Coachinginterview

FROM DRUG ADDICT TO PRO CYCLIST (TRANSFORM YOUR LIFE) | OWEN VERMEULEN

Name: From Drug Addict to Pro Cyclist (Transform Your Life) | Owen Vermeulen
Uploaded: 2023-12-08
Duration: 38 min 13 s
Description: Owen Vermeulen shares his remarkable journey from homelessness and heroin addiction as a teenager to becoming a professional gravel cyclist.

with Owen Vermeulen

38:13·8 December 2023

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OWEN VERMEULEN

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TOPICS

CYCLING RECOVERY

Owen Vermeulen shares his remarkable journey from homelessness and heroin addiction as a teenager to becoming a professional gravel cyclist. He explores the neuroscience of addiction, why some people can't put drugs down while others can, and how cycling became the unexpected tool that saved his life—offering hope to anyone struggling with substance abuse.

Key Takeaways

Addiction often stems from trauma and operates on different brain chemistry than recreational drug use; it's a neurological condition, not a moral failing
Isolation fuels addiction—staying connected to community, friends, and family is critical to recovery, even more important than traditional treatment methods for some people
The structured feedback loop of competitive cycling (progressing through categories) provided a healthy substitute for the dopamine-seeking behavior that drove Owen's addiction
Oxycontin and prescription opioids have created a new wave of addiction among pro athletes and affluent people who didn't fit the 'typical addict' stereotype, yet face the same life-destroying consequences
Gravel racing's community-focused culture differs from road cycling's hierarchical team structure, making it more accessible and emotionally rewarding for people in recovery
Shame and fear of judgment often prevent people from sharing their addiction history, but most people are far more supportive than addicts expect—the barrier is usually internal, not external

Expert Quotes

"The only vision for the future that comes in addiction is the fear of getting sick without it. You're constantly battling to avoid that dope sickness. The farthest I would ever look into the future was the next morning if I didn't have my drugs and I'd be really sick."

"Addiction doesn't discriminate right—it can take anyone at any time and that's the scary part."

"The veil between me and them is quite narrow—one or two life choices and fate could have me on that sidewalk with someone else stepping over. You start to view them not as bad people but as sick people, people that have had unfortunate circumstances."

KEY QUOTES

“the only vision for the future that comes in addiction is the fear of getting sick without it. So you're constantly battling to avoid that dope sickness we call it. So there's no it's truly a day-to-day grind, hour to hour grind and the only time I could look into the future was oh no I'm going to be sick in tomorrow morning if I don't have this.”
Owen Vermeulen — Former heroin addict turned professional cyclist

“it took me about five years of trying really hard to finally get clean and yeah like you you get to the point like for me it was I was at the point where I was either going to be dead you know or years in prison or you know get clean and get clean was for a lot of addicts that's kind of the lower tier one that seems the least realistic unfortunately even though it's the highest in the Hope.”
Owen Vermeulen — Former heroin addict turned professional cyclist

“I saw plenty of that in treatment where you know pro athletes would you know have one injury and it just took them down such a dark path. And that's the thing about addiction is it doesn't discriminate right like it can take anyone at any time and that's the scary part.”
Owen Vermeulen — Former heroin addict turned professional cyclist

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EPISODE TRANSCRIPT8 SECTIONS

