I've been there, every word he says just resonates in my past... I've been homeless, I've lost ALL my friends from stealing from them for my heroin addiction... it's so sad...
Thank you for posting this. I have an addiction problem as well and just finished a 90 day program at a recovery house. Listening to this helps me keep my mind focused
I had a 2-3 bundle heroin addiction for about 5 years, In August-September 1st 2013 I checked myself into rehab. Gives me over 2 years of clean time. It's a tough road, and don't think I don't have urges still because I absolutely do, but you take it one day at a time and each day clean is a blessing that's for god damn sure!
I can relate to being a junkie cause I am one. I've been using H since I'm 17 And I beg anyone who is thinking about trying it. Please Don't do it. life is short. Don't do it.
+chris contey Same boat here. Dont fucking do it people. You can sit there and say "Heroin? What do you think I am stupid?" One day you may find yourself in a position to try it, and if you do, you will say to yourself "Hey this aint that bad, and the high is awesome" after that your fucked.
+Iamtheantichrist Never mind heroin, it's prescription pills that gets most kids hooked. Painkillers like hydrocodone and oxycodone are just as addictive as heroin. People need to be warned away from ALL of that crap.
Josh Zook yeah man, how do you think H addicts get started? Lol almost nobody just starts off with black. They do pills for a while, until they run out or can’t afford em. Then someone mentions heroin, you say to yourself “meh I’ll just get a little, like 10$ worth. Just to feel a little better until I can find pills”. And then that 10sack ends up lasting you all day on to the next and bam, you’re done that’s it. Why wouldn’t you, you could spend 100$ on pills or 20 on H and the shit is the same exact god damn thing. Ask any addict. 99% will tell you they started with percs and oxys
Brandon sounds hopeful and like he's really absorbing the lessons of NA and the 12 Steps...i just get fearful that he's on that "pink cloud" of early sobriety. When you get back to life, things get a bit more real. How is he going to make a living? He really needs to separate himself from the "Novak" persona and that lifestyle...and most of the people he knows still have one foot in that door. He will literally have to reinvent himself. I'm genuinely hopeful for Brandon, I can sense the eagerness in his voice to really get this right...because I know what it is to be sick and tired of being sick and tired. And some of the 12 Step/NA stuff might sound cliche, but it's all so true and the lifeblood of anyone in recovery. Good luck Brandon and thanks for keeping us updated Frantz. There's a lot of us out here rooting for Brandon and his message could definitely help another addict on the edge.
I think this is the first time I've ever heard Brandons real voice, not the slurry, drugged out nudie. Hope you keep it up Novak, you sound well. Coming from one of your biggest doubters.
Good to see Novak is getting and staying for longer than a month, I've followed his story since 04 with Jackass and radio bam on sirus radio. Happy he is doing good. man stay stong novak!
No, he was never addicted to LSD or weed, when he was going through addiction, he never even touched acid and barely smoked. LSD has little to no dependence qualities because everytime you do LSD you need around twice the same amount to do it again within the week you did it. Thus, if you did LSD as much as a needle junkie would do heroin, you would get no effects whatsoever. There is no withdrawal and its not psychologically addicting because it isn't at all a drug to take if you want to feel good. Its a drug you take for either spiritual enlightenment or to just trip balls
That is some powerful stuff everyone deserves help no matter how many times it takes! get well Brandon you have more to do in this life- Mr. Joe Frantz you are a great friend we should all be so lucky.
Novak sounds like he's actually taking a SERIOUS look within himself, realizing that he MUST change, or he WILL DIE! Breaking through that denial is part of the key to getting & staying sober. I'm not hearing much,(if any BS), he does sound sincere right now. As long as he keeps that positive attitude, takes it 1 day at a time, & stays aware of the things he can & can NOT control, he just might make it! I'm praying & pulling for him! He has a GREAT recovery story, IF he can keep it together! Tell him NOT to get OVER confident & to remain humble DAILY! Hope he continues to do what's working for him! Thanks for sharing Joe! :)
I was skeptical when I heard he was in rehab again, but wow! I have never heard him sound so clear and well spoken! The last time I saw him, and granted this was some time ago, he was shitting (yes, shitting) on a sidewalk in Dallas and ultimately got arrested. This is a far cry from that, Brandon! Congratulations on your sobriety and welcome to the rest of your life!
