'I share my sobriety story to millions on TikTok'
A man who turned to alcohol after struggling to pursue an athletics career is now sharing his sobriety journey on TikTok to millions of users.
Growing up, Justin Bone, from Bury St Edmunds, in Suffolk, was a promising 100m sprinter, but after coming to terms with the fact he was unlikely to reach the Olympic standard he began to drink heavily in his late teenage years.
Moving into a hospitality career, he became addicted to alcohol and at one point he said he was drinking a whole bottle of whiskey a day as well as several pints of beer.
Mr Bone recently marked his 10th anniversary of being sober and has been helping thousands of people on TikTok through 'dry January'.
Mr Bone was a promising athlete having won a silver medal in the English Schools Athletics Championships when he was 16.
However, when it came to an end, he spent the next 25 years in the hospitality industry meaning he was around alcohol every day.
Prior to his sobriety, he said "nothing else mattered" in his life other than alcohol.
Speaking about when he decided to stop drinking, he said: "It was a moment where I stood at the top of the stairs and I looked down the stairs... I was shaking so violently that I realised I couldn't walk down the stairs.
"It would have been incredibly dangerous for me.
"I decided to go back into my bedroom and I did the stupidest thing I ever did - I went cold turkey and I didn't move for two days. I literally laid in bed and I just shook.
"That's when I thought, 'Oh my God, I'm going to die'.
"When I came out of that, that's when I realised, no more, never again."
After not paying his rent for six months, he said he was forced to leave his accommodation and decided to rent a nearby garage where he spent the next four months getting sober.
As he had reached 17 stone (107.95kg) in weight, he also started to go to the gym to "rebuild" his life and improve his physical health.
The local council soon stepped in to help with his accommodation and he was placed into a home with another 18 people struggling with addiction.
He said the year he spent there inspired him to become a sobriety coach.
In early 2024, Mr Bone made a TikTok on 'dry January' that changed his life.
"It was quite an amusing day, I'll never forget it," he continued.
"I had about 50 followers on TikTok and I did a post on day three of Dry January and it was to do with sleep."
Mr Bone said the views on his video drastically increased over the hours that day and it reached 25,000 views.
He said he was "so chuffed" and continued to share clips which got millions of views. He also amassed 16,400 followers many of which he said were over the age of 40.
'Inner confidence'
Mr Bone named his channel Super Sober Life as he now felt "like a superhero" who could deal with anything.
"One of the beautiful things about being sober is you don't have alcohol when you have a problem," he said.
"You don't have alcohol when you have a celebration. You have to deal with stuff.
"I feel like a superhero because I can handle anything, just bring it on, give it to me.
"It's not a problem for me, I don't need alcohol to deal with it, I can deal with it myself.
"That inner confidence is amazing, it's literally like a drug."
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