Erick Bouaziz Recovering Addict Turned Entrepreneur

1. Erick Bouaziz Recovering Addict Turned Entrepreneur in Toronto

2. It is the result of a complete turnaround in Erick Bouaziz’slife. 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.

3. 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.

4. 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.

5. 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 didn’t 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.

6. 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.

7. Erick Bouaziz started dabbling in drugs at high school when he tried marijuana. It’s 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 wasn’t liberty that he had unlocked but he had become incarcerated in a cage of despair.

8. 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 didn’t see himself as an addict because he wasn’t 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 didn’t end up doing it because I ended up calling a dealer to do more drugs. An addict doesn’t kill himself on purpose.

9. “Ideally we just want to get out of reality. Life happens and life gets tough and people don’t 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 couldn’t face staying even one night.

10. 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.