Trauma and life on the streets

What led you to substance abuse it usually stems from trauma like what's that line between recreational drug use when you're surrounded by addiction and drugs it's on Welcome to the roadm podcast thank you how you doing I'm really excited about this chat because I know how many people this can potentially help yeah I hope so I want you to take me back into those early years what led you to substance abuse um well like 99% of you know addicts out there it's usually stems from trauma and kind of uh situational living right like I was on the streets pretty young like I got I left home really early and just kind of got exposed to that stuff at a very young age and you know didn't have any guidance or responsibility or you know anybody to really kind of show me a a path to positive path like I you know dropped out of high school in grade nine and then I was over here in Vancouver just across the country for many family all alone 15 years old and uh you know had just some family family situations that kind of put me into a pretty I would say kind of a rough situation and uh you know coping with trauma and coping with those feelings is drugs are a godsent for that kind of thing unfortunately and you know that's kind of Where it All Began those early years is you know obviously as a teen kind of coping with uh feelings to as a teen to begin with is hard let alone when you're surrounded by addiction and drugs it's uh it makes things quite a bit harder to put yourself on the correct path you don't have the same kind of guidance your story is wilded for so many reasons um but one of them that strikes me is just how early all this started to happen like you're leaving home at 15 the first time you get into recovery and actually get clean you're 18 like you're still basically just a baby just about to become an adult depending on what legal jurisdiction someone's in then you have this career as a pro skateboarder which is plagued by injuries and that's your kind of catalyst for going back to drugs again is that correct yeah well like so I went into treatment around 18 and that was just for heroin addiction um so I was using heroin throughout my teens and I got clean from heroin although skateboarding back then was you know you worked your ass off for about six months came up with a video part and then you know you didn't have the same kind of following that you do now where everybody's looking at everything you do so there's a big huge party scene because we'd go through you know different cities to demos and stuff like that so you know the partying was there with like the you know alcohol and cocaine and stuff like that then when the injuries come in that's where all the opiates start to come in as well and for me at that point it's in my life it was anything really that I could get my hands on was alcohol drugs um you know prescription medication from the injuries and then yeah so it was just kind of set me back on to that path like although I didn't use heroin for a long time I still ended up using a lot of other things like what's that line between recreational drug use like you're a pro skateboarder and you're kind of living this party lifesty so many people can compartmentalize that party lifestyle they can party but then they can they don't transition from party people to addicts what separates someone that takes cocaine and then transitions to opioid based drugs and develops a real problem with it from other people who can take it use it and then put it away um I think like I I've gone through quite a bit of treatment and you know I've I've uh got quite a bit of experience in like kind of the neuros Scientology of it and Scientology but the Neuroscience of it all is kind of um it's a little bit of a different brain chemistry in addicts so you know like when I would go out with my skateboarding friends they would go to the we would all go to the bar they could you know get hammered have fun go home and be fine I'd be disappearing to go find drugs and um it was just it's big in the brain chemistry it just kind of works a little bit differently and I think that that had stemmed from you know people that connect to it through the trauma in their lives and the brain chemistry is kind of those neurop pathways are a little bit different for addicts as opposed to normal in quote normal people so you know it's just um it takes

Living day-to-day in addiction

A bit of a hold differently with uh the brain chemistry and addicts as opposed to just the uh the recreational users because yeah I've seen some people be able to put it down and pick it up just fine and then others just they can't even put it down once they pick it up so you know like um I have seen a lot of that information come through in treatment and yeah there's a lot of Neuroscience to it but uh I think that it's just a little bit of a different brain chemistry for the people that uh can't put it down when you're in the grips at addiction I have friends who have been addicted and you know they still describe themselves as addicts even though they're clean but can you help me and help the listeners what's the feeling when you're addicted is there do you have a vision for the future or are you very much living daytoday act to act and just have no way out well that's the the only vision for the future that comes in addiction is the fear of getting sick without it um so you're constantly battling to avoid that dope sickness we call it um so there's no it's truly a day-to-day grind um hour toour grind and the only time I could look into the future was oh no I'm G to be sick in tomorrow morning if I don't have this so the farthest I would ever look into the future was the next morning if I didn't have my drugs and I'd be really sick so like as far as how how do you go about funding it it's a lot like is it all like is a mix of criminality and you know sideline incomes or like yeah I suppose I'm trying to just get an insight into what that world is like the day to day what do you do when you wake up in the morning and how does your how do you go about your day see it's changed a lot now is um like you know sometimes I could hold the job sometimes I couldn't um but addiction it's Progressive so it's just only going to get worse and worse and worse so some people were able to hold the job for x amount of time and the addiction will just completely progress and progress where you can't hold a job at all um and then yeah petty crime um I was lucky enough to uh you know have some companies that I work with through my Through Skateboarding that I was able to kind of get some commissions on screen printing and Merchandising um so I still had a little bit of income in that way um some people as well as you know the government with uh welfare is probably you know that's not going to get people anywhere you know that pays for their food and shelter but the food Portion they just blow on a day on drugs and so yeah there's just petty crime selling drugs and you know shoplifting from the big box stores kind of stuff is mainly what most addicts kind of how how they fund their haben when you get to that point that mindset where you're like okay look and enough is enough this is only ending one of two ways either I get clean or I die when you get to that point what's the first step for starting to dig out of the black hole um it's really hard because for myself it's like it took me about five years of trying really hard to finally get clean and yeah like you you get to the point like for me it was I was at the point where I was either going to be dead you know or years in prison or you know get clean and get clean was um for a lot of a like for a lot of addicts that's kind of the lower tier one that seems the least realistic unfortunately even though it's the highest in the Hope right like the hopes is to get clean but in the reality it seems like it's the least thing that's going to happen so you know like it's just a matter of finding the right community and like so so the first steps is usually just go to detox um and either some people quit cold turkey or they take um you know some medication to help wean off the drugs like methadone or something like that um and then just finding the right Treatment Center or the right Community um you know and the right support is probably key and sometimes it just takes while to finally get that perfect kind of um recipe I guess of Community Support um and just the where you're at in life and you know some people just try and try and try and sometimes it's just that one time that just seems to hit perfectly and

