Curt Eichelberger created Skate Straight for those who need a place to combat addiction.
Dallas – When Curt Eichelberger saw a sophomore skateboard magazine, he saw himself.
“It was like what I wanted to do [sic] I’ll do it, ”he said.
So he took the board and started dreaming about how skateboarding could change his life.
“I wanted to get paid for it, I wanted it to be my job, I wanted it to be all I did,” he said.
That meant doing anything. Cocaine, stimulants, heroines. There was little that Ichelberger would not try.
“The party has become more interesting for me than skateboarding,” he said.
Eventually he stopped using drugs, but by the time he was in his twenties Ichelberger was already drunk.
“I lied to my wife, my family and all of my friends,” said Eichelberger. “Nobody knew I had a drinking problem.”
It’s a secret he’s kept for over 25 years. But in the end, his wife advised him to find him and ask for help.
“They said I was literally months away from death,” he said.
After I finished the treatment I joined the support group, but every time I left I felt that it did not fit my body.
So he stopped walking and instead went a different route, reverting to one of his old habits.
Skateboarding got Eichelberger in this mess, and now it would kick others out.
Last year he started his own support group for fighting skateboarders.
It is known as a “skate straight”.
At first I thought nobody was going to show up, but eventually people came from all over the place. A Skate Straight store recently opened in the UK and he hopes to open more stores across the country.
Originally geared towards skateboarding, the group now includes chefs, business owners, and all sorts of people on the road to recovery.
“I think it’s basically a recreational misfitz lunch,” said Eichelberger.
Erik Wilson joined the group shortly after Ichelberger founded the group. Wilson said he couldn’t go the day without alcohol, and after looking for help, he finally found a group he could relate to.
“Recreation is like skateboarding,” said Wilson. “You don’t go out the first day, you are just good at it and you will learn how to do it.”
“The fact is, you got up, dusted off and left again,” said Eichelberger. “And you get up and do it all over again.”
Of course, they talk more than just skating, so they offer more than just skating.
Eichelberger, who calmed down two years ago, said he saw an alternative and would lean back to create an escape route.
He saw too many people so desperate they thought their best life was death.
“I always say I seem to recover out loud so that others don’t have to die quietly,” said Eichelberger.
He encourages others to do the same, share their stories, and end the positive cycle of addiction.
“That was the best feeling in the world. When the elephant came out it felt like the elephant had jumped off my chest, “said Wilson.
Wilson has been calm for 18 months thanks to the skate straight, but he’s not the only one who has changed a lot.
“The recovery gave me everything that alcohol and drugs promised me,” said Eichelberger. “When I can go out, I’ve learned that” A “helps” B “always helps” A “first. So I help myself by helping these other people. “
As a child, Ichelberger believed that skateboarding would change his life.
As an adult, he now knows he was right.
“Someone asked me that a while ago and said,“ What kind of skateboard have you ever done? “And I said,“ So far nothing has happened. “” Said Ichelberger.
“It’s time to give something back to me. I’ve been taking it for 30 years and this is the first time I’ve felt, “Oh, I should have done that. “It took me so long to find out. “
Eichelberger never likes to compete professionally, but he is already one of the best skateboarders in history.
For more information on Skate Straight, visit skatestraightrecovery.org or 4dwnproject.org.
Source link “Skate Straight”: Dallas Man creates a program to help addicts
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