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Levi Johnston calls Jon Gosselin a ‘good guy’

19-year-old says he received some parenting tips from the dad of eight, which might come in handy if the Alaskan wins his suit to gain joint custody of his child with Bristol Palin.
/ Source: PEOPLE.com

Levi Johnston says he has a lot in common with Jon Gosselin.

"He's a good guy," Johnston told PEOPLE at Wednesday's sex-oriented Fleshbot Awards in New York. "He's kind of in the same situation I am right now. He's a good dad and he gets a lot of bad press. He's getting the same bad image as I am and it ain't true. I can relate to that."

Johnston, 19, who met Gosselin in New York on Nov. 8, even received some parenting tips from the dad of eight, which might come in handy if the Alaskan wins his suit to gain joint custody of his child with Bristol Palin.

"He was very positive and gave some good advice that I'm going to take," Johnston said. "He told me kids are number one and do anything you can for them."

A hockey dadJohnston says if he were granted joint custody, he'd create a healthy and normal home environment for his son, Tripp.

Jon and Kate Gosselin

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Jon and Kate Gosselin

The reality TV tale about raising eight children turns into a tabloid nightmare for the couple from Pennsylvania.

"He'll be living a good life on both Bristol's and on my side. No problem with that," Johnston said. "We're both doing real well. He's going to be okay. I don't do all this stuff for free. I've been making money, so I can handle it and pay for all the costs of having my son. There's nothing to worry about. I've taken care of my responsibilities."

Johnston also hopes to share his favorite sport with his son. "I can't wait to get him into a pair of hockey skates," he said. "I'm really looking forward to it this winter."

Johnston is also not afraid to get his hands dirty. "I've become a pro at the diaper changing and feeding. I like doing it," he said.

Calm about being nudeOne of the ways he's making money is posing nude for Playgirl, which he was going to do the day after his interview. Johnston was calm and had no reservations about showing off his body with less than 24 hours to go.

Celebrity Sightings

Slideshow  26 photos

Celebrity Sightings

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"I'm excited for it. I've been working hard getting ready for it and I'm just as excited to get it over with," he said. "I'm just going to show up and do my thing. It's tomorrow and I'm going to go out there and have fun."

He added, "People won't be disappointed. It will be tasteful."

Johnston said he has no plans to attend college. Instead he will pursue more modeling gigs and a career in acting.

"I'm planning on going to acting school and try acting," he said. "I would like to do a few more modeling things and I'm thinking about doing some movies. I want to get into acting, so that's what I'm going to do."

But he realized that some have criticized him for his apparent quest for fame.

"I'm a good guy and not looking only for fame and attention," he said. "I've been getting a bad image with the press and ain't looking to cause trouble. I'm a good guy and a good dad."