Derrick Whibley almost drank himself to death.
In 2014, the frontman of the famous pop punk band Sum 41 found himself in the hospital because his liver and kidneys had stopped functioning due to excessive alcohol consumption. Luckily, Whibley survived, and after a long road to recovery, he is now able to do all the things he loves again. This also includes playing the guitar, which the “Fat Lip” singer had to re-learn after his near death.
These days, the 46-year-old is playing all the wellness hits. He’s a cold dip devotee, adapts his diet to fight acid reflux, and learns that even rock stars need their sleep. Whibley No longer the tabloid darling who dated Paris Hilton and checked into hotels under the name Jack Daniels, Whibley is extremely candid about his fast life, the carefree days of yore. In 2024, he published his memoir, walking disasterEverything from being raised by a single mother to his debauched tours in Canada is documented.
With all that in the rearview – and Sum 41’s breakout album all killer no filler Now 25—Whibley is able to candidly reflect on becoming famous at a very young age, the power of stereotypes, and what it’s like to hear a doctor tell you that you can’t make it.
GQ: With all your health issues, has there been a moment in the past – I think, in 12 years – that has really come across as a watershed, holy shit moment for you?
Derrick Whibley: I mean, really the only health problem I’ve ever had was liver failure from excessive drinking.
So when your body shut down, was that the moment you remember most?
Oh, of course, but it was the greatest day of my life. There were so many emotions wrapped around it that I can remember it with so much clarity. It feels like yesterday, even though it was almost 12 years ago, April 2014. Obviously, he was the catalyst for everything to change in my life, but for the better. At that time, it seemed like the most difficult task. it Was Hardest thing I’ve ever gone through. It was painful, it was horrible. It was coming to an end in every possible way. I mean, for one, I almost died. My organs shut down. So this was the whole thing. Physically, I was dying. They managed to keep me alive and it was a long journey to come out from there.
Just the physical side of it, like I couldn’t walk for long periods of time because of the excessive drinking and the neuropathy. This caused nerve damage in my legs. Without at least a lot of pain, I couldn’t walk for a year, and for the first few months, I couldn’t walk at all. There was a lot of muscle atrophy on top of the neuropathy. I got over it, but my motor skills were completely messed up. I couldn’t form real sentences. I could only speak one syllable at a time for a long time. Not only that, the one consolation I thought of was that I could pick up a guitar. It’s my one thing I can always go to. I picked up the guitar and I couldn’t play it. I was looking at my fingers as if my brain knew what it wanted them to do, but I couldn’t tell them what to do.
In such a situation everything was very difficult. But then on the mental side of it, I mean, there was a lot of shame, and guilt, and blame, and embarrassment, and confusion, and fear. I don’t think there were any good things going on in my life at that time. There was nothing really positive other than my survival. It was enough to say, “Okay, I’m saved.” At least I have something to keep. I didn’t die. So now it’s about getting better. When I was in the hospital, the doctors were telling me, “Look, it’s going to be 50-50, we won’t be able to save you here.” They were just straight up with me, like, “We’re going to do our best.” There were times when things were getting worse and I ended up back in the ICU because my organs started failing. After staying there for a few weeks I felt that my condition was improving, suddenly I started vomiting blood as my organs were shutting down. This happened a few times. So they were like, “You can’t take it out of here.” But I vowed that if I ever got out there, I would completely change my life, and I never looked back.
