PROJECT RECOVERY

Utah musician and veteran talks about spreading addiction awareness through song

Sep 4, 2020, 10:55 AM | Updated: Sep 7, 2020, 5:58 am

spreading addiction awareness...

Musician and veteran, Ryan Stream, joins the podcast to talk about growing up in a broken household, his experience with addiction, and how hes spreading awareness through his music.

Ryan Stream has spoken and performed in front of hundreds of people, spreading addiction awareness, but he’s never forgotten where he came from.

He joined the Project Recovery podcast to talk about his experience growing up homeless, struggling with substance abuse, and how serving in Afghanistan changed his life.

Growing up in a broken household

Ryan grew up in a broken household with his three brothers and parents who battled their own struggles with addiction. His parents would bounce in and out of jail due to their actions that stemmed from their addictive tendencies. As Ryan’s parents began to spend more time in jail, he and his brothers would eventually be taken away to stay in foster care.

But that challenges never stopped there. Ryan and his brothers would ultimately continue to struggle to find their footing in life. They began a vicious cycle of shifting in and out of homeless shelters, foster homes, and even living on the streets.

“I remember watching my mother in jail, yelling for her. To my dad being arrested multiple times and crying for my mom and dad in a foster home and asleep some nights in a homeless shelter,” he described.

He and his brothers eventually found a home with the Stream family. Despite Ryan’s shaky start in life, he began to excel in both school and athletics. He would become the school’s homecoming king with dreams of becoming a basketball player.

Moving forward in life

Ryan’s passion for basketball would only go so far though, due to his height limitations. So instead, he decided to join the military. Alongside his commitment to his country, he would also begin to work for the coal mining industry. After receiving a $20,000 sign-on bonus and making $25 an hour, he thought he had finally made it. Things were starting to look great for Ryan.

Since he was constantly working hard, he would party on the weekends to let loose. But in those times, his childhood traumas began to affect him. He started to mask his sadness and depression by abusing substances. Ryan didn’t quite know how to cope with the pain he was feeling so instead, he numbed it.

Growing up in a broken household full of addiction had finally taken its toll on Ryan.

“I wanted to escape my surroundings and I wanted to get high. I wanted to use the ecstasy and the cocaine, the speed, everything. Just to escape my reality,” he said.

So he began to party harder and for longer periods of time. And then it all started to catch up with him.

Ryan was beginning to succumb to the same thing that had overtaken his parents when he was a child.

Struggling to cope with his addiction

All of the fun weekend nights were starting to add up. His addictive behaviors began to show themselves and in the span of a couple of years, Ryan had become a full-blown addict.

“No one in the world wakes up and says, ‘I’m going to be an alcoholic or I’m going to be addicted to drugs’,” Ryan described. “It’s a path you start down.”

Ryan’s addiction ultimately cost him his job. After that, Ryan would become a completely different person.

“I lost my job at the coal mine because I wanted to go play and I didn’t have an apartment and the bank was looking for my car and I started to go to jail,” Ryan described. “I just started to use drugs because I wanted to numb my feelings.”

Ryan’s addiction was in full control and the positive person he once was, was no longer.

“I was a lowlife. It hurts to say that but I was a nobody,” Ryan explained. “When you have to have something to fix your addiction, that’s scary because you’ll do whatever it takes,”

Ryan hits rock bottom

He continued to be in the military but outside of that, Ryan was running and gunning.

“I would literally go out and party until 4 am and I would be back in my bunk trying to get sleep for an hour before we’d have to go out,” he described.

Alongside his addiction, Ryan began to get in trouble with the law. He was involved in a hit-and-run without insurance, assaulting a police officer, and racked up over $30,000 in court debt.

He had officially hit his rock bottom.

“I understood that if I kept doing this than I’m done,” Ryan said. “It just came to the point where I’m going to die or be like my mom and dad.”

While appearing in front of a judge for a charge against him, he pleaded and begged to let him be deployed to Afghanistan.

“I begged and pleaded, please let me go to Afghanistan,” he said. “I said, please judge, I need to escape my surroundings and go to Afghanistan. That judge got up, walked down, and he gave me a hug.”

The judge ultimately agreed with Ryan. They set up payment plans and allowed him to be deployed to the war in hopes of coming out a better person.

Ryan begins his work in spreading addiction awareness

While detoxing during his deployment, Ryan found himself constantly thinking about music. He turned to music in times of boredom but it also allowed him to push away his addictive behaviors. He realized he could also begin spreading addiction awareness through his passion.

“When I was in Afghanistan, I would rap, I would beatbox, I would sing all over the place when we were on missions all over the place,” he described.

He was finally thinking with a clear head thanks to the power of music and being away from his surroundings.

After serving his time overseas, he knew that he wanted to continue spreading addiction awareness. So that’s exactly what he did. He started writing music to try and increase awareness surrounding addiction.

