'It was the wake-up call I needed': Sober influencer shares journey from 'blacking out' to running the Boston Marathon

Luc Zoratto once thought he needed to hit "rock bottom" before becoming sober. Although he considered himself a "weekend warrior" who only drank on the weekends, Zoratto knew things needed to change when his behaviour took a turn for the worse.

“I realized that I was waking up blacking out, saying things I didn't mean, and making an ass of myself," Zoratto tells Yahoo Canada. "I knew I had to change. So, I was open to getting help and trying to moderate. My [initial] goal was to moderate, not to be sober.”

Zoratto's journey to sobriety was challenging. He describes the first five years as a constant struggle, one that went largely unrecognized because he appeared to be in good shape. “It was tiring. I was letting myself down and letting people around me down. But not many people knew I was struggling because, from the outside, I seemed fine," he explains. "I had a great corporate job, drove a nice car, and had my place. From the outside, I looked like your average guy, but inside, I was struggling.”

A turning point came after a bad episode that prompted some harsh advice from Zoratto's therapist. “After sharing my story a bit, he told me, ‘Luc, you can't be drinking again.’ He spoke to me in a way no one had before, and I was very thrown off by that. At first, I resisted, thinking it was part of my culture as half Italian, half French Canadian," he says.

However, the therapist helped Zoratto open his mind to sobriety by having him join group therapy. Zoratto says he was "shocked" by the members and their stories. "It was a bit of a culture shock, but it was the wake-up call I needed," he says. "I realized this was the trajectory I was on if I didn’t make changes. That’s when the journey started.”

Alcohol the 'drug of choice' for Canadians

Adam Sherk, senior scientist and special policy advisor with the Canadian Centre on Substance Use and Addiction, explains that alcohol is the “drug of choice” for many Canadians. He points out that the normalization of alcohol is one of the most rampant issues in Canada’s social fabric.

“Alcohol is one of the few legal drugs and is far and away the drug of choice compared to other legal substances like tobacco and cannabis. It’s used as a celebratory drug and to unwind,” Sherk tells Yahoo Canada. The most recent Canadian Substance Use Costs and Harms (CSUCH) report states that in 2020, alcohol use in Canada cost nearly $20 billion—more than tobacco and opioids combined. The same year, alcohol was associated with more than 17,000 deaths and 800,000 hospital visits in Canada.

A recent study on the Canadian federal government’s current alcohol policies highlighted several areas experts say need urgent improvement. The Canadian Alcohol Policy Evaluation Project (CAPE) report calls for better pricing and taxation policies, taking cues from Scotland and Latin America, which have higher excise taxes on alcoholic beverages. The report also suggests implementing minimum pricing, similar to policies in Scotland, which resulted in a 13 per cent decrease in alcohol-related deaths.

For alcohol labeling, Ireland and South Korea have passed legislation requiring labels with cancer warnings on alcoholic products. Sherk, a co-author of the report, describes the current state of federal alcohol policies as “adequate.” He notes, “The federal alcohol policy could do more to protect public health. On the other hand, it could be worse. So, right now it’s somewhere in the middle.”

Would improved alcohol policies help limit alcohol abuse?

Although policy changes are important, Zoratto believes personal desire for change trumps government initiatives. “People need to want to change themselves. The government can do whatever it wants but if people don’t want to change, it won’t make a difference," Zoratto says. "If someone's pushing you to change, you will push back. Like it was with me, I needed to change at my core for it to stick.”

The CAPE report gives a low 10 per cent score to the federal government’s marketing and advertising regulations due to the lack of restrictions on broadcasting alcohol advertisements in media disproportionately watched by youth. Sherk notes that the Canadian Radio and Telecommunications Council (CRTC) hasn’t updated its codes of conduct in almost 25 years.

“There are virtually no restrictions on social media about what you can and cannot say about alcohol. This could be looked at, especially since advertising draws new people into the market, including youth and non-users,” Sherk informs.

The report also highlights the lack of federal regulations mandating alcohol warning labels regarding cancer, pregnancy, youth consumption, impaired driving, among other issues. “Alcohol causes cancer; it's a group one carcinogen. It’s been known for a long time, but not many people are aware of it,” Sherk says.

Zoratto has noticed a shift in societal awareness about the harms of alcohol. “There’s a lot more awareness now. People are realizing that drinking might not be that good. To be their best at work and home, people benefit tremendously from not drinking or drinking less. Influential figures, like top athletes and entrepreneurs, are cutting back on alcohol, normalizing sobriety.”

Thriving in sobriety

Although he's now open about the benefits of living in sobriety, he admits he felt "ashamed" for the first five years after giving up alcohol. "I thought there was something wrong with me for not being able to drink like a normal person," he explains. "I struggled with my identity and confidence.”

However, a social media post on his five-year sobriety anniversary changed his perspective. An avid runner, Zoratto had qualified for the Boston marathon and decided to share his achievement and story on social media.

"Up until that point, nobody outside my close friends and family knew I was sober. I made a post on LinkedIn with a picture of my daughter on my lap and me holding a sign saying I was five years sober, along with my marathon qualification. The next day, I woke up to a flood of supportive messages. That’s when I realized that sobriety is a positive and empowering journey. I decided to document and share my story more openly.”

Zoratto recalls witnessing how alcohol impacted his father, whom he describes as "an old school Italian."

"He struggled with alcohol. He was a great man, a great dad, and a lot of people loved my dad but he struggled. And as a kid, I saw my parents arguing about his drinking, and it really affected me. And I never want to put my kid through that," he says. "My greatest accomplishment is I got sober before my daughter was born. There's a lot of things I need to work on but I'm more consistent. I'm more reliable and dependable.”

Let us know what you think by emailing us, commenting below and tweeting @YahooStyleCA! Follow us on Twitter and Instagram.