ALVIN POWELL

Alvin Powell is a former NFL offensive lineman for the Miami Dolphins and the Seattle Seahawks, a former bodyguard to the stars (Britney Spears, Celine Dion, Justin Timberlake, Madonna…), as well, has appeared in numerous feature films. At 6’5”, 320 pounds, he was an imposing figure on the football field, but nevertheless fell prey to the disease of addiction. Against all odds, Alvin had realized the “American dream” and lost it all, and very nearly his life, to drugs.

From humble beginnings in Panama City, Central America, Alvin rose to professional and social heights unimaginable to most. Through earning his degree in Special Education at Winston-Salem State University, and while playing for the university’s basketball and football teams, Alvin had always intimately understood the importance of determination, perseverance, and motivation.

These qualities and his superior athletic ability brought Alvin to the National Football League (NFL). However, despite his professional success, he could not resist the lure of drugs and in his second pro year, his nightmare of substance abuse began. Soon enough, he became “a full-blown crack addict”, drinking and smoking marijuana as well. His life went into a tailspin and he resigned from the NFL. At his worst, as Alvin tells it, he was living in a church and spending his time “looking for deals to get money to buy cocaine”. He says “I was an embarrassment to my family and friends. I couldn’t die quick enough. But God had another plan”.

Following his recovery, and since 2004 through the Saving Station Foundation, Alvin has dedicated himself to the prevention of youth substance abuse as well as helping those in crisis who are currently suffering from the disease of addiction.

Alvin will tell you, drugs do not care who you are. They do not discriminate against color, creed, race, size, economic background or even age (the youngest person he has helped was just 10 years old). Drugs are an equal opportunity destroyer.