Bret Michaels is, if nothing else, a true survivor. He has survived a lifelong battle as an insulin dependent diabetic, a well publicized near fatal car crash in 1994 and the countless musical trends and fads of the last two decades.
"As soon as I ever start to just go through the motions I'll quit," confessed the 44 year old singer, songwriter, producer, director and actor in a recent interview. But there's little chance he'll even slow down let alone quit anytime soon. In fact, after more than 20 years in the business this award winning, multi platinum superstar's career continues to move at warp speed. As front man for the legendary rock band Poison, Michaels has sold 25 million records and scored an amazing 15 chartbusting Top 40 singles including the timeless #1 smash "Every Rose Has its Thorn."
More recently, on VH1's "Rock of Love," twenty lucky ladies got their chance for an All-Access pass to Bret Michaels' heart and to share in all his superstar lifestyle. With 5.4 million viewers, it is the second most popular show on VH1 and has already been renewed for a second season.
"Roses & Thorns" will cover all of Bret's rockstardom, including...
The band: From the Pennsylvania creation of "the ultimate garage band" through MTV's banning of their explicit videos to their 2007 sold-out summer tour.
The partying: Because he's diabetic, Bret never really did the dope and booze partying like the others, but he was at the center of this movement full of excess, and definitely has stories to tell.
The fights: The conflict with C. C. Deville that culminated in a fistfight backstage at the 1991 MTV Video Music Awards, and the firing of Deville. The conflict with Bobby Dall that culminated at a show in Atlanta where Bret announced to the audience, "You may have just seen the last concert by Poison in its current formation."
The accident: Recording of Poison's sixth album was brought to a halt in May 1994 when Michaels was involved in a car accident where he suffered a broken nose, ribs, jaw, and fingers and lost four teeth.
The sex tape: Michaels had a short but notorious relationship with Pamela Anderson. An explicit sex tape the couple made appeared on the internet was released as a DVD in 2005.
The rebirth of a rockstar: Bret's solo career as a country artist, his stint as a judge on CMT's "Nashville Star," making an appearance in "Guitar Hero III," and his journey to find the woman who can rock his love life via VH1's "Rock of Love with Bret Michaels" and "Rock of Love 2 with Bret Michaels" which is currently airing.