Pej was born in Germany but raised in Salt Lake City where he always felt different due to his skin color and nationality. In his youth he was bullied and encountered verbal, physical, and mental abuse within his home. Pej began experimenting with alcohol at six years old and experienced his first black out at the age of twelve.

At seventeen Pej was hung over, driving his friends to school when he had a fatal car accident causing the death of a young teenager riding his bike to school. The event caused Pej to go off the deep end, drowning his guilt, shame, and sadness with drugs and alcohol. 

Pej was later incarcerated as a juvenile and spent time in the psych portion of the facility as he was deemed a danger to his own life. After he was released, he became worse, dealing drugs and using excessively. 

By age 35 he’d experienced jail, institutions, homelessness and near death experiences. He finally threw up the white flag and asked for help. Pej now uses his experiences to help others through his work as an interventionist, recovery coach and the creator of multiple sober communities.

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