book

and people are going to be entertained and love it, I really got to tell them a story that they don't know. Right. So I really went into everything that everybody didn't know. Every detail. Yeah. Okay, so you were a drug dealer and a stripper. Yeah, drug dealer and a stripper. To make money, I'm assuming the stripping for, to get drug

So no I was a I was a good I was a pretty good drug dealer I had money and then I was also stripping because I I kind of loved women and and I was in really amazing shape and I just thought it was like a win win situation like a strip club in San Island no it was a mail review what is that you don't know what mail review is no am I supposed to subscribe you know mail no you don't know mail reviews mail review is where they do right before the club opens up at let's just say 11, maybe from 8 to 11, they do the mail review, which is the guys are stripping and they're serving drinks for the girls. And usually they do that before the club opens. Like in Jersey. Club abyss in Jersey.

Club abyss in Jersey. Yeah. So you were going out in Jersey. So were you staying at the Jersey Shore? Like did that speak to you before the show? Yeah. Jersey Shore was my spot. Oh, okay. My stopping grounds. And I remember because Lauren went down. the road of fashion school or whatever and she was following her dreams she inspired me to to go after my dreams i'm like i'm not going to be the only one like left behind here you know so as lauren's doing fashion school and and and doing internships for farragamo and all these other things i was like okay so i'm going to stop drug dealing which i did and i was just in really amazing shape and it prompted me to send a number of half-naked photos to fitness and underwear

agencies in New York City. Uh-huh. Okay. Within about three days time, I got like yeses from a bunch of them. Now, these guys are probably like, you know, like JCPenney catalog type of caliber. But for me, I felt like I was on the right path. Right. And I didn't have to look over my shoulder anymore and drug dealing.

Right. You could make money from it. Exactly. So as I was going to go seas in New York City for about three months, I bumped into a flyer that said the hottest Guidos and Guidettes in the Tri-State area, go to Harris in Atlantic City for a TV show. And I was like, that's me. Were you calling yourself a Guido at the time? I wasn't because technically a Guido is a derogatory slang towards an Italian. But so were you using it towards other people?

Did you consider yourself one? No, no. I just thought, like, at the time that when people were saying Guidos and Guidettes, that they weren't Italian. You know what I mean? Maybe it was an Irish guy that was running the flyer or something. So it didn't offend you. It didn't offend you.

So then you go to Harris. I go to house. Oh, my God, would die to be at Harris that day and see a convention. Yes. It was a convention of all Jersey Shore type. It was the hottest Guidos and Guidettes in the tri-state area. Everybody was hot, everybody was good-looking, everybody was tan, naked, greased up, probably on GHB, fist-pumping. Do you remember seeing your castmates that eventually were chosen that day?

Not on that day, but I used to hang out with Sammy. Oh, so you knew Sammy before. I knew Sammy before the show, and I also knew Angelina before the show. You did. I did know them too before the show. Good terms, like friendly? Because you turned on Angelina. Eventually.

There was no loyalty there. Okay, Sam, she used to hang out with the same people that I did, like a crew. So we were in the same crew. Really? Right. But it was almost like high and by. You know what I mean? But we went out together all the time.

That's crazy. Now, Angelina, on the other hand. Angelina. On the other hand, technically before the show, we kind of dated a few times, kind of a few times, which they do reveal on this new season of Jersey Show Familyigation, which kind of just comes out because I have the book and I'm kind of like full disclosure and they kind of find out that we kind of hooked up

a couple times before the show. How did you keep it a secret all these years? I don't know. I really didn't like her when the show first started. How didn't she? When the show first started, we didn't want the casting producers to know that we either knew each other or kind of dated. You thought that would hurt?

That would hurt the chances of being on a show that was like anonymous or something. Like, oh, all these people in the house and everybody doesn't know each other. Meanwhile, like, I know Angelina. I know Sam. Like, I knew a few people. Oh, smart. Damn.

You guys thought of everything. Okay, so you go to this convention. Do you think, because you had confidence, right? You're like, I'm ripped. I'm in for this. Yeah. Did you think that you had a chance? I definitely thought I was a chance.