As a current heroin addict and fan of Novak, this video was actually really kind of inspiring to hear and nice to hear that side of Novak. First time I think he might actually stay clean, hope he does to! Cheers
Stay strong Novak, Your doing great man and we are all proud of how far you have come. you can completely beat this buddy stay positive and keep fighting.
Wow!!! So very proud of you, Brandon! Life is so worth it.... Love you, (like a younger brother!) Thank you, for making this video, Joe and for loving Brandon through it ALL!!!
way to go Brandon sounds like your climbing the latter we al struggle getting knocked down getting back up and down and up I was addict for my teenage years I spent three years locked up in high school in and out I found grace and hope in rehabilitation I learned the desire for sanity and peace what I got from rehab I have had for eighteen years I have fallen three times pissed off at the world up and down again and again salvation is so sweet so so sweet I pray and pray always ready for the next battle the people I used to hurt are now some of my greatest support much love everyone from a skater from the west
This is the end of the beginning. I give him my prayers that he has the strength to turn from Novak to Brandon and live up to his word. So proud of him. You should be proud of yourself joe you've been one of the most loyal friends he could have x
I hope im wrong, but after he explained he would have to be totaly sober to not relapse im sceptical, i feel he will be okay for a while then like he said, have that one drink out of boredom or feeling that he can now as hes over it or whatever the case may be and fall back to old ways, he sounds good here, but hes an expert liar, we have all seen the videos, read the book and heard from his closest friends how he can be. Again, i hope im wrong i truely do, i just fear im not
It's healthy while in recovery to admit to thinking about relapsing. Probably for the rest of our lives we'll be suffering. I think it just gets a little easier the more clean time we have. But the people who say they never think about getting fucked up are USUALLY the ones who relapse FIRST. It's actually just a fact of recovery. The ones you hear saying,"I got this", are the ones closest to relapse. The ones who OPENLY admit to wanting to use or being afraid they're going to use are the ones who are working their recovery. Talking about those fears often help you get past them at least for the minute, hour, day, etc.!
did novak ever try methadone? I did methadone for 10 years and got off...it wasnt the cure but it gave me enough time off to grow up and see what regular life was.
Bozhidar Yordanov Once an addict, always an addict. I'm nearly 3 years clean of my drug of choice. Do you think that if I chose to do it again today, it could just be a casual thing? If you knew my history, the answer would be "no".
Hayley Belding, addiction is self-soothing mechanism, escape from pain. It's an adaptation, not a disease. It's the solution, but it's maladaptive. It's just a symptom. Recover what's been lost to you and face your own pain. Then the addictive patterns will lose their powers. Having them still doesn't mean you're always an addict. That's a wrong statement. Addiction does not define you.
You really are an idiot. Have you never had a true addiction? Go form a heroin habit and tell me it's not a disease. You literally change your brain chemistry. You develop a physical need. It's an awful thing. Something that haunts you. It becomes a psychological torture. You don't know what it's like till you've experienced it.
Brandon, your a fucking rockstar dude, you can beat this demon you have, and you can shine a light upon the world with your personality and daredevilish once your healthy again
Novak. You can do this! Make this count! It's time for you to prove to bam and all your friends, loved ones, fans and most importantly yourself that you can kick this shit! Always been a fan and always will my heart goes out to you. Please stay strong. You have so much going for you in this life take advantage of it. Get back on that fuckin skateboard too! :)
"Boys do what they want to do, men do what they have to do". Good luck Novak. You sound like your headed in the right direction. We are all rooting for you.
Novak, I hope you actually mean it this time. From the way you're talking you do. I wish you the best of luck, buddy. Tell Bam I say hey, he'll be proud too ;) Stay strong brutha
I hope this time will be the time of change for you. Lost too many to this existence ....don't be another one, Brandon. Love to you always...coolduder's mom. I have really high hopes for you.
