‘I necked 20 pints and did cocaine each weekend – life’s higher now I’m sober’

A DJ who used to binge drink and sink as much as 20 pints each weekend has turned his life round after giving up alcohol.

John Leaver, 39, says he would get “blackout drunk” each Friday and Saturday, spending most of his cash on pints and cocaine.

After a heavy evening out in 2019, he felt so terrible that he determined to stop consuming for good. Now sober for 4 years, he runs a life teaching enterprise serving to others scale back or cease their consuming, whereas nonetheless working as a teetotal DJ at golf equipment throughout the nation.

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John, a father of two from Rotherham, does not miss alcohol in any respect and enjoys DJing much more with out the hangover. He mentioned: “On a typical evening out we would go to our native, drink 5 or 6 pints of lager, then transfer onto spirits.

“We’d go to VIP booths and get one of those stupidly big bottles of vodka, which costs around £250, which we couldn’t even afford.

“I grew to become chubby due to binge consuming, I had luggage underneath my eyes, and was depressed and anxious as hell, and I used to be spending all my financial savings happening benders. You persuade your self that it is one thing enjoyable nevertheless it’s not.”

John highlighted the issue of how non-drinkers are stigmatised in the UK, adding “The largest boundaries for somebody making an attempt to stop is that there’s nonetheless a stigma and expectations of males to drink.

“For a lot of young men I support, the thing that pulls them back into drinking is their friends because they feel like they’re missing out. The drinking culture is very powerful thing and if you’re not drinking and you’re around people who are often it makes them feel uncomfortable.”

In 2019, after years of binge consuming, John reached a breaking level. He mentioned he had a “full on breakdown” following a breakup along with his accomplice, the mom of his two youngsters, and common weekends of heavy consuming.

He recalled: “I lost the ability to cope, I had put weight on and lost all motivation and sacked my job off as a youth worker. The last time I went out it was a Saturday night four years ago, I got in at 5am and the next morning had my head down the toilet.

“I used to be 35 and my youngsters have been getting dropped off in an hour and I may barely operate. I mentioned to myself – I’m by no means doing this once more, and I meant it.”

“Binge consuming is among the worst trade-offs of all time, for those who had meals that made you sick, you’d by no means eat it once more, however we do that with drink, and it is thought of regular.”

After deciding to stop drinking for just a month, John felt so much better that he decided to continue abstaining indefinitely.

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Now, he is part of the restoration group in Rotherham and offers talks about the advantages of quitting alcohol. He just lately teamed up with the NHS to arrange a brand new service for younger folks.

“It’s a big deal for me really personally, I’ve seen the chaos and destruction that booze causes, I’ve lost multiple friends to alcoholism,” he mentioned. “My main objective is to try and normalise people not drinking and allow people to feel OK with not going out and getting wrecked.”

DJing has been a continuing in his grownup life, which he continues to do, however now fully sober, which he admits has been “strange experience.”

His subsequent gig will embody him enjoying a set and talking on stage in regards to the risks of taking the celebration way of life too far. “Alcohol is a devious thing, I have learnt that for me being sober is a much better way to be,” he mentioned.

* This article was crafted with the assistance of an AI software, which quickens Daily Star’s editorial analysis. An editor reviewed this content material earlier than it was revealed. You can report any errors to [email protected]