Help Justin qualify, then set up Super Sober Life

Hello there my name is Justin Bone and I am coming up to a decade sober!! , I'm also plant based and very rarely touch sugar. Ten years ago I ended up on the street and did my rehab in a garage for six months on my own. During this time I realized it was my mission to give hope and inspiration to other people who were struggling with alcohol. I had previously spent 25 years in the catering industry where I won many national awards.. I am looking to raise 5,000 pounds which will enable me to set up my sober coach business supersober.Life.

This a one off fundraiser, you will be the founders of Super Sober Life, You will be able to watch it grow and know that you were a part of this project for the years/decades to come. Your donation made it possible. I want to build a community that becomes part of the process. From day one I shall give 5% of my profits back to a designated alcohol charity, for the first year it will be Acohol change UK.

This has, since Ive been sober, always been my goal and my vision. Now that I am 10 years sober I feel it is the right time for me to pursue this lifelong career. I have seen first hand the effects that alcohol has on people and Society and at the age of 55 I am perfectly placed to target the huge market of 40+ yers old people . There is a huge gap for support of people of this age and I feel by sharing my transformation I can show the benefits of an alcohol free life .

I live my life to the full now, fitness, health and a plant-based diet combined with meditation are all part of my recovery program. I recently got tested for my metabolic age and it was 43, I'd literally lost 10 years just through healthy living. I believe that if you want to save the NHS you need to look in the mirror. My philosophy is that we have one life and one body and it's vital that men of my age realise this. Now is the time to make those lifestyle changes that will ultimately save the NHS hundreds of thousands of pounds in the long run. I am extremely passionate about helping other people and improving their quality of life as well as improving the environment that we live in. I genuinely believe that a life without alcohol is 10 times better than a life with. I have already set up social media platforms on Instagram and tiktok (@supersoberlife). where you can view my passion, energy and determination. Since my sobriety I have set up a yoga events business and a plant based food brand.

I would use the 5,000 pounds to get qualified by Janey lee Grace (best selling author, TEDx speaker and regular on the Jeremy Vine show) this is a IPHM accredited course and after my application and interview were successful I have now been accepted unto this course. The course is £2,550. I would then use the remaining money to set up a professional website, buy recording equipment and a laptop.  

I believe I can make true difference to the future of alcohol awareness and by doing so motivate others to quit or cut down thereby increasing their health and thereby helping the NHS in the long run. Any donation will be greatly appreciated. 

For further information on how I arrived this point in my life please read 'My Story".

My name is Justin Bone, and I am a recovering alcoholic. I have been sober for over three thousand days, which is a significant achievement.

I was incredibly fortunate to have a wonderful childhood. I had two loving parents and a beautiful older brother. My school years were also fantastic; I excelled as a talented athlete and gifted student. I was popular with both students and teachers, and you could say I had an ideal upbringing. My true talent lay in running; I was exceptionally fast. From an early age, I craved attention and loved being in the spotlight.

During my teenage years, I focused on developing my talents, both in the classroom and on the track. I competed for my County many times, and in 1986, I set the county 100-metre record, which still stands today. The highlight of my running career was winning a silver medal at the English schools championships, making me technically the second-fastest 16-year-old in England. I also served as the captain of my football team and was selected for advanced maths classes in the county. I was determined, focused, and had a bright future ahead of me.

At the age of 18, I went to Stoke-on-Trent to train with the country's best coaches and athletes. After a year of rigorous training, I realised that, despite my hard work and talent, I wouldn't reach the Olympic standard I aspired to. It was a tough decision, but I decided to retire from athletics.

I headed to Cambridge to pursue a degree in business studies, but that's when my problems started. I had a void in my life, as my athletic career was no longer a part of my daily routine. I had abstained from drinking, smoking, and drugs throughout my teenage years, but within a week of arriving in Cambridge, I had indulged in all three. I realised that my competitive nature had transformed into self-destructive behaviour. I became obsessed with getting drunk and high, and when I started working at a bar, I found a perfect outlet for my behaviour. This bar was unlike any other; it was always buzzing, with 24 taps serving Stella Artois, we were the first bar in England to sell jagermiester if that helps you paint a picture. It became my stage where I was the centre of attention, and I excelled at indulging.