Hope stays sober after his treatment at rehab, it will prove not only to himself but to others he can be sober and actually live his life properly. Believe in yourself you can do this novak, we don't want to see on the net that you have gone back to drugs or even worse dead. Love you novak! Thank you joe for giving us an update on novak. Rock'n'Ral \m/
I've never considered my self an addict but listening to this kind of puts it in perspective. Understand, I love cocaine. I love everything about it. Breaking it down, dividing it into separate lines, and railing each one as the other wore off. Coke become temporarily unavailable in my little city not long ago and I found myself doing whatever was put in front of me. That includes railing lines of meth without a second thought. Recently I've had a job opportunity that requires me to clean up. No problem, I thought. The first day of sobriety I took an Adderall just to "ease the process" I have managed to abstain from hard drugs but alcohol has been slowly filling the void left by the speed. It's like if I sober up long enough to see that I'm fucking up, I won't stand the sight of myself.
Charity Channing I agree, but not with the god bit, I am an alcoholic myself I wound up that way due to PTSD, but how you get there doesn't matter. Once you're an addict, you're an addict. Anyway you do not necessarily need "God", I am an Atheist, I have been sober for 8 years, and sought proper psychiatric treatment(Yes I take meds, but none that get you high, and the first 2 weeks sucked, temp side effects were fraking horrible.), and plan to keep leveling up(Each year = a Level. . .RPG/MMORPG thing.) Anyway you are right about one thing, addicts *do need* something that they place above anything else. For me that is my family and my friends. Though if someone's friends played a role in their addiction, they should get some new ones. My friends never played any roll in my addiction, they are all nerds, like myself. . .Closest they came to getting drunk was playing a Dwarf character in D&D. . . I just had issues and sought help from the bottom of a bottle. Anyone reading this who has any sort of physiological issue/s, please do you, your family, and your friends a favor, and ask for help. . .No shame in admitting you need help, nor seeking it, and I promise it gets better. Anyway back on topic. My fear of disappointing my Family and Friends is so intense, I have learned to despise alcohol. I won't even be around others who are drinking. Hell if I am shopping, I won't even walk by alcohol section/aisle. Though, and I hope you continued reading after I said "I am an Atheist", if you believe in a God, or Gods, then that is likely what you need. I will never knock someone's faith. I just wanted to say that even if someone is an Atheist, or of another faith than the Christianity(Or it's "sister" Faiths Judaism and Islam. . .Though not too many of any of the three will like to admit that, and some don't know(not because they are stupid, they just aren't one of the other faiths.) , and they are an addict, there is hope. Anyway, I hope I have not offend you, or any other Christian, and I hope you continue to stay sober mate.
He cant be "well" now. Those days never were or never can be. When you get to that 'rock bottom" all you can do is stay there and pray. If you give it all to Jesus Christ and take it hour to hour, then day to day, week to week. The Demon is still there but you can look it in its face and fight it. Costs you everything! All those friends you have you got to dump them. all those old places you hung out got to go. It Costs you so MUCH to be sober and most wont or cant pay it. I did but i was one of the Lucky ones and i still am followed by the Demon. Today i wont use, tommarow is another day and ill fight that battle then . This guy has little hope except if he gives it all to God, !
He sounds good. He's soo intelligent. I know how it is to be a heroin addict. I was one too. I hope the best for Novak and hopefully his story will really touch the lives of other people not just addicts.
novak has never sounded like this, in terms of his mindset and even his voice. before his humility seemed forced, humblebragging shit like "i used to be a pro skater and then..." "all this shit happened to me and now i'm fine..." he's talking like he's really serious this time. hope it goes well for him. i'm saying this because i noticed the same difference in myself when i compare how i spoke in my failed recovery attempts to the final successful one.
When he talks he's trying to bullshit not only everyone around , but himself. When he shuts up will be his most honest moment. Joe seems like a extremely loyal friend . He might be his only saviour . Hope he makes out , few do . I'm pulling for him .
we live in a pretty brutal painful world. drugs are being forced past our boarders by the powers that be. he is a victim of a terrible society that needs to change.
