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Basketball, volleyball, weightlifting, and other sporting events took place around the Harbor College campus. More than 3,000 people came out Saturday morning to take part in the 2018 Al-Impics. (Hunter Lee, Press-Telegram/SCNG)
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Danny Trejo poses for a photo with John Connolly, the interim division director for Substance Abuse Prevention and Control. More than 3,000 people came out to Harbor College on Saturday to take part in the 2018 Al-Impics. (Hunter Lee, Press-Telegram/SCNG)
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A young child plays soccer in the field outside the Harbor College gym. More than 3,000 people came out Saturday morning for the 2018 Al-Impics. (Hunter Lee, Press-Telegram/SCNG)
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People line up to serve themselves breakfast in the early morning of the Al-Impics. More than 3,000 people came out to celebrate in each other’s sobriety. (Hunter Lee, Press-Telegram, SCNG)
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Danny Trejo poses for photographs with a family and signs memorabilia as well as celebrating his own accomplishment of 50 years of sobriety. More than 3,000 people came out to Harbor College Saturday morning for the 2018 Al-Impics. (Hunter Lee, Press-Telegram/SCNG)
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Card games, volleyball, weightlifting, and other competitive events took place around the Harbor College campus. More than 3,000 people came out Saturday morning to take part in the 2018 Al-Impics. (Hunter Lee, Press-Telegram/SCNG)
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Basketball, volleyball, weightlifting, and other sporting events took place around the Harbor College campus. More than 3,000 people came out Saturday morning to take part in the 2018 Al-Impics. (Hunter Lee, Press-Telegram/SCNG)
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Around 20 recovery clinics from the Greater Los Angeles area participated in the numerous sporting events at Harbor College. More than 3,000 people came out Saturday morning for the 2018 Al-Impics. (Hunter Lee, Press-Telegram/SCNG)
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Danny Trejo knows the woes of drugs and alcohol.
The craggy-faced character actor and restaurateur – think “Machete,” “From Dusk ‘Till Dawn,” “Spy Kids” and “Heat” – has built a franchise out of snarling with a twinkle in his eye.
But he was once a child drug addict and lawbreaker, Trejo says, and was in and out of jail for more than a decade.
He showed up in Wilmington on Saturday to try to prevent other kids from taking that path. These days, the iconic L.A. figure embraces the arts, sports (he’s a lifelong Rams fan) and recovery programs.
“Seeing all these people celebrating their sobriety really just makes me cry,” Trejo said. “I thank God.”
Along with Candy Finnigan from A&E’s “Intervention,” and Los Angeles County’s Director of Public Health Dr. Barbara Ferrer, he hosted a day of sports competition and self-esteem boosting at L.A. Harbor College.
The event – “Danny Trejo and the 2018 Al-Impics” – billed itself as an Olympics-style competition with an emphasis on feeling good with fun and focus vs. feeling good in a self-destructive way, ala drugs and alcohol.
Teams representing several treatment centers from around Los Angeles County were scattered around the campus, squaring off in such sports as table tennis, track, weightlifting, basketball and volleyball (and also less-muscle-taxing activities such as chess, dominoes, pinochle, backgammon, spades and bid-whist).
The event’s goal: Ally treatment providers, recovering people, community leaders and just-plain folks to demonstrate “the benefits of community health through substance-abuse prevention and athletic participation.”
During the opening ceremonies, more than 3,000 participants marched around L.A. Harbor’s track to celebrate their sobriety, truly a walk of life.
Trejo himself was honored for reaching 50 years of drug- and alcohol-free life.
“This is really the best day,” said John Connolly, County Department of Public Health interim division director for substance abuse prevention and control.
“Not only is this the first vacation in awhile for some of these people,” he added, “but it’s also the first time some are getting to see their families.”