#48 - From Crack Pipes to Tennis Courts: Erika Sandor-Zur on Losing a Full Scholarship to Crack Cocaine at 17, 22 Years on the Streets, and Rebuilding Her Life as a Pro Athlete in Recovery

Mike Diamond heard Erika Sandor-Zur's story through Rob from Recovery Today magazine. He immediately called Charlie Smith: "You've got to hear this story. It's out of control — in a good way. Erika grew up in Cleveland, Ohio. Both of her parents escaped illegally from a communist country, met on their very first day in America, and built a 50-year marriage. No drugs. No alcohol. Her mother still has the same bottle from their wedding in the bar. Her father told her early on — with respect to tennis — "don't waste the money on this one." She had no hand-eye coordination. She found the sport anyway, fell in love with it, and became the number-one ranked junior player in Northeastern Ohio from 12-and-under through 18, with a full scholarship to Indiana State University waiting for her — where she intended to study broadcast journalism, because she wanted the whole world to know who she was.She smoked crack for the first time at 17, during her senior year of high school. A busboy at the coffeehouse where she worked invited her to a birthday party across the street. She had never heard of crack. There were only a few people there. Within two weeks of that first hit, she had sold her 1997 Mitsubishi Eclipse for $20 and her $700 Nikon camera for $30. The scholarship was over. Tennis was over. She was on the streets within months.What followed over the next 22 years is one of the most raw and comprehensive first-person accounts of addiction ever told on The Dose. Survival sex as a teenager — she describes it without flinching, because honesty, she tells Mike, is the entire foundation of her sobriety. Homelessness across multiple states, driving from California to Florida with no money, no plan, just a geographic cure and the hustle of finding another hustle. Arrests in so many jurisdictions her attorney asked which state. Crack houses where she witnessed things that still don't leave her. She also got pregnant. Twice. Her older son was conceived when she was seven months sober. Her second pregnancy happened while she was actively smoking crack. She describes calling hospitals, begging anyone to help her stop — not because she wanted to die, but because she couldn't stand living like that anymore and she didn't want to harm her child. Through 19-plus rehabs, she kept trying. Half-measures, she admits — honest enough to get validated, not honest enough to actually change. Until the last round. She was in a crack house. She had been up for what felt like a year. Something shifted. She came out. And this time it stuck.Today, Erika is almost five years sober. She is 43 years old, training on a tennis court as a professional athlete, raising her two kids — now 8 and 11 — and is the subject of a documentary series in development. She tells Mike that what she puts herself through physically now isn't that hard. Because of what she already survived.About Erika Sandor-Zur Erika Sandor-Zur is a professional tennis player, entrepreneur, and recovery advocate. Almost five years sober, she is now competing professionally at 43, raising her two children, and is the subject of a documentary series currently in development.About Mike Diamond Mike Diamond is Director of Engagement and Intervention Services at American Addiction Centers, a featured Interventionist on A&E's Intervention, and the bestselling author of A Dose of Positivity (BenBella / Matt Holt Books) and 7 Steps to an Unbreakable Mindset. Sober since April 16, 2006. themikediamond.com · IG @themike_diamondResources mentioned ● Erika Sandor-Zur — documentary series in development ● Recovery Today Magazine — where Mike first heard Erika's story ● Mike Diamond — A Dose of Positivity (BenBella / Matt Holt Books) ● Mike Diamond — 7 Steps to an Unbreakable Mindset