The ages between 13-16 were a tough time in my life. I was hanging out with a bad crowd… I smoked enough weed to put Snoop Dogg to shame, I drank like a fish and saw the entire rainbow of criminal activity. I’d constantly fight with my parents... To me, they were crazy for not letting me “live my life”. Thankfully, they fought back hard, and (metaphorically) slapped some sense into me. When I was 16, they sent me to a therapist that was part of an Irish organization that gave free therapy to kids with drug addictions. I was a stoner and these guys were used to dealing with fifteen year old's who were on heroin… Not to brag, but I must have been a breath of fresh air for them. Each week I peed in a cup and talked to my therapist Shane about my feelings. Unsurprisingly, at the time, my feelings were overwhelmingly negative. I didn’t see any purpose to life, I didn’t see much reason to do anything. My philosophy was “fuck it, nothing matters”. A couple of weeks into my escapades with Shane, he started to ask me about my future, what I wanted out my life. I had no clue what I wanted… I don’t even remember how I responded. But I do remember what he said to me next. “Louis, is it crazy to think that if you found something to care about, you’d be able to enjoy your life a little bit more?” Boom… That sentence hit me like a fucking train. I don’t know if it was the sobriety, the plastic chair I was sat on or if God had just fondled me. But I had a serious moment of realization. Then and there, in that office, rowing became the most important thing in the world to me. Overnight, I pulled myself from that dark abyss and cut off all of my “friends”. I stopped smoking, I quit the drink and I started eating more protein. Within 2 years I was training for the Irish team and racing overseas. You could say I got my shit together. What changed? How did I go from being a complete degenerate to an international athletic rockstar? (maybe an over exaggeration)