When Novak was 14, he was a professional skateboarder on the Powell Peralta Team, but lost his spot due to what he says was a long bout with "psychoactive substance abuse".
Novak has admitted to being a former heroin user and was clean for almost four years, from 2003 to 2007.
Margera stated on Radio Bam that Novak relapsed in March 2007 and was seeking treatment in a rehabilitation clinic.

Novak was absent from the January 23, 2006 episode of Radio Bam on SIRIUS Satellite Radio while he attended rehab for addiction to pills.
On February 26, 2007, Novak admitted on Radio Bam that while he had quit using heroin, he still regularly abused cocaine and pain medication and frequently drank alcohol.
While it was not mentioned on the radio show, Novak broke his ankle the day before Margera's wedding while filming Bam's Unholy Union on February 2, 2007 and was shown holding a bottle of prescription pain killers afterwards.
 It is unclear if this incident led to his relapse, or if the relapse was already occurring by this time.
Margera announced on the April 3, 2007 episode of Radio Bam that Novak had a relapse with his addiction to heroin and was back in rehab.
On the July 30, 2007 episode of Radio Bam, Margera and Chad I Ginsburg were discussing the topic of heroin and announced that Novak's addiction was "the worst [Bam] had ever seen" and that Novak was "just killing himself now".
He was kicked out of rehab in Scranton, Pennsylvania, after heroin pills were found in his bag.
Novak claimed that the pills were "planted" on him.
On a Radio Bam episode in November, Novak stated that he had attempted suicide three weeks before the radio show, as a result of a heroin binge, but survived it.

On the December 17, 2007 episode of Radio Bam, Novak was asked to leave Margera's house again when he lied on air about not having pills and being clean.
He had recently been released from a psychiatric ward he had been held in for 12 days because of suicidal tendencies and drug use.
The crew found multiple bars of Xanax on Novak, which he claimed had been prescribed to him.
Joe Frantz and Margera exiled Novak for a period of time as a result.
On the March 3, 2008 episode of Radio Bam, Novak stated that he was 33 days clean and would appear in Bam's new MTV show.

In March 2009, Frantz had a phone conversation with Novak about his attempted suicide and mental health issues that resulted in him being institutionalized.
On March 9, 2009 Novak appeared on Radio Bam and discussed getting out of the mental institution, his drug use, and the delusions that led to the problems.
When Novak was 14, he was a professional skateboarder on the Powell Peralta Team, but lost his spot due to what he says was a long bout with "psychoactive substance abuse". Novak has admitted to being a former heroin user and was clean for almost four years, from 2003 to 2007. Margera stated on Radio Bam that Novak relapsed in March 2007 and was seeking treatment in a rehabilitation clinic.
Novak was absent from the January 23, 2006 episode of Radio Bam on SIRIUS Satellite Radio while he attended rehab for addiction to pills. On February 26, 2007, Novak admitted on Radio Bam that while he had quit using heroin, he still regularly abused cocaine and pain medication and frequently drank alcohol. While it was not mentioned on the radio show, Novak broke his ankle the day before Margera's wedding while filming Bam's Unholy Union on February 2, 2007 and was shown holding a bottle of prescription pain killers afterwards.  It is unclear if this incident led to his relapse, or if the relapse was already occurring by this time. Margera announced on the April 3, 2007 episode of Radio Bam that Novak had a relapse with his addiction to heroin and was back in rehab. On the July 30, 2007 episode of Radio Bam, Margera and Chad I Ginsburg were discussing the topic of heroin and announced that Novak's addiction was "the worst [Bam] had ever seen" and that Novak was "just killing himself now". He was kicked out of rehab in Scranton, Pennsylvania, after heroin pills were found in his bag. Novak claimed that the pills were "planted" on him. On a Radio Bam episode in November, Novak stated that he had attempted suicide three weeks before the radio show, as a result of a heroin binge, but survived it.
On the December 17, 2007 episode of Radio Bam, Novak was asked to leave Margera's house again when he lied on air about not having pills and being clean. He had recently been released from a psychiatric ward he had been held in for 12 days because of suicidal tendencies and drug use. The crew found multiple bars of Xanax on Novak, which he claimed had been prescribed to him. Joe Frantz and Margera exiled Novak for a period of time as a result. On the March 3, 2008 episode of Radio Bam, Novak stated that he was 33 days clean and would appear in Bam's new MTV show.
In March 2009, Frantz had a phone conversation with Novak about his attempted suicide and mental health issues that resulted in him being institutionalized. On March 9, 2009 Novak appeared on Radio Bam and discussed getting out of the mental institution, his drug use, and the delusions that led to the problems.
Brandon Novak