{"product_id":"brandon-30-heroin-addict","title":"Brandon, 30 - Heroin Addict","description":"\u003cp class=\"MsoNormal\"\u003e“I’m from this small town called Standerton. It’s a bit of a dump. My childhood there was happy though. My father was a salesman. He had a good job, but he liked to drink. He crashed his car and he lost his job. We had to move to Witbank. My father got a job with Coca Cola. He was a well-respected man, and I was proud to be his son. Financial struggles came and went, but never to the point of desperation. We were happy as a family.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNormal\"\u003eI went to a technical high school. I have always dreamed of becoming the world’s best diesel mechanic, but that plan went to shit when I made a series of really bad choices. Fucking stupid choices man. At around 16 or 17, I began experimenting with heroin and crack cocaine. I had fokol understanding of withdrawals or the psychological traps of addiction. It wasn’t long until I was completely dependent on this shit.”\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNormal\"\u003eI had a stint at a rehab centre in Pretoria. It gave me hope, but I immediately relapsed — this time I started injecting heroin. My life started unravelling. My father kicked me out of the house. He hoped it would scare me into quitting, but instead, I became streetwise. By the time I was 22, I was living on the streets of Witbank, hustling to make cash to buy my next fix. I came to Johannesburg just over a year and a half ago to go to a rehab centre. I really wanted to turn things around, but I can’t live without heroin in my veins. I must have it. No matter what. This is why you will see me begging at the robots every day. This life on the street is not primarily about unemployment or poverty; it’s about addiction. It’s fucking dark and brutal, man.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNormal\"\u003eI can earn up to R500 a day — enough to cover food, cigarettes, drinks, and my daily fix. If someone gives me a R100, then I will normally call it quits for the day. I mean, I can get three baggies of dope at R30 a bag, so why the fuck would I still hang around? I live here next to this road, in my ‘bush hut.’ I made it from advertising signboards. It’s safe here. I mean, compared to my time on the streets in Witbank — there people would steal your blanket and pillow. They’d rob you, often.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNormal\"\u003eI long to prosper, man. Just like anyone, I want to build a better life and be a good mature citizen of society, but I just can’t. I’ve lost count of how many times I’ve been to rehab. I’ve had moments of progress. I even owned a car at one point, but everything always fucking falls apart because of me and my addiction. Every day is a struggle between survival and self-destruction.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNormal\"\u003eThe truth is, my bru, heroin steals your life. I need money every day, and I need it in hard cash. Getting high doesn’t mean euphoria anymore. These days, it’s just to function. I have built up a tolerance for these drugs and when the drugs run out, the withdrawals are horrific. It’s vomiting, no sleeping, seizures. I can’t eat or smoke. You just want to fucking die, man.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNormal\"\u003eThe happiest time of my life is when I came out of a rehab stint and went back home to live with my mom. It was so great until I relapsed. I fucked up man. The pain I caused my mom is something that will always haunt me. She now drinks and is moer depressed, but she still sends me R100 a month and I call her once a month.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNormal\"\u003eDoing these drugs is a spiritual journey, but not in a good way. It’s terrifying. Addiction has pushed me into strange, seriously fucked up places, man. Every time I use, I think that this high will be the last, that this time, I can quit and rebuild. But the next day the withdrawal comes back like a motherfucker. You feel like crawling out of your skin. You shout and scream, and panic. It’s that fear that drags you back in man. I’m alone out here man. It’s me against the world, just trying to survive.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNormal\"\u003eMy life is fucked, but I hold onto the hope that maybe my pain can have meaning — you know, if I can’t save myself, I might still be able to save someone else. People in my situation might hear my story and change their path.”\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Warren Grace Photography","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":51108777558312,"sku":null,"price":0.0,"currency_code":"ZAR","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0890\/5605\/1496\/files\/Brandon_6118ec3b-60c6-4c0f-a162-b92728760bfe.jpg?v=1764233738","url":"https:\/\/warrengracephotography.com\/products\/brandon-30-heroin-addict","provider":"Warren Grace Photography","version":"1.0","type":"link"}