SINCLAIRVILLE - He was once Kris. Super Star is his legal name now. His twin brother whose name was Marc changed his name to Rock Star. The name change was admittedly a gimmick, something to help draw attention to a serious message. The two have collaborated to form the Rock Star Super Star Project (rockstarsuperstarproject.com). There is also a non-profit called the "We are one" foundation that is found at www.weareoneonline.com.
Super Star recently visited the Park United Methodist Church in Sinclairville to talk about the project and himself.
He said, "I never thought I would be addicted (to drugs and alcohol), but I was 15 years into that world."
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OBSERVER Photo by Diane R. Chodan
The Underground band opened a recent “We are one” program at the Park United Methodist Church in Sinclairville.
In 2006, he found himself handcuffed to a bed after almost dying of a drug overdose. He said he saw his twin brother when he woke up.
Through computer videos, snippets of his life that he shared, and taking questions from the audience, and surprisingly enough, humor, Super Star shared with his audience some of what he knows about addiction, and his current hope for helping others by sharing his story.
One sobering computer video dealt with people who have died from drugs. This message had a twist to it. "You don't need to be an addict to die from drugs," he said.
The video showed pictures and a short biography of young people who died. Some of the deceased had tried a drug for the first time; others were killed as a result of someone else's addiction.
Super Star asked whether those in the audience knew that there is a genetic predisposition to addiction. Not many hands were raised. He then showed a video dealing with a bar stool with the name "Doug" on it. Doug happened to be Super Star's father who struggled with alcoholism.
To the high school students in the audience he said, "In high school, I wish I would have known that real friends do not hand you a drink or a drug."
Three important tenets of his message are: rebranding sobriety, personal responsibility, and dream catching. Super Star is working on catching his dream now, and in doing so is finding some value in what was a terrible experience.
He has written a book "The First 30 Days to Serenity" which deals with his recovery. In addition, he and his brother have produced a CD called Serenity with a number of famous metal musicians. Both of these items are available on the websites.
Comments on this article may be directed to dchodan@observertoday.com
