By EMILY SPARACINO / Staff Writer

CHELSEA – The Chelsea High School auditorium was quiet on March 17 as hundreds of students listened to Clint Bryan talk about the alcohol and drug addictions that ruled his life years ago.

“To say it set my life back tremendously is a gross understatement,” Bryan, 41, said. “Drinking and driving can cause you major consequences that can haunt you for the rest of your life.”

Bryan’s talk came days before the CHHS prom and was one in a series of “Drunk/Drugged/Distracted Driving” presentations held at several high schools in Shelby County.

Bryan, who graduated from Pelham High School, shared his struggles with substance abuse that started when he was a teenager and continued through his 20s and early 30s.

“I started drinking at a young age,” he said.

Bryan said he started drinking regularly and driving under the influence when he was in high school.

At 20 years old, he was arrested on his first DUI charge. Bryan said the embarrassment of telling his parents was one of the worst consequences of his decision.

Over the next 14 years, Bryan’s addictions became stronger and led to a myriad of negative consequences, including two more DUI charges, temporary suspension of his driver’s license, thousands of dollars in fines, job loss, home eviction and a near-death experience following an overdose.

Bryan has been sober since age 34, about seven years ago, and is married with two children. But he must still consciously turn from the pitfalls that, in the past, gave him over to substance abuse and driving under the influence of alcohol, drugs or both.

“I have to pray, and I have to help other people,” Bryan said.

Shelby County Drug Free Coalition Coordinator Jan Corbett and Birmingham attorney Lara Alvis helped coordinated Bryan’s presentation at CHHS.

Following Bryan’s speech, Alvis briefly spoke to the students about the consequences of drinking and driving, and the role blood alcohol content levels play in DUI arrests.

“If you get in a vehicle and kill somebody, you’re going to change your life forever,” Alvis said.