Since then, Ryan’s performed for dozens of events and has even begun traveling all across the country. He speaks wherever he can to help spread his message in the hopes of making a difference for others who might be in his same position.

“It’s amazing how when we’re able to share our downfalls and then our way back, how other people can grab on and say thank you, I’m trying to do the same,” he described.

Listen to the podcast to learn more about Ryan’s work in spreading addiction awareness

You can learn more about Ryan and his working in spreading addiction awareness using the link here. You can also find his music on YouTube. For more information on addiction or if you or someone you know is struggling, you can find more information on Facebook, KSL TV, or from Use Only as Directed. To hear more from Casey Scott and Dr. Matt Woolley, you can listen below or subscribe to the ‘Project Recovery’ podcast on Apple Podcasts or wherever you get major podcasts.

KSL 5 TV Live

Project Recovery

recovery...

Josh Tilton

How a Utah recovery center is innovating treatment for substance abuse

A Utah recovery center owner is redefining how others find recovery after he struggled to live a substance-free lifestyle for years. Jordan Burningham, who was once addicted to heroin and struggling to stay sober, is in charge of one of the leading innovative recovery centers in Utah. He’s currently 6 years sober himself and through […]

2 years ago

Instagram...

Josh Tilton

How Instagram became an outlet for a mother struggling with addiction

After struggling for years with being able to stay sober, Gentry Jones turned to Instagram to try and help curb her addiction to alcohol and get her on the road to recovery. Gentry, now a mother of four kids, began to experiment with alcohol throughout her teenage years. Her substance abuse began to escalate as […]

2 years ago

Tainted...

Josh Tilton

Utah artist on how his addiction help fueled the creation of his new single “Tainted”

Growing up in a traditional Utah household, Tyler Gould was living the all-American dream. He was active in multiple sports and even a member of the Church of Latter-Day Saints. But after getting an itch to sell extra ADD medicine that he had laying around when he was fourteen years old, his life would never […]

2 years ago

Project Recovery host Casey Scott talks to Sarah Frei about their experiences with drunk driving cr...

Ashley Moser & Jared Turner, KSL TV

Sarah Frei Gives Emotional Interview About Losing Legs In Crash

Project Recovery podcast host Casey Scott sat down with Sarah Frei, the young woman who lost both of her legs in a crash caused by a drunk driver.

3 years ago

Coming to understand what Casey Scott’s addiction was truly like for his children only came recen...

Aley Davis & Debbie Worthen, KSL TV

Addiction Through A Daughter’s Eyes: How Teen’s Letter Impacted Casey Scott

Addiction is a family disease. It doesn't just affect the individual struggling, but everyone who loves them. Former KSL-TV feature reporter Casey Scott took that message to heart after reading a paper written by his 16-year-old daughter, Preslee.

3 years ago

promote safe prescription drug use...

Josh Tilton

Helpful ways to promote safe prescription drug use with Know Your Script

SALT LAKE CITY — Between 2017-2020, Intermountain Healthcare has been successful in reducing opioids by 9.5 million fewer pills and reducing benzodiazepine and opioid co-prescribing by 49%. All the while, finding ways to promote safe prescription drug use for Utahns within our state. According to Kim Compagni, AVP Pain Management Services at Intermountain Healthcare, we […]

3 years ago

Sponsored Articles

Stack of old laptops with dark background...

PC Laptops

Old Laptop Upgrades You Need to Try Before Throwing it Away

Get the most out of your investment. Try these old laptop upgrades before throwing it out to keep it running fast and efficient.

Happy diverse college or university students are having fun on their graduation day...

BYU MBA at the Marriott School of Business

How to Choose What MBA Program is Right for You: Take this Quiz Before You Apply!

Wondering what MBA program is right for you? Take this quiz before you apply to see if it will help you meet your goals.

Close up of an offset printing machine during production...

Les Olson IT

Top 7 Reasons to Add a Production Printer to Your Business

Learn about the different digital production printers and how they can help your company save time and money.

vintage photo of lighting showroom featuring chandeliers, lamps, wall lights and mirrors...

Lighting Design

History of Lighting Design | Over 25 Years of Providing Utah With the Latest Trends and Styles

Read about the history of Lighting Design, a family-owned and operated business that paved the way for the lighting industry in Utah.

Fiber Optical cables connected to an optic ports and Network cables connected to ethernet ports...

Brian Huston, CE and Anthony Perkins, BICSI

Why Every Business Needs a Structured Cabling System

A structured cabling system benefits businesses by giving you faster processing speeds and making your network more efficient and reliable.

notebook with password notes highlighted...

PC Laptops

How to Create Strong Passwords You Can Actually Remember

Learn how you can create strong passwords that are actually easy to remember! In a short time you can create new ones in seconds.

Utah musician and veteran talks about spreading addiction awareness through song