ST. GEORGE — St. George is no stranger to addiction rehabilitation, having over one dozen combined inpatient and outpatient centers. These facilities usually follow a more traditional recovery counselor-based method.
LT Weaver, a person in recovery and founder of the nonprofit Recovering Addict, is pioneering a different approach that emphasizes peer-oriented practices.
In September, National Recovery Month, he’s planning to embark on a 429-mile bicycle ride from Salt Lake City to St. George, hoping to raise awareness of his recovery method and attract more Utahns to his addiction recovery program.
To prepare for the 28-hour ride through the state, he has been working around the clock.
Weaver told St. George News his most recent practice ride was 122 miles. He is currently riding 500 to 700 miles per month, as he knows he will soon almost match the lower end of that range in a single ride.
To ensure his success, Weaver has assembled a comprehensive support team. They will handle logistics, social media and mechanical needs, all while documenting his journey live.
Weaver started Recovering Addict by posting a few recovery-based videos on YouTube, hoping to find a niche in the content market.
That was in January 2020, during a time when in-person Alcoholics Anonymous and Narcotics Anonymous meetings were suspended due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
“We went live on YouTube for four months in a row,” Weaver said, adding that he rapidly gained an international audience, which led to collaborations with other YouTubers.
The success of the channel encouraged him to take this quest another step further, maybe driven by “a midlife crisis,” he joked.
“Addiction just really ruined my life, and I ain’t got much time left on earth,” Weaver said. “Punching on the clock at Hill Air Force Base was just driving me mad.”
It was when his YouTube channel began gaining traction that he became the founder of the nonprofit.
According to the website, the organization has provided long-term peer support and therapeutic community programs, free of charge, to thousands of individuals and families.
His program combines the expected outpatient support while incorporating fitness programs. This, combined with offering participants the opportunity to stay indefinitely, has proven an effective strategy, he said.
‘I need to get my life together’
As it often does, addiction runs in his family. It was his father’s addiction that, combined with manipulation, led to Weaver being raised in a broken, poverty-stricken home, he said.
Weaver got hooked on methamphetamine at 20 years old. Following his arrest, a second-degree felony and a potential 15-year prison sentence were on the table. He lucked out in seeing that reduced to serving a year in Weber County Jail and then living in a halfway house. Weaver said that scared him straight and got him clean.
Weaver was on the ups: he secured a job at Hill Air Force Base, where he worked on F-22s and F-35s.
“And I’m a felon, mind you,” Weaver said. “That job led me to getting proud.”
That pride stemmed from making money, providing for his family, and spending money on nice cars and a recreational vehicle.
“That got me complacent, not realizing I’m an addict,” Weaver said.
He started drinking on the weekends. Then pints on the weeknights. Cunning, baffling, and powerful, alcohol can cause addiction like other drugs, and Weaver relapsed.
The turning point came in 2017 when his son was ejected from a utility terrain vehicle and severely injured.
“It (the UTV) then landed on his head and crushed him ear to ear,” Weaver said.
The incident worsened his drinking. Pints turned into fifths during the work week. Fifths ballooned to gallons on the weekends.
His son spent several months in the hospital, and the experience pushed Weaver to the brink.
“The doctors wanted us to pull the plug because he was in a vegetative state,” he said.
Fortunately, his son survived and has made a full recovery. And Weaver sought help for his addiction in 2019.
He’s been clean and sober ever since.
Follow these social media links to follow Weaver’s progress on the ride or to contact Recovering Addict: YouTube channel, personal Facebook page, Recovering Addict Facebook page, and TikTok.
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