CENTRAL PA-CENTERED

Bret Michaels: a “Made in PA” Road Warrior Helping Our Country’s Wounded Warriors

Story by Randy Gross rgross@harrisburgmagazine.com Photos submitted

go to see all the places I love,” he says. “I hang out there, I even bring my RV, I sometimes have the kids with me, and we make it a great day.” That is, whenever time allows.

With an annual touring schedule (see the coming month’s 2023 “Parti-Gras Tour” dates below) that rockers half his age might find grueling, Michaels is a true road warrior – and this despite a diabetes regimen of vigilant glucose monitoring and five insulin injections per day. “I’m one of those guys, my dad and mom both used to say, when I was a kid I had a little extra unique energy – they weren’t quite sure what it was – and they just left it at that,” he recalls with a laugh. “But that passion and excitement is, oddly enough, what keeps me going.” Besides the hard work ethic he grew up with in Central PA, Michaels credits his family’s “victory over victim attitude” for helping him to overcome – and adapt to –various adversities in his life.

“I’m like a classic muscle car,” he muses. “I’m still fast, still fun to drive, but I just need a little more maintenance.”

Asked if he thinks of himself as a role model for fans who have to deal with diabetes or other health difficulties, he modestly remarks “Let me say this, I’ve never sat down and said I’m a role model. What I feel like is ‘I’m in it to win it’ with them. I feel like I’m a friend. I have this conversation with people all the time. I’ll be talking with someone at a show and I’m like ‘how’s your sugars,’ and it’s sincere for me.”

When some people hit it big in the world of entertainment, they never look back. Bret Michaels, on the other hand, not only returns to his Mechanicsburg roots as often as possible, but his desire to return home is easily summed up in his new single and video, “Back in the Day.”

Sometimes I wish I could rewind, I think about it all the time …

That rewind, says Michaels, is what he tries to do in real life. “Just go back to places that, for me, felt great, felt right, and just bring back that amazing feeling.” Proclaiming proudly that “Central PA has kept me centered,” he eagerly cites the many local activities he loves to partake in, including tubing on the Yellow Breeches, grabbing a slice at JoJo’s Pizza, or the “Zen-like experience” of enjoying the view of the Susquehanna River while driving along Front Street in Harrisburg. “When I’m home, I

Equally sincere for Michaels – and perhaps the number one reason why he’s being recognized in this issue as one of Central PA’s most influential people – are the multiple charitable causes he has adopted as his own, specifically the physical and mental wellbeing of U.S. veterans. Taking inspiration from his late father, a Navy veteran interred at Fort Indiantown Gap, he is a road warrior helping wounded warriors via his Life Rocks

Foundation ( www.liferocksfoundation.org ), and even plans to donate a portion of proceeds from his upcoming concert at Hollywood Casino in Grantville to various Hometown Hero programs throughout the region.

Michaels explains further: “When I developed Life Rocks, I said I want a boutique charitable foundation that I know where the money goes. In other words, if we auction off stuff, I put money in, the fans put money in, I want them to know it’s ‘a dollar in, a dollar out.’ It’s a non-profit, and it started with, obviously me as a diabetic, when we started sending tons of kids to diabetic camps with no payment. I said, ‘this will change your life … it’ll allow you to find a community and great friends.’”

Echoing one of Poison’s most well-known songs, Michaels proclaims “I love bringing

Thu Jul 13 – Clarkston, MI – Pine Knob Music Theatre

Sat Jul 15 – Burgettstown, PA – The Pavilion at Star Lake

Sun Jul 16 – Holmdel, NJ – PNC Bank Arts Center

Fri Jul 21 – Mansfield, MA – Xfinity Center

Sat Jul 22 – Gilford, NH – Bank of New Hampshire Pavilion

Sun Jul 23 – Camden, NJ – Freedom Mortgage Pavilion

Fri Jul 28 – Maryland Heights, MO – Hollywood Casino Amphitheatre

Sat Jul 29 – Tinley Park, IL – Hollywood Casino Amphitheatre

Sun Jul 30 – Noblesville, IN – Ruoff Music Center

Fri Aug 04 – Tampa, FL – MIDFLORIDA Credit Union Amphitheatre at

the FL State Fairgrounds

Sat Aug 05 – Alpharetta, GA – Ameris Bank Amphitheatre

Sun Aug 06 – Charlotte, NC – PNC Music Pavilion

TICKETS HERE https://www.livenation.com/artist/K8vZ9171uV7/bret-michaels-events