How Yo-Yo's Saved My Life....

This is kind of a personal matter but I decided to post it incase there was anyone else out there who had the same problem as me. Perhaps this can give them hope, I know I thought I had no hope.

I grew up in a small town called Buras, Louisiana. My friends and I were all into skateboarding, skateboarding was my life, I did it at least 6 hours everyday. My parents decided they wanted to move further up north, as we were getting hit by so many hurricanes. Good thing we did because a couple years later Hurricane Katrina hit and the house we lived in was washed a mile down the road from where it was.
    When we arrived in Franklinton, Louisiana everything was differen’t. I tried to fit in but I got made fun of constantly. The skater fag who wore spike belts and chuck taylors to school. This didn’t stop me from being me, but I did want some friends. There were no skateboarders, no one that would really accept me into their group. I sat by myself at lunch alot but one day a kid asked me to sit with them. The guy asked me if I wanted this little green pill. I wanted to fit in and didn’t have anything in common with them so I reluctantly took the pill. Before long it turned into an everyday thing.
    A couple years later I was pretty much rock bottom. Lost my house, my car, my job, just about everything.I came to Franklinton weighing 230 and dropped down to 140. I would do anything for my fix. My Mom caught me stealing money from her and I completely broke down and told her I needed help. She brought me to an outpatient program. I had tried to quit many times before and it’s super hard and painful, physically and mentally. They gave me a prescription that would ease my physical withdrawal symptoms, but it didn’t really help that much. The doctor didn’t believe that a small guy like me was as strung out as I was and gave me a lose dose. Of course I didn’t stick to my program, at first. I would lay in bed and just cry alot, I also had painful stomach ulcers from abusing medication that contained tylenol.
    One day I was feeling extremely sick and decided I couldn’t do it anymore. I called my friend to come over and give me a ride to the dealer. He reluctantly agreed and came over, I had a duncan mosquito laying on my dresser and he got excited and picked it up. He was amazing! Little did I know he was pro and used to compete in every division, placing as high as 12th in worlds, 2nd in state. I was so interested I forgot about going to the dealer and I didn’t even notice my pain for an hour or so. I realised maybe this could be my way out of the hole I dug myself. He told me to go online and order a protostar and he would show me the basics. I took to yoyo’s like a fish in water, when I threw it made my pain go away and I didn’t think about my fix all I cared about was how awesome this new hobby was!
    I don’t wake up in cold sweats reaching for my phone first thing anymore. I wake up and grab my yoyo, I guess I replaced one addiction with another. At least yoyo’s aren’t slowly eating my soul…or are they…I honestly believe that I would be dead if I didn’t discover yoyos, they helped me ease out of my hole of depression and remember how life used to be.
    So here I am today, still throwing, still breathing, and very much alive! My buddy who taught me to throw moved away so I progress alot on my own thanks to this site. I owe my life to my friend, yoyos, and yoyoexpert. So if anyone out there has a problem similar to mine, remember you can beat this and there are people who know how you feel. Please feel free to contact me if you need someone to talk too.

Remember…don’t do drugs…and…throw everyday!

To end it off here is a video of me throwing a little bit!
http://www.youtube.com/v/uoIjuiwvUmg?version=3&hl=en_US

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Man that’s amazing. It’s always cool to hear stories like that and remember that yoyos can be used for more then just impressing people.

Also sweet video keep it up.

Much love brother! Good to see you posting again.

man that is very inspiring to us all. great vid and great love.

I always like hearing stories like this. Great video too.

Aah, it’s so cool at what a little toy can do to a person.
Love the video. Love the story. Keep up the great work.

Thanks guys, it was tough for me to write :-[

Did you beat the guy who gave you the pill senseless?

Remember it’s in your past. =)

Wow man… I had no idea you had gone through anything like this…

Beautiful story sir. Yoyos helped me kick my 24/7 videogame addiction. But you, had a much harder and more amazing story.

Yeah I really try not to talk about it, people tend to be very judgmental. I’m not mad at the guy who gave it to me, I have to take responsibility for my own actions, ya know? Just gotta move forward.

The past is the past, the world needs more people like you, who are willing to take the pain from their life and instead of trying to inflict that on others, try to understand other people. I’m sure that sounded cheesy but I can’t really say anything that would do you justice. Thanks for your story, and nice video.

Nothing like what you’ve gone through but yo-yos have helped me a lot with my depression, like little friends I can bring out when I feel the need to get away to help me not do something dumb and regrettable. Something I can touch that is real and that I still have an interest in, with little goals to work towards because there is always something to learn. I hope the worst is over right now and saying yo-yos saved me would be a bit drastic, but they definitely helped.

I worked and continue to work in environments where I was surrounded by drugs, alcohol and all sorts of other chemical dependencies. People use and abuse for as many reasons as you can think of and then some. It’s no surprise that many become addicted in some way or another to such destructive elements. I’ve been lucky, I’m one of the surprisingly FEW who is choosing to lead a 100% clean and sober lifestyle. Why? I love what I do. Yes, sometimes it’s miserable and painful, but I can’t be at the top of my game and enjoy what I do when I’m under the influence of something other than the job and work. Honestly, the work is my drug. Natural high!

I’ve seen lots of people die, or been aware of many people dying as a result of their addiction or as the result of someone else’s addiction, which caused a safety issue. Many get lost to their addictions. Some do break out of it, but they are not the majority.

The world of entertainment is a nasty, ugly world. You really don’t want to know what goes on behind the scenes. You think that behind the scenes gives you a taste? No, not even.

What it often takes is some other less destructive thing to replace the destructive forces. Typically, one form of habit is replaced by something else. A typical one we see is smokers who quit, but gain wait because they replaced it with some sort of edible item. Some then go lose that weight and quit that food habit they acquired.

The only thing that matters is that someone was able to break their cycle. Hitting bottom, it’s amazing what some people will latch onto. Many find a new path that just ends them down a different negative road. Some, like in this story, latch onto something seemingly simple. A bit of plastic and a string. Or was it a rope tied to a life preserver? However you want to look at it, we have to look at what the symbolism is of this object to the individual.

So, as far as I’m concerned: Welcome back to the land of the sober! I’d rather hear a thousand stories similar to this rather than a thousand that don’t have a positive ending. Just think of this: Your story may help one, one hundred, one thousand or countless others to break their destructive cycles.

For others:
Again, another story as to why drugs are bad. Don’t use them. Keep your mind focused. Stay above the influence. But, if you do choose the wrong path, get help, get into support groups, get help and if you need to, get treatment. The life you save WILL be your OWN.

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this was very moving ( not trying to be corny) it was also very inspiring
god bless

Suboxone saved my life.

Yeah, suboxone is a god send. I was prescribed it also and it helps alot!

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