D1 Athlete Lost Everything to Cocaine: His Journey Back to Jesus

Teaser: Dreams, Drugs, Disappearance

Guest: One injury and a 51 soccer dream. One line of cocaine stole a future. One night of the water, he flipped his kayak, slept alone in the woods, and his family filed

Meet Shane Curtis

Guest: a missing person's report. My conversation today is with Shane Curtis. 26 years old. He's going to share a story in the 90-day miracle that brought him back to life. His story starts right now, but it only keeps going

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Sports As Identity

Guest: next life together.

Justin: Yeah, so I'm Shane Curtis from Northern Virginia, Manassas area. I'm 26 years old and yeah, about to graduate on Tuesday. And uh it's been a ride to say the least. So it's exciting, man.

Guest: So so let's let's jump right into it, man. So tell me a little bit about life prior to Teen Challenge, right? What what what brought you here and on you kind of what was going on in your life before coming?

Justin: Yeah, so kind of the beginning parts was sports. That was my identity. That's grew up playing sports, very heavily involved. And um all through I was raised up in a good home, so um, you know, I really when I'd come back and forth from sports, we'd go to church. I remember the the Sundays and and the weekends, and then the week would just keep rolling through, practice, um, games, school, and that's all I knew. And, you know, a lot of people looked at my family as this really good Christian household, and and um, you know, I never had that full one-on-one relationship with God, like a strong relationship. I always put it into sports, and that's how my identity for me seemed like it was going that way. Like I just wanted to go big, and um it was football, soccer, wrestling was my um three sports I did all throughout high school. Well, starting elementary, middle, and high school, committed to Longwood University to play um soccer, had a bad injury, and that's when it started to go downhill from there. So after the injury, um so so leading up to that point, you said your family.

Guest: I mean, I've met your family, right? Awesome people, yeah, yeah, really,

Injury And Spiral At Longwood

Guest: really deep in their faith, passionate about Jesus. So, where was your faith going into Longwood University? Like, which how would you say your relationship with the Lord was?

Justin: Yeah, it wasn't strong. I'd say I wasn't deep rooted. Um, that's I you know, I I wasn't deep rooted at all. And uh I had a hard time fathoming all the stuff. I I just felt like I never had that real one-on-one connection with God. And I knew he was in my life, but I never really felt it. I never had an encounter, I never had that overwhelming feeling of okay, yeah, he's really um, he's really here. You like my mom would tell me, my dad, and uh we we were good with the pastors and the churches, and we um, but yeah, that was kind of that was it. I knew, you know, I was a Christian, um was kind of more walking the walk. You know, I wasn't really living it out. Okay. Um, so so then going to Longwood, um, my freshman year of college, you know, I felt like I was out of my shell now. Like, you know, I I wasn't a big crazy party or drinker, all that in high school. I would go out, I'd have fun, I'd drink, um, occasionally smoke weed, and that was all that I never got into hard drugs until one day I was um it was a normal day. We it was a it was a game day, and you know, we had two games during the week, and this was the second one, and um, it was a home game, and I remember I ended up breaking my leg fast forward, slanting the goalpost, just cracked my fibular head. You know, they in the beginning I thought it was a torn ACL, but the swelling and all that stuff. Um, the doctors, hey, look, you you gotta wait till the swelling goes down um till you can get like an MRI and a real uh professional look at this. And so I came back, it was broken leg, and they're like, you're out for six months at the least. And so during those six months was quite literally the start of me trying to all that time with with uh the 6 a.m. lift and then class and then a practice and then film studies and all this stuff. That was all I was I just I felt myself being like, man, like what am I gonna do now? Yeah, and I would I would they still wanted me to go to like the 6 a.m. lists and stuff. I've I started skipping those because like, what's the point? I'm just gonna crutch in there. And so and I started missing those, and then um, and I found myself with pulling myself out more of the the team atmosphere, you know. I started um smoking weed heavily in college, heavily, and um, and then drinking more than just when we got home from an away game trip and we were traveling back home and got home and would party on the weekends. It wasn't just any more partying on the weekends, it was each night I was pretty much drinking and smoking weed and messing with girls, and um yeah, and so I came back for a short period after my injury, and

Leaving D1 And First Cocaine

Justin: I just wasn't the same. I I wasn't, I didn't feel the same.

Guest: I kind of felt like the coaching staff and they kind of were pushing me under the under the rug and just so how was how was addiction at that point because you were disconnected from the sports and the team and all that, but how was it affecting your academics and your ability to proceed in college and yeah?

