Whenever I see Lenny Kravitz interviewed on a talk show or even when I’m reading his print interviews, I’m always sort of shocked by how normal he seems. Like, he’s naturally a badass rock star who has beautiful homes around the world, but he also seems down-to-earth in many ways. Did you guys see him on Sherri Shepherd’s talk show a few months back? He was so flirtatious, funny and playful with Sherri, who has an enormous crush on him. Lenny has been giving interviews recently because he’s hyping his new album, Blue Electric Light. He recently turned 60 years old and it feels like he’s just a lot looser and more comfortable these days, although the man was probably always comfortable. Lenny recently chatted with the Guardian about music, his mom, his workouts and more. Some highlights:

His good looks & great body at 60: “I can barely believe it myself. But it’s beautiful. It’s a combination of genes, self-care, hard work and discipline.”

Growing up in Beverly Hills: “On their 16th birthday, you’d see the kids driving in their BMWs. The teachers’ parking lot was full of Chevys and Fords and the student parking lots were Porsches and Ferraris. It was pretty funny.”

He didn’t have a car as a teenager though: “My mother was on a No 1 TV show for 11 f–king years. But that would not be raising her boy to become a man. We had no maid – on Saturday morning, she’s scrubbing toilets. She was the most amazing human being.”

His father told him that Lenny would grow up to cheat on his partners: “He became right. After the marriage [to Lisa Bonet], I became more like him. I was becoming a player.” How did you feel about it? “I didn’t like it. I didn’t want to be that guy. So I had to tackle that and it took years.” How did you tackle it? “By taking responsibility. Discipline. Not letting my own desires take over.”

No relationships for nine years: Kravitz tells me he’s not been in a serious relationship for nine years. Were you serious when you said a while ago that you wanted to be celibate until you found the right woman? “Yes. It’s a spiritual thing.” He says he’d love to be in a relationship now, but he thinks he might struggle. “I have become very set in my ways, in the way I live.”

Initially, he didn’t want to use his real name to make music: “I thought ‘Lenny Kravitz’ sounded ridiculous. I’ve got nothing against my Jewish heritage, but it sounded like a Jewish lawyer or a doctor. I didn’t think it was very rock’n’roll. How wrong I was.” It didn’t take long for him to come to his senses. “I cut the processed hair, grew dreadlocks and became myself. It was a wonderful exercise in finding my way home.”

He’s disciplined: “Well, there’s a lot of hard work and discipline in being healthy for me. That means when I want to eat junk, I don’t do it. Take last night. I worked all day, interviews, rehearsing into the night, get home at 11pm. I need to eat something. Now it’s 1am. I didn’t get my workout. So I went to the gym and I did a 90-minute workout at 2am. I don’t want to be in the gym at 2am, but I know that I must.” Why? “Because it’s part of my discipline – it’s about body, mind and spirit. I want all of those three elements aligned. If my body’s in shape and my spirit and mind are not, then it’s just something nice to look at or to boast about. Who cares? For me, all of it has to be aligned. And I have to do the work it takes to have all of those in alignment so my being can be at its maximum.”

Whether he’s ever been a slob: “A slob?” he repeats, as if it’s a foreign language. You know, a little bit lazy? “There are a couple of times I stayed in Paris for six months in between tours and I got a little poochy. I drank wine, I ate croissants. I just enjoyed myself and then I was like: oh sh-t! But that’s only happened once or twice.”

[From The Guardian]

He admits two things which surprised me: one, he used to smoke joints constantly in his youth but he only gets high every now and then (these days); and two, he enjoys a Kit Kat if it’s been in the refrigerator. Which is the most relatable thing I’ve ever heard. But no, he’s not a slob. Even his Slob Era was elegant – gaining five pounds in Paris from wine and croissants? Please. It is good genes, but he definitely works at it and has more discipline than all of us combined.

Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, Cover Images.