Justin Bieber would be nowhere without his mother, Pattie Mallette: She posted the now-infamous videos of him on YouTube, relocated to Atlanta with him so he could launch his recording career and keeps him grounded with chores and a curfew.
But in honor of Father’s Day, it’s time to pay tribute to the man behind the boy: Jeremy Bieber.
Though Justin was raised by his mom in Stratford, Ontario, his father has always been a part of his life. “I have a great relationship with my dad,” the pop star, 16, told Seventeen. “When I was younger, he taught me how to play some songs on the guitar, like ‘Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door’ by Bob Dylan.”
While Mallette, 36, turned Justin on to Boyz II Men, Jeremy, 37, exposed him to harder-rocking groups – and has since helped him with an important rite of passage.
“He’s the one who got me into classic rock and then turned me on to stuff like Guns N’ Roses and Metallica,” Justin told the magazine. “He taught me how to drive too. He’s cool.”
So what else is there to know about the man who calls himself Lord Bieber on Twitter?
Jeremy lives in Canada, where he is married and has two younger children, Jazmyn and Jaxon. According to his Tweets, he thinks Dumb and Dumber “has to be the greatest movie of all time” and will “never get sick of” Seinfeld.
Meanwhile, on a personal web site he created seven years ago, Jeremy revealed he reads The Sword of Truth fantasy novels and loves to play the card game Spades. But that’s not all: “I love the outdoors. I follow and play a variety of sports. I love camping and boating, but most of all, I love to travel.”
The site is also loaded with shirtless photos of Jeremy showing off his tattooed chest – as well as photos of his son as a young boy. (Earlier this year, the teen got his first tattoo: a seagull to match one his father has.)
“My life is my son,” Jeremy wrote on the site. “He is 9 years old and is the most talented person I know. He’s a ‘looker’ too (just like his dad)!”
PEOPLE