Opioid withdrawal and fentanyl's reach

But I see not in any way compared in the two but I was taking about 12200 milligrams of caffeine a day and I was like okay that's enough I need to get off caffeine and I when I went to get off it I actually couldn't believe the chemical hold the caffeine had over me for 4 days I terrible mood swings violent headaches fatigue and every fiber of your body is just telling you just have a coffee it's all better just have a coffee and it's all better and that's with caffeine something as Bening as caffeine like what's that withdrawal like from something as toxic as opioids oh it's it's hell like like it's you know like people always used to say is like you know don't ever try heroin because you'll love it and because that high is so perfect for someone maybe that just has that need to kind of escape the everything and so you look at the other end of the spectrum and that withdrawal is just hell you know it is proba the worst physical sickness that I've ever experienced in my life um and so that's where that fear of like you know getting clean is that a lot of people are like they just fear that and you know some people can get seizures and you know it can get really bad but you know like you said before is the other under the spectrum is either you know jail or death right and so there are medications that people can take like that help that process that help that withdrawal and um it definitely does help um and it helps stabilize a little bit and takes away a little bit of that uh withdraw symptoms that you know most addicts fear so much for a long time your story was the story of a large chunk of addicts that they have some sort of trauma some sort of avoidance some difficult ult economic family situations or social situations which led them to drugs and led them to a life of poverty and you know just this desperation that you've described we're seeing a wave in the last 10 years of a totally different type of drug user and it's one that I had a small little Fay into when I broke a shoulder in a crash in a criteria m in the US the doctor prescribed me oxy conson after the crash and the power of those pills I've never experienced a chemical po like that of my life and I knew after like three days of taking things I was like these are going to get me like I'm not strong enough to withold like my my willpower is just not strong enough to keep me away from these and I had to just get off them like right then talk to me about how big a problem oxy conton are and you seen this sort of tier second tier of addicts emerging now as a result of that use yeah um and yeah I see it I saw a ton of it when I was in treatment like I went through you know various treatment centers and I saw a ton of it there with uh you know pro football players pro hockey players a lot of hockey players because you know it's Canada um but yeah they would have you know an injury and the doctor would prescrib them morphine and then oxycotton and you know with oxycotton the doctors were giving them out like candy because I think they didn't know exactly the extent of how bad those were um and and then they could just they would just cut them off cold turkey and so a lot of these guys didn't have any other resource other than to go to the streets and get street drugs to compensate for you know their withdrawals and you know to continue the pain relief right so they're still in physical pain and you know mental pain because now they've lost their career and there's depression there and like I was saying before about you know the neurochemistry in their brain like you know maybe they're just more susceptible to to that connection with addiction than most other people so yeah I saw plenty of that in treatment where you know pro athletes would you know have one injury and it just took them down such a dark path have you watched dosick yeah crazy yeah and it's it's that's a a very very good example you know just the bottom line mindblowing yeah yeah it's uh those kind of shows they're they're intense but I think it's also just shows how it can take just such a hardworking day today person and take them from their job from their family to the streets and to just the hell that addiction has and can put on a person can take it just that's the thing thing about addiction is it doesn't discriminate right like it can take

