Actor Danny Trejo just marked a major milestone in life, managing to make it through 55 years of sobriety after finding himself at “rock bottom” with an alcohol addiction that found him getting “dead drunk” before taking the fateful step so seeking help and getting on the path the sobriety and a better life without a crippling addiction.
Such is what Trejo, now 79 years old, told Fox News Digital in an interview about how, after getting addicted to alcohol at a young age, first smoking marijuana at age 8 and starting drinking when just 12, he kickstarted a recovery journey and managed to stay on the straight and narrow path of sobriety for over five and a half decades now.
Speaking to Fox News Digital about what led him get started with sobriety, Trejo said that he wandered into an Alcoholics Anonymous meeting when he was just 15. Recalling the incident, he said, “It was a lot of people outside. We thought it was a party, so we busted inside, and it was an AA meeting. I was carrying a case of beer, three bottles of wine, a half pint of whiskey. I was already loaded on pills.”
Eventually, however, he managed to take AA seriously and use it to get sober. He now credits it as having led to success with his getting sober, saying, “You got to have people around you that have your best interest because everybody knows who has an alcoholic problem.”
Trejo also noted that while most alcoholics try to hide their drinking habits, “the reality is you know you got a problem.” He added, “It’s like your wife is screaming at you, ‘Look at the kids. They’re seeing you crazy.’ Something is wrong.” Then, referring to “rock bottom,” he said, “Rock bottom is when people are telling you, ‘Hey, you know, you’re out of line.’ There’s so much negative with drinking.”
He also commented on his shifting stance toward how to socialize while staying sober, saying, “At first, I stayed around people that didn’t drink. Now, I thank God … they got, like, nonalcoholic drinks … and it’s cool. Give me a mock Bloody Mary … and then that way people just stay away from you.”
Commenting on how faith plays a role in his life in 2021, Trejo said, “First of all, I made a deal with God in 1968. I said, ‘If you let me die with dignity, I’ll say your name every day. And I’ll do whatever I can for my fellow inmate.’ I never thought I was getting out of prison. And God let me out of prison. I got out on Aug. 23, 1969. I have to say that with God, nothing can hurt you. Anything is possible. Without God, you’re dead. And I know I would be without the faith I have.”
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He added, “I wake up every morning and say, ‘Dear heavenly Father, please let me help whoever I can for my fellow man. And I’ll say your name every day and I’ll do whatever I can.’ And it’s been working. He lived up to his deal. I’m living up to mine. I even asked God a couple of days ago, ‘How am I doing?’ He said, ‘Trejo, you’re doing great. Keep it up. You’re almost out of hell.‘”