Justin: It was my academics dropped honestly. I I should have they should have been better because I had more time to focus on and I wasn't on the road having to study and stuff, but they actually they got worse because um when the team would leave me to go away um to travel for games, I would be back uh doing everything other than studying. And and you know, they we had these badges where we check check into our um study hall for the athletics department, and I would never like they could track if you're scanning yourself in, and they're like, dude, where what are you doing? Like nothing.

Guest: I could tell you so I know you ended up at Liberty University, so how did that transition take place? And like you ended up going to a different college and whatnot.

Justin: So I pulled myself out from Longwood after that. Um were you losing the scholarship because of the I I actually I they said look, like we can redshirt freshmen. You we we can give you this year back and make you a redshirt freshman and and uh or redshirt you, and then and I was like, I was just so I don't know what I want at that point. I felt like I was starting to burn out. There's a lot of things running through my mind, and I was like, man, maybe I just need to re-start because the coach is staff and all that, which I won't get deep into, but I just felt like I needed to be somewhere else. And so I went home for a semester, and I'll and my parents and me were talking were like, man, I don't what are you gonna what what are you gonna do here at the house? Just sit around. So I I went from being a D1 soccer player to a community college kid, and that hurt for me, like that hurt my pride. Yeah. Um, and I went into Nova Community College for a semester. Um, did actually really well in community college, but when I was home, I didn't have the practice, I didn't have any of that D1 atmosphere um practices, games, all that stuff. So I was like, what am I gonna do now? And wasn't really even hitting the gym anymore. And that was the first time cocaine got introduced into my life was in that home. Um, Old Town Manassas is like five minutes from my home. Um, was out there one weekend and would see people, close friends, go to the bathroom absolutely staggering, and then they walk back from the bathrooms being like ready to go, rock and roll. And then I was like, what is that? How does that like what what just happened? And then you know, pull me to the side, say, hey, look, this is what it is. You just take a couple bumps of this, you'll be good. Sure enough, that was that was all it took. Yeah, so then after that semester at home rolled into applying for, well, I applied for places when I was at home that my Liberty, I got accepted

Two Sober Years At Liberty

Justin: to Liberty. Um, so the next semester I went to Liberty and Um COVID, that was during the COVID, that was my first semester there. I was there two months at Liberty, and then they sent us home. Um right after I got settled in. And um I was this was the key part, which is I was I ended up coming back to Liberty, but I was clean for two years at Liberty. I would drink occasionally there, but something was just stopped my cocaine use for a couple of years. This was this was like I went, they sent us home, and then when I came back to Liberty after they reopened, yeah, um, with all the protocols of you know that stuff with COVID, wearing a mask and all that, but I was like, I'm not gonna bring these drugs with me. I'm going to Liberty, I'm gonna make the most of it. Um, and I had no supplier guy down at Liberty. I didn't want to look for one, I didn't even try. And I was like, okay, this is a start of something good.

Guest: Yeah.

Justin: Um, so yeah, I finished my career at um, I got a bachelor's degree, uh, criminal justice, homeland security, and the minor um was Homeland Security. And so I graduated or um graduated from Liberty. I was like, all right, I got the degree. I'm gonna go get a job now, gonna, you know, because where the real

Post-Grad Stress And Relapse

Justin: world starts.

Guest: And so let's talk about the um, I mean the turning point. So, right, you you you held it together while you were at liberty, ended up getting your degree, but then obviously something happened in there, right, that caused you to go back into it and ultimately mushroom to the point, right, that you needed to come come to TC. So what what kind of transpired there? I know you were working and whatnot, and exactly.

Justin: Yes.

Guest: How did that how did that you know get back to that point?

Justin: So right after I graduated, I um came home and had a good job opportunity come into play as an area manager uh position and the stress with that job, I mean the guys, more blue-collar, um, and and I would just see him drinking after work and all these things, and then I was still drinking. Not I drinking was never like I would drink a blackout, I wouldn't get to that point, I was just drinking stuff, but I still wasn't um back into cocaine yet. So then one day I saw one of the it got reintroduced. You know, I won't get into the detail, but it got reintroduced again, and the stress of that job and everything. I was like, yeah, I could blame it on this, blame it all, but it was my choice, man. And I said, All right, sure. And we would have to push snow all night some nights, and they call us in at 11. Um and it's like you're gonna be up all night. It's like, all right, this is an easy, yeah. You know, I'll do a you know, I'll get back into the bag. And um yeah, so then it it all just started going over again, and and that's how it got reintroduced very shortly after I graduated college.