Discovering cycling in detox

Anyone at any time and that's the scary part and I think that that show is kind of a good example of that as well at what point did you recover sorry at what point did you discover cycling and how big a catalyst was that in your recovery um well to be honest like cycling has always kind of been like I come from a family of professional athletes so my dad was a pro hockey player my sister she's an Olympian like she's incredible like I don't know how she did it she went through kind of the same type of uh you know the same kind of thing and she managed to just become a professional Runner she did so well for herself so I'm super proud of her for that and so I came from a family professional athletes my uncle was a you know Pro and cyclist in Europe and you know my cousin was in the world tour as well and so I think cycling was I was aware of it but I wasn't aware of the extent of it until I was in detox with a gentleman that owned a bike shop and I was lucky enough to be able to get a bike from him and you know we would sit around in the treatment center and watch tour to France and go for rides and stuff like that and you know like coming from you know genetically I think a pretty Adept family into endurance athletic it kind of came pretty naturally so um when I discovered it it just it changed everything you know like it kind of substituted um skateboarding perfectly because you know all skateboarding is is so much time and energy in the same kind of way cycling hat too so you know you can go out there with friends or you can go out there solo and just put the time and the effort in and that's kind of what I was doing at that time was just going up for long rides all day every day and I treated it somewhat to skateboarding was like you know if you get better you got to get better you got to put in tons of time and tons of effort and yeah so I kind of saw the true side of cycling like kind of learned how team tactics were kind of learn saw more the racing side of cycling as opposed to you know what I grew up with with my family and what's interesting with cycling the structure of it in competitive cycling at least it's it's built the architecture is built in such a way that there's such a perfect feedback loop when you put in more effort you get better results they're rewarded with points and then you cut up so you start off cut four you put in some effort now you're a cat three you put in some more effort now you're a cat two you put in some more effort now you're a cat one it's really incentivized to keep you progressing which has got to be so helpful for stay clean well and that's kind of like where I first really saw the growth in how cycling was working for me so well not just in recovery but just in finding a substitute a for skateboarding and like you know I feel like I've always been a pretty athletic person throughout my whole life like you know Athletics was pushed on us so much as growing up coming from professional athletes you know and so when I found cycling and you know I went into my first race and I think I I had no idea how to race I just went out there from the gun and just rode as hard as I could didn't know what the hell I was doing ended up winning by like three minutes and I was like oh okay this is fun and then I had some friends that kind of were like oh well this is how it works like you know this is kind of how the categories work this is what the teams are this is BL and I always I didn't have a team for quite a while first year or so but that's where I saw that growth was I would go from Cat four and then you know I went up to cat 3 to Cat 2 cat one and that's where that growth was really kind of validating for me that I had chosen the right path for a long time though though when you got the cat one we had this ceiling and cycling where it's like all right maybe you can get to Continental level but you kind of hit this ceiling in cycle where there's a little bit of a sense of okay what's next now because you know most people don't have what your cousin has like Alexi and have a chance to go to the World Tour so you hit

