How did you overcome Addiction? Share your story to Raise Awareness!
My name is Kyle Poole. I was born in St. Louis, MO in March 1996. After a series of moving every 8-10 months from when I was 8 to about 12 years old due to my father’s roofing business, we ended up in Jupiter, FL.
It was very different from where I was from and what I was used to. I spent my middle school years and the first half of high school trying to be accepted by the people there. In a town full of wealthy people, the only friends I was able to make were the degenerates. I started drinking and taking drugs because I wanted to be accepted.
When I turned 16, three other friends and I decided to skip school to drink and pop Xanax, which got me locked up and expelled from school. I graduated high school from a Juvenile Detention Facility in Okeechobee, FL. Once I got out I was still on drugs. I was not rehabilitated. I got arrested as an adult a few repeated times for nothing too big so I’m lucky.
Read more: How I Overcame 10 Years of Opiate Addiction
I met a woman in 2015 that I blew off until I finally trusted her in 2016. We moved in together within the first 4 months of our relationship. My girlfriend spent the new year’s day of 2017 in Mexico with her family. I was left alone at home. That day I felt so lonely and horrible. Finally, I realized how unhealthy I was mental, physically, and emotionally.
That day I decided that I was going to change my whole lifestyle. I started exercising at home and I loved how it made me feel afterwards. It boosted my confidence. I just felt powerful and from then on I became addicted to the most positive thing in my life. Four months went by, I finally decided to upgrade from calisthenics workouts and light weights to getting into the gym.
Not only did it change my physiology, but it also helped me mentally. I then got into yoga and meditation which brought out a whole new life for me. I left all the negativity behind and decided to further myself into the fitness community. I enrolled myself into personal training courses after becoming BLS certified.
Read more: My Addiction Journey
It is now 2018 and I am a completely different person. I went from a person addicted to many different substances, weighing 190 lbs, with no plans to a person who is so full of life. The only thing I am dependent on now is my relationship with my woman and my relationship with exercise, training, martial arts, health, yoga, meditation, and learning.
I am Weighing 165 lbs now. I’ am super fit. I train to make my way into the UFC. I am now chasing my dreams. I have so much to live for now. Life is great and is a blessing. I’m blessed to have undergone such a dramatic change in such a short amount of time.
