A year after his last stint in rehab, Bam Margera has returned to battle his addiction to alcohol. The 39-year-old announced his return in an Instagram post, hoping that his third attempt will be the one that sticks.
This news comes after a relapse into drinking after months of sobriety, reportedly started off by an incident in Colombia last August. Margera had just landed in Cartagena, Colombia, when he took a taxi from outside the airport. That's when he claimed he was robbed at gunpoint, as he explained in an Instagram video. He told his followers:
"I just arrived in Cartagena alone and I took a taxi—a random one—from the airport to here. And I couldn't Spanish, they couldn't speak English, and they translated on their phone for me to read, 'Empty your wallet,' as they put a gun on their lap to show it to me. So I did, and I had $500. They let me go. That was weird. Welcome to Colombia!"
This video was reportedly followed up by another Instagram video, which has since been deleted. In the now-removed clip, he opened a can of Club Colombia beer and seemed shaken up by the incident.
"Sober since January 10th, this is how you open a beer being alone, bored and robbed," he captioned the post, according to People Magazine. "Anyone in Cartagena I will be sitting at the center square at high noon tomorrow with my skateboard if u wanna cruise."
Margera previously checked into rehab in January 2018, a few days after he was arrested for driving under the influence of alcohol. This time around, Margera posted a photo of himself with his one-year-old son, Phoenix, announcing his plans to get sober in 2019. "Off to alcohol rehab for the 3rd time," he captioned the post. "I am hoping the 3rd time is a charm is true."
He followed up this post with another photo of himself, this time with "sober coach" Bob Marier. In this post, he thanked interventionist Tim Ryan, Element skateboards founder Johnny Schillereff, and fellow Jackass castmembers Brand Novak, Johnny Knoxville and Steve O "for the treatment".
Margera has notoriously struggled with alcohol abuse, with his troubles worsening since the death of his friend Ryan Dunn in 2011. His fellow Jackass star passed away in a car crash, which led to a downward spiral for Margera. Speaking to VICE about his addiction, he said:
"At its worst, I would probably just wake up around 11 AM and instantly start drinking vodka and purple Gatorade. By the end of the night, I would probably have ten pints worth of it. It was pretty bad. It was weird, because there would be times where I would go on a three-day bender of drinking and then five days of not drinking. When that five days ended, I would go on a two-day bender."
Hopefully this new year is a pivotal one for Margera, and he sees no further setbacks on his journey towards sobriety.
