INERTIA IS NOT KOSHER –
April 2, 2022 – It was at his little brother’s funeral in Georgia that 39 year-old Tripp Freeman had a sobering realization. If he were to die that day, the only constant in his life would have been drugs. He wanted that to change.
“I saw the way my brother was talked about at his funeral and it made me change my whole thinking,” said Freeman, who had spent 12 years in prison before becoming a personal trainer. “That’s how I want to be remembered and have a positive legacy.” Freeman became addicted to cocaine and meth while living on the streets of Atlanta and Denver in his early 20s. He found validations and a sense of community among his fellow drug-users. But his addiction ultimately led to a 12-year prison sentence. While incarcerated, he rediscovered his love for exercise.
“It saved my life and helped me keep a daily regimen with structure,” Freeman said. “The joy that I get from exercise balances the sadness from facing my demons.”
He now helps others do the same as a personal trainer at ParadigmONE, a nonprofit organization in Aurora, which provides recovery coaching, sober gatherings, and boxing and exercise classes.
As a coach, he’s careful not to push his clients too hard at the beginning.
“Our natural instinct is to drive people, but we have to be really careful making sure not to do that with our recovery patients, because we have to give them that opportunity to grow,” Freeman said. “Meet them where they are.”
