We are constantly amazed by the stories of courage, of conviction, of service, and of strength that our employees and our customers share with us. Their struggles to overcome adversity, or to lift up others and to steadily move forward is motivation for us to work harder, to do more, to humbly serve and to live our mission of Wholesome to the Core with a full and open heart.
And it’s this story that reminds us not of the potent reality of struggle, but the enduring power of redemption. It was an acquaintance that introduced us to Tyler, one of our customers from Milwaukee. Our friend knew about our new #RunWithRainier program and the motivational stories we would be sharing and she said, you need to talk to Tyler, “he’s a runner.”
What we find is lots of people’s stories start with, “I’m a runner…but it hasn’t always been that way.” It seems like running, or hiking, or biking or sports in general, becomes an antidote for something bigger. It’s a tool to fight a demon. And demons were exactly what Tyler was fighting.
Tyler started using drugs when he was 12 years old. By age 16 his daily routine included using until he blacked out. By age 17, he had tried heroin and everything changed. His Mom likens the change to a light switch, turning his life from light to dark in a matter of one day. The drugs and drinking escalated until Tyler dropped out of high school and at age 18 he could not go to work or even get through a shift without drinking; stooping so low as to hide alcohol in garbage cans at work. It was that kind of behavior that not only harmed Tyler physically, but emotionally.
“The only thing that grew faster than my addiction was my hatred for myself and what I was becoming.”
That hatred spiraled into a self-fulfilling prophecy and on February 14, 2009, Tyler injected himself with a lethal dose of heroin. Thankfully, he was found and was injected with the drug Narcon which reversed the effect of his opiate overdose, but Tyler wasn’t ready to be saved.
“I remember waking up and wishing I had not. I wanted to die.”
Despite his brush with death, Tyler did not find the strength or courage to quit drugs as the addiction and the angry voices in his head continued to fuel his need for drugs. It was three months later on May 2, 2009 that Tyler overdosed again in a parking lot in the backseat of a car.
“I shouldn’t be alive and I miraculously woke from this overdose and voices started rushing through my head, informing me of all that I had become. Homeless. Alcoholic. Junky. Liar. Thief. Loser. Drop out. No friends. No family that trusts me. Worthless.”
Despite all the negative things in his head, Tyler also said he heard another voice calling him for a greater purpose. He heard a voice tell him that he was more than all of those labels. Two days later he checked himself into Teen Challenge in Minnesota, he got clean and sober and he gave his life to Jesus Christ and he says his life changed.
Fast forward seven years and Tyler tells us, “I have an ‘all or nothing’ personality, so for good or bad, I commit to something and I go all in, that’s what happened with drugs. Today, running is my new addiction. I choose to run marathons because I refuse to only have survived my addiction. I must live a life that is thriving. I cannot settle for moving from drowning to treading water. I choose to live my life in the boat, handing out life preservers to those still struggling.”
Tyler found running as a healthy outlet for both his self-esteem and to quiet his mind. His first runs weren’t his favorite, he even said he ‘hated them’, but now he proclaims his love for running as he logs about 20-25 miles per week and has completed 5 half marathons, 5 full marathons, 2 triathlons and one 200 mile relay.
Today, Tyler works as a youth pastor at Bridge Church in Waukesha, WI and when he’s not out pounding the pavement he spends his time praying for missionaries around the world.
Tyler says, “I love my life and I LOVE to run! The way that I describe why I run is ‘legs move, mind sits.’ The opposite of this proves so true as well. When I am running, it seems that it is the only time that my mind actually rests. In the words of Haruki Marakami, I ‘find a void’ when running.’”
It’s individuals like Tyler that prove to us the undeniable power of the human spirit to overcome the greatest of adversity. We’re so glad that Tyler was willing to share his story and prove that we can all be #WholesomeToTheCore and to never let the negative voices overtake the good.
In the Wisconsin area and Milwaukee metro region our products can be found at Pick N’ Save and Meijer stores.
