Justyn Rees Larcombe – Living Without Light
In recent times, gambling has become an increasingly popular pastime due to less restrictive laws and online sites. But the same excitement that makes gambling fun can also be dangerous if you’re not careful, as evidenced by Justyn Rees Larcombe. This blog post will detail the tragic and honest tale of a man who lost everything to addiction. But it is also a story of hope, showing that there is always a chance to set things right. Use the quicknavi below to navigate this blog easily.
Justyn Rees Larcombe’s Background – Ambition and Riches
Justyn’s early life was incredibly bright, almost like the start of a fairy tale. His mother is Jennifer Rees Larcombe, a famous author of books for children and young adults who suffered from a severe illness. She now manages a Christian organisation to help people with grief and trauma, like the eventual Justyn Rees Larcombe charity. Justyn himself was one of six children and went to study at Royal Military Academy Sandhurst to become a pilot.
I decided that I would live my life in the Light – Justyn Rees Larcombe, on his connection with God
Like his mother, Justyn was a devout Christian and would pray to God and attend Sunday church. He was also very ambitious and always strived for more, which is how he earned a Sword of Honour from the Queen herself. After a successful career in the military and tours in Bosnia and Ireland, he would join an insurance company when told not to expect a promotion in the next six years of military.
Within two years, he went from serving coffee as an intern to being one of the youngest managing directors and would move to Derbyshire, where he lived with his wife and children. At that point, he would abandon his faith in God, thinking he had achieved everything. Life for Justyn Rees Larcombe seemed good until one faithful day.
Beginning of Justyn’s Tragedy
When Justyn’s first child Matthew was 11 months old, his parents noticed that he had issues. He would favour using his left hand, never used his right hand, and could not even crawl. Justyn Rees Larcombe believed something was wrong, especially when he heard about a celebrity whose child had a similar condition called Hemiplegia.
After Matthew was taken to a doctor, Justyn learned that his son did have Hemiplegia due to a scar on his brain. This meant Matthew’s right side was partially paralyzed, so he could not move easily, and there was a chance he would develop epilepsy. Unfortunately, a short while later, Matthew had a seizure, prompting Justyn to perform CPR and try to rescue him, until a neighbour arrived to help save the child and send an ambulance.
I totally went into denial, and I handled it really badly. – Justyn Rees Larcombe, upon realizing his son’s condition
These events would shock Justyn as he felt his life had crumbled. Both parents tried to find ways to cope with the situation and help their child. While the mother Emma would seek help and attempt to find some sort of treatment, Justyn had turned to darker and more selfish mechanisms that would bring him down.
Beginning of a Terrible Addiction
While watching rugby, a sport Justyn enjoys greatly, he noticed an advert for a sports betting website. As he was feeling empty, he registered for the site and placed a £5 bet that he won. He had finally found some joy and began to observe matches closely and place bets. It was the start of a horrible gambling addiction that would shatter his life. We’ve seen this devastating pattern time and again. Another example of a devastated father going into debt and ruining his life is depicted in the movie ‘High Roller: the Stu Ungar Story’.
At first, he would slowly start isolating himself and hide his gambling addiction from his family. He would start working from home, dedicating more time to gambling, and refused to go out with his wife so he could gamble without her knowing. Eventually, Justyn started placing larger and larger bets on various sports such as tennis or horse racing and joining multiple online sites.
I’m expecting to win. I’m also a really bad loser. – Justyn Rees Larcombe
His addiction went unchecked for three years as his competitive and ambitious spirit made him chase bigger thrills. Eventually, he noticed he was losing money and tried to win it all back with a £1000 bet on a tennis match, hoping to recoup his losses and stop gambling. Unfortunately, when he lost the bet, he would find himself spiraling into more debt, leading to his eventual divorce.
Out of Funds, Out of Time
With his addiction getting worse, Justyn’s life would start crumbling as well. After using his corporate credit card for gambling, he got fired from his job and would begin selling things, including his Sword of Honour to keep gambling. He would even start going through his family’s savings to recoup his losses instead of buying a new house after selling his old one. Gambling can be addictive and for this reason, the best roulette sites for UK players pay serious attention to responsible gambling.
Once his wife learned of his gambling addiction, she would take Matthew and their newborn son Oscar and leave Justyn. With a £73,000 debt and his possessions in a plastic bin bag, Justyn would move back in with his parents in Kent, where he would seek recovery after losing everything.
Justyn’s Second Chance – Spiritual Recovery
Justyn would gradually begin recovering ever since 2012 and continues to do so. Starting with Gamblers Anonymous meetings, he would slowly start overcoming his addiction and trying to improve his life. He also re-established his relationship with God and began praying to him every day, while also attending courses using Christianity to help him recover.
Soon, Justyn would be able to recover some parts of his life. His prized Sword of Honour was found and returned. Despite getting a divorce, he still interacts with his wife and children, and he also established his own business education company. Most notably, Justyn took up swimming again to help him recover and swam through the Channel to raise money for a charity that helps Hemiplegic children like his son.
Swimming really helped me with my recovery. I had no self-esteem, and I used to swim, so I thought I should swim to France. – Justyn Rees Larcombe
Finally, Justyn Rees Larcombe published his story in two books. ‘Tails I Lose’ details his gambling addiction story, while ‘One Day at a Time’ advises fellow gambling addicts on overcoming their issues. He would even start a Justyn Rees Larcombe charity called Recovery Two that provides free courses aiming to help all sorts of addicts, from gamblers to alcoholics.
A Brighter Future for a Former Addict
These days, Justyn leads a much better life and continues helping people by spreading his story and his work. In the UK, he would campaign for better tools for self exclusion from online gambling and even swam through the Gibraltar Straight to raise money for The Recovery Course, his own charity for helping all types of addicts. You can contact him with the Justyn Rees Larcombe contact details which include his e-mail justynreeslarcombe@gmail.com or social media like Facebook and Twitter.
Justyn’s story serves as an inspiration for all gambling addicts. Despite losing his job, family, and even his home, Justyn began recovering from his three-year addiction. Although he has lost his wife’s trust and still attends meetings as the compulsion is not completely gone, he has achieved a much more peaceful life. With his debts cleared and his faith in God restored, Justyn continues to help others through charity work and his own business.
FAQ Section
This section will answer any pressing questions regarding Justyn Rees Larcombe. You can find some extra details and more information on this man’s tragic story. We will explain anything unclear about his life and work so that you may understand what makes it so inspirational.
