The new book sheds light on Bam Margera’s obsessive attitude towards Ville Valo.
Ville Valo and Bam Margera in Ruisrock in 2004. PDO
Kimmo Aroluoma was HIM’s guitar technician who toured the world with the band. Aroluoma has written a book about his memories and experiences The last tour (Like 2025).
As you know, Jackass star Bam Margera was a die-hard fan of HIM and especially Ville Valo, and they also became friends. According to the book, Margera got to know HIM in 2000, when he came to Finland for skateboarding competitions and read an article about HIM on the plane. On the same trip, he saw the hotel on TV Right Here in My Arms -video and bought the band’s record and later the entire production.
In October 2000, Margera was in London where HIM performed at the Garage club. Margera had just become a celebrity with Jackass and went into the back room to introduce herself to Valo, after which they became friends.
According to the book, Margera identified with Valo almost obsessively. Margera, who preferred the skate style, started to dress gothic like Valo and got the same tattoos that Valo had.
Bam had said that if Ville wanted to make love to his female friend, he wouldn’t mind, rather the opposite.
His female friend also got a heartagram tattoo. Margera invited the group to her parents’ home and offered a warm welcome.
HIM and their staff were blown away by the reception.
They were picked up in a limo and taken to a party in West Chester at the huge house Bam had bought for her parents, an hour’s drive from Philadelphia.
There was a skate ramp in the backyard and the food was great. There were Scottish women and anyway everything was in American capitals. There was a lot of people, and the yard was bursting with wonderful sports cars. Bam was already a millionaire at that point, at the top of his career and like the king of West Chester, with whom everyone wanted to hang out.
The visit was not a one-off.
Bam became one of the most famous HIM fans in the world, constantly talking about the band.
Sometimes all Bam could talk about for the entire interview was how hard the band HIM was. He was a well-known celebrity in the Yankees and reached mass potential fans.
Margera decorated her home, a straightforward castle, in a Gothic style. There was a huge heartagram in the house and a big, framed HIM poster above the fireplace. He also directed the film Haggardwhere HIM’s music plays.
Later, the relationship between Margera and Valo became inflamed and Margera accused Valo of her substance abuse problems.
HIM and Ville Valo at a gig in Germany in 2004. Brill, AOP
Margera told his Jackass colleague Steve-O’s podcast that he was 24 years old when he met Valo. She admired HIM’s frontman so much that she was ready to do everything just like him.
– If he bought a pack of cigarettes, I bought one too. If he was drinking, I was too. If he had a shot of sambuca, I would too, Margera said.
The relationship cooled off for more than a decade, and both of them shot nasty comments at each other.
– He is turning into a monster, Valo stated in January 2023 about Margera.
In September 2023, the fan account published a recent picture of the two together, which means that the relationship had apparently been restored to some extent.
Valo is now sober, but Margera still struggles with substance abuse problems.
The italicized passages are excerpts from the book The Last Tour (Kimmo Aroluoma, 2025, Like). The book will be published on 15.10.