A young personal trainer who seemed to have the perfect life has revealed how he was secretly battling a hidden alcohol addiction and spending £150 a night on vodka-fuelled binges.
Danny Dunne says people never believed he could be an alcoholic because he was physically fit and worked in gyms, not swigging cans on a park bench at 8 am.
But behind the scenes, the 26-year-old from Glasgow was drinking heavily several times a week.
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Danny used alcohol as a way to cope with anxiety and the struggles in his life.
“I would find an excuse to drink, and it wasn’t for the right reasons,” he told Need To Know.
“I started to like it so much.
“If I were feeling anxious, I would go and have a drink – it was like someone took over and I just couldn’t stop.
“I would either pass out or run out of booze.
“It was really bad.”
Danny’s downward spiral began with a driving ban following a cannabis charge.
He then lost his job, and the relationships with people around him broke down.
What started as weekend drinking to help him feel better soon escalated into dangerous binges – as he downed half a bottle of vodka just to “get started”.
Danny would then sink round after round of Venoms – bright green cocktails typically made with vodka, Southern Comfort, Blue WKD and orange juice – until he blacked out.
He said: “I’d have half a bottle of vodka before I went out and 10 venoms on a night out.
“I didn’t even need more than three – I had a good laugh after three.
“I actually wanted to be in a state; I really liked the feeling that I craved so much.
“There were plenty of times I would go without a drink and have one vodka in my bed.
“I would just be sipping on the spirit to help me go to sleep, thinking it was helping with my anxiety, but it was actually causing it.”
To clients at the gym, Danny looked like the ultimate success story – young, strong and dedicated to his training.
But behind his smile, the PT was drinking two or three times a week in sessions so heavy they left him struggling for days.
It soon showed – his skin broke out, his body fat crept up, and his anxiety hit new lows – even though he believed alcohol was helping him.
Danny finally hit the breaking point at the New Year 2023 when he decided enough was enough.
He vowed not to drink that weekend and never touched alcohol again.
He said, “I just had this big urge to stop.
“I thought, I’m not going to drink this weekend, and just stopped.
“Then it carried on to the next weekend, the one after that – and I haven’t drunk since.”
Danny also threw himself into Thai boxing and doubled down on the gym, training twice a day to stay on track.
Now coming up two years sober, he knows that he can never drink again – because moderation isn’t an option.
Danny wants people to understand that alcoholism doesn’t always fit the stereotype.
It can be hidden behind a six-pack, a steady job and a friendly face.
He added, “I used to think that an alcoholic is someone who drank so much every single day and was constantly drunk.
“But an alcoholic is someone who, when they drink, is no longer in control – the alcohol is.
“It becomes a problem when it becomes a part of your life.
“I was embarrassing myself.
“I was a PT, went to the gym and had things about me that made it look like my life was in order.
“But no matter how much structure you have, if you’re drinking for the wrong reasons, it’s a problem.
“If you can’t cope with your own brain without alcohol, that isn’t natural.
“You can have a family and a nice car, but if you need to drink three times a week just to deal with life, it doesn’t matter.
“Addiction can hide behind a job, a smile, or even a six-pack.
“You don’t have to look broken on the outside to be fighting a battle on the inside.”
