[3] His father, Doug Clem, was a factory worker and his mother, Jane Edmond, a schoolbus driver and Warsaw city department head; he has a sister, Tara.
[8][5] Clem had a position at the campus radio station WISU, but before he became a full-time disc jockey, he worked at a van conversion shop, where he laid down carpets.
[5] In 1986, Clem worked as a bouncer and driver at Jubilation nightclub, where he picked up radio DJ "Scary" Kerry Gray, of whom he was a fan, and took him to the club.
[4][5][10] Clem became Gray's intern, making studio visits, answering phone calls, and sitting in on the show.
He accepted a position hosting weekends soon after, and began a part-time midday shift starting on Christmas Day in 1986.
[17] In August 1991, he returned to Chicago on WYTZ as the morning host, but the position lasted under three months before management rebranded the station.
[19][1][20] In September 1992, Clem started work from 7 to 11 p.m. at WFLZ-FM in Tampa, Florida, where his show gained popularity, particularly among teenagers.
[4] Clem and WFLZ host Tom Steele were temporarily suspended to settle legal issues from their ongoing on-air feud.
[23][24] In June 1995, Clem released an adult-oriented home video, Let Your Chia Run Wild, described as a "private collection of events documenting a lifestyle that some can only dream of" and featuring some nudity.
[21] In June 1997, Jacor Communications was fined $4,000 for airing Clem's discussions of having sex with a lesbian couple on February 25.
[5] In January 2001, Clem's show entered national syndication on stations in Jacksonville, Orlando, Hartford, West Palm Beach, Ft. Myers, Wichita, Kansas, Shreveport, and Macon, Georgia.
The segment involved sexual discussions among the cartoon characters Alvin and the Chipmunks, George Jetson, and Scooby-Doo, among others.
In 2009, Sirius opted for just FM replays during the week and one live uncensored show on Friday afternoons.
In December 2010, Clem did not renew his contract with Sirius, moving to RadioIO, an Internet radio service of which his agent Thomas Bean was CEO.
JVC announced that it planned to launch a new hot talk format on the station, Florida Man Radio, featuring Bubba the Love Sponge in the morning.
[39] On 3 January 2012 he has renewed his contract with Cox Media Group (CMG) Tampa's 102.5 FM https://www.tampabay.com/archive/2012/01/03/tampa-bay-area-shock-jock-bubba-the-love-sponge-renews-deal-with-cox-radio-for-three-years/ In August 2013 an audiotape was released on YouTube of Clem voicing a commercial for Vermont Teddy Bear.
[citation needed] On January 3, 2010, Bubba announced on his Twitter account that he had signed with Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA) as a backstage interviewer.
[43][44] He made his debut the following day on the special live, three-hour Monday night edition of TNA Impact!, participating in four short backstage segments.
[46] On January 19, 2010, Clem claimed that he had been blindsided and physically assaulted by Awesome Kong while backstage for the taping of TNA Impact!
[48][49] On February 25, news broke that Awesome Kong had filed a lawsuit against Clem for an alleged threatening phone call.
[51] Clem returned to TNA television as the personal interviewer of wrestling stable The Band, in late March,[52] only to be fired from the company on April 30, 2010, as a result of the Cowhead Show incident.
[53] In 2011, Clem and an investor group bought the 3/8 dirt oval Ocala Speedway, which they renamed Bubba Raceway Park.
[54] In October 2006, Clem was sued by pornographic film actress Hope Miller, known professionally as Brooke Skye.
[55] In 2007, a judge turned down a request by Clem's attorneys to dismiss the lawsuit, indicating that there was enough evidence that Miller had a legitimate claim.
[67] Gawker announced it would appeal as it was "disappointed" that the jury was unable to hear Clem's testimony,[68] but ultimately settled with Hogan for $31 million in November 2016.
[4] He said "things got sticky" after he wanted to make it in radio and had to develop in different cities and his wife preferred to stay in Terre Haute.