Danny Trejo is celebrating a major milestone.
The Los Angeles native revealed he’s been clean and sober for 55 years.
The “Machete” actor marked the anniversary with a post on Instagram Thursday. In the photo, Trejo is seen decked out in Los Angeles Rams gear with his arms open wide and a bright smile on his face.
“I’m 55 years clean and sober today by the grace of God!” his caption read. “I’ve done this one day at a time, and for anyone out there struggling YOU CAN TOO!”
The 79-year-old decided to get sober when he was 24 while serving time inside San Quentin State Prison in Northern California.
He told Variety in 2019 that he was sent to prison for attempting to sell heroin to an undercover police officer.
Prior to his time there, Trejo had been in and out of jail during his late teens and early 20s. He told the outlet that he smoked weed for the first time at 8 years old with an uncle, and he started drinking by 12.
When he was around 14, he started shooting heroin. When he was 15, he went to his first 12-step meeting but something finally clicked years later when a former inmate came to the prison to talk about his journey of sobriety.
“That guy saved my life. He said, ‘Why don’t you join us? Before you do anything, just join us,” Trejo explained. “Give it a try. What do you have to lose?’ It was kind of like an awakening. So when I got out of the joint, I went back to meetings.”
Trejo eventually became a drug counselor, which led him to his career in Hollywood.
In 1985, when Trejo was 16 years sober, he got a job as an extra on the set of “Runaway Train.” A young production assistant who had trouble staying sober himself got Trejo the job to help him stay on his path.
A screenwriter of the film, who happened to serve time with Trejo at San Quentin, remembered he was a good boxer and had him train Eric Roberts for the film’s fight scenes. That led to the film’s director offering him a role as a boxer who spars with Roberts.
Since that film, Trejo has starred in numerous films.
He’s also become quite the entrepreneur. He opened Trejo’s Tacos in 2016. He later expanded and opened Trejo’s Cantina and Trejo’s Coffee and Donuts.