From road racing to gravel

This ceiling and all of a sudden that feedback loop is broken and that can be really difficult and I've seen a lot of people struggling with that when they get to cat one and they're like uh oh everyone's talented everyone everyone knows how to use a parameter now I don't have this feedback loop which I relied on so much but gravel has become such a good outlet for cat one Riders to move across into something slightly different now we're not comparing our old experiences we're not saying like oh I went to this race two years ago and I got second now I went to it this year and I got fourth so that feels like a step back instead now we're going into gravel and we're getting to experience amazing things like you went to the transcure if I pronounce that right like the eight day stage race in colia that's just must have been such an amazing experience to do something novel and new and again more grow yeah for sure well yeah like you said you kind of get to that ceiling so in 2019 you know like I'm I'm getting older and it's like the I'm recing against these guys that just have the that top end that can do that over and over again and I can't anymore you know like I didn't have that same top end and you know on the road racing scene here it was like you know you wanted to get into a strong team then you needed to kind of they needed to see that growth otherwise you're just going to be stuck as a domestique and you know and you got to find the right team so there wasn't really that there for me so much anymore and so I started really taking gravel seriously around 2019 and yeah it's just it's the experiences there are amazing because yeah now all of a sudden Everything's changed is that the opportunities changed that you don't have the same kind of team tactics you don't have the same kind of team responsibilities everybody can kind of go for themselves and whether they just want to ride to complete the event or whether they want to race hard and go for a Podium and you've got so many aspects of of people and so many you know it doesn't have the categories right so you've got just that experience from every person experience it there's own way and you know the way that gravel is racing now at least in my experience is that kind of is like the road for the first you know two three hours it's like you know every guy's just trying to fight for the Breakaway and then they're in the Breakaway and then they hit a technical section and then it's fighting for the Breakaway and then staying in the Breakaway again and so you know you kind of do get when you're stuck in you can kind of get that road racing feel um at certain events but then like yeah there's the events like trans ceras where it's just it's a life-changing event right you're just crossing the Andes for eight days and accomplishing it is you know people are there just to accomplish let alone try to get some results and yeah it's just it's lifechanging and you don't need you don't need a power meter you don't need a team you know you you don't need the you know 1200 watt repeatability like you would on the road so what did you think of Columbia oh it's beautiful I love it there the people are amazing you know they're so welcoming um the Racing's hard everybody's fast most beautiful girls you've ever seen in your life I spent some time in median and I was like I can't believe what I'm saying it's Shakira everywhere I look yeah and medene it's it's gotten to be like quite a cultural place where there's so many people from all over you know like I was sitting at a cafe I've got Dutch guys here there's guys from you know Brazil and then there's you know another set of guys from the US and so you know it's really kind of become a tourist Mecca more so now which I think is really good for the country because you know it had that stigma for so long about cartels and whatnot and I don't I felt so safe down there and you know the people are amazing and yeah like you said everybody's just everybody's fit and good-looking and you know active and yeah it's a great place I love it so much it's beautiful there you know as well the more people I talk to on the podcast about what makes us happy and live a long time so many people are coming back with Community Connection friendship and I've been reflecting on this lately because I went turned 40 uh last month and you know it's one of

