Eating lunch with Steve-O (Atlanta Improv Dec. 4-5)

Steve-O irritated cops and firefighters who arrived on the scene thinking he might be suicidal. "I'm the world's dumbest protester," he said. "They didn't know who I was."

As a result, he pled guilty and was handed 30 days in prison, which he doesn't mind because it has garnered publicity for his cause. And he figures he ultimately won't be in for more than a couple weeks.

He's in Atlanta for his final set of stand-up shows before he goes behind bars. (You can check him out at the Atlanta Improv Friday, December 4 and Saturday, December 5 for two shows each. Tickets are $30 each.)

I caught up with the 41-year-old entertainer at True Food Kitchen at Lenox Square Mall Thursday, a place that accommodates his vegan diet. (He especially enjoyed the restaurant's chia pudding with banana and coconut.)

Credit: Rodney Ho

Credit: Rodney Ho

Steve-O remains a goofy, funny guy with a perpetually expressive face, a man who proudly wears his MTV "Jackass" title around his neck - and stapled to his genitals.

But Steve-O (real name Stephen Glover) worked hard and played hard for years, courtesy of copious amounts of booze, drugs and women. In 2008, he finally said no mas and entered rehab. Amazingly, he has come out the other side sober and still creatively juiced, enough of his idiot persona remaining to build a respectable stand-up career.

"It's shameless. It's reckless," he said, about his show. "I do some physical stuff. I'll do circus tricks that are funny. I take my experiences as a circus clown and sexual deviant/drug addict. It's hilarious!"

He travels 40 weeks a year as a stand-up comic and was thrilled to find out during our lunch that he had achieved Elite Platinum status, the top frequent flier level at American Airlines. This means he can bring three bags, up to 70 pounds each, on the plane for free. Why so much stuff? He carries T-shirts and other merchandise with him to sell at shows.

And despite the temptations of the road, he and his friend and business partner Scott Randolph stay out of trouble, saying it's gotten easier over time. "I'm his c*** block," Randolph explains, without irony.

"Practicing the principles [of a 12-step program] has become second nature," Steve-O added. "It's become easier not trying to get loaded or hooking up with chicks, the way I used to be in the day. All the fooling around and drinking made it so much harder to manage [the travel.]"

He said he really enjoys doing his shows and goes out of his way to meet and greet everybody after each one. "That can be tiring," he said. But "I feel it's important, especially since people don't know me as a stand up. The more they can get people to post on social media and tell their friends, the better it is for me. It's the grassroots marketing approach."

For instance, here's a selfie from last night's show at the Atlanta Improv:

Steve-O has built an impressive 1.7 million followers on Instagram, 1.2 million on Twitter and 9.8 million likes on Facebook. "I have a track record," he said. "My social media is getting stronger. My interviews are generally better. I'm more confident about my stand up. In the past, I felt a bit self conscious saying I was doing stand up."

Last month, Steve O taped a Showtime special in Austin that he said will air on the pay cable network in March. It's his first comedy special as a stand up. "That's big time," he said. He taped two shows. The first one, he said, was horrible because he was editing the show in his head while doing it. That stifled his ability to be present. His friends told him to muscle through the second taping and "make the show a show. Entertain those people!" So he let go and the results were much much better.

While other networks such as Comedy Central considered giving him a special, Showtime worked best. "Showtime doesn't give a f***  how raunchy it is," he said.

Is another over-the-top movie on the way? He is pondering something with stunts and pranks, of course, but with more of a narrative than his 2013 film "Bad Grandpa."

Credit: Rodney Ho

Credit: Rodney Ho

A stand-up comic since 2006, he has refined his act and credits good advice while in Atlanta for his first shows here in 2012 from Punchline manager Chris DiPetta. DiPetta told him he didn't have to be so crass to be funny, that he had the ability to broaden his topics and not focus in the nether regions.

"Couldn't be a nicer guy," DiPetta texted me today. "He could do very well as a stand up if he integrates his Jackass days' stories to standup."

Credit: Rodney Ho

Credit: Rodney Ho

Steve-O is not worried about prison. He's been there before and as a high-profile person, he said he will be isolated from the general population. He plans to read a lot. He also knows Suge Knight is in the same place. Although they've met before, he is a little scared of the dude. (Can you blame him?)

I first spoke with Steve-O in 2012 when he hosted a truTV show "Killer Karaoke," where folks had to sing popular songs while being tortured in some way - e.g. electrocuted, covered in gook or thrown into a pool with snakes.

As an animal activist, Steve-O said he received backlash since many of the pranks involved animals - such as the snake bit. "I felt like a hypocrite," he said. "So I told the network moving forward I don't want to work with animals."

Credit: Rodney Ho

Credit: Rodney Ho

That would have limited the stunts significantly so truTV replaced him with Mark McGrath . (At the time, the network simply explained to me that Steve-O wasn't available.) The production company also made the new format confusing and the show didn't make it to a third season.

CONCERT PREVIEW

Steve-O

Friday, December 4 and Saturday, December 5, 7:45 p.m., 10:15 p.m

$30

Atlanta Improv