Everything I Know About Aging, I Learned From Ozzy Osbourne

15 lessons from the late metal god that prove getting older doesn’t mean getting boring

Eric Spitznagel,

AARP

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Published July 25, 2025

ozzy ozbourne smiling behind his signature sunglasses

Ilya S. Savenok/Getty Images (AARP)

I feel like I should be more upset about Ozzy Osbourne.

The heavy-metal icon passed away on July 22, just weeks after performing his final live concert with Black Sabbath. He was only 76, which feels both too young and truly miraculous, considering everything he put his body through: the drugs, the alcohol, the decades of touring, the bat he decapitated with his mouth. Honestly, the man survived more chemical warfare than most Cold War test sites.

I don’t like that he’s gone. But my God, what a way to go. The last time we saw him, he was sitting on a throne, belting out metal anthems with the power of someone a third his age, surrounded by adoring fans. Ozzy didn’t fade into the background, he exited like a Norse god being carried to Valhalla on a wave of distortion and dry ice.

Ozzy didn’t have much influence on my behavior as a teenager. I just liked the songs. But Ozzy in his later years? That guy actually taught me something. A lot, in fact. About staying weird, staying upright, and getting older like a total badass.

1. Age is just a number

Ozzy made it to 76 despite consuming enough drugs to anesthetize a Jurassic Park dinosaur. By all logic, he should’ve spontaneously combusted sometime around the Bark at the Moon tour. Instead, he just kept going.

Lesson: If Ozzy could survive the 1980s, you can survive your next birthday. You’re not old. You’re just seasoned, like a band tour T-shirt that’s more holes than fabric but is still somehow your favorite.

2. Retirement isn’t one big exit. It’s a series of encores

Ozzy’s retirement was like a recurring plot twist. Will he or won’t he? He announced his farewell tour in the early ’90s. Then again in the late ’90s and the 2010s. But like a heavy-metal groundhog, he just kept reappearing. Even when Parkinson’s made it impossible for him to stand during a show, he still came out for one last hurrah.

Lesson: Step away when you need to, but don’t be afraid to come back when the moment feels right. There’s no rule that says you have to fade away in orthopedic sneakers. Strut back in like you never left, preferably wearing something made of fringe and leather.

3. Don’t fear reboots, embrace them

Ozzy got booted from Black Sabbath for being too wild, which is a bit like getting kicked out of a biker gang for poor impulse control. Instead of calling it quits, he came back swinging with a solo career so successful it made his Sabbath days look like a warm-up act. Then he became a reality TV icon, puttering and muttering around the house while trying to figure out the remote. Then he somehow leveled up again, transforming into a respected metal patriarch.

Lesson: Start over as many times as you need to. No one cares how many careers you’ve had.

ozzy osbourne performing with a microphone

Let your inner Ozzy free by wearing whatever the heck you want.

Kevin Winter/Getty Images for dcp (AARP)

4. Let your freak flag fly

Ozzy never toned it down. While other rock stars his age started blending into golf courses and Tommy Bahama catalogues, Ozzy doubled down on his crypt-keeper couture, donning black velvet coats, giant crucifixes and eyeliner thick enough to dam a river.

Lesson: There’s no expiration date on personal style. Aging doesn’t mean you have to fade into beige.

5. Be a warning and an inspiration at the same time

Ozzy lived the kind of life that makes your liver wince just thinking about it. He was both a PSA and a legend. You looked at him and thought, “Never do that.” And then immediately, “But also … damn, respect.” His life was a living paradox: a mess and a miracle.

Lesson: You don’t have to be a saint to be significant. You just need persistence and the guts to keep showing up, no matter how many times you’ve faceplanted off the tour bus of life. Be the beautiful disaster who keeps going.

6. Laugh at yourself

Ozzy survived falls, overdoses, comas, rabies shots, reality TV, and a decades-long blur of recreational pharmacology. The man once accidentally called the cops on himself while trying to operate an air conditioner. And somehow he’s still in on the joke.

Lesson: Aging brings indignities: mystery bruises, groaning noises when you sit down, arguments with smart speakers. But if Ozzy’s taught us anything, it’s that life gets easier when you laugh at its absurdity.

7. Never underestimate the power of a good robe

Whether it was a velvet cape, a black satin robe, or something that looked like it came from Liberace’s panic room, Ozzy understood the theatrical majesty of fabric that flows when you move. His wardrobe split the difference between dark wizard and regional-theater Dracula on laundry day.

Lesson: Aging isn’t about shrinking into the background. It’s about swanning around the house like your hallway is a fog machine away from being a stage. You can command a crowd or shuffle to the mailbox. Either way, do it in something with dramatic sleeves.

ozzy ozbourne embracing his wife, sharon osbourne

Ozzy Osbourne’s wife, Sharon Osbourne, 72, showed her love in multiple ways over the years.

Jeff Kravitz/FilmMagic (AARP)

8. Get a partner who can translate your mumbles

Ozzy’s wife, Sharon Osbourne, 72, didn’t just love him. She was his interpreter, manager, crisis response team and emotional-support bat-wrangler. When Ozzy launched into a sentence that sounded like a haunted Roomba malfunctioning, Sharon was there to nod, smile and translate exactly what he meant. She didn’t flinch during his rehab stints, and wasn’t afraid to get physical to defend her man. That’s not just love, it’s advanced-level caretaking, with subtitles.