Making friends through gravel

Those Milestone birthdays yeah and at 40 something weird kind of happened where you have a group of friends that you were friends as a kid and you're still friends with them but you've all kind of gone off and people are raising families they're in relationships but everyone has different interests and really so your new friend group if you're in any way busy becomes not really your old friends but people who you share an interest with and when you're 40 years old it's very difficult to make new friends like you can't go up to somebody in a coffee shop if I see you in a coffee shop and I'm like hey what's going on you want to be my friend you're like well this is weird like but at a bike race it's so different it erods these barriers and all of a sudden you can go to a race like this meet another dude your age and you're like hold on I've just made like it's like the scene out of one the will Ferell movies step brother he like hey did we just become best friends like it's so amazing yeah it really is and that's like that's what I love about the the the gravel racing more so than like at least from what I experienced on the road you know like when I used to go to the road races like here we had uh a series called the Spring series back in the day and it's still around now not really kind of the same as it was then and it was a big block of racing throughout the spring and you know guys would just kind of go say hey keep to themselves more so race hard then drive home right and it's rootless yeah and I gravel events it's like now it's like I go to these big events around the US and you know you see all your friends and you get to hang out afterwards and you feel like you've actually spent time with them as opposed to like you've just raced with them right like you feel like you've actually experienced and spent time and hung out and you know like as you were saying it's like I've got a very good friend and I think we've spent we've gone for dinner once and all of our time together has spent on the bike but we're super close and it's but we've never really spent any time off the bike but we feel you know like we are really good friends and it just goes to show like yeah that Community is I think for myself it's it's really what's kind of kept me wanting to get better and wanting to go to these events and wanting to experience more is because of the people you know you get such great people such amazing athletes professional nonprofessional and you're all there just to have a good time and you know perform well not perform well everybody goes for a beer afterwards and yeah it's the community you struggle with did you struggle with uh for a want of a better expression coming out like letting the cycling Community know about your past speaking about your troubles with addiction yeah I kept it hidden for a long time um I didn't really want anybody to know um I just wanted to be another bike racer right like at least here on the road um I didn't I think it's not that the the scene here was pretentious I think I kind of viewed it as clicky and I was like so you know like I was in and out of teams and I was on some good teams but when I first got into it I rode solo all the time so you know I'd go into the races just dressed in black go race go home and just wanted to be a bike racer just wanted to try to be as good as everyone else and you know have fun what did you find intimidating about coming out to your peers was it uh the cycl traditionally aspall has quite a affluent socioeconomic class it's middle class to upper middle class and you know some of the professions and stuff was the fact that you were coming with a totally different life experience and just didn't feel like they'd understand those problems yeah I think and especially in North America I think that uh you know like I think it's different when I've witnessed that in Colombia but in North America it definitely cycling to be you know a professional cyclist you a lot of them do come from a affluent families or have kind of a benefactor that helps them so what what's the intimidating aspect of letting your peers know that you do have this history is it them coming from a very different socioeconomic class than you are and just not identifying with those that life Journey that you've had or is it

Stigma, shame, and speaking out

Something different yeah I think like um it is definitely for number one I think it's the stigma that you know addiction has um you know like there's always been mental health and addiction kind of has a stigma surrounding it um you know and yeah so I always kind of felt intimidated just because a lot of these people did come from affluent families and you know cycling in North America to be a professional cyclist you either have to have a benefact or come from a fairly wealthy family um and yeah it just kind of felt like I was um in intimidated a little bit by that lifestyle versus my lifestyle and maybe just there's that kind of inherent shame that comes with addiction and that is mine not anyone else's so you know everyone I've ever told and been open with has been 100% supportive and great I've never had any negative feedback so the fear is always kind of been within myself more than anyone else so it was intimidating just um like you said through different class and you know just there's so much stigma that surrounds addiction nowadays which is something that I'm hopefully trying to kind of De helps destigmatize so people can be more open and get the help do you still feel it or have you moved past it or do you care what people think yeah I think that's the main thing I think now I don't I think all I kind of want to do is try to help right I I want my story to maybe potentially help at least one or two people and if that that's more rewarding to me than whatever anyone may think like I really don't care like if someone wants to judge me for my past and for you know what I've gone through in my life then that's on them I'm being open about my past so I can potentially help someone else and the way that addiction is Taking Lives now at the rate that it's people are dying it's me trying to save a life more so than you know just trying to help someone with my experience and I think we're always so worked up about other people's perception of us but in my experience and this is something that's evolved as I've aged and maybe it's this post 40 wisdom people are so caught up in their own they they just don't care about our backstory yeah yeah I think that was the big thing too was just like I had to say to myself I'm like Owen no one's really going to give a like you know you are who you are now like don't worry so much about it and that's kind of what motivated me a little bit more was just like I know my mentality it's like for the people that make the choices that they make I don't discriminate or I don't you know it's that's their choices I am not in any position whatsoever to judge them on any anything so if 99% of the people have the same mentality I do they're not going to care and I think we're getting better as a society as well at instead of seeing people and stepping over them on the street if you see someone on a sidewalk and looking at them as bad people realizing that the the veil between me and them is quite narrow one or two life choices and Faith could have me on that sidewalk with someone else stepping over so you start to view them not as bad people but are sick people people that have had unfortunate circumstances and they're going through a transient experience which hopefully they come out the far side of that's happening slowly not as fast as I would like and I'm sure as hell not as fast as I'd say you would like but I do feel it is changing a little bit yeah it is changing a lot because I think that the um awareness around addiction is getting a little bit better realizing that it is you know a lot of people do call it a disease right um that it is an illness just like mental illness or you know a lot of things that some people can't control um so you know realizing that they're just people who are hurting really bad they're just hurting they've been through trauma and they've been through a certain situation whatever it may be and like you said just it can take them like that and so to be able to be in a situation where you can say hey I can help this person or hey that can happen to anyone and they're just is sick they just need help you know or you know it's it's like you said it's a very thin line right and why it's so important and why the work that you're doing it's so Noble addiction doesn't just affect one person know

