Mark Hoppus: I was a high school mess

Mark Hoppus was a "really glorious mess" when he first started experimenting with punk rock.

The American musician is the bassist and vocalist of pop punk band Blink-182 and bassist and lead vocalist of alternative rock band +44. Mark has recalled the beginnings of his interest in alternative music, which directly impacted his look.

"Looking back, as an adult, I would have wondered what the hell was going on," he laughed in an interview with Kerrang! magazine. "I was a straight A student my whole life and then I started wearing eyeliner to school, skipping classes and smoking cigarettes... I was a mess, just a really glorious mess."

Mark's behaviour attracted negative attention at school.

"We got called names. But we just took it as a badge of honour. To do something different or weird or colourful was the whole point, so if people made fun of us we were winning," he explained.

Despite his perseverance, the 39-year-old star questioned having a music career initially. Mark considered having a profession in education.

"I think I'd have been a cool teacher," he said.

"I had a teacher in high school who taught Shakespeare and they really made an impression on me and our class.

"It would have been cool to be the kind of teacher that inspires people to actually care about stuff."