Lesson: Find someone who speaks fluent you, even when you’re three decibels short of coherent. The wossname with the thing? They’ll get it.

9. It’s OK to forget stuff

Can’t remember where you left your keys? Whether you took your meds? Why you just walked into the kitchen? Relax. You’re not losing it, you’re just entering your “enigmatic” phase. Ozzy forgot entire years, yet it only added to his legend. “Out of everything I’ve lost, I think I miss my mind the most,” he is said to have joked. If he can turn forgetfulness into mystique, you can definitely get away with missing a dental appointment.

Lesson: Memory loss can be annoying, but if you do it with panache, it’s branding. You’re not forgetful, you’re operating on Ozzy Time.

10. The human body can run on pure willpower

By the end, Ozzy probably had more aftermarket parts than a 1993 Honda Civic. He was held together with screws, spinal fusions and possibly a demonic relic stolen from a Romanian crypt. His gait may have resembled a Halloween animatronic on low battery, but he kept going. How? A strict regimen of caffeine, prescription-grade sorcery and the sheer force of rock ’n’ roll.

Lesson: You may not feel 25 anymore, but neither did Ozzy. He just powered through like a goth Energizer Bunny with arthritis. Duct tape the parts that still work, slap a skull-and-crossbones decal on your knee brace, and stumble onward toward glory.

11. If you can’t hear it, turn it up anyway

Ozzy’s hearing was shot decades ago. Between the screaming fans, the Marshall stacks and the occasional onstage explosion, his eardrums didn’t stand a chance. But did that stop him? Hell no. He just kept cranking it until even the dead could head-bang.

Hearing loss is a natural part of aging, but so is not caring. You want to rewatch Spinal Tap at full blast while yelling at your dog? Do it. Want to play Black Sabbath during your morning stretch routine loud enough to shake the HOA’s flower beds? You’ve earned that right.

Lesson: Life gets quieter as you age. That’s what volume knobs are for. If they don’t like it, tell ’em to take it up with your Bluetooth-enabled hearing aids, currently set to “Iron Man.”

ozzy osbourne raising his arms during a performance

Arms outstretched? Yoga. Screaming? Working your core.

Paul Natkin/WireImage (AARP)

12. Stretching counts if you do it loudly

You know that iconic moment in live shows when Ozzy would walk onstage, arms outstretched like Nosferatu warming up for a CrossFit class? That’s not just showmanship, it’s metal yoga. It’s basically a sun salutation, but for people who worship darkness instead of daylight. And the screaming? That’s core engagement. Throw in a few pelvic tilts while head-banging and you’ve accidentally done a full-body workout.

Lesson: Flex, scream, repeat. Congratulations, you just exercised. No need for Lululemon or calming whale sounds. Just crank the volume, grunt like an ancient wizard fighting off a leg cramp, and hold that pose. You’ll look awesome doing it. And possibly scare a few neighborhood teens in the process.

13. Swearing is good for you

Ozzy cursed like a drunken pirate who’d just stubbed his toe on an amplifier. And science is finally catching up to what Ozzy always knew: Swearing is medicine.

A 2022 study from researchers in the U.K. and Sweden found that letting loose with colorful language can increase pain tolerance, reduce stress, and generally make life suck less. Which explains why Ozzy’s joints didn’t disintegrate until his 70s. He was basically self-medicating with profanity.

Lesson: Let it out. A well-placed f-bomb may not fix your back, but it’ll make you feel better about it.

14. Walking is exercise (even if you shuffle)

By the end, Ozzy didn’t walk so much as ooze forward in slow motion. His signature shuffle wasn’t exactly graceful, but it got the job done. And according to science, that’s all that matters. Studies show that even slow, awkward walking improves cardiovascular health and lowers your risk of an early grave. That’s right, hobbling to the fridge counts as cardio now.

Ozzy didn’t let a stiff spine or creaky knees stop him. He embraced the stagger. He weaponized the wobble. He looked like he might fall over at any moment, and sometimes did. But he always got back up, grinned through the pain, and kept lurching toward the next gig.

Lesson: You don’t need six-pack abs or fancy gear. You just need forward momentum and a flair for the dramatic.

15. Keep showing up, even if you’re held together by screws and defiance

Ozzy had spinal surgeries, nerve damage, Parkinson’s, and enough metal implants to set off every airport scanner. At one point he was basically walking scaffolding. But he kept strapping on his leather trench coat and marching onstage. He didn’t wait to feel 100 percent. He didn’t wait to feel 50 percent. He showed up powered by muscle memory and pure rock ’n’ roll stubbornness.

Lesson: You don’t need to feel great to keep going. You just need to be too obstinate to quit. Limp, roll, or stumble into the spotlight. Just make sure you bring your cape.

AARP essays share a point of view in the author’s voice, drawn from expertise or experience, and do not necessarily reflect the views of AARP.

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