Danny Trejo marked 55 years sober this month. Trejo, 79, took to Instagram to reflect on his achievement and shared some insights into how he’s come this far. After his own journey, he’s ready to be a source of encouragement for others.
Trejo has long been transparent about his difficult life and the choices he’s made that put him in some bad places, including jail. A formative event in ’68 changed it all and he’s stuck to his vow – made to himself and higher powers – ever since.
Danny Trejo marks 55 years of sobriety with wisdom and encouragement
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Trejo took to Instagram to continue his tradition of joy and gratitude. “I’m 55 years clean and sober today by the grace of God!” he celebrated. “I’ve done this one day at a time, and for anyone out there struggling YOU CAN TOO!”
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The post is accompanied by a photo of Trejo beaming at the camera. His journey included joining Alcoholics Anonymous before becoming a drug counselor. From there, he used his own experiences to assist others. After this big turnaround, he believes, “Everything good that has happened to me has happened as a direct result of helping someone else.”
One good deed leads to many others
Laughter is infectious – and compassion can be, just as much. Trejo’s memoir, Trejo: My Life of Crime, Redemption, and Hollywood, openly explores the perilous events that defined his early years. For over a decade, he was in and out of some of California’s worst prisons, charged with everything from drug sales to armed robbery.
Then came 1968. A prison riot broke out and, during the subsequent scuffle, Trejo at one point struck a guard with a rock. This earned him solitary confinement and the possibility of the death penalty. While in solitary, he found faith and pleaded for a chance to turn his life around.
“I made a promise, ‘Lord if you let me die with dignity, I’ll say your name every day and I’ll do whatever you can for my fellow inmate,'” he vowed. “And I said inmate because I never thought I was getting out of prison.” When he was, indeed, released, he attended AA and, some 15 years later, he stopped by the set of Runaway Train to help a struggling addict. The director, Andrei Konchalovsky, noticed Trejo and, learning he was a boxing champion in prison, recruited him to perform opposite Eric Roberts. After this film debut, Trejo accumulated hundreds more credits – and further proved the importance of perseverance and empathy.
