A man was almost killed by a five-day cocaine bender- leaving him in a coma and with such bloodshot eyes that elderly people thought he was the ‘devil.’
Dave Mullen, from Salisbury in Wiltshire, snorted his first ‘naive’ line of the Class A drug on his 17th birthday after being offered it in a pub.
The former carpet fitter admitted he got a taste for it while drinking on football away days and lads’ holidays.
But the occasional dabble quickly spiralled into an addiction by 19 that at his worst saw him sink 15 pints a day and snort thousands of pounds worth of cocaine in seven-day benders.
A shocking photo taken in August 2021 shows Dave with bloodshot ‘devil’ eyes after waking up from a coma in ICU following a drug-induced psychosis.
His eyes remained such a startled red months later that when he went back to work, completing a job in an old people’s home, a man chased him with a bible fearing he was the devil.
Despite almost dying, Dave admits he only managed a few months sober before falling back into his dangerous habits for three more years.
It was only after a hospital trip in March 2024 where doctors said he could die that he decided to quit and on March 3rd began his path to sobriety.
Dave is now 15 months sober from alcohol and drugs and says he’s finally been able to escape the ‘prison’ he’d lived in for 15 years.
The content creator is now sharing his story to warn others about the dangers of substance abuse.
Dave said: ‘Cocaine goes hand-in-hand with alcohol and at a weak or naive moment as I was young [17], someone offered me a line and I took it.
‘I would get some [cocaine] for the weekend football and before long this was turning into an addiction and it wasn’t for enjoyment anymore.
‘I was going on lads’ holiday to Ayia Napa at 17 and it was like the Inbetweeners ‘lads on tour’ and it was just relentlessly pushed down your throat as soon as you hit an age.
‘At 19 I noticed it had become an addiction. It was clear not only to me but my friends and people around that I had a bit of a problem with it.
‘Every year it got worse and worse and would affect so many people around me due to the mental health episodes I would have.
‘I would go through periods to escape my mental health and I would just go out for five, six, seven days and I would just be gone.
‘It’s a difficult one as I always found a way that I could put myself in a situation where I could get it [cocaine] for free or for very cheap, but the amount I would do would be thousands of pounds worth.
While addicted to cocaine, Dave says he suffered many mental health episodes, lost friends and struggled to keep a job.
When he ended up in hospital in August 2021, he says people thought this was his turning point as he was so close to death – but it took another hospital trip to be the wake-up call he needed.
Dave said: ‘In my case, those photos I’ve shared where I ended up in intensive care was not my turning point.
‘This was a result of a four or five-day bender and I ended up going into a drug-induced psychosis and I completely lost my mind.
‘I was completely blind and had no vision. Six weeks later my eyes were still bloodshot and my eyes were like this for two months.’
Since going sober, Dave has swapped his cocaine addiction for the gym and has set up a TikTok page to document his sobriety journey.
He says he has been left with a lot of mental trauma following his years of drug use but says a constant runny nose is his only physical set-back so far.
In the future, he hopes to set up a support group under the name ‘Dark Days 2 Brighter Ways’, to help others suffering with addiction.
Dave said: ‘I want to spread awareness as it really did ruin my life.
‘[In March 2024], they told me I was going to die again and something about walking out of that hospital alone, I said I didn’t want to do this anymore.
‘I was trapped in a life that was a prison with no enjoyment.
‘I would have walked out of the hospital and gone straight to the pub but I thought to myself, ‘I’m not going to have a drink today’.
’15 months later and I’m here and I have a TikTok account and I still haven’t looked back. I feel completely reborn and I’m now excited for my future.
‘I don’t think we’re educated enough about the dangers of these drugs or alcohol.
‘We’re told the drugs are illegal but in this day and age no one really pays attention to the law and doesn’t care if it’s illegal.
‘I think my story and the pictures in particular show that it’s dangerous and I don’t want cocaine to be so normalised and acceptable in society.’
