How A Bathroom Read Led To Steve-O's Clown College Journey

At first glance, Steve-O's job seems pretty straightforward. After all, throughout his years appearing on "Jackass" and its subsequent movies, all he's done is put himself in harm's way for the sake of a stunt. From getting hit with balls to riding a tricycle in precarious environments, Steve-O has no qualms about putting himself in harm's way, all for the sake of entertaining the masses. It makes one wonder how precisely Steve-O got the training necessary to undergo such punishments.

It may come as a surprise to some to learn that Steve-O went to clown college before his "Jackass" days. In 1997, he graduated from the Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey Clown College to help him along his goal of becoming a famous stuntman. That's right; Steve-O has received the finest training around to become a clown, so it makes sense he's joined the most popular group of guys who've made clowning around a profession in the 21st century. And if that's not enough, the story of how he found out about the clown college is even stranger.

While Steve-O occasionally hops back into the "Jackass" circle from time to time, he's more preoccupied with his podcast, "Steve-O's Wild Ride!," on a regular basis. In Episode 100, he had his sister on the show to talk about all things related to growing up with a kid like Steve-O. She delved into a story involving some of the books that were readily available when she had to use the restroom one fateful day, including a trivia book where she learned an intriguing tidbit about how one of the only colleges in the country that doesn't charge tuition is the Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey Clown College.

The only problem at this time was that the Albuquerque auditions were already over (Steve-O living in New Mexico at this time), but his sister encouraged him to drive to Denver, Colorado, to make those auditions. He found a way, and amazingly, he was accepted. According to Whalebone Magazine, out of 3,000 applicants, only 33 made it in, including Steve-O, that year. Steve-O didn't land a clown contract, so he wound up moving back with his sister in New Mexico once the courses were over. But fortunately, it wouldn't be long until he found his true calling.