When You Come Out Of Addiction: Marcus Fair

Eternal Media take people in recovery out as film crew on their funded projects, be it whether the projects are  for prisons, health boards or the police. Marcus emphasises that he puts together courses that he would like to go on. He wants to be with people who are happy, clean, positively charged, and a bit naughty.  He didn't get clean to be an angel—there's enough angels out there!

Marcus points out that addicts have a very busy life. They are on a hamster wheel pretty much all day. His habit was £300 a day. You have to keep finding the money to pay for the drugs and this can involve robberies. If you’re homeless, like he was, you have to find somewhere to take the drugs. It may not be a fulfilling life, but it’s a full life. You are busy all day. When you come out of that and become clean, it’s like, “Now what?’

Eternal was set up to be the ‘Now What’. Recovering people get skills in photography, films, radio and podcasting. And they are get other skills fed into them ‘under the radar’. Confidence and self-esteem are enhanced. Feelings of worthlessness and self-loathing disappear. They take their new skills and changes in personality away with them. They are given complicated, broadcast quality equipment to work with. They might be frightened to use it at the beginning of the day; by the end of the day they are ‘putting it together like it's a sniper rifle.’

Marcus points out that around 560 people have passed through The Bunker to date. As far as they are aware, no one has committed crime or relapsed whilst engaged with them. He doesn’t know anyone else doing this… and half the time they are doing it for no money. Marcus Fair is Founder of Eternal Media. 16 January 2024.