Danny Trejo’s family has just hit an important milestone, based on a tweet that saw him congratulate his son Gilbert Trejo for staying sober for eight years.
Even if you don’t know his name, you’ve likely seen Trejo playing rough and tumble characters in a whole host of movies and TV shows over the years, as he’s amassed over 400 acting credits by now. But while he has a reputation as a sweetheart among his co-stars and one incident has even seen him save a baby’s life , none of that would have been possible if he hadn’t turned his life around.
And those steps he took still remain a cause for celebration over 50 years later , but now it seems he’s not the only one in his family with a similar achievement under his belt.
That has inspired him to come forward with a hopeful message for parents who now struggle with one of the biggest challenges they can go through.
After narrowly avoiding the death penalty in 1969, Danny Trejo walked out of San Quentin State Prison with a new purpose in life.
As he told The Guardian , he joined Alcoholics Anonymous and Narcotics Anonymous, but he was particularly inspired by a program his sponsor introduced him to called Recover, Independence and Freedom.
This program specializes in work with teen drug addicts and Trejo has made helping youths stay off drugs an important part of his life ever since.
As he put it, “Even now, kids come up and say: ‘Trejo, what’s up? You helped me years ago.’ So that’s been a blessing.”
But while Trejo has remained sober for an impressive 53 years, it seemed that the addictions that once dogged him also ran in his family.
According to Fox 11, both his son Gilbert and his daughter Danielle would end up undergoing their own personal journeys with addiction.
Although little is known about either of their past struggles, the outlet added that Danielle sought treatment at CRI-Help, a Los Angeles drug and alcohol center that has recognized Trejo for his work as a drug counsellor.
But fortunately, it seems that both of them have since managed to remain sober for several years.
Indeed, a July 17 tweet officially marked the day as the eighth-year anniversary of Gilbert’s sobriety journey, which the father-son duo commemorated with this wholesome photo.
In Trejo’s words, “My son Gilbert Trejo has 8 years clean and sober today! I love you so much, and am so proud of the man you’ve become.”
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Although this is certainly a personal celebration for the Trejo family, the actor also intended it as a message of hope for any parents going through the challenges they’ve overcome.
As Trejo continued, “Any parents out there with children struggling with addiction, I didn’t think my son was going to make it and today he’s my best friend! There is hope!”
Congratulations and we can only hope for far more happy years to come!