Addiction's ripple effect

My godfather passed away with addiction at you know the age of 51 52 far too young but it wasn't just him that was affected it was our whole family was affected my mom is still devastated to this day about it you know I lost my godf every people lost neighbors co-workers it affects such a huge circle of people yeah and that's the sad thing is like um people that are in addiction they think okay well I'm not I'm only hurting myself right like this is only hurting me like I'm the one that's hurting and I think that that's you know something that is completely you know Unfortunately they don't see how bad badly they're hurting their friends and family as well you know the friends and family are constantly worrying because they could get a call any moment saying oh so and so has passed away um od's are rampant you know so you know someone picks up the wrong wrong thing one day and boom they're gone so you know like for me it was like oh well most people don't care right and it was kind of the self-loathing in a way where I didn't really see how badly it actually affected my friends and family until I started to really try to make efforts to get clean and um yeah like it affects so many people around you and especially unfortunately when people do end up passing away it's I know I'm sorry to hear about your godfather like it's it happens way too often and yeah it affects and I've seen it happen where someone ODS and then um another family or friend will will actually pick up addiction because they're hurting so bad and it just creates another cycle you've been to a dark place which I hope I never have to go to and I'm not positioned to give this advice so what advice would you give to somebody who's listening to this podcast and they're currently struggling with addiction how do they find their own cycling you know it might be cycling for them it could be something else but how do they find their own version of a passion or an outlet to help them with that recovery um I would say just don't isolate yourself um I think the further people in addiction distance themselves from other people that's kind of like fuel to the Flames for addiction you know the more some um an addict isolates and the more that they disconnect with friends or family or any Community it just makes that addiction way worse so I would say don't isolate right like try to get Social and be with other people and I know it's hard but uh yeah I think the number one thing is don't isolate and don't and just take as many opportunities and options as you can to attempt to get clean like for me the traditional ways of getting clean through treatment AA na those didn't really work for me right so that's where cycling worked perfectly and I think that cycling does have value and endurance sports do have value value to help someone recover but the number one thing I think is just don't isolate I think the farther people disconnect themselves from society and from community and family and friends it's just going to make that addiction worse on I think your messages are really important one I think this has been a brilliant open conversation which I hope is widely shared with by listeners who have friends or family members who are suffering from addiction Before I Let You Go if somebody is looking to follow your journey or they're looking to reach out to you to share a story or look for advice is there a place they can connect with you yeah um you know I try to reply to every single direct message on Instagram um you know there is that film uh the pedal to Freedom documentary that we did um you know throughout 2024 I'm going to try to do more in the um addiction and Recovery space as well as you know racing like I have a pretty hopefully a thick race schedule I've got some sponsors on board that's going to try to help with that and um so yeah you can just hit me up through Instagram and you know I'm happy to help and I've been really really gracious to actually get a ton of messages already of people who have similar experiences or have family or friends and I'm open to try to help as any way as I can and use my experience your Instagram is just own veran Owen veran uh so it's Owen veran 78 so it's at and ver 78 at on Instagram yeah oh thank you very much for your time I've really enjoyed the conversation and I hopeful it's G to help some people I hope so too okay thanks so much Anthony appreciate it

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

How did Owen Vermeulen go from drug addiction to becoming a professional cyclist?+

Owen Vermeulen left home at 15 and spent his teens using heroin, later relapsing on opiates after a skateboarding injury ended his professional skating career. He found cycling during recovery, and the structure and purpose it provided became central to staying clean. The transition took roughly five years of repeated attempts before he achieved sustained sobriety and went on to compete at elite level in gravel racing.