Just get better Novak, I learned a lot from what you said here, "boys do what they want, men do what they have to do".. im still a boy in many ways, but fuck I can relate with so many things you said.. my entire life revolves around drugs and I have to schedule all my shit around it and for it, its sickening. joey diaz also said it best, the funnest part about dope is going out go get it, everything else is down hill especially when you run out when i run out of dope I find myself just twitching, like im twacked out, i just find myself biting my nails and my lips non stop for hours on end, unable to focus on anything.. feeling sick, it really aint a way 2 live
oh and frantz might be a bit of a tool sometimes but out of all of novak's crew he has the best approach to helping novak. i used to cringe when i saw how dunn would get all righteous and indignant while chastising novak. you could tell dunn was one of those people who act excessively offended by a friend's addiction because in reality it helps define their own lives as better by opposition. like those people who watch prison docs and start seething with rage, ironically saying how they'd like all the inmates killed, not even considering how many are in there for non-violent crimes. for someone who has no friends and works at mcdonalds, it makes sense to compare one's self to a prison inmate and act all morally impassioned. this is the absolute worst most bullshit way to approach someone in addiction, because they'll see through the act instantly
Joe can you PM me an address where i can write Novak at rehab? I am also a recovering addict. I feel like the more people you have supporting you the better. If you aren't comfortable with this I completely understand. Thank you
Novak needs to get on god damn suboxone.. that could save his life.. not only does it take away cravings but ya feel good too and can get your life back on track. he may need to be on it for years since he always goes back to doing dope. you dont get high on suboxone if you have been a true opiate addict and then start taking it.
+strocat25 that shit is some of the worst stuff you can do to yourself. I have several friends on it and i can see it still doesnt work for most. If you try and go off it cold turkey, you can die. BAD STUFF all around the only thing that will work is actually wanting to get off the stuff. choice is the only thing that can and will work
+strocat25 Ive been on and off methadone and suboxone for 7 years now, don't get me wrong they saved my life at one point without a doubt. However speaking from personal experience, if an addict wants to get high they will always find a way, ive used hundreds of times will on both of those programs, theres always ways around it. Im not bashing them i think they are amazing and don't know what i would have done without them, just saying theres two sides to eeverything. It really sucks but from what ive learned, its almost impossible for a user to get and stay clean unless they are doing it for themselves and thats what they want.. they have to get to the point where thats what they want, not what they know they should be doing. sorry for the rant cheers!
+Dwain Murray O.T.C. Bastien Bullshit! Suboxone is practically a miracle drug and FAR better than methadone. And coming off it cold turkey is NOT dangerous nor will lead to death; that's ignorant as hell. It's FAR less addictive than any other opioid and has saved many people's lives. You are spreading dumbfuck misinformation. Stop it! Suboxone will save addicts!
I was on suboxone for 7 years straight.. guess what... not once did I do any dope in the 7 years I was on it. It literally saved my life. I now have a job making 32,000$ a year. that never ever would have happened. before the most money I ever made was 8 dollars an hour. cold turkey suboxone withdrawls can not kill you.. you may feel like dying but you wont. peoples opinions are not facts ya'll remember that... hell my own opinion is not a fact. what works for some may not work for others too. no reason to act like the drug is satans sister. good day ya dope head fucks :D
hes been on suboxone subutex methadone. you can find video of him talking about and that not being clean you can tell your self that every day but your still taking a opiate
Joe franzt if u wanna know what being a junkie is like go be one . but don't profit from somebody's pain. I have seen so goddamn many Novak videos where he is saying the same exact thing right before a relapse. it's sad to see nothing actually being done about this, it's just being exploited. it's sad
Just come from a 2007 film about his addiction. 8 years at least. It won't happen. This will probably be the last time. He should know others would prefer he died, makes a better story. It's up to him to change the end of his story.
i think he repeats his story the same kinda way bc its obv resonating w ppl and helping them, so stick w what works, ya know? hes not gonna be like "okay well this however many ppl have heard my story told this particular way, so for their sake, so as not to bore them, ill find entirely new and interesting ways to tell it, screw all the ppl who havent heard it at all yet." lol thats actually super arrogant for ppl to bitch that hes being repetitive, as if its his responsibility to entertain and cater to each one of them
I don't know if this is it this time or not, I really hope it is but can his and Bams relationship be repaired. Novak has nothing without Bam and Im not saying that in a bad way but he dosent know how to survive financially without him, hes always had a meal ticket with Bam. Idk but I hope he figures it out, he has more work to do outside of rehab then he realizes, good luck Novak.
It is 5 months later. Is he still Clean? If i was a gambling man I would put money on him not being clean. I wish him success just guessing he failed. Any updates?
