Erick Bouaziz Recovering Addict Turned Entrepreneur

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Erick Bouaziz Recovering Addict Turned
Entrepreneur in Toronto
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• It is the result of a complete turnaround in
  Erick Bouazizs life. At the end of the 20th
  century when he was just 20, Erick Bouaziz
  dominated the Toronto nightlife scene as the head
  of an entertainment company. But success led to a
  drug-fuelled lifestyle that nearly destroyed him.

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• Now he has been sober for five years and
  continues to make it his mission to wage a
  vendetta against substance abuse. Erick Bouaziz
  believes that the best way of completing his
  recovery from drug addiction is to give back and
  help others who require the assistance on which
  he came to rely. 
• Erick Bouaziz entered this new phase of his life
  In 2014 when he opened The Academy, a treatment
  centre in the lush Etobicoke area of Toronto,
  near Kipling Avenue and Albion Road.

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• Erick Bouaziz launched The Academy to offer
  programs designed specifically for young people
  between the ages of 15 and 30 years old.
• Erick Bouaziz has been targeting this
  demographic because he remembers his own
  seemingly insurmountable struggles against drug
  abuse at that age and how he came to be on that
  painful path.

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• His recovery began aged 26 when his family and
  friends begged him to get clean. However it was
  not until Erick Bouaziz was 32 years old, and his
  business partner threatened to pull out of their
  enterprise if he didnt mend his ways and his
  health. It was enough to jolt him out of his
  dangerous way of life.
• Since opening The Academy Erick Bouaziz has
  focused his attention on the treatment of young
  people between the ages of 15 and 30.

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• He has said that every day he has struggled, but
  every day he has feel blessed for a life full of
  opportunities. Erick Bouaziz has come along way
  since walking into his first 12-step meeting at
  the start of his journey away from a life as a
  drug addict. 
• Erick Bouaziz still attends 12-step meetings. He
  goes about three or four times each week. He
  keeps his eyes open for newcomers who are
  struggling. He believes in giving back what
  others so freely gave to him.

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• Erick Bouaziz started dabbling in drugs at high
  school when he tried marijuana. Its the biggest
  drug in high school and he calls it the gateway
  drug. When he joined the music business he was
  introduced to clubs and an after-hours life. This
  is where he was introduced to ecstasy and he
  thought he had found freedom.
• Erick Bouaziz later recognized that it wasnt
  liberty that he had unlocked but he had become
  incarcerated in a cage of despair.

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• In the meantime, Erick Bouaziz justified his
  using because he was making money, had a house,
  drove a Mercedes-Benz and wore nice clothes. He
  didnt see himself as an addict because he wasnt
  a down and out under a bridge.
• When he was depressed he used drugs as an escape
  route.
• As he has said I wanted to kill myself and was
  too afraid to admit it. I didnt end up doing it
  because I ended up calling a dealer to do more
  drugs. An addict doesnt kill himself on purpose.
  

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• Ideally we just want to get out of reality.
  Life happens and life gets tough and people dont
  know how to deal with it, so we turn to things
  that make us feel better for instant
  gratification. Alcohol, drugs, women, sex, food,
  whatever.
• Eventually, when he realized that he had to
  stop, Erick Bouaziz walked into two treatment
  centres in Ontario. But he was frightened of
  being institutionalized and he couldnt face
  staying even one night.

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• To turn his life around Erick Bouaziz went back
  to school, aged 33, and earned a diploma in
  addictions counselling. When he left the first
  thing he did was co-found New Awakenings, a
  treatment centre in Port Perry. Then in 2014, he
  started The Academy.
• Erick Bouaziz now offers a compassionate,
  holistic approach to supporting people through
  long-term recovery. He and his colleagues use a
  diverse range of treatment methods and always aim
  to follow best practices.