My abs were so ripped up. They looked like implants. They did. There were eight of that? Yeah. how many, eight? I just had an eight pack and I could usually just eat whatever I want and like it was just, I attributed to good genetics. Yeah. But I also worked out hard as well. Yeah. But I was the, the first one picked, first one casted for the pilot in 2008. There were two others besides myself

casted for the pilot. It was greenlit because VH1 had it first. And then once, because Viacom owns VH1 and MTV, eventually MTV took it. from VH1 and then they grabbed some of the other cast maybe from other shows or where you know everyone they did some more castings and it ended up being the cast that we know yeah ended up being the casting that you know snooky j wow DJ Polly D Ronnie Sammy the sweetest you love meets angelina and eventually Dina comes in a season a season two later and we learn what DTL means yes then gym tanning laundry yes the gym thing all of you were really going to the gym that much a hundred percent yeah and the laundry thing

how much were you doing laundry i mean technically you know if you don't go to the gym you're not jacked if you don't go if you don't go tanning your pale and if you don't do your laundry you don't have anything to wear so gym tan laundry is a way of life it still is to this day do you think you did you make it up it was made up by myself and by polly in the living room i have like court document. Wait, did you copy write it? I tried to trademark it. A trade market. Yeah, yeah. Yeah. Yeah. And then Viacom came in and was like, wait a second, not so fast. Because I was an employee

at the time, which is understandable. When the judgment came down where they're like, listen, it was originated by you and Pauley in the living room. Yeah. Jim tanning laundry. But it was done under the watch of you're an MTV employee. So I want it? Like, do they? I was a lot to use it. Oh, you're allowed to use it, but not trademarking. You can trademark it and you're allowed to use it. Oh, okay.

But I believe that they owned it at the time. Maybe not anymore. Did you trademark the situation? I did, yes. So that's your. Yeah, that was done beforehand because that was done around the casting time. Oh, you did it? You went through the process then?

Yeah, because when I came in for the first casting at MTV and I told him my nickname was the situation, the producer was like, oh, my God. God, that's amazing. Like, do you have that trademarked? And as a young kid, you're like, yeah, I have a trademark. But actually, you don't have a trademark. Once I got out of the room, I'm like, can we get a lawyer? I need to trademark something.

So you did it. Yeah, I trademarked it around the casting time. So it was before I went on the show. Smart. Yeah. Because he would have been in the same pickle with the situation if you didn't do it. Exactly. And did you add it officially to your name in any other capacity?

It's not on my birth certificate yet. Yeah. Is it on driver's license? No, but it was on my court documents, which I thought was very funny by the government, which was funny. That is funny. Yeah. Oh, my God. Very wild.

You also came up with, I think, DTF. Yes, yes. Which we all use. Yes. It's not we all use down to fuck. Smushing. That was made up on the show, smushing. I don't know if Snooky made that up.

I think Snooky made Smushing up. That's like hooking up. Yeah. Well, more than hooking up. Oh, that's like having sex. Yeah. Oh, right, smushing. Yeah.

And grenade was you. Most likely. Yeah. mostly i i i reluctantly have to say most likely yes because that listen today that wouldn't it definitely wouldn't it definitely wouldn't fly today but it was just a thing in the culture at the time that was just a thing yeah and everybody was saying it like girls and guys yeah right you know everybody was doing it and it's just we were very open very raw very authentic every single one of the cast that's why it was super successful and still to this day so this day speaking of

that like would the show be able to work today like it was then oh god i mean it would definitely make a big splash right i mean to the point where it's like it's what they call like a disruptor like a show that like disrupts things yeah like to the point where it makes changes so if our show which started in 2009 which was a cultural phenomenon record ratings if it came out in 2024, like I said, it would definitely be a disruptor. Yeah. A game changer. Like, it would definitely would cause a change.

But it was a game changer then. Like, everyone knew you. Yeah. It became mega celebs. Yeah. Leo DiCaprio comes up to you at a club. Gtel all day. And he said that to you.

Yeah. Were you shocked or were you so like, jaded that? You're like ride in the way. But at the same time, Leo's like, Leo is like the actor of actors. Right. He's like, he's the dude. You're like, you're watching? You're like, he's the dude.

