I thought my powerlifter father was the strongest man in the world. But a secret steroid addiction took him – and us – to the brink

He didn’t look like a stereotypical ‘drug addict’, but when he fled to South Africa with all our savings it was obvious that is what he had become

W

hen I tell people that a drug addiction nearly killed my dad, I know what most of them are thinking. Heroin. Crack. Maybe meth or ket. Those substances that steal your soul and slowly wreak havoc on your body. They’re imagining Trainspotting; too-skinny frames and protruding hip bones, the physical effects of addiction that are impossible to miss.

But that isn’t how it played out in my family.

I was 13 years old when my parents’ marriage fell apart, disintegrating suddenly and seemingly without warning over a few grey November weeks. When I tell people that my mum, my brother and I had no idea my dad was addicted to drugs until after he left us, I can see the bewilderment in their eyes. How could you not have noticed? I ask myself the same question all the time.