Kintsugi Heroes
Danny Lloyd · 64 min
A grossly overweight, bullied boy from a tiny Channel Island who became a crystal meth addict found his purpose on the summit of Kilimanjaro — and went on to build a nationally recognised addiction program for some of Australia's most marginalised people.
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Danny Lloyd grew up on Guernsey, a small island in the English Channel, as a grossly overweight boy raised by a single mother. He was bullied at school and at rugby, treated as a spectacle rather than a person. His mum raised him with two values only: happiness and the freedom to travel. By 17, he was drinking and using drugs. Arrested multiple times, he faced an ultimatum from his parents: join the army or leave. He chose to leave, working 90 hours a week to save money and fly to Australia at 19.
Back in Guernsey qualifying as a plumber so he could stay in Australia permanently, Danny fell back into old patterns of drinking and drugs. He left behind a partner and her daughter, chasing his dream. A move to Scotland during the financial crisis led him deeper into addiction. When his close friend Sarah was murdered in Kashmir and his relationship collapsed, he was four months away from climbing Mount Kilimanjaro to scatter her ashes. He was living in full meth addiction, a nightmare that began when he tried the drug in Adelaide.
On the summit of Kilimanjaro, with a snapped ACL, Danny looked out over Africa at sunrise and told Sarah he had to leave the pain behind and do something with his life. Back in Alice Springs within weeks, two months clean, he walked into a rehab interview and told them he was going to change the world. They took the risk and hired him. For seven and a half years, he built a nationally recognised meth outreach program from nothing, working 24-hour call-outs, cutting people down from hanging, facing violence and corrupt police. He left on a high to start fresh, and now runs his own nonprofit in Adelaide, turning his own fracture into purpose that reaches people no one else will help.
⚠️ Content advisory: this episode discusses abuse & exploitation and addiction & recovery, which some listeners may find distressing.
If you need support, you're not alone. Help is available: • Blue Knot Foundation (complex trauma): 1300 657 380 · blueknot.org.au • 1800RESPECT (family, domestic & sexual violence): 1800 737 732 · 1800respect.org.au • SMART Recovery Australia (addiction): smartrecoveryaustralia.com.au • ReachOut: au.reachout.com
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Kintsugi Heroes · Registered Australian not-for-profit · kintsugiheroes.com.au ↗