Like, he's been the dude. for like decades. Right, he has been the dude. Yeah, same with the rock. They're like, they've been the dude for a while. But when they said it, we were just like, yo, like, damn, like it's, it was surreal for sure. You know what I mean? Obama mentioned me on the, I think it's the inauguration address that the situation, Snooki and J. Wow, are exempt from the tanning tax. That was an address to the country. Oh, that's wild. You know what I'm saying? That's wild. That's legendary right there. And again, to have your star, as a reality TV star and have the president mention you, Leo, The Rock. I was, like I said, GQ Man at the year in 2010, all these things. Like, we were definitely making big waves, like making changes in entertainment. Because nobody wanted to even consider a reality star anybody. Like, they didn't even want to be around reality stars. Like, you know, like at an award show or anywhere.

They just like, oh, you're a reality star. Like, oh, God. But even now, and also, you guys were special because there weren't a hundred reality shows. Yeah. You know? It was like the real world. Like, there were reality shows. Yeah.

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But millions, you were making millions from, but not from the get. No, from the get, from the jump, season one. Yeah. We were making a couple thousand. And again, I have the records. I have the receipts. I can go pull up the contract right now. It was a couple thousand bucks.

Plus, we made alcohol money from the shore store. You know what I'm saying? And they paid for your outings, I'm assuming, no, when you went to the club? The $125 a week that we made from the Shore Store helped pay for the shots at the club. Things are different now. Yeah. You know what I mean? But back then at the first season.

So when did the money start rolling in? Second season. Second season already they realized like. Second season. Everyone negotiated. Second season, everything was renegotiated. They handed us contracts and said like sign here on the dotted line. And I looked at the contract and it was the same as the same.

as the first season and I was like oh damn like I'm like I'm like I kind of knew what we had filmed in season one the show was just was like a shooting star at the time yeah every talk show at night we were on and then I was just like what happens if we don't sign and they're like well we're going to replace you and I at the time which is like a make or break moment I was like okay good luck and I walked out and then a couple weeks later you got like a million dollar raise Did you have a lawyer at the time, an agent, a manager? I did, I did. But we were called to a meeting like, oh, my God, congratulations.

You got season two or whatever. No one thought that they were going to hand those contracts. And once we got the contracts, we were like, oh, damn, like everybody had like deer in headlights. Like, everybody's looking at each other. Like, what do we do here? And I knew, I don't know, must have been maybe there was an angel on my shoulder, intuition that had told me that we had filmed a ground. cultural phenomenon and in that moment I walked out of the room and about a month later we got a million dollar raise that's wild yeah were you all making the same everybody made different

but there was like a couple contracts that were mirrored it's crazy you guys because this isn't an important lesson too for anybody anywhere no you're worth no you're worth nobody's going to hand you anything if you don't ask for it yeah you know because they rather pay less you know 100% yeah yeah don't blame them yeah they'll try yeah yeah If they can't get it. It's how it is. Yeah. It's how it is.

Would you let your kids ever watch the show? I would probably wait until they are like, way older. Like, hopefully, 18, hopefully. Yeah. I mean, I'm sure they'll try to watch it when they're 16. Every generation, it's like clockwork, they all watch it. It's true. All the high school kids, they watch it.

The next generation high school kids watch it. I think who was on Charlie DeMilio? You know Charlie DeMilio? Yeah. She's super young. She's like 20. She was on my show. And I remember...

I don't even think one of the family vacations was on at the time, but I was like, what's your favorite show? Do you watch Broadway? She's like, you know, what was your boyfriend Landon Barker? She's like,

we're so into Jersey Shore right now. And it's just wild how these things in culture. Yeah, the generations like when they're in high school, they watch it. And then four years later, another generation watches it. And you're like,

oh my God, it's like almost like timeless. I don't want to say timeless train wreck, but it's kind of just kids just being really authentic. We live in work. and partying. I feel so grateful that I was like watching it in real time.

Oh yeah. I'm 35. I was like watching it as it was in that culture. Yeah. So you're watching it now. I lived it. Okay. We lived it with them.

So I know you did a lot of the shit on the show you're not proud of and you're a different man today. Yes. Any biggest regrets from the show that you think about? I mean, there's always going to be, I mean, you have to think about it. Do you really have regret? regrets if you turn your L's into lessons, right? If you use everything.

Are the L's loss? What are the Ls? An L would be a loss. Oh, okay. I was like a loser. But if you, because if you watch any of those movies about time travel and you go back and you change something, then you kind of change the future.

