Collin's Sober Living Success Story Collin's Sober Living Success Story Sobriety Date: 3/30/2020Age: 33Drug(s) of Choice: Alcohol/Crack/Opioids/Xanax/HeroinAlumni Interview Date: 11/13/2022 Using always started with Alcohol and ended with Alcohol, with pretty much all the stuff in between. However, pain pills were what started the cycle of ways and means to get more. Personal Background Grew up in a coastal town in Maine. I’m the youngest son of three boys to a lovingmother and father who are both still alive and married. Pretty normal childhood for themost part. My two older brothers were significantly older than I was, one by nine yearsand the other by 6years, so I was a total “whoops” child. Because of that I grew up fasterand saw more stuff at a younger age than I think a lot of kids do. Not to mention myparents just didn’t have the energy to parent as hard as they did for the first two kids,so I never really learned the word “No” and just gave me what I wanted so I’d chill out.I liked to do a lot of active stuff, at an early age I started skateboarding,snowboarding, jumping off shit whatever made me look cool basically. I idolized thepros and the older kids in skateparks and who was good and they were smoking weedand drinking. I played all the sports until about 9th grade and figured the team thing justwasn’t my gig.I started working as a dishwasher when I was fourteen and that restaurantlifestyle had from the start man. I was by far the youngest person working there gotto hang out with older people, feel cool, and had some financial freedom at a youngage. I bought weed and skateboards, pretty simple…… then beer……….thencoke……repeat.By my senior year of high school, I was a line Cook in a fast-paced steak and seafoodjoint and didn’t know what to do the next year. My grades were not good cause Iwas skipping so much school to get baked, skate, and work that my options were kind ofslim. I’m lucky I have some smart parents….. figured if I was going to cook, I had to begood at it and get a degree. So I went to culinary school, graduated, and moved outwest.Got to travel the country, working at luxury hotels and restaurants and that’sreally when the party truly began…… Recovery Background My addiction was always there, I was always up to no good and doing bad shit.After high school though, I had “cleaned” it up a little and was able to have amanageable life for some time.Using always started with Alcohol and ended with Alcohol, with pretty muchall the stuff in between. However, pain pills were what started the cycle of waysand means to get more. It started pretty small with prescriptions for Vicodin andPercocet and pretty quickly it progressed to buying Oxy, Dilaudid, opanas, andmorphine off the street. Once all that got too expensive/ hard to get…. Heroin waseverywhere out west so because of the replacement.Everything just went downhill so fast once the IV use started. I was theexecutive sous Chef at a Forbes five-star hotel and got fired, months after that gotevicted, and the car was repossessed. After all that stuff my family started putting the pieces together. I was introduced to NA and was attending meetings daily, but I didn’t have adrinking problem…only a heroin problem. As we know that warped thinking doesn’twork, always led back to opiates or blow and within no time I was in treatment. It was a thirty-day, thirty-thousand-dollar program. Got out, once again….. I only had a heroinproblem…..not a drinking problem. Long story short everything happened all overagain… except this time there was no fancy-ass rehab to go along with it. The peoplearound me were getting tired of throwing money and energy at the problem. I hadtried the whole methadone program for a little while but was still shooting up asextracurricular and drinking… whatever.I’m the kind of addict who has to learn the hard way and go to thebottom-of-the-barrel man. I had run away to SE Asia, thinking that all my issues would be left behind, but they followed me and holy shit did things get sooooo much moregnarly…. The booze, the meth, the prostitution, and just despicable things that I didover there had me at what I thought was the lowest. Got locked up over there andeventually kicked out of Thailand, and was back in the States…. Florida to be exact, and that’s when the crack use started and took me to my absolute bottom. After a year of smoking a stem I was 120lbs, about to be toothless and homeless, I looked like a friggin concentration camp survivor. Things had gotten so bad and the hole kept getting dug deeper. Must have been god doing what I couldn’t do for myself….. and I got the shit beat out of me in the hood and put me in some a physical mess that it must have been some kind of awakening. On March 30th, 2020 I took my last warm sip of steel reserve and that was the last time I used. How were you introduced to the 12-step program and recovery? I’d moved back into my parents house and one of the conditions was to get somesort of help and I didn’t have any money or car anything really