The latest episode of our Free Podcast is now live! This episode centres on the inspirational Fraser Franks, a former professional footballer who started to struggle with alcohol after a medical diagnosis put a stop to his career overnight.
At the tender age of eight-years-old, Fraser was signed to play for his favourite club - Chelsea. He focused entirely on his dream of becoming a professional footballer - training instead of partying, and placing more importance on fitness than on alcohol. This meant he didn’t touch alcohol at all until he was almost 20 and, even then, drank only moderately and infrequently.
Fraser went on to have a very successful career in football, playing for Brentford, England, and Newport County, where he served as team captain. One fateful day, however, Fraser needed to remove himself from the playing field. Something, he said, “just didn’t feel right”.
Within two weeks, he was diagnosed with a serious heart condition, and told he had to immediately end his career. In the years that followed this diagnosis, Fraser found himself turning to alcohol.
“It was an escape for me. It was the one time I felt I could get away from this worry and this anxious feeling that I had and almost float into this other zone.”
The problem worsened, however, and it got to the point where Fraser knew he needed help.
“Taking empty bottles, sneaking them out of the house at 6am to put them in a public bin so your wife doesn’t see the empties... That’s when I started questioning myself.”
You can listen to the rest of our conversation with Fraser right here on the Free Pod. Let us know what you think of it.