And right now, I am an amazing father of two babies with one on the way. I have eight years of sobriety. I was just nominated for multiple people's choice awards, like on back at the top of my field, like living my best life and teaching others to do the same. Would I change anything? Right. It's also like a game of jenga. Yeah. It's like if you take out one piece, will it all end up the same? Exactly. But again, I did slam my head into a cement wall in Italy, which definitely hurts a lot, which caused me to get a sprained neck and a concussion. That wasn't the best. best decision at the time. Also, you know, again, not filing my taxes in 2011, which was a decision that had caused, or actually it was like 2010, but which had caused to me to eventually go to prison many, many years later. That decision, right, of me on my couch. That moment that you describe in the book. Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah. I would like, I told my husband about it. And I was like, You have to listen to the moment.

I'm like chilling on Christmas Eve. You know what I mean? We'll get them. Yeah. I'm like living my best life. I just made $5 million. I'm like, you know, Obama just mentioned me. I got a Ferrari outside.

My brother's like my manager. He's like, you just made $5 million. You're going to have to file. And I was like, damn. And then he's like, but, you know, maybe you'll get them next year. And then I was just like, we'll get him next year. But because you want to know why? because the year before

I didn't have to file because I didn't make any money I was a drug dealer you know what I'm saying you know what I'm saying so you think you think oh wow no one's gonna notice

no one you know that meme no one's gonna notice no one's gonna know yeah yeah yeah they're gonna know yeah they're gonna know yeah and eventually like clockwork after three years

like clockwork they came calling they came knocking the next year though did you pay or were you every year saying that same thing I think for those three years of making all those millions

it wasn't done correctly just let's just say that Do you blame your brother at all Not at all because if you think about Because he was your manager He was his manager But he was at the same time Trying to fight for my life

I was a kid that was running around You know when we'd land For a city for an appearance And at the airport They'd be like where'd Mike go Like how do you lose One of the most famous people in the country He just ran away

Like I would go and cop drugs From the drug dealer when I would land in a specific city and they'd be like, oh my God, how do you lose the situation? He's got bright, blue head, Ed Hardy pants on. How does that happen? Yeah, he's like flower. And like rosary beads in a backwards cap. How does that happen?

I was just a really wild kid. But yeah, no, the taxes were not done properly and getting back to having checks and balances and being mature. If you have checks and balances, you have to make sure to check and balance if you're the boss. those your name is on the account no matter what if i wasn't guilty the judge wouldn't have been able to send me to prison but at the end of the day the evidence that they had was like okay your name's on the account and it wasn't done properly yeah you're going to prison for eight months so you didn't have anything like who do i blame for this no no like you took accountability

all the work all the work that i've done on myself with you know therapy anger management and recovery led me to having the utmost of accountability in every aspect of your life. Your life is a product of your decisions. If you are upset at any particular time about anything, go to the mirror and ask the person in the mirror to make some changes. Yeah. How were the castmates at that time? Who would you say was most supportive of you?

At what particular time? Like when you were going through the hardship with with prison? and everything. Oh, they all were. They all rallied around. Yeah. They all did. They all visited me in prison. They saw that I was doing the right thing. They were like on Mike's turning over a new leaf. Like he really is doing the right thing. He's three years sober, speaking at high schools, speaking at colleges, working on the side at rehabs, helping people in need. And like, when you see somebody doing the right thing and walking it the way that they talk it, it's like inspiring. And I thought my friends like rallied around me and I'm forever

grateful for their support for sure who are you closest with from the cast i am closest with all of them to be honest we have this like i'm i'm not going to say secret group chat but we have this group chat that we speak every day about everything everything from like politics to and everyone's on it well not everyone most most not on the group chat there are multiple group chats there is one with everyone you know sam's in it angelina's in it it's like a whole cast thing i'm sure maybe you know maybe rani will get back in it shortly but then there's an mbp one mike viny and polly oh love that yes there's a mike viny and polly and that's not the secret one no oh no then there's the other one which is like binny jowowow polly snooky dina myself i think that's it who's missing

Also, it's the OGs. Yes, yes, pretty much OGs, yeah. Wow. Amazing that you guys stayed so close for all these years. Polly, Vinny, Ronnie, they were best men in my wedding. You know, we really are that close. And you're saying you hope Ronnie comes back because right now he's not really talking to you guys? Yeah, this season, y'all see.

This is his season. Yeah. Oh, what did you think of his whole relationship with Jen? Oh, that was wild. It was wild. Yeah, that was like, you were worried for him. Yeah. You know, you, you saw on TMZ, like, she was, like, running him over her or something, and it was a lot of crazy runners.