Guest: Yeah. So take me into the week before your your mom called

The Kayak Night And Missing Report

Guest: to get you here. What what what happened to that point to get her on the phone?

Justin: Yeah, so so there was a few a couple of things leading up to that point was one night, I well one afternoon I went out fishing, um, and I had uh everything ready to go out my kayak, poles, everything. I went out to my honey hole, um, which I'm not gonna share on here is my honey hole. Right. Um and I was by myself, and so I was by myself, and I was like, all right, I'm gonna just do my thing typical, you know, but I was back involved with drugs and drinking. This was full, full blown. And I had a little bag of cocaine and then I had some drinks and went out there on the waters, windy, choppy, and was paddling around. And my kayak's not like those ones you see nowadays at Cabela's or Dick Sporting Goods. It's just this little tiny thing. And so I ended up flipping my boat having to swim all the way. I was like in the middle of the water, like, where which side should I swim to? Like, try to like in a panic. And I was like, holy, and I literally just like alright. So I try to grab my phone keys, everything's sinking. As as I'm as I'm trying to like flip my boat over, I'm like, you know what? So I leave and I'm just starting swimming. And I'm like, okay, this is probably a shorter distance. So I start going left. That was the opposite side of where my truck was, and on the shore or on the road, I pulled off, and so I was like, okay, I wasn't even thinking like swim towards. So I get to the shore exhausted. I'm like, man, this is what do I do now? No keys, no phone. Um this is a spot where it's not like a bunch of people, there's like there's nobody out on the water, it's not it was just me. Yeah, and I was like, man, and I was too ashamed because I knew what state I was in. I was too ashamed to go and try to flag somebody down and ask for help. I could have if I wanted to. So you know what I did? I grabbed some like things that I could and just slept in the woods. Like there were a couple things that I was able to. I had a bag, yeah, and I did grab a bag and swam. It was soaking wet, but I had stuff in there, so I used the bag to prop as a pillow. I slept in the woods all night long. So interesting what shame will do to us, you know, and the situations that puts us in.

Guest: And the missing persons report was filed that night because I never came home. Wow. So so then that that so that was what happened the week prior. So you ended up coming, right, and getting

Walking Into Teen Challenge

Guest: here. So walking through the doors of SVTC, what was the hardest adjustment? Day one, yeah, walking into a program.

Justin: The hardest adjustment for me, as soon as I got walked through the doors, you know, it hit me again like I kept telling me I'd never go to a rehab, I never would let myself get to that point. So it was more or less trying accepting the fact I was really here and I was in a um uh Christ in a recovery program. And it's it just as soon as I walked through there, I I I remember standing outside those doors, my seeing my parents drive off, and I just ste stood outside for a little bit, like letting it all sink in and took a deep breath, walked through the doors, I was like, all right, God, I'm here, let's do this thing.

Guest: And yeah. So let's talk about that, like the journey to come in, starting to get into your word again and all that. Like, yeah, is there a moment early on where like the word started to come alive to you personally? Like, you know, what did that

Staying Past The First Month

Guest: process look like?

Justin: Yeah, settling in was hard the first month. Um I had this I had this own uh personal time date that I was saying, all right, a month, I know they're gonna be coming and checking in me after a month, you know, if I'm doing good, I can so that all that happened, and I was it didn't go the way I wanted it to go. Right. Um instead of being like, you know, throwing a pity party and whatever, and oh now I have to stay the full time to, you know, and I and I was feeling like I was doing good, but there was something out there um and it had to have been the Holy Spirit, it had to be God saying, Look, you're not ready yet, that stay, I have more for you here. Yeah, and it took me a little bit to to understand that you know, hey, you need to stay and finish this thing out.

Guest: Was that a transformative shifting moment for you kind of extremely or your plan kind of got co-opted by the Lord or by your family or whatever, however you want to put it right, and God spoke to you through that?

Justin: Yeah, I truly believe that I was about to walk out the doors after the after that month and had the meeting and talked with my parents and and staff, and um it didn't go the way I wanted it to. And so then I was like, I was pretty soured on the whole thing for a while. And I was like, you know, and it took me a little I was what the the change was I was laying in bed and I was like that night, I was like, you know what? Here we are again. Shane, you need to make the most of this. Don't be sour about the thing. And I was having that thing like still in my head, like, no, I'm gonna pull myself out. And then there was like God trying to say no, stay. And I was like thinking, I knew, but my whole life I was leaning on my own understanding, right? I wasn't leaning on, and it's hard to hear that sometimes that voice that's like no stay. I still have more for you here. And I felt like I was in that.

