I smashed up hotel rooms, lobbed TVs out of windows, regularly woke up covered in blood and blew six figures on drugs
AS a kid, I experienced homelessness, bouncing from place to place in my hometown of Macclesfield, never really knowing where I’d be sleeping next.
One night I’d be staying in a hostel, the next night on someone’s sofa. Stability didn’t exist for me.
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I didn’t get on with school and ended up dropping out early, not because I wasn’t clever enough, but life had already shown me that I had to figure things out on my own.
At 16, I had no GCSEs and no plan.
Looking back on it, that instability created some of my biggest strengths; it forced me to become resilient and created a hunger inside of me to succeed.
With no real direction, I threw myself into fitness. It was the only thing that made sense – it was something I could control when everything else was chaotic.
I trained obsessively but still craved a sense of structure that training alone didn’t provide. That’s when I joined the RAF.
I served in the II Squadron Royal Air Force Regiment for four years. In 2010, I deployed to Afghanistan, where I was part of an elite airborne unit responsible for force protection and frontline security.
The experience was intense – long patrols, high-stakes operations, and the constant pressure of being in a war zone.
The military gave me discipline, resilience, and a strong mindset, but then I left, and went back into a world without any structure or discipline, which was a real shock to the system.
That’s when my life took an unexpected turn. After leaving the military, I started working as a personal trainer.
But a year or so in, I had a lucky break and became a DJ, which was a bit of a fluke to be honest!
A mate introduced me to some decks at his after party and then I got some of my own. Before I knew it, I was getting booked for gigs.
One of the first big breaks came from playing at Egg in London after entering a competition, and things took off from there.
Being a DJ was a real buzz – the energy, the crowds, the late nights.
The feeling of being the one in control of the room, the music and the atmosphere, it was all electric.
But the nightlife came with something else: booze, drugs, and absolutely no structure.
I went on to play at some big name clubs across Europe, like Watergate in Berlin, Pacha in Barcelona, and Claire in Amsterdam.
In a blackout state, I picked up the hotel room TV and threw it out of the window. I trashed the place, it was pure chaos
Sean Willers
The buzz of performing in front of a crowd was incredible, but with it came the lifestyle – constant partying and a scene where drink and drugs became the norm.
One night when I was playing in Romania, I got so drunk that I was kicked off the decks mid-set in front of a packed crowd.
It was embarrassing, but instead of seeing it as a wake-up call, I just carried on.
Nights like that became normal – drinking to excess, using drugs, especially cocaine – to keep going. I completely normalised this life of excess.
‘One night blurred into the next’
During this chaotic time I was still training, still holding down a job and still “functioning”. But the truth was, I was slowly losing myself.
One night blurred into the next. The come-downs got worse. I’d wake up not knowing what I’d done the night before.
My bank account was empty, my body was unfit and overweight, and my relationships were disintegrating.
But I kept telling myself it was fine. I had it under control… Except I didn’t.
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I was repeatedly putting myself in reckless, humiliating and dangerous situations because of alcohol and cocaine.
After a gig in Sweden, I went straight into an after party that spiralled out of control.
I missed my flight, was off my head for hours, and reached a point where I completely lost it.
In a blackout state, I picked up the hotel room TV and threw it out of the window.
I trashed the place, breaking furniture, smashing glasses. It was pure chaos.
The next morning, I came to, in a wrecked room with zero memory of what had happened, just an overwhelming sense of shame and dread.
The hotel charged the promoter a fortune, and I was lucky not to get arrested.
‘I couldn’t control myself’
Another time, during a stag do in Madrid, after a heavy night of drinking and drug use, I thought it would be funny to set off a fire extinguisher in the hotel hallway.
The entire hotel went into emergency evacuation mode, alarms blaring, guests forced out onto the street in the middle of the night.
We all got kicked out immediately. What should have been a fun trip turned into absolute carnage, all because I couldn’t control myself.
And after an all-nighter fuelled by alcohol and coke, I got into a fight.
I barely remember what led up to it, but I woke up in a hospital bed with my nose smashed in and needing surgery.
But these are just the nights I can actually remember. The reality is, there were countless others filled with fights, arrests, money wasted, friendships lost, and bridges burned.
‘I knew something had to change – or I’d die’
The real turning point was in July 2021, after a gig in Nottingham.
I had promised myself I wasn’t going to drink that night. I had been trying to cut down, but I didn’t have the willpower.
I had one drink, and that was it. The next thing I remember, I woke up in hospital, covered in blood, with a black eye and a deep cut in my head. I had nearly overdosed on cocaine.
