“One of the most common questions I get is: ‘How hard was it to get through prison?’ It was not very hard; but the hardest thing for me was being homeless. When all your friends are gone, your families are not around and all you have is drug addiction, a needle that goes in your arm, drugs that take away your feeling that you’ve been running for years, that was hard. Feeling hopeless was hard; full of guilt, full of shame, depressed to the point of committing suicide was hard,” says the hero of our article Tony Hoffman, journeyed from Prison to Olympics, from drug-addict to a professional speaker.
Tony’s BMX (Bicycle Motocross, a special bike meant for racing and tricky riding) career started in high school, as he was a top-ranked BMX amateur with multiple endorsements. As a native of Clovis, California, where he attended Clovis High School, Tony started drinking alcohol, smoking marijuana, and using prescription painkillers such as Vicodin and Oxycontin. His life took a turn for the worse as he became addicted at such a young age, losing everything.
An Unforgettable Night
This is Tony’s most vivid memory and he would never forget this moment. He walked into Nate’s (Tony’s friend, who died that same night due to a drugs overdose) room and said that he needed a sleeping bag and he will sleep on the street that night. For the next six months he slept on the street. He slept behind dumpsters, so people couldn’t find him. He slept in dirt fields, so people couldn’t find him. He was never ashamed of himself.
Sr Lini Sheeja MSC
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