PAINFUL RELAPSE, SWEET RECOVERY

When sobriety faltered, Payton found success with God’s help at Lifeline

From football and rap music to golf course maintenance and addiction counseling, Travis Payton has experienced a lot of life in his 42 years. Originally from Memphis, Travis was first sober in 2009 following an 18-month treatment program in Jackson, Tenn.

Travis had landed there at 27, a 10-year addict after a football injury ended his sports career. After football, he built a successful career in rap music, but it fostered the lifestyle of alcohol and drugs. “And, after I had children, I didn’t want to send the wrong message to them,” he said. He went into treatment and then worked in a rehab center for five years.

All was well until a painful breakup and COVID isolation put him back on the wrong track. “I had been sober 13 years,” he said, “but I got down on myself and started drinking again and went right back to that old lifestyle.”

He went into treatment again and eventually found his way to Lifeline in 2023. He stayed 15 months, including time in transitional living after he graduated in early 2024. “I took time to figure out what I was going to do,” he said. “I listened to God.”

Travis has found his way in two arenas – golf course maintenance at Rolling Hills Country Club, where he enjoys the outdoor work in the tradition of his family’s lawn care business; and as a recovery associate at Lifeline, working with Lifeline residents. He shares his story with the clients and continues to go to AA meetings with Lifeline friends.

He credits two factors with his recovery – his family and his relationship with God.

“I have a great family,” he said. “I strive to have the same morals and values that my great-grandfather instilled in me. I want to be that kind of man.”

Lifeline’s emphasis on faith turned out to be the difference from his previous experience with rehab centers. “Lifeline gave me the opportunity to build a good foundation with God,” he said. “Before I got there, my relationship with God was not what I wanted it to be, but I didn’t realize it. Every time I’d have difficulties, it would be me veering away from God and it wouldn’t work out very well.”

His experiences have taught him some hard, but important lessons.

“No matter what I was dealing with, I thought drugs and alcohol would fix it,” he said. “I made terrible decisions, but now, with God, I’m living proof that if a person wants to change, you can do it.”

Travis Payton, 2024 graduate