A Tribute to the Mythological Ozzy Osbourne

Ozzy Osbourne and Black Sabbath invented “heavy music.” Every metal and punk band today is a direct result of the creativity that began in that special group of talented weirdos. So without question, Liquid Death is a direct result of Ozzy’s influence that shaped the punk and metal music of my formative years, that had such an outsized impact on my own personality, taste, and sense of humor. 

Fast forward to 2022 when we learned the Osbournes were fans of Liquid Death and wanted to work with us. It was an actual dream come true for me. And in terms of what Ozzy did for Liquid Death, his commercials are some of our highest performing on social to date. 

Ozzy and Sharon were both so great and easy to work with, largely because we shared a sense of kindness with a similar, twisted sense of humor. We felt like kindred spirits. In fact, before Ozzy, we first presented our DNA cans idea to another big celebrity whose management team didn’t see as much humor in it and thought it might be too risky. Ozzy and team instantly loved the concept and thought it was hilarious.

I don’t really believe in destiny or spiritual magic, but what a wonderful coincidence that Ozzy’s DNA preserved on Liquid Death Iced Tea cans was one of his last contributions on Earth. And one of his last quotes was, “Clone me, you bastards!” 

Disruption and disruptors are all the rage in modern business, and for good reason—it’s very lucrative to balance true disruption with fandom. It’s easy to disrupt with something weird that no one really enjoys or cares about; creating something truly unique, that is also widely adored, is much more rare.

Ozzy was a master disruptor. He disrupted rock music and stardom with a superhuman dose of intensity. He made the Mick Jaggers and Robert Plants of yesteryear seem like basic cable. Which made Ozzy larger than life, almost to the level of folklore. Even to this day, there are people debating whether he bit the head off a real bat or fake one. 

At the end of the day, what Ozzy really did was inspire generations of rebellious weirdos that we too could find real success. He showed millions that you don’t have to look like a fashion model or play happy music to win. With the right level of talent and intensity, anyone could break through.

This ushered in a surge of unassuming freaks who started ’80s bands like Metallica, Misfits, Slayer, and Motley Crue—who all had ridiculous success and shaped the modern landscape of heavy music today. And all of those bands are even more popular in 2025 than they were in the ’80s; they outlived so many other gimmicks from that decade.

Heavy music, particularly metal, is one of the most universal genres globally. It’s the actual “world music” genre, and Ozzy was one of the biggest contributors to its inception. If you search online, you can find music videos of a young girl in Indonesia with millions of views, who shreds incredible guitar covers of Lamb of God and countless other metal bands. She, too, is part Ozzy.

And don’t forget that The Osbournes in 2002 essentially created the modern reality television genre. The Kardashians have Ozzy to thank as well. 

Legend is a word thrown around a little too lightly these days, but Ozzy is one of the rare, true legends. He’s almost mythological. Remember, kid, there’s heroes and there’s legends—heroes get remembered, but legends never die.