DJ AM Music Videos, Pictures and Photos including Lollapalooza Music Festival Music Videos on Roxwel

DJ AM

Nicole Richie might be a whiny, annoying pseudosocialite permanently affixed to the front pages of Star and The National Enquirer, but she’s not bad at jumpstarting your international DJ career - just ask DJ AM. Born Michael Adam Goldstein in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, he spent his teenage years on the streets of Los Angeles as a hopelessly overweight drifter and drug abuser, stepping out of his downward spiral only to hit the turntables as a DJ at local clubs. Things hit rock bottom for Michael at the age of 24 when he tried to shoot himself in the face with a .22 - but the gun wouldn’t go off. Shaken, yet determined to get his life on track, Michael began attending 12-step meetings, eventually dropping his freebase cocaine habit and slimming down considerably.

By 2001 things began picking up for DJ AM; he turned out to be an even better DJ when sober, and was soon playing regularly at the hottest bars and clubs in California. He also worked for a time as the DJ for the rock band Crazy Town, contributing scratches and effects for the band’s 2001 hit "Butterfly", which was primarily created using Red Hot Chili Peppers samples. It was around this time he met his longtime on-and-off beau Nicole Richie, adopted daughter of soul crooner Lionel Richie. Nicole was thrust into the national spotlight by her part on The Simple Life, a reality TV show with Paris Hilton; her partnership with DJ AM only served to increase his celebrity-DJ status.

In 2004 DJ AM trimmed down to his current weight (a slim and fit 150 pounds) after gastric bypass surgery, proposing to Nicole just months after his successful operation. Alas, the marriage was never meant to be - they broke it off in 2005, only to briefly reunite again in 2006 before deciding to see other people. DJ AM would go on to date a revolving door of models and actresses (among them actress/singer Mandy Moore and supermodel Jessica Stam) in the wake of his breakup with Nicole, while Nicole recently had a child with her current boyfriend Joel Madden of Good Charlotte fame. At the height of his career with Richie at his side, DJ AM had collaborated with the likes of Madonna and Will Smith and was also one of the most sought after DJ’s in California, booking special events with stars like Jessica Simpson, Jim Carey, and Jennifer Lopez. Though without a doubt a talented disc jockey, his relationship with well-connected Nicole sure didn‘t hurt his career.