The “bad boy” of the most successful boy band of all time now has a very clean lifestyle…
By Karen Kwan
Photos by Arthur Mola
I’m sitting beside AJ McLean and it almost seems like we’re in an alternate universe because McLean is perhaps the fittest member of the band right now. He’s in Toronto promoting Atypique (a Montreal-based brand of non-alcoholic beverages) and I’ve just popped open one of the brand’s mojito mocktails–a personal reco from McLean himself. Besides how fit he is, the singer is chill and cordial–far from what you’d expect from the bad boy of the most successful boy band of all time.
But McLean has done a lot when it comes to cleaning up his lifestyle–and we got to chat sobriety, diet and fitness with the 46-year-old singer to learn what he’s been up to when it comes to his health and sobriety.
On being an Atypique brand ambassador
McLean first tried the non-alcoholic beverage in 2023 in Montreal and his mind was blown over the mojito mocktail and he knew he wanted to get involved with the brand. “Within a month or two later, we became partners and I became a brand ambassador and now, especially with the sober-curious movement that’s happening, it’s a perfect time for people to, if they’re questioning what options they have if they don’t want to drink when they go out or at a party, well, you now have seven amazing options from Atypique,” says McLean. “The sober-curious movement is so pivotal right now because people may not necessarily want to be completely sober, but also want to take a break from hard alcohol. Maybe they’re not making the best life choices if they’re highly intoxicated but they don’t want FOMO. They want to still feel like they’re able to be social,” says McLean. His personal favourites from Atypique? The Gin & Tonic, but he’s also loving the new Spritz.
On fellow Backstreet Boy Kevin Richardson being the first person to confront him about his substance abuse
It was his bandmate Kevin Richardon who was the first to intervene when McLean was drinking too much. “Back in 2001, there was a baseball game that we were supposed to be throwing the first pitch out at. I had partied like a rock star the night before and it was on our day off and I decided that I wasn’t gonna do it,” says McLean. Richardson wasn’t happy about that, he says. “ He broke the door down to my room, but he couldn’t get into my bedroom as I had double-bolted it. We exchanged words that I will not repeat– they are a little foul–but the most pivotal thing he said was, ‘I will never trust you again, you are dead to me,’ and I left from there and straight into rehab,” says McLean.
On how his youngest daughter saved his life
Having been to rehab about three times now, McLean acknowledges how difficult it can be to get clean on his own. For him, it was his youngest daughter that truly gave him a wakeup call. “About two-and-a-half years ago, I went on a two-day bender and when I flew home, I went to give my daughter a hug and she wouldn’t hug me. She said, ‘You don’t smell like my daddy.’ And that was it that was the turning point for me and I have not looked back,” says McLean.
On what he thinks is often misunderstood about sobriety
Although he’s careful to not say that sobriety is not for everyone, he is adamant that it is a very personal journey. “It’s a personal choice. You can’t force someone to get sober, be sober, go to meetings–any of these things. You have to want it. For some people, you have to hit rock bottom,” says McLean. He adds that for years, he thought he had hit rock bottom but now realizes he never did as he found a way to dig himself back up.
On his self-discovery journey in Arizona in Spring 2023
Last year, McLean, although he was sober, he wasn’t happy. I’ve met many people in the rooms of AA who have been sober for 20 to 30 years that are miserable,” says McLean. He decided after the DNA tour wrapped up in 2023 to drive down to Scottsdale, AZ, admitting himself into an intensive outpatient program at a place called the Meadows. “For ten weeks, I did some real soul searching and what I learned and what I came out of that with is boundaries–I didn’t have those in my life. I let everybody kind of walk all over me,” says McLean. Another thing he came to understand and value? Authenticity. “I learned that AJ is a character in a band, which I’m very grateful for, but it’s also a job. It doesn’t define who I am and Alex kind of got stifled for years.
So that’s why everything I do solo now is Alexander James and I want to kind of reintroduce the world to me outside of the group. So far it’s been very liberating and it’s been an incredible journey–and it’s going to be a lifelong journey. It’s never just going to go, ‘Oh, I’m fixed.’ It’s one day to time.”
On how he’s changed his diet
Although he’s not someone who’s big into sugar, McLean did go gluten- and grain-free for a year. Nowadays, he does a lot of meal prepping. “I love to cook,” he says. “I love to cook pasta. I’m a big steak guy–I like to do overnight marinades and I’m starting to finally get into fish,” says McLean of his kitchen skills. Although he’s always loved sushi, it’s only recently that he’s starting cooking fish-with the exception of salmon. “You’ll never get me to eat salmon–never gonna happen. I can’t stand salmon,” he says. “I love white fish, like tilapia. Being Latin, I like little spice,” he shares. While he’s trying to eat clean, McLean says he also wants to enjoy what he’s eating, so there’ll be no extreme diets. For him, the focus is on healthy portions and keeping active.
On how he’s working out
His secret is full-circuit training. “Monday, Wednesday and Friday, I focus predominantly on upper body and Tuesday and Thursday, lower body,” says McLean, adding that he incorporates abs and cardio into the workouts as well. Mountain biking is a new passion too, one that his brother-in-law got him into. “He’s taken it to the extreme–he’s doing like 20 foot gaps and jumps. I’m just doing some downhills and some street riding. At my age, if I fall down I might break something and not get back up…But also want to set a good example for my daughters. Living a healthy lifestyle is not just necessarily being sober but also what you take into your body, whether that’s food or working out.”
On his morning self-care routine
Pyramid meditation is a must for McLean in the mornings, along with composing a gratitude list. “I do this pretty much every single day,” he says. Also, he makes sure to reach out to friends who may be struggling. “I do daily check-ins with a lot of my sober friends every day. I check in with my sponsor every single day multiple times a day,” says McLean. Ultimately, he works on staying focused. “I’ve kind of pushed all toxicity out of my life and even though I’m going through a divorce, my ex-wife and I are still the best of friends and with our little new modern family, co-parenting, and I’m spending as much time with my girls as I possibly can,” say McLean.
On what advice he’d give his 14-year-old self
McLean was only 14 years old when he joined the Backstreet Boys and as for what advice he’d give young AJ? “Go get a good attorney,” he says with a laugh. He reflects for a second before adding that he would tell his younger self to be more in the moment. “I would say the number one thing is to pay attention to anything and everything around you. Don’t let little or big things pass you by. Everything kind of started going so quickly and then I had my stint with drugs and alcohol. I’ve now been all over the world so even coming back to a lot of the same places that I’ve been 30 to 40 times, coming back through sober eyes, it’s a whole new experience. So I would probably also tell myself, ‘If someone offers you a drink, just say no,” says McLean. “But I also have no regrets. I don’t think I’d be the man I am today if I didn’t go through all that. I’m grateful.”
