Tommy Langaker has opened up about the personal struggles he faced behind the scenes of his competitive success, revealing battles with depression, isolation, and drug dependency following the biggest victory of his career.
After winning the 2023 IBJJF World Championship in Las Vegas, Langaker expected fulfillment from achieving a lifelong goal.
Instead, he described an emotional crash that followed:
It was one minute of happiness, and then the crash.
On the podium when I received the medal, I almost had to fake the joy…People saw the world champion and the athlete. They didn’t see the person struggling alone.
Langaker admitted that his obsessive personality, which helped drive his competitive success, also contributed to unhealthy behavior outside the sport:
I have always been fixated on being the best at things.
I wanted to be the best in Jiu-Jitsu, and then the same thing happened with the drugs too.
He revealed that his substance use escalated during the COVID pandemic:
The first time I was offered cocaine, I just said yes.
In the beginning that also felt harmless.As long as I was still performing, I thought it couldn’t be that serious.
Eventually, Langaker relocated to Stockholm and later described living out of a van with his dog while trying to rebuild his life:
That was the moment where I understood I had enough…
I know some people will be disappointed. But I’d rather be honest about it.
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