Yeah, it was probably some of the craziest stuff that you'll see. What about when he dated Malika? Oh, I don't know too much about that. You don't? I like that. I watched that show. What was that show? Like, celebrity.

They were on some dating show together. What was it called? Famously single. They were at a moment. Yes, that's what it was. It was a moment. I don't know too much about. I know it was a quick moment, but then I knew that with him and Jen, they were just so, I mean, I'm gonna just, toxic is the word. Toxic is the word. It's calling a spade of spade. They were super toxic. The TMZ headlines were legendary savage. And were you guys rallying around him through that? We would try to talk to him, but he wasn't listening. He wasn't. He wasn't there. He was shutting you out. He wasn't there. I mean, he's listening now, though. He is. Yeah. And you're saying we have a lot to look forward to. Yeah, you guys have a lot to look forward to February 8th. So when you talk about money in the book, he was listening. He wasn't. I mean, he was listening to. He was listening to. Yeah. And you guys. And you're saying, you're saying, you guys. Yeah,

and stuff you talk about how you let it kind of roll your life for a moment but also which is a lesson to everybody and i hope that most people know it now that money isn't everything oh yes yes yes you know it doesn't mean that you're happy like you said oh my hardest times is when i had oh yes when i got all this money yeah i had an epiphany uh in 2011 i was a multi-millionaire i had you know many like two ferrari's Lamborghini a portion an m5 in my driveway like you know on one of the biggest TV shows in the country, I was roasting the Donald Trump at the time on Comedy Central, not my finest appearance that day,

because I was super high. And they handed me the jokes. And I didn't even look at it. I was just like, I was just so high on myself and just on drugs. I took the material. And usually, you know, you read it.

Right. You practice it. Tone, delivery. Like, you know, in order to be successful because you're going to be in front of millions of people in probably an hour or two, but I just didn't care. You winged it? I just think, I winked it.

I didn't care. I winged it. They were paying me six figures to show up. I was flown out on a Trump private jet. And I remember, like, in the Trump towers, the night after the roast, which the first time I've gotten some booze in my career at the time, which is a learned experience, I guess, a learning experience. Everyone loved me afterwards.

Trump give me hugs like you know you did a great job don't worry about it you know I just felt empty not because of like the booze not at all I just felt empty because like I just had so many people pulling me in so many different directions and I realize I'm like I'm a multi-millionaire like I'm on the biggest TV show in the country and I'm not happy what the hell's happening right now and then I thought to myself when was the last time that I was really happy and the last time that I was happy was in college dating love of my life and having the love of a good woman. And that's when I made the decision to seek out what was important in life.

And I wouldn't bunk into my soulmate for a few years, but that was the sentiment at the time. I did call Lauren. I did call Lauren in Trump Towers. When you had that epiphany. And when I had that epiphany and I tried to woo her back, you know, please leave your man that you're with right now, almost like the old school, Drake.

What was that song where he's trying to do his old school song, Marvin's room where he's trying to like woo back the ex-girlfriend or whatever it is. Y'all research it after this. You'll laugh. Anyway, she didn't take the bait. She picked up the phone. She realized like what it was, try to talk me off the ledge. And then that was it.

And then she hung up and changed her number. Changed her number. She changed her number because she was almost engaged at the time. Wow. And her man was like, yo, like. You better change your number, you know. So how did you end up getting her back if she was almost engaged? Many years later, not many years later, about two years later,

I heard that she went to a kickboxing gym at 8 p.m. And on a Tuesday night. And the Wednesday night, I went to the same kickboxing, same time, and she happened to be there. We locked eyes. And it was like, we never lost time. She was having issues at the time with whoever she was with. She left them.

And then she's been with me ever since. Wow. Yeah. Well, thank God for that. Yeah. She saved my life. And it looks like even though you went through so much, and with the show and the money and the drugs and the fame, you still had her like in your heart. Mm-hmm.

Like you hadn't completely moved on from... 100%. 100%. And look at you now. Yes. Yes. I also know that her brother is passing. Yeah, that was a very tough.