How long does it take to recover from heroin addiction?+

There is no single timeline, and Owen Vermeulen's experience reflects this: sustained recovery took him approximately five years and included multiple relapses along the way. Relapse is widely regarded as part of the recovery arc rather than evidence of failure. The process is rarely linear, and repeated attempts before achieving long-term sobriety are common.

Can exercise and sport help with drug addiction recovery?+

Sport can play a significant role in recovery by providing structure, purpose, and a healthy outlet for the neurological drive that fuels addictive behaviour. Owen Vermeulen credits cycling as a pivotal factor in his recovery, as it gave him a focus that extended his sense of the future beyond the next day. Endurance sport in particular suits many people in recovery because the discipline and goal-setting mirror the commitment required to stay clean.

Why is drug addiction so hard to quit even when you want to stop?+

Owen Vermeulen explains that addiction reshapes neural pathways through trauma and repeated use, making the pull towards substances a deeply ingrained biological response rather than a simple failure of willpower. Active addiction also collapses a person's horizon to a single immediate goal: avoiding withdrawal the next morning. That narrowed perspective makes long-term thinking extremely difficult, which is why external structure and support are critical to recovery.

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Key Takeaways

Addiction often stems from trauma and operates on different brain chemistry than recreational drug use; it's a neurological condition, not a moral failing

Isolation fuels addiction—staying connected to community, friends, and family is critical to recovery, even more important than traditional treatment methods for some people

The structured feedback loop of competitive cycling (progressing through categories) provided a healthy substitute for the dopamine-seeking behavior that drove Owen's addiction

Oxycontin and prescription opioids have created a new wave of addiction among pro athletes and affluent people who didn't fit the 'typical addict' stereotype, yet face the same life-destroying consequences

Gravel racing's community-focused culture differs from road cycling's hierarchical team structure, making it more accessible and emotionally rewarding for people in recovery

Shame and fear of judgment often prevent people from sharing their addiction history, but most people are far more supportive than addicts expect—the barrier is usually internal, not external

Expert Quotes

"The only vision for the future that comes in addiction is the fear of getting sick without it. You're constantly battling to avoid that dope sickness. The farthest I would ever look into the future was the next morning if I didn't have my drugs and I'd be really sick."

"Addiction doesn't discriminate right—it can take anyone at any time and that's the scary part."

"The veil between me and them is quite narrow—one or two life choices and fate could have me on that sidewalk with someone else stepping over. You start to view them not as bad people but as sick people, people that have had unfortunate circumstances."

KEY QUOTES

“the only vision for the future that comes in addiction is the fear of getting sick without it. So you're constantly battling to avoid that dope sickness we call it. So there's no it's truly a day-to-day grind, hour to hour grind and the only time I could look into the future was oh no I'm going to be sick in tomorrow morning if I don't have this.”
Owen Vermeulen — Former heroin addict turned professional cyclist

“it took me about five years of trying really hard to finally get clean and yeah like you you get to the point like for me it was I was at the point where I was either going to be dead you know or years in prison or you know get clean and get clean was for a lot of addicts that's kind of the lower tier one that seems the least realistic unfortunately even though it's the highest in the Hope.”
Owen Vermeulen — Former heroin addict turned professional cyclist

“I saw plenty of that in treatment where you know pro athletes would you know have one injury and it just took them down such a dark path. And that's the thing about addiction is it doesn't discriminate right like it can take anyone at any time and that's the scary part.”
Owen Vermeulen — Former heroin addict turned professional cyclist

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

How did Owen Vermeulen go from drug addiction to becoming a professional cyclist?+

How long does it take to recover from heroin addiction?+

Can exercise and sport help with drug addiction recovery?+

Why is drug addiction so hard to quit even when you want to stop?+

FROM DRUG ADDICT TO PRO CYCLIST (TRANSFORM YOUR LIFE) | OWEN VERMEULEN

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FROM DRUG ADDICT TO PRO CYCLIST (TRANSFORM YOUR LIFE) | OWEN VERMEULEN

Key Takeaways

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