Dacula, Georgia — In September 2019, David Hobbs was arrested in an alley in his hometown of Clarksdale, Mississippi, for burglarizing a shed in his backyard.
Unfortunately, at the time, he was dressed as Captain America, the comic book character. The next day, photos of the superhero in handcuffs went viral. Cable channels and newspapers around the world made fun of him.
“I really felt like my life was over,” Hobbs, 41, told CBS News. “All these people were talking about me, making fun of me, and I was like, ‘Oh my God, what a disgrace to my family!'”
Besides his family, Hobbs says one of the few people who didn’t laugh was his childhood friend Trey Lewis.
“After thinking about the details, I thought it was just sad,” Lewis said. “I mean, obviously it was drug-related.”
He was right. Hobbs had been an addict his entire adult life. Luckily, his old friend Lewis, whom he hadn’t seen in 20 years, now owned Good Landing Recovery, a treatment program based in Dacula, Georgia.
“I came here with a suitcase full of dirty clothes and half a cigarette,” Hobbs recently told a group of program participants. “That’s all I had when I came into rehab.”
Lance let Hobbs complete the program for free, and it proved to be a success. Hobbs has now been sober for five years.
That’s why Hobbs now fondly remembers the infamous photo of his arrest. The worst day of his life became the best day of his life.
“What was supposed to destroy me was actually the stepping stone to rebuilding me,” Hobbs said. “… If you still have breath in your lungs and you’re still alive, there’s a chance. You can turn this around.”
Steve Hartman
