Dee Snider said the secret of his longevity is that he’s lived his life as an “anti rock star.”

The Twisted Sister frontman argues that a fitness regime in place since his earliest days is the reason he's still able to perform with a full voice at the age of 65.

“I never drank; I never did drugs,” Snider told Fox 17 Rock & Review in a new interview embedded below. “Even though my voiceover agent sold me as a cigarette-smoking whiskey drinker, because I’ve got that husky voice – but that’s from screaming my lungs out my whole life.”

He revealed that the first major purchase he made after Twisted Sister rose up the charts wasn't a fancy car or huge mansion. It was actually a gym.

"I was working out and training, even at that point in my life. So, I was like the anti rock star as far as the lifestyle went,” Snider said. “I used to look at my peers, and they were sprinting, and I would go, ‘Guys, you do know life is a marathon, right? I’m not going for 27, I’m going for 87. … It’s definitely benefitted me in the long run.

Watch Dee Snider's Fox 17 Interview

Snider already planned to stay off the road in 2020, even before the coronavirus pandemic meant that every other artist had to do the same. But that doesn't mean he won't be busy. In fact, with continuing work on a wide range of projects including new TV appearances, the question is whether Snider seems to be doing too much.

That's happened before, Snider admits. “I was roasted a couple of years ago,” he said, “and Zakk Wylde got up, from Ozzy Osbourne’s band. He said, ‘Dee, you’re surrounded by people who care, your family and friends. … This isn’t a roast; it’s an intervention. You gotta stop doing all that reality TV!’”

Recounting his many his appearances on shows with the word “celebrity” in their titles, Snider added: “I’ll do anything!”

He's set to issue For the Love of Metal Live! on July 31 via Napalm Records. The concert project includes a performance of “I Am the Hurricane,” which Snider released as an advance single.

Watch Dee Snider Perform 'I Am the Hurricane'

 

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