at all and they were definitelynot about to give me any. Basically I needed something free and available and at the time Itwas narcotics anonymous. Online meetings were really what was available when I got cleandue to COVID so every night I was on the 9:30pm “no Pants meeting”. I had been clean 2weeks and got a job as a butcher, saved some money, bought a car.I knew I needed to do something different, I couldn’t trust myself to functionresponsibility and be held accountable. That was when I called Mark at RR, I was 90 daysclean and moved in. Truly the best decision that I have ever made. Collin's Journey at Real Recovery How was your experience at Real Recovery? I wouldn’t be who I am today without RR. It gave me the stability, time, and structure Ineeded to grow the F up. Also, it gave me a sense of community. Once I realized I couldhave friends who were clean and sober and we could do stuff and have fun withoutgetting effed up it was such a game changer.RR gave me a kick in the ass I needed to get a sponsor, work the steps, get ahomegroup, do service and be part of and take responsibility for my life man. That weeklymeeting list sheet man is really what kept me on the straight and narrow for a while, I meanthat. For me, that sheet was so important.The people in my network today are the people I connected with during the time Ilived at RR and it miraculously changed my life and perspective. Was there anything that you did while you were in sober living that you think made a difference this time? I got a routine, built some structure. For me a big thing was exercise, I got a gymmembership and that was something that really filled up my free time and pushed me totake care of myself.I had been that about 6 months and was asked to be a house manager. I think thatwas a huge part of my early recovery and being held accountable and responsible. It gaveme a little confidence also, that someone believed in me to do the right things and makegood decisions, total sense of pride that I hadn’t had in awhile. What was the hardest or most challenging step for you? For me, the 9th step was the most difficult. Getting the courage and guts up tomake face-to-face amends to some people I did some nasty shit to was powerfuland scary. To tell the truth, not everyone on that list was willing to forgive me, and making peace with that is also challenging, but also humbling. Was there a step or a point where you felt that things shifted or that you got the most relief from? I would again have to say the ninth step. After I had made amends and cleaned up some ofthe wreckage I had cause I felt like I was finally able to move on and didn’t have to carrythat stuff around with me anymore. I could finally make some room inside to put some good stuff. After Real Recovery & Life In Sobriety Today How’s life now? These days my life is manageable, and the gifts of recovery keep on giving. Theopportunities that have been presented to me as a result of staying clean and doing thework is tremendous. Jobs, relationships, friendships, travel, spiritual well-being, mentalhealth, physical health I mean all these things are a result of working the 12 stepprograms. What three things/tips would you tell your past self or share with someone considering sober living/recovery? Don’t take yourself to seriously and give yourself a break Make some friends and find your people in recovery that are active and movingupward and don’t hang out with or be around people who drink or use.Get involved with service, and stay in the center of the recovery, not on the edge. People on the edge, fall off. Do you have a daily routine that helps you stay sober? Yep, I read the just for today each morning followed by some prayer, doesn’t work foreveryone, but it works for me. I do the basics man, Make my bed every day, no excuses. Eat breakfast. Brush my teeth. Work out. Go to work on time. Go to a meeting or something service-related daily. Go to bed early and sleep well. And just try to be the best version of myself I can be on a daily. Get Inspired With More Success Stories Mike E🥳 4 Years Sober 🤯 A skateboarder who became dependent on pain pills which led to prison time. How one accident led to full blown drug addiction. Today, Mike is four years sober with a career, friends, and a beautiful new family. All thanks to putting in the work and having faith that the 12 steps would work. View Mike's Story Joe A🥳 4 Years Sober 🤯 Tampa Bay native, born into an addicted household. Started drinking and smoking weed at 13 years old, by 18 he discovered opiates, at 30 years old things started to take turn for the worst. Today, he’s four years sober, a devout Bucs fan, a present friend, and an inspiring son. View Joe's Story Find The Best Sober Home Each of our locations the same level of support but amenities may differ, we can help you identify the best property for your goals in sobriety. My loved one is looking for sober living...Find a sober home for my loved one I’m looking for sober living...Help me find the right sober home