I had no idea how I got there, no memory of what happened. That was the lowest point.
Every run was a fight against my past. Every rep was about proving to myself that I was stronger than my worst moments
Sean Willers
When my family found out, they were devastated. They had seen me spiral for years, but this was different.
It wasn’t just another heavy night – it nearly killed me.
That was the moment I knew something had to change – it was that or I would die.
I had spent so long avoiding reality, running from myself, and numbing everything with drink and drugs. But I knew if I carried on, I wouldn’t get another chance.
I wish I could say that moment alone was enough to change me. But the truth is, even after that, I still went back to it.
Because addiction isn’t just about the substance, it’s about what’s underneath. And I hadn’t fixed that yet.
When I finally decided enough was enough aged 34, it wasn’t an easy road. There were no shortcuts.
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Turning point
I went back to what had saved me before: fitness. But this time, it wasn’t about looking good or hitting personal bests, it was about survival.
Every run was a fight against my past. Every rep was about proving to myself that I was stronger than my worst moments.
But fitness alone wasn’t enough. I had to rewire everything – my mindset, my habits, my identity.
I noticed other men facing the same challenges I had, appearing successful on the outside but falling apart on the inside, stuck in the same cycles I was of drink, drugs and chaos.
I desperately wanted to help them, which is why I started my company in August 2022, aged 35.
Willers Fitness is not another “get shredded in 12 weeks” programme, but more of a blueprint for transformation, physically, mentally, and emotionally.
My clients aren’t looking for a summer six-pack.
They’re looking for a way out and to regain control in their lives.
How to get help
ADDICTION is common in the UK.
It’s defined as not having control over doing, taking or using something to the point it could be harmful.
Addiction is usually associated with gambling, drugs, alcohol and smoking, but you can be addicted to just about anything – from work to the internet and shopping.
It’s estimated that 16.6 per cent of adults in England drink to hazardous levels, and 1.2 per cent are dependent on alcohol, according to the Mental Health Foundation.
For drugs, it’s though 3.1 per cent show signs of drug dependence, and men (4.3 per cent) are more likely to be addicted to illegal drugs than women (1.9 per cent).
Addiction is a treatable condition, and there are lots of ways to seek help.
You can speak to your GP for advice, or contact an organisation that specialises in addiction, such as:
One client of mine came to me after battling a coke problem for years. He was at rock bottom and felt like he had no control over his life.
His business was going down the pan and he had tried to quit drinking and drugs before, but nothing stuck.
We started by building structure, focusing on small, manageable changes. Training gave him discipline and a new purpose.
Over time, he became stronger, more confident, and started making better choices for himself.
After nine months, he was completely sober, fitter than ever, and had a completely new mindset.
For me, seeing that transformation is everything! I feel so incredibly proud to be a part of that journey for others.
I know what it’s like to feel lost and to feel like there is no way out; I lost more than 10 years of my life to drinking, drug use, and self-destruction.
What started as casual partying soon became a lifestyle, an addiction.
I lived for the weekend, for the next high, the next blackout. And before I knew it, I was in my 30s, completely lost, completely broken.
I look back and see a person who was completely lost. I know that if I hadn’t made a change, I wouldn’t be here today
Sean Willers
Everything I made from DJing went straight back into partying.
I was making good money, but I never had any of it left. I was living paycheck to paycheck, spending hundreds, sometimes thousands of pounds a week on alcohol, cocaine, hotels, flights, and reckless nights out.
My entire life revolved around earning money just so I could waste it.
I will have easily spent tens of thousands of pounds on drink and drugs. There were weeks where I was dropping over £500 to £1,000 just on alcohol and coke.
If you add that up over a decade, we’re talking six figures blown on nothing but self-destruction – money that could have built a future, invested in my business, changed my life for the better, but instead, it went straight up my nose or into the bottom of a pint glass.
These weren’t just “wild nights” either. They were dangerous and life-threatening.
‘My reality was chaos’
I look back and see a person who had no control, who was completely lost. And I know that if I hadn’t made a change, I wouldn’t be here today.
That’s why I’m sharing my story. Not to glorify it, but to show how deep you can fall, and how it is possible to come back.
Now, every day I get to help people take back control of their lives like I did, there’s nothing more rewarding than that.
For over a decade, my reality was chaos, addiction, and self-destruction.
But life today, as a 37-year-old man living with my wife in London, it is the complete opposite of what it used to be – it’s structured, disciplined, and fulfilling.
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