Tripolar: The Story of a Bipolar Triathlete

"TRIPOLAR" is an inspiring journey about a boy who suffers great trauma and severe verbal and physical abuse in his youth. At age 13, he is blamed for causing his father's death, and his life begins on a downward spiral of self destruction. These incidents cause him to lose faith that there is any kind of God in the world. He spends many years going down this dark path into multiple drug addictions and alcoholism, and he later discovers that he also suffers from bipolar disorder. After hitting several bottoms during very turbulent, near fatal years in his 20s; he finally gets tired of digging towards deeper bottoms and surrenders, and begins to accept that he needs to follow the medical advice of his psychiatrists to treat his bipolar disorder - if there is ever going to be any hope of him leading some semblance of a normal life as a functional member of society. On his road to recovery, he embraces 12 step programs and learns to treat his emotional, mental, spiritual, and physical fitness. This spiritual awakening ultimately saves his life, his marriage, his family, and his career as a high school science teacher. Along the way, he discovers that racing in and training for triathlons and ultra endurance races empower him to help manage his hypomania. This transforms him, and becomes an extraordinary outlet for helping him treat his bipolar disorder and channel his addictive personality towards positive change and great accomplishments. He goes on to complete over a dozen Ironman triathlons, one double-ironman triathlon, seven 100-mile endurance runs, and many other ultra races.