At times, listening to the path that Vic Vela has taken can be numbing.
Yet, when he speaks about his journey, brutal honesty has to be there.
"My path to recovery consists of me telling the truth," he says. "That's what connects with people."
Vela is the host of the podcast "Back From Broken," produced by Colorado Public Radio. The podcast is about recovery, and Vela says everyone knows someone who struggles with addiction or mental health problems or a physical ailment that has dramatically changed his or her life.
This show is a place to regularly showcase courage and what it takes to come back, he says. The journey for Vela to get to "Back From Broken" has been full of the highest of highs and some rock-bottom lows.
"Six years ago, I was hiding behind dumpsters smoking crack," Vela says. "Now, I'm sober and I'm helping people. It's very strange hearing from people that I helped. I'm not too far removed from remembering the places I've been."
"Back From Broken's" first three episodes have featured Vela hosting with guests such as musician Anders Osborne, Major League Baseball's David Mellor and Women's National Basketball Association alumna Chamique Holdsclaw. The first season will consist of 10 episodes.
"I knew that we could get something interesting out of these interviews," Vela says. "It helps to have empathy in having these conversations. I think once they realize that I've been through the same thing, they open up. That makes for a better conversation and the journey in finding out how to recover. It's a process."
Vela has long been a storyteller.
During his tenure at Albuquerque Journal North in Santa Fe from 2007 to 2012, Vela covered crime in northern New Mexico.
"It's a heavy subject, and I wasn't doing well," he says. "That was at a time, I was still drinking and using drugs and not dealing with the behavioral issues. I was the poster boy for a functioning addict."
After moving back to Colorado, Vela hit rock bottom. As he began recovery, the seed was planted for what has become "Back From Broken" about a year ago.
-- Adrian Gomez
The Albuquerque Journal
NAN What's Up on 04/17/2020