Latest news with #ReeceRowley
Daily Mail
23-07-2025
- Health
- Daily Mail
Father-of-five, 30, who spent £3,200 a month on cocaine reveals his incredible transformation after going sober
A father-of-five, who started using drugs when he was 14, has revealed his transformation after addiction saw him spend a staggering £3,200 a month on cocaine. Reece Rowley was addicted to the class A drug for years, but has now been clean for seven months. The 30-year-old used drugs to cope with his anger after his father left the family when he was a baby. By the time he was an adult, he was spending an astounding £800 a week on cocaine. Rowley slept on the streets for eight months and took himself to hospital four times, each time suspecting he was having a heart attack. Now he's turned his life around after starting a 12-step rehabilitation programme, and he wants to use his experience to help other addicts. 'I'm so proud of myself,' said Rowley, from Harlow, Essex. 'I feel so lucky and grateful. 'Things are so different now. My mental health, my financial situation, my relationships are better, and I can look at myself in the mirror.' Rowley said he hadn't been sober for such a long period since he was 14 years old. 'People stop me and say I look so different,' he continued. 'I'm able to be more grateful. I see pleasure in the small things like getting up and having a shower.' The father wants to share his experience to raise awareness, but he also hopes he can prevent at least one other addict from dying. 'You can come out the other side,' he said. 'I'm aiming to be someone's sponsor one day, but I have to stay disciplined. 'The addiction wants you isolated, but you aren't alone.' Rowley's life started to spiral when he began smoking cannabis at 14. His behaviour got so out of control that his mother and stepfather asked him to leave the family home, and he moved in with a neighbour. When he turned 18, he became a father and started using cocaine. At the height of his addiction, 5ft 7in Rowley weighed just 9st 5lbs (59kg). Rowley dealt drugs and stole to fund his habit. He slept rough, stole food and went to prison for actual bodily harm. 'Even so young, my addiction had consequences,' he said. 'My dad took off when I was a baby and raised his two other children, and it made me angry.' Rowley remembers how he 'took it out' on his mother and stepfather, who then asked him to leave the family home. 'I was left to my own devices, and it was scary, but from that stemmed more anger and resentment. 'Addicts are very self-absorbed, and they think "why me?" but I wasn't thinking about how my actions affected my mum and stepfather.' When Rowley was 18, he met a woman with whom he had a baby, and the new family went into shared accommodation. The young father's work life wasn't going well. He eventually bumped into a man, offloaded about his troubles, and was given a 'drug phone' that he began running for £170 a day. Rowley's life changed and he was thrust into a world of partying and hard drug use. He said: 'I fell in love with the party life and stayed out for days on end, leaving my child and partner at home. 'Then I got into cocaine. It was a weekend thing at first, but it crept into weekdays. 'I was irresponsible, aggressive and I couldn't take accountability, so my relationship broke down.' In the 12 years since, Rowley has managed to transform his life for the better. He now weighs a healthy 13st (82kg), works as a landscaper and lives with his grandmother. 'I used to live in squats,' Rowley recalled. 'I slept outside a row of shops in the town centre and would wake up surrounded by pigeons. 'I had to steal my food and I was skin and bone. I lost everything.' Rowley went on to have four more children. He says he was trying to get sober for six years and even tried rehab, but left two weeks into the eight-week treatment. He finally decided to give up drugs for good after his second stint in prison. 'It became an existence. Every time I used it, I could feel my heart beating. I had pains and I couldn't breathe or smell. 'When I thought about the damage to my family and the trauma I'd caused, I knew I couldn't go on like this anymore. 'I looked at myself and knew I couldn't keep causing pain. I had a choice. I've got five children. I can let them bury me, or I can choose to give them hope. 'I'd let them down, but I wanted them to be able to look at me and say "That's my dad".' Still in the early stages of the journey to recovery and sobriety, Rowley is trying to maintain his progress. But he is under no delusions about the pain he caused in the decade and more of his drug use, adding: 'I know that seven months sober doesn't undo 15 years of chaos.'
Daily Mirror
23-07-2025
- Daily Mirror
Incredible transformation of dad who spent £3,200 amid cocaine addiction
Dad-of-five Reece Rowley said he started using drugs at 14 years old and at one point was spending £3,200 a month on cocaine but revealed how he turned his life around A dad-of-five who spent £3,200 a month on cocaine, and started using drugs at just 14 years old, shared his incredible transformation. Reece Rowley said he turned to illegal substances to cope with his anger after his dad left the family when he was a baby. This spiralled into a dangerous habit with the dad eventually blowing £800 a week on cocaine. At the time, Reece had been rough sleeping for eight months and ended up in hospital four times with a suspected heart attack. Reece has since turned his life around after starting a programme, and he now wants to use his experience to help other addicts. Reece said his life started to spiral when he started smoking cannabis at just 14 years old. His behaviour had gotten so out of control that his mum and stepdad asked him to leave the family home and he moved in with a neighbour. When he turned 18, Reece became a father and started using cocaine. In the height of his addiction, 5ft 7in Reece was just 9st 5lbs, and the dad dealt drugs and stole to fund his horror habit. Reece, from Harlow, Essex, slept on the streets for eight months, stole food and went to prison for ABH. He said: "Even so young, my addiction had consequences. My dad took off when I was a baby and raised his two other children and it made me angry. I took it out on my mum and stepdad so they asked me to leave. "I was left to my own devices and it was scary but from that stemmed more anger and resentment. Addicts are very self absorbed and 'why me?' but I wasn't thinking about how my actions affected my mum and step father." Reece revealed how his life of addiction was impacting his young family, saying: "I fell in love with the party life and staying out for days on end, leaving my child and partner at home. "I got into cocaine. It was a weekend thing at first but it crept into weekdays. I was irresponsible, aggressive and I couldn't take accountability so my relationship broke down." The dad said he then lived on the streets "outside a row of shops in the town centre and would wake up surrounded by pigeons" and "had to steal my food and I was skin and bone". Reece had four more children and said he was trying to get sober for six years and even tried rehab but left two weeks into the eight-week treatment. He finally decided to give up drugs for good after his second stint in prison. The dad-of-five said: "I became an existence. Every time I used, I could feel my heart beating. I had pains and I couldn't breathe or smell. When I thought about the damage to my family and the trauma I'd caused I knew I couldn't go on like this anymore. "I looked at myself and knew I couldn't keep causing pain. I had a choice. I've got five children. I can let them bury me or I can choose to give them hope." Reece has since turned his life around after starting a 12 step programme. He is now sober, works as a landscaper, weighs healthy 13st and lives with his nan while trying to help others. Reece said: "I'm so proud of myself. I feel so lucky and grateful. Things are so different now. My mental health, my financial situation, my relationships are better and I can look at myself in the mirror. I haven't been this sober since I was 14. "People stop me and say I look so different. I'm able to be more grateful. I see pleasure in the small things like getting up and having a shower. Now I want to use my story to raise awareness and stop an addict from dying. You can come out the other side. I'm aiming to be someone's sponsor one day but I have to stay disciplined. The addiction wants you isolated but you aren't alone."
