Johnny's persona is generally one of an aging burnt out ex-hippie. After spending most of his life in a nomadic existence "up and down the dial", WKRP settles Johnny down and establishes a relatively stable ensemble of friends and associates for him. Although the tradeoff is a cramped apartment and low pay, this arrangement doesn't seem to overly concern him much (at one point he describes himself as "a 40-year-old man who lives like a college student"). He is also believed to have been incarcerated at least twice; once in Mexico, where he says he was involved in a "minor misunderstanding with 145 Mexican cops," and another time in New Jersey when he indicated that he, "Went through Princeton...It was in a car...A police car actually! Very, very educational." He was a hippie in the 1960s, 10–12 years before the show's time frame. It is implied that he smokes marijuana by his overall character, and occasional references to drug culture (e.g. Mr. Carlson once dismissed a business as a front for selling drug paraphernalia, and Johnny immediately asked where it was). In the first season episode, "Fish Story", he shows a near superhuman resistance to the effects of alcohol, apparently building up a high tolerance after years of heavy drinking. He is often seen wearing a "Black Death Malt Liquor" T-shirt, designed by Rip Off Press underground comic artist Dave Sheridan.