Guest: How did that shift happen, right? Because you're you're a competent person, I mean, D1 athlete, yeah, you know, I mean, went and finished finished college, you know, and all that stuff, had a decent job prior to coming. How um like what did the Lord speak to you to get you to shift from that place of self-confidence to godly confidence, right? A little bit of humility mixed in there, trusting that God's plan for you, you know, what was

Scripture Awakens: Titus 3

Guest: that shift like for you?

Justin: Yeah, so uh there's a verse that I read, I wrote it down. Um it's Titus 3.3, and it says, At one time we were too foolish, disobedient, deceived, and enslaved by all kinds of passions and pleasures. We lived in malice and envy, being hated and hating one another. Um, and then it goes on to say, but when the kindness of the love of our God, and this is the key, when the kindness of the love of our God, our Savior appeared, he saved us not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. For me, I we do our devotions here, as you know. Um, and I would and I was doing my devotionals and I I just found myself kind of just reading through more and more the New Testament and and even some of the old. And I was just on this little Bible binge, and I came across Titus. Yeah, absolutely. And I came through this to Titus 3.3, and I I was not familiar with Titus at all. Um you know, I just thought it was a funny name in the in the and but I read that and I was like, and I truly believed God speaks to you through scripture. Like people will talk about the encounter, they hear, they can hear him say things and say in their in their dreams or whatever. For me, I hear it all the time through scriptures like jumps out at me. I'm like, all right, that's God speaking to me right now, right here, right now. So that was a big change for me because the scripture and me diving more into his word really, and and it wasn't like people be like, oh, well, we're forced to do our devotions, we're forced to do this classwork stuff. Right. But when I opened my heart and my mind to it and let it actually come into me and take it to heart, that's when I started like, okay, I am here for a reason. There's something here that I that that I'm about to figure out why, like, God's gonna reveal, reveal it to me. I truly believe that. And he started to.

Guest: Yeah. So let's talk about that. You said your relationship with Jesus prior to Teen Challenge was, you know, ancillary, right? Connected to your parents, you on you went to church with them, Christian family, whatnot. And so then you you come here, you start digging into the word on your own, have this rock bottom, shame-filled moment

Building Daily Spiritual Habits

Guest: that drives you to TC. So, what what changed about your relationship with Christ? Because you, I mean, you knew him coming in, right? You know, it wasn't like you were atheist or anti-god, right, but just the personal relationship was was lacking. What what shifted there?

Justin: So really what shifted was is just having a a better understanding of it. I never really got it. I never really grasped the con it was hard for me to understand how the Holy Spirit is here. Like he's he's all around us. I didn't, it I was like, how is that? It was almost like I didn't do my back work in um in my own faith. I never really put in a lot of time. And I and when I started doing that, yeah, like and being to the point where now I'm like, man, I'm flipping, I'm like seeing what's next in the Bible. I'm like, wow, this is you know, Romans, uh Romans is amazing. And yeah, I just and I just had this fire again. Yeah. You know, you know, when you go to like the the young life camps as like kids and stuff, I and then you come home from the young life camp and you have this fire about you and it lasts for a week. Yeah, this has been lasting for two months now. After that first month, this has been a two-month, and I'm I I pray to God this carries through, and I'm gonna keep putting on the armor of God and the word to carry it through. But that fire got lit.

Guest: What do you see as the biggest potential impediments from keeping that fire going, you know, next week when you're home?

Justin: Exactly. Yeah, yeah. That's a great question. I the thing is every morning when I was drinking and drugging, I remember the days I didn't read my devotionals. I remember those days. I'm not saying that's the problem solver, but for me, is staying rooted in the word and and and doing everything I can to remember, hey, set a time, set time in the morning. I'm gonna do 15 minutes of devotionals and and just being in the word instead of

Family Support And Healing

Justin: being so quick to go to work, so quick to this. And I think that was that was a big thing for me. And I need to I need to stay deeply rooted. Um just like it's been a good cycle here. It's kind of trained us, wake up, devotionals, breakfast. I didn't have a good system going when I was home. Yeah. Carrying what we've learned here, out there into the real world when I walk out the doors, that's really when it starts, when I walk out those doors, right? This has been the this has been like a training ground for me for the battle. So, so that's that's the first thing in the morning. Gotta gotta dive in. You know, some people um might be foggy in the morning, you know, whatever. I have the Bible app on my phone. Say it's a rough morning, I'm running late, I can play that Bible app, Bluetooth, and the truck and the ride to work, you know. So I need to make that a priority. Yeah, we talk about that a lot.

