Apparently, veteran teen idol Leif Garrett knows what Justin Bieber is going through. 

Garrett found early success as a child star, hitting the big screen at 8 in "Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice". He had a top-10 single, "I Was Made for Dancin'," in 1979. 

Substance abuse issues and run-ins with the law eventually started to overpower his acting career, according to E! News. Garrett appeared on the fourth season of "Celebrity Rehab With Dr. Drew" in 2010. Now the former teen idol is able to reflect on how his stardom went south, and advised young stars like Justin Bieber how not to follow in his footsteps.

While speaking to Fox News 411 the 51-year-old singer had some advice for the teen pop star. 

"Do not believe your own publicity," he said. "Sussing out who your real friends are is full-time work. Every scum bag, every drug dealer, every chicken hawk wants a piece of you.

"When you've got that sort of power at that young age, and everything at your doorstep, you put out that bad boy image. At that age, testosterone, hormones, all of the money, you see what else you can get away with," he said. "He's also doing a lot of charity work."

Garrett admitted to doing "too many crazy things" with his money as a youngster, He blames the fame and money for breaking apart his high-profile relationship with model Nicollette Sheridan back in the early 1980s. Garrett said he can see a few parallels in Bieber's and former on and off girlfriend Selena Gomez. 

"[Bieber] rented out the Staples Center for her. Fame, money is what tore us apart," he said. "Nicolette just started modeling. My career was pretty much there. We would get along great or clear rooms. That's the whole thing with Justin and me. There was no in between...really good or really naughty."

Garrett called his substance abuse "a tough one to beat," that claimed the life of Glee star, Cory Monteith, who was found dead in his hotel room. An autopsy report stated the 31-year-old actor died from a mixture of drugs and alcohol in his system. 

"It takes your soul. It's your lover," Garrett said. "It's your food. I looked, like, crappy, but I was doing work just to get money to pay for it. I've been lucky. There's a reason I'm here on this planet. I'm never going to hit 'teen idol' again and I don't want to. I'd rather be behind the scenes."