“We want to give the fans great music and a great show, and we marry the two, and that’s just rock ‘n’ roll to me. The visual elements were important then, and they still are. “I just looked at it as rock ‘n’ roll,” says Michaels. To date they’ve sold somewhere around 50 million records. Their early albums went gold, then platinum, several times over. Suddenly they were part of a wave of image-conscious bands that rocked (and partied) hard, had a melodic pop sensibility, and looked great in videos. Poison got their record deal after taking the clubs on Sunset Strip by storm. “It was cheap, but also we could set all of our gear up and practice,” he recalls. at first, bunking down in the back of a dry cleaners, at times sleeping on their speakers to keep the cockroaches at bay. When the shows wind down later in the year, it’s still warm enough in Arizona for outside activities. He is usually on concert tours in the spring and summer. “I just love the wide-open space,” he says. He has a place in Los Angeles, of course, but he also has called Scottsdale home for many years. When the van broke down around Phoenix, Michaels had an opportunity to stop and look around, and he liked what he saw in the Arizona desert. Their scraggly caravan included Michaels’ war-torn Ford van that had been an ambulance, along with an old green pickup truck and a Chevy Chevette with most of its windows missing. With snow still falling back home, the four young rockers took a southern route as they headed west in March of 1984. Eventually they got good enough-and confident enough-to head out to Los Angeles, some 2,500 miles from their hometown of Mechanicsburg. There was a succession of them, with names like Spectres, the Kidz, Paris, and Dark Star. He’s played in bands since he was a teenager. It was one of those adventures-a cross-country trip-that changed his life forever. I like the feeling of dirt under my shoes, and the fact that something can go so right and possibly so wrong all at the same time keeps my adrenaline pumping.” For me it could mean simply just being in the outdoors hiking, fishing, jogging, mountain biking, riding motocross, skiing, archery, marksmanship, or boating, but it gives me a sense of true primal freedom. “It is an open range for it to be what rocks your soul. “The best thing about the great outdoors is it means so many different things to so many different people,” Michaels says. But he says that’s just scratching the surface. He’s also drawn to motorsports and has a Baja-style racing track for his dirt bikes and go-karts at his spread in northern Arizona. I’ve been blessed with the camping gene since I was a kid.” “We camped, we fished, and we enjoyed it. “I never knew whether it was hip or a trend or not, it’s just what we did,” he says. Being diabetic made him health conscious from an early age, and outdoor pursuits were also just a way of life for his family. Calling himself a “rock jock,” he says he’s always been active and athletic. “I like to say that in spite of myself, I’ve managed to survive.”Ī big part of Michaels’ life story takes place outdoors. “It’s by the grace of God, good medical attention, and having a strong spirit,” he says. After a series of medical emergencies, starting with being diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes as a kid, the biggest story is the fact that he’s still here to tell them. His new book, Auto-Scrap-Ography, uses a scrapbook format to tell many of the adventurous tales from his life so far. These kind-hearted efforts led to Michaels receiving the Humanitarian of the Year Award at the annual Hollywood Christmas Parade in Los Angeles late that year. When hurricanes hit the Bahamas and Puerto Rico in 2019, he loaded his own plane with relief supplies and children’s toys and personally delivered them. He is also an active supporter of veterans support organizations like Operation Homefront. Through his Life Rocks Foundation, Michaels supports many (often medical-related) causes and has given handsomely to charity. With his Pets Rock collection at PetSmart, he even markets rock ‘n’ roll-oriented toys and accessories for dogs and cats. He has a real estate concern that develops and sells high-end properties, and there’s also a namesake diet soft drink from Snapple (“Bret Michaels’ Trop-A-Rocka Tea”). It’s no stretch to call Michaels a creative and innovative entrepreneur.
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