DJ AM talks to MTV News on July 29, 2009
Photo: MTV News

Just a month before DJ AM's unexpected death, reportedly linked to drugs, he spoke candidly with MTV News about his struggles with addiction.

During the July 29 interview, AM said he hoped to help other addicts on his MTV substance-abuse intervention show "Gone Too Far."

"The inspiration for the show is that I am a recovering drug addict. I have 11 years sober," he said. "Something I have always done since the beginning of my sobriety is work with other addicts in recovery. So when the question came up [from MTV]: 'Hey, we should work something out.' It's like, 'What do you like to do?' And other than DJ, that's kind of what I've always done.

"Part of me feels like, 'Who am I?' I'm a DJ. This is my one chance. I owe it as a human who's sober to say something to them. So that's my job. That's what I'm there for."

He recalled the times before he got treatment and how hard it was for him to stay focused on what he wanted to accomplish. "I got so lost in my disease. I was gone," he said. "I had forgotten, [and] I would have these little moments where I would say, 'Wow, I had goals. There was things that I wanted to do.' "

AM pointed out in the interview that "sobriety is for those who want, not those who need it." While shooting the show, he easily related to the people seeking his help. "I speak addict. I am one, and they, for the first time, they see someone who's sober, who made it out," he said. "I see myself in every single addict that I've done an episode on, and we can completely relate to another."