A MESSAGE FROM BRADY

"Have a great day! If you so choose!" - Brady Leavold

   Thanks for skating by! Your support means everything to me. If you are struggling please reach out. If not to me, to someone else. I am very lucky to be alive, I make sure to remind myself of this every single day. Living with an attitude of gratitude and always trying to do the next right thing is something I can honestly say I try to do to the best of my ability today. There is no doubt that I have a long, long ways to go. I have been clean off hard drugs since February 2020.

   This is all very new and my addiction took me to the darkest places that Canada has to offer and I made so many decisions that make me sick to my stomach. My morale compass was completely skewed, to be honest I just wanted to die. For some reason God spared me when others have not been so lucky. Many of whom who were elite hockey players themselves. Today I feel it is my duty, my purpose to shed light on all of the hard issues both on and off the ice. My life experiences are pretty extreme, but since starting Hockey 2 Heroin Road 2 Recovery on March 29th, 2020 I have come to realize that my story is more common than I would have ever believed. Of course no two stories are ever a like however the parallels are undeniable.

   I do not have all the answers but I will die trying. Not for me, but for others and for future generations. All the hell that I have been through from sexual abuse, addiction, psych wards, suicide attempts. Then living on the streets of Vancouver in the infamous downtown east side or Hastings, which is widely regarded as the worst street in North America. Add to the list the countless trips to jail that left me with a wrap sheet a mile long. Including a front page newspaper article that read, "Ex Hockey Pro Sentenced To 21 Months For Robbery" not to mention several appearances on crime stoppers and the BC's Most Wanted. No one ever grows up thinking they will become a drug addict, certainly not a heroin addict. I was no different, it was never even a possibility.

   My entire life I lived with a dark secret. It led me to levels of anger that were often uncontrollable but most people just thought I was a bad kid. No one knew what was really going on inside. Hockey was my drug, my outlet. It worked for a long time but when I was introduced to drugs and alcohol that all changed. I will spend the rest of my life building a network of the best resources available so that I can provide the best treatment options available for anyone that has the courage to ask. Asking for help and admitting we need help is the hardest thing I ever had to do. It is not easy and I believe that in the moment that someone wants to seek help that they should get immediate access to the help they need. Sometimes all we have is minutes and then it can be too late. I know from experience. Any road block when I was trying to get help made me want to quit. I may not be able to help everyone, I may not ever figure this all out but like I said I will die trying and I will die not because of substances. It feels great to be able to say that today and your support means the world to me. For more information on how this started Click Here