By Carole Glines Published May 03, 2017
Captain Wild Bill Wichrowski’s longtime deck boss, Nick McGlashan, revealed he was a former drug addict during Tuesday’s episode of Discovery’s “Deadliest Catch.”
And now, McGlashan detailed his addiction to fans via an article he linked to on Twitter. He revealed his substance abuse was even worse than what “Deadliest Catch” showed.
McGlashan wrote that he was “a full blown junkie” addicted to heroin, meth and alcohol.
In an article on Chosen Mag called “The Deadliest Disease” McGlashan implied that his dangerous crab fishing profession could have been the reason he got addicted.
“My life went from Bering Sea badass to full blown junkie very rapidly. Hidden from me was that passion I had for life,” he wrote. “Taken from me was my ability to live. I was at war with my addiction and it was winning.”
McGlashan added, “To say I was lost would be an understatement. I was broken and soulless. I was living without any hope of happiness. All I wanted was to stay loaded. Every bit of happiness stripped away by a powerful, cunning, and baffling disease.
“I was three overdoses into my addiction and a heavy alcoholic. My addict self was killing me and I was struggling to die.
“When I ceased to be an active addict I was drinking half a gallon of vodka, shooting two grams of heroin, and one gram of meth every day. My mind, body, and spirit were so diseased, I welcomed my own death, I was ready to die.”
McGlashan believes a higher power helped save his life.
He wrote on “Chosen” that he went into a treatment facility on September 11, 2016.
Although it was the “scariest thing” the fisherman had “ever done,” it got him clean, he said.
Now, McGlashan said he stays sober by hanging out with like-minded friends, getting help from a sponsor and attending sobriety meetings.
“The greatest thing about my recovery is that I can change someone’s life just by talking about my addiction and recovery,” he wrote. “When I look at my life and feel at peace with the changes I’ve made, that’s recovery.”
McGlashan’s role on the current “Deadliest Catch” season is unclear, at the end of Tuesday’s episode he was left behind and his personal items were left on the dock as Wild Bill steamed away on his boat at episode’s end.