Guest: I mean, the word is alive, right? And I think a lot of people don't realize that. I mean, you know, give us this day our daily bread, right? And and and the word being sustenance for our life. And so many times, you're right, I think we struggle to hear God's voice because we don't we don't read what's on paper. And it's it's so simple, but yet it's difficult, right, to maintain. And I think that's a huge, huge challenge. So let me ask you about your family relationships and kind of because you've got a lot of support around you. Um, have you noticed any changes in those relationships over the last last 60 days or so? Like, yeah, I have.

Justin: Um sometimes it's got a little emotional talk about seeing I they and I if I was to name all of them, we'd be here forever, but to see the support and the love that they have for me when I was at my worst, to showing up here every week almost, every chapel night, which is open to the public, and and just the constant love that they just keep pouring into me, knowing like they need healing themselves from all the the trauma and and hurt I put them through. And they should they and I was like, man, I but they still keep coming to my side. All like and and to feel that that they come here and they just show me let's sit next to me and just are just so involved and want to just see their son, see their nephew, see their friend what uh better and healed as is, I mean, that says it all to me, you know, just to constantly see that love that and you and you they would say it so much when I was home and stuff, man. We love you, just want your better. I'm like, okay, yeah, but you don't really know how much that until you're down and out, pretty much or at your worst. And I felt like I was down and out, and my my family um has quite literally been by my side from start to finish through this whole process.

Guest: So I mean, let me ask you um one final question to kind

Advice: Surrender And Start Over

Guest: of wrap things up. Um it's been a good conversation, man. Thank you for sharing and absolutely and going into your story and whatnot. And so um, if you had to give one piece of advice to somebody who was where you were at that week, let's rewind that week before you got on the kayak, you know, and the mental state that you were in, and and you're you're talking to a shane that's in that position, right? What what are you saying to him?

Justin: I'm saying you need to let go, you need to surrender it, man. Just let go. Stop trying to do it yourself. That that was told to me somewhere, but I was like stubborn, man. I was stubborn and and 26 years old. You know, I I thought I had stuff figured out and I thought I could figure it out for myself. You know, I've done that time and time again with work things and sports and stuff, and this was a battle that I couldn't defeat on my own. This was not something I was gonna defeat on my own. I needed um to surrender it all to God and say, look, I I'm laying it down at your feet, man. I'm I'm tired, I'm done. I can't, I'm I'm killing my body, I'm killing my mind, I'm I'm destroying the relationships in my life. There's soon gonna be nothing. That's that's what I tell myself. Um, because as soon as I did that, I mean, three months later, I've been clean out three months, I graduate

Gratitude To Family And Closing

Justin: tomorrow. You know, I've never felt better, I've never been more mentally clear, I've never been so strong in my word, I've never been it it's all these things are like the puzzles coming together. Yeah, and it feels great, man. And and yeah, but that's what I'd say.

Guest: And your family? What do you say to them now? Not back then, but right now, man.

Justin: What what as in like what would I tell them?

Guest: Yeah, just you're gonna see them tomorrow, but just for the benefit of our audience, man, the people that are listening, like yeah. What do you say to your family now, 90 days later, after all they've walked through and being where you're at?

Justin: Yeah, I'd tell them that I love them and I tell them I'm thankful for them, and and if it wasn't for them, I wouldn't be where I'm at right now. I I I wouldn't, and you know, I owe it all to them. And I when I see them tomorrow and be hugging and crying and celebrating and all these emotions are gonna be going crazy and um they just man, I words can't even words can't even describe what I sometimes I don't even say. It's it's hard because I can say I love you and thank you to close friends, but sometimes when I look face to face with my parents, I I sometimes stall out with how thankful and how loving I should be to them because I know how much hurt I've caused them and I wouldn't even be able to get it out. I just start breaking down. So it's it would be I love you guys and I'm thankful for y'all and blessed to be um y'all's son. And you know, I I couldn't quite literally never repay you guys, and um I hope to be just like y'all one day and show hopefully my future family the support you guys have shown me and And that's good. They just man, they're yeah.

Guest: It's encouraging to hear that, especially for the for the family members that may be listening, that have loved ones that are caught up, you know, and yeah, and being able to like have that hope and um just know that God can do a work. Hey, thanks so much for watching this video. If you enjoyed it, please hit the like button, subscribe to the channel, leave us a comment. If you'd like to catch another testimony or another one of our videos, you can do so by clicking here.