By Movieguide® Contributor
Pro skateboarder and LIFE OF RYAN star Ryan Sheckler is relishing his time as a new dad and recovered alcoholic.
Sheckler shares Olive, 2, and Lilah, 8 months, with wife Abigail Baloun, and he loves being a family man.
“It’s just the best,” Sheckler told Us Weekly March 16. “I’ve been married to my wife for three years now. Our daughter, Olive, was born on our one-year wedding anniversary, so we share that special day with our daughter and me and my wife.”
His parenting journey hasn’t been the easiest, but he wouldn’t have it any other way.
“It’s just some of those things where you just have to do it. There’s no choice. You got to do it,” he said. “And I’ve never been scared of work.”
“I have some of the biggest belly laughs I’ve ever had in my life watching my daughter learn, watching my little one fall off the couch a little bit, just how they tuck and roll,” he said, adding that he feels the pressure of “being in charge of what they learn and how they learn at a very young age. It’s a lot of responsibility, but it’s something that I take very seriously. I absolutely love it.”
Related: Comedian Shares How Fatherhood Changed His Outlook on Sobriety
Sheckler will celebrate five years of sobriety on March 30. He first went into alcohol recovery in 2016.
“For me, early on in the program, the more things that are positive that you can put in between yourself and in my case, the drink, you can fill in the blank for whatever you are going through,” he shared. “I have so many people and so many great things in between me and another drink that if I was even thinking about drinking, I have to go through 10 different steps of, ‘I’m gonna have to explain it to this person. I’m gonna have to explain it to this group of 30 dudes that rely on me every Monday night to open the door so that they can get some healing.’”
The skateboarder shares hope of recovery with other addicts.
“I’m trying to take other kids through it,” he said. “This program was so freely given to me, and this way of living was freely given and I’m trying to freely give it back.”
“It’s really fun to see the miracles,” he continued. “You see the miracles happen really fast. When someone has had enough and decides to get sober and really follows through with the 12 Step program, you watch their life dramatically change quickly.”
Sheckler is also a believer in Christ and shares God’s love with others. His Instagram bio reads, “I believe in the power of JESUS CHRIST🙌🏻Luke 1:37.”
He got close to God in rehab. While there, his mom and Olympic swimmer Michael Phelps each gave him a copy of Jesus Calling, and Phelps shared that he went through similar struggles. It finally clicked with Sheckler that he was “not alone.” He says his experience helped him understand that God was really there, and it refined him.
“Honestly, it’s like being in the place I’m in now from being through what I’ve been through, I can share it and I love sharing it,” he said.
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