Earl Kotzin

Born and raised in South Africa. I come from a good family. A good scholar but always dreaming about what was going on in the big wide world of life and felt that I was missing out by studying full time. I enjoyed sports, football and boxing were my favorite past times as a youngster growing up and managed to box my way through an impressive amateur career at the time, a provincial champ for a time in my weight class. I joined the military for a two year period, seeing action and things that I should not have during an 18 month stint as a soldier on the front lines during the Rhodesian bush war. After a motorcycle accident which crushed my dreams of a pro boxing debut, I was angry and disappointed and my life went downhill for a while and I found myself working in the venue/personal security industry in south Africa, America working personal security at casinos, open air concerts, guarding some well known artists at the time and door work as security personnel in high end night clubs and restaurants and this is where I believed I was king but it was also my downfall as I graduated to a life of crime, violence and drugs as this is how it goes out there, living for the nights and sleeping in the day. I spent time as a guest of the state and realized that my life had become a crazy vicious cycle with no positive end in sight unless I chose to change. This started my life in recovery. A long term inpatient recovery centre in the middle of nowhere. I completed this and then involved myself in the rooms of N.A. where I finally felt safe, an inner peace and in a place that welcomed me with open arms providing that I was willing to put in the work. I had been living on the beach for a while but recovery gave me purpose, drive and a home. I had no thoughts of working in this field at that time but something about seeing people getting better and staying better drew me in and I started out as a volunteer in a clinic, unpaid but with food in my belly and a roof over my head. This led to being a support worker and then being offered training as a counselor. Getting my counseling diploma and doing more online studies and working each day further with those who wanted to get better made me love this work. People in recovery became my tribe, my family and I finally found something I was passionate about. I have worked in numerous recovery centres around South Africa over the past twenty plus years and six and a half years ago I was offered an opportunity to join Siam Rehab Thailand. I was afraid but chose to take a leap of faith and I am happy and proud to still be part of the Siam Rehab Therapeutic team as a Smart Recovery facilitator and counselor in a great team of dedicated souls.