Reached a milestone today!!! Very thankful!!
 

Today is my 25th sobriety anniversary! I can believe it's been that long!!

25 years ago yesterday, I was homeless in New York.

I spent a long time sleeping in hallways and trains with the clothes on my back. It was December, freezing cold and I had an old Members only jacket.
Drugs took everything from me including my relationships with most of my family.

We always joke about my luck, but I am one of the luckiest , most grateful people you will ever know.

That is an awesome testimony !

Thanks for sharing your story with us and Congratulations!

A lot of us on OSO enjoy your threads and your participation here on OSO.

:D

Congrats Gino. What concerns me more than you having an addiction was the fact that you had a Members Only jacket......and you admitted it in an open forum ):
Just having some fun. i am proud of you for not only getting sober, but being very successful in the process.
Eddie

Congrats Gino, the next time we are together the Root Beers are on me.

You my friend stand as a true inspiration and a testament to what is possible . I have lost a few friends over the years to alcohol , drugs or both . They could just never see past that next buzz and died pursuing it . A very Merry Christmas to you and your family .

Thanks!
What's even worse, the next time I do something stupid, everyone will know I wasn't drunk!

congrats, i am helping a friend right now with addiction, it is very trying at times to say the least…….

good for you geno,i have seen what drugs&alcohol can do to people,i have lost several friends to drugs.

Wow, Having never known your story I am touched & Proud of you. You are a Great Example of what IS Possible, Way to Go!!!!

God Bless you Gino. You never know the ones you help when you testify like this.

Tom

Thats inspirational. Seems like very few people can recover. Keep it rolling.

Congrats. Its a hard road to roll down but obviously you have figured it out and have done a awesome job over the years. Coke-Cola is on me!

Congratulations on designing the life you want to live. Merry Christmas, and God Bless. Have a wonderful 2014 Boating season.......

Gino What a great testament to the human spirit! Congratulations to you! Your participation in this forum is greatly appreciated.

Yep! congrats! not an easy task for sure! But you have to tell us HOW you made the change, what did you do to start working again and in what kind of job that led you in todays success!

Almost could ride a book I guess! could be another ''success''!

Gino,
congrats, you have will power of ten men, a lot of people can't do it..... I've seen it first hand
Congrats again bud.
Merry X-mas to you and your family.
Dean And Robin

Geno, we never met but I just want to thank you sharing your story -- It really is a wonderful Christmas gift!---

Take care!

3pointstar

What a great thing, I hope you and your family have a great holiday.

Congrats Gino!! Have a wonderful Christmas.

Congratulations and Thank You for the inspiration, just by sharing you affect others.

That is awesome, congrats! :Score-101010:

Congratulations, all of your stories here on OSO are great but this is the best story of all with a great outcome. Merry Christmas to you and your family.

Masi

Congrats Gino! Good for you! I've seen it go both ways (good and bad) and I find it refreshing knowing your story

That's a nuts story. It definitely makes me reflect I what I have. Be proud man

My thoughts as well.

Thanks for sharing, Gino. Congratulations on your sobriety. That kind of success is a testimonial to the strength of your character.

:party-smiley-004: Gino rocks. He could be the " Most interesting man in the world"

But Drinks O'Dool's :)

Thanks everyone!!

When they say you have to hit rock bottom, there is not a truer statement.

I was in such bad shape. Down to about 100 lbs, hair long and greasy, holes in my pants that you could see my butt cheek, old white shoes that were falling apart. They smelled so bad because they were wet and gross.
If I saw someone I knew, I would hide from embarrassment.
I can remember it was pouring rain and I was soaked. I got on the subway that from Coney Island to the Bronx and I road it back and forth. every time the door opened I froze my ass off.
I was so tired but couldn't sleep due to being afraid.
To eat I would stuff paper in the pay phone coin returns so if someone made a call that didn't answer, it looked like the phone ate their quarter and I would check the phones all day.
I would by cheese doodles because the 25 cent bag was pretty big.

Once your in this position, you hit rock bottom.
When my family found me and sent me to treatment, I was so happy to go. I remember the first night sleeping in a bed. Best feeling ever.

How I did it you ask?

I guess you could call me a coward because I was scared to death to end up back on that train!!
Over the years there have been situations of temptation. When ever my mind would start to wonder if I could do it and control it, I would just think about the smell of my shoes!
That kept me straight all these years!

Thank you Gino for sharing this and being such an inspiration to all to succeed. You are definitely not a coward. After all you went through, you were still not afraid to put everything on the line to start your business. Everyone falls down (some more than others). It is not how far down you fall that defines you, it is how far you get up that does.

My best friend is also 25+ years clean and sober. He actually never had a legal drink in his life. I met him about 6 years into his sobriety. His stories have motivated me through the years to help become who I am and in turn I have been his rock through many a hard time.

Keep up the good work!

Gino

Congrats on a outstanding achivement.

Wow, congrats Gino!!!

I am sure it was a tough road but I hope each day is easier and better.

Glad to call you my friend.

Thanks for sharing!! Congratulations on all your accomplishments!

Congratulations on reaching this milestone....inspirational to say the least!

That is a great story and you should be proud! I'm curious, how did you go from homeless to owning an MTI?

I have read the stories throughout the years and laugh at every one of them because I knew, to a small degree, the back story about you from other things youve posted. I have also had a small interaction with you years ago when I rescued a dog(didn't work out with me, but my vet tech took him in). And you helped get the dog up to date on shots and cleaned up. I have even told bits of your story to others I know to show them there is always a way to pull yourself up and do better.

CONGRATS.....Bill W. would certainly be proud!!! :)

Congrats Gino!!!!

Congrats Gino, a story of true inspiration for sure.

Your story in Heavy Hitters magazine did a nice write-up about your story. I am sure your story has helped motivate others, wish there was a way to post an electronic version so it could be shared

Id like to read it....