The year was 1989, and the party had just begun. They say if you remember the '90s, you weren't there, and I can confirm that it was an incredibly hedonistic decade. By this point, I was running bars and nightclubs, and my lifestyle revolved around drinks, drugs, and clubs. I was in full swing, and my stints in London's nightlife scene allowed me to attend numerous glamorous parties and dance events. I was considered a functioning alcoholic at the time. When one party ended, I'd search for another to keep reality at bay. After 15 years in bars and nightclubs, I was drained but still hooked on the industry.

In the next decade, I transitioned into the restaurant industry, all the while cleverly positioning myself around alcohol and inebriated patrons. More accolades came my way, and I continued to party as my friends settled down. I knew I was an alcoholic, but I was proud to be a functioning one. I couldn't see the issue with my lifestyle, as I was still having a great time, rubbing shoulders with celebrities (danced with Kylie, shared a burger with Jagger, even a cocktail with Mossy) and indulging in all kinds of excesses. However, the cracks started to show; I had morning shakes and began each day with a bottle of beer and a shot of Scotch to brace myself. I started hiding my drinking from friends and family, denying the problem, even though it was evident. I kept convincing myself that as long as I was successful, my issue wasn't that serious.

It all came crashing down when I lost an award-winning restaurant I owned. Within weeks, my life spiralled out of control, my wife left me, and I had nowhere to live. I ended up in a friend's garden shed, still drinking, still in denial, and believing things would turn around. But they didn't. That's when I decided to return to university to complete the degree I had started 25 years earlier. Incredibly, at this point, I was drinking two to three bottles of wine a day and barely functioning. It was a realisation that I had a severe problem, one that wouldn't be easily resolved. I attempted rehab but only lasted half a day, they weren't focused on diet and fitness.

My final day of drinking came when I went to my local garage, where I had been barred due to shoplifting. This was the last straw for me. In a rash decision, I went cold turkey, and I

can't recall the next 48 hours, but I do know that I faced near-death. It was one of the most harrowing experiences of my life. A week later, I was sober but faced homelessness due to mounting debts and an imminent eviction.

I rented a garage that I saw advertised in a local paper, a space with no electricity or water. This is where I began my journey of recovery. I moved in during February 2015 and lived there for four months. I attended 135 AA meetings in 100 days, read self-help books, and learned about my addiction. By this point, I was 17 stone, well above my normal weight of 12 stone. Every morning at 6:00 a.m., I would leave the garage and head to my local gym, where I began each day with healthy habits and surrounded myself with motivated individuals. Over those four months, I lost five stone in weight. Ironically, it was one of the happiest periods of my life, as I shed the burden of alcohol that I had carried for decades. I became a lover of life, embracing nature, yoga, healthy habits, and spirituality. Slowly but surely, I was rebuilding myself, even though I was still living in a garage.

The local council heard about the person living in a garage and offered me a room in a recovery house with 18 other addicts. I would reside there for the next year, where I learned about addiction firsthand. I was one of the fortunate ones who had conquered their demons by this point. It was time for me to make a difference, and that's when a beautiful young lady walked into the gym one morning, and I knew she was the one.

It took 50 days for Natalie to agree to meet me for coffee, and now we've been together for over seven and a half years. Her faith in me was unwavering, even though I was living in a recovery house with 18 other addicts. Together, we founded our first business, a pop-up gym and fitness events company. We organised boot camps in churches and even roller skating rinks. One of our proudest moments was hosting the first-ever yoga event in an English cathedral, which garnered attention from the BBC and led to an invitation to Number 10 Downing Street to share my story. In just two years of sobriety, I had gone from living on the street to meetings at the Street ! .

At this point, I was leading an incredibly healthy life. The gym became integral to my daily routine, along with meditation and yoga. I felt fantastic, and I began looking at my diet and

my place in the world. I adopted a plant-based lifestyle and never looked back. Despite my background in the hospitality industry, a field I had sworn off, I believed it was my duty to spread the message of plant-based living, leading to the birth of Vetomeato, a vegan food brand accessible to all, with a focus on reducing the carbon footprint and benefiting the planet and humanity.

Today, I am a non-drinking, non-smoking, vegan with a focus on yoga events and a plant-based business. On paper, my life might seem uneventful, but in reality, it's far from it. After over eight years of sobriety, I've realised that my purpose is to inspire and motivate others, particularly those struggling with alcohol. Quitting alcohol is one of the best acts of self-love and self-care. With this knowledge, I've embarked on a journey called Super Sober Life, prioritising a life of less materialism and more meaningful experiences. My focus is on peace, self-care, and making a positive difference in the world.