The 36-year-old manager also opened up about his 'yelling fights' with Kanye West.
Justin Bieber's past struggles were so bad, he had his manager worried.
In a new interview with the Wall Street Journal Magazine, Scooter Braun opened up about Bieber's breakdown in 2014, when he was arrested for driving under the influence, revealing that there was much more to the story than the headlines his client was making.
"It was worse than people realized," Braun shares. "I failed him day after day. We were living in hell because he was in such a dark place."
“I have inconveniences, and other people have problems. Mine feel important, but they’re not. They’re not life or death," he explains. "Justin’s stuff got to a point where it was a problem.”
While Bieber continued to struggle, Braun, who discovered the singer on YouTube when he was 12, says he never lost hope that he could bring his client back.
“Some of the biggest people in the industry, people invested in Justin’s career, told me, ‘It’s over. Focus on something else. That kid is done,'" he confesses. “I made a promise to him when he was 13 that I would never give up on him. I plan on keeping that promise.”
“He’s family. I think the relationship is more like a big brother, especially because he’s become a man,” Braun adds. “I think he’s seen the worst of himself, and to watch him rise out of it was amazing.”
Bieber, too, admits that his and Braun's relationship transcends business. "He’s great at what he does. But more than that, I am proud of what a good man he is,” he says. “He changed my life. He is the best in the business."
News
EXCLUSIVE: Scooter Braun Talks Signing Cruz Beckham: 'I Hope He Inspires More Kids to Give Back'
By now, Braun is used to handling big personalities -- Kanye West's included.
“I said no nine times when Kanye asked me to work with him, because I liked being friends with him,” he reveals. “Then he put me in a position where I couldn’t say no: He just told everyone I was his manager.”
“He is who he is, and he will never compromise. It doesn’t come from a place of selfishness,” he continues. “Kanye’s the best listener I’ve ever worked with. If I interrupt Kanye, every single time, he’ll wait for me to finish before speaking. It’s a running joke -- sometimes I interrupt him just to see. And he always goes, ‘No, no, finish. I want to hear what you have to say.’ We’ll have full-on yelling fights. Kanye likes it. Kanye wants you to tell him what you think.”
Braun spoke more about managing West and Bieber with ET last year. Watch below.