Pete Kuc was living a life that looked like the movies. A young real estate hotshot in northeast Florida, he was making a fortune, flying on private jets to the Bahamas, entertaining high-end clients on the waterfront, and running on Adderall and alcohol to keep the whole machine going. He describes it as his own Wolf of Wall Street era — money, parties, and the feeling that as long as he was performing, nothing else mattered.

Underneath it was a man who had built his entire sense of worth on being the athlete, then the businessman, then the provider — and had no idea who he was without the win. When the market crashed, it all came apart. A $150 million company gone in a year. Real estate leveraged to the hilt, upside down. He went from living like a billionaire to $7 in his pocket in eighteen months. In the middle of the collapse came a one-night stand, a hidden child he tried to keep secret for years, and three kids across a chaotic stretch of his life.

He kept trying to fix it himself — Tony Robbins seminars, masterminds, personal development, charts and triathlon training and sheer discipline — always convinced he could pull it out without surrendering. He never could. There were DUIs he talked his way out of, one he didn't, a marijuana company he built and lost, and a moment standing at the edge of the ocean, financially buried and drowning in shame, seriously thinking about swimming out and not coming back.

He finally got sober at 44. Now 7 years in, Pete is married, raising five kids including a two-year-old son, and has built a life grounded in family, faith, and the recovery he spent decades running from.

If you or someone you love is struggling with addiction or mental health, you don’t have to do it alone. Reach out to my partners at Compassion Behavioral Health. They offer individualized care and a full continuum of treatment. Call or Text: 844-443-5669 Visit: https://compassionbehavioralhealth.com/rise-above/

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