From an overdose? Yes. in 2013. Was that a turning point for you? At the time I was deep in addiction and I was in Spain. I had just been subpoenaed by the U.S. government

that they were having an investigation on me and it was just the worst time of my life. Like I went to the airport and I was going to Spain and there was eight IRS agents with the windbreakers. At my gate. There's like seven of them.

Like, I'm like some, you know, fugitive. Like, I'm John Wayne. Like, you know what I mean? Like something crazy. And that was like the moment. I was like, wow, like this is a really big problem. And they handed the grand jury, you know, subpoenas that you're being investigated or whoever it was. And then when I got to Spain a couple days later, I get the phone call that Lauren's brother had passed.

And I was the last one to speak to him. You were friends? Yes. I was very close with Lauren's family. Did you know what he was going through? He was in a sober house at the time, and he was recovering from opiates or more so could be heroin as well. And Lauren called me, and she's like, I can't get a hold of my brother. He looks up to you.

I'm sure if you call, he'll pick up. I'm like, okay, I'm in Spain. I'm kind of going through my own issues, but at the same time, it doesn't matter. I'm going to make the phone call. So I call, he picks up. And I'm like, Chris, man, you're, what are you doing, man? Your family's looking for you. Please call them, let them know you're okay.

And that's it. He said, all right, no problem, Mike. And he hung up the phone with me, called his family. I'm okay. And then hung up with them in the next morning, he didn't wake up. So it was a really, really tough moment. And that's why a lot of the work I do in recovery, the speaking engagements in colleges in high schools, I do, you know, honor his memory.

What do you say to these college and high school students about drugs? Like, don't do with them, never try anything. Like, how do you? No, what's the message? The message is you really tell your story. You're just honest. And if they're able to take something from your story and they're able to learn from some of your lessons and how you recovered.

And a lot of the times that's how it's done. And how I did it was through the principles of recovery. the 12 steps, the serenity prayer, having a sponsor and things like that, the one day at a time, never giving up on yourself, the comeback is greater than a setback, and things like that. Wow. You guys, Mike's new memoir, reality check, making the best out of the situation, take a moment, how I overcame addiction, loss, and prison is out.

Everybody should read it. It is just so much info, so much tea that you didn't know about. You really lay everything out there. Like, no secrets are loved. No. It's, you know, if you pick up this book, I guarantee you'll finish it in either one sitting, one day, two days. It's a book you can't put down. You're going to laugh. You're going to cry.

You're going to be shocked and inspired by the same time. This book's also going to save, you know, millions of lives because it's getting out everywhere. And I think on January 2nd, my team is here. We're already discussing making it into a screenplay in a movie right now. Wow. The book's only been out for a couple weeks. so everybody's loving it friends family peers people in the industry so we're going to push this into a movie and probably a documentary as well love and can't wait and thank god you wrote it

i know right i know yeah it took about two years to write it took two years i was going to ask you how long it took about two years to write it but also eight years to be even in the position to write i'm eight years sober so if i wasn't sober and doing the right things i wouldn't be in the position to write a kick-as book. You think, like, at the five-year mark, you wouldn't have been able to, you needed all that time. I wanted to write something around the five or six-year mark, and I started to approach people, and I was asking my team around six years, I asked, like, yo, we should write a book. And I'll be honest with you, I think some of the big publishers, they took the phone calls, but I think they passed, to be honest with you, y'all should,

shouldn't have passed. Those are the best stories, though. Y'all shouldn't have passed on that. Look at me now. You look, y'all shouldn't have passed on that because everybody's talking about it now. They're going to make it into a movie. It's been all over the press for weeks now. It's going to be a bestseller. Yes. And look at me now. And look at you now. Well, may you just keep on rising up, Mike, the situation. How are the abs doing? Oh, the abs are one of my goals for 2024, along with the bestseller book and, I mean, movie and doc, you. But yes, that is my next. My next thing is, reveal the situation in 2024,

movie doc you, and I want to do some sober houses and help some people. Amazing. Yeah. Good luck. Yeah, thank you. Thank you for coming on. Thank you so much. Yeah.

Amazing interview. Thank you guys so much for listening to this episode of Not Skinny but Not Fat. Follow me on Instagram at Not Skinny but Not Fat. subscribe to the podcast so you don't miss any episodes. Rate the podcast that you love so much on Apple Podcasts and write a little review. If you tell me you did, I'll give you a big virtual smoocheroo. Thank you guys so much for listening. And I'll see you next Tuesday.

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