The incredible story of Pablo Escobar was one filled with Hippos, Learjets, and Designer Prisons.

There are famous criminals. and then there are those whose crime turned into a full-blown empire. This was the story of drug king Pablo Escobar, a man that had managed to build a movie-like cartel and escape the authorities for more than three decades, turning into a highly-controversial legend. 

By the time he was 20, he was dabbling in small-time crime to supplement his income. By his 30th birthday, he was the kingpin of one of the most notorious drug-trafficking cartels the world has ever known. This is the amazing and bloody life story of Pablo Escobar.

Getting Started

Escobar was born in December 1949, to a farmer father and a school teacher mother. The third child of seven, Pablo and his family grew up in poverty in the city of Medellin. He began his criminal enterprises young by stealing tombstones, sanding down their inscriptions, and reselling them. He also arranged fake high school diplomas and sold contraband cigarettes and fake lottery tickets. Soon enough, Escobar’s crimes escalated from petty—to violent.

As a youth, Pablo performed armed robberies of banks in Medellín before dropping out of school and joining a gang. They would take cars, sometimes right in front of the drivers during the day, and quickly break them down into valuable parts, selling them for a lot of money. With the money they bribed local officials to give them new documents for the stolen cars, so he didn’t have to take them apart anymore.
 

Robin Hood Killer

One of the most famous incidents connected to young Pablo was attributed to the case of Diego Echavarria, a rich factory owner in Envigado, during the summer of 1971. Diego Echavarria was a respected man in wealthy social circles, but many poor workers in Medellín didn’t like him. This was because lots of them were losing their jobs in the local textile mills.

Also at that time, rich landowners in Antioquia were taking over land along the Magdelena River valley, and entire villages of farmers were evicted to the city’s slums. The unpopular factory owner was found dead in a hole not far from where Pablo was born. He was kidnapped six weeks earlier, and even though his family had paid a $50,000 ransom to get him back, he had been beaten and strangled to death.

Underage Bride

Maria Victoria Henao was just 15 years old when she married Pablo Escobar, a fully grown 27-year-old man. She was also, as far as her parents were concerned, a step or two above him on the social ladder. They may not have been worried by the age gap, but they certainly didn’t approve of the socio-economic difference.

Of course, their daughter growing up with a lack of money was not something the Henao family ever really needed to worry about, but perhaps some other things that would come to trouble them instead. Pablo and Maria went on to have two children together; a son named Juan and a daughter they called Manuela.

His Biggest Supporter

Pablo Escobar’s wife Maria stood by him in everything he did. So much so, it was believed members of rival carters would seek to obtain recordings of Maria and Pablo talking so they could play them for their wives. The intention was to show their own wives how they would like them to behave, which was no doubt well received by all.

It’s believed this supportive attitude from Maria contributed to the other cartels choosing not to try and kill her and her two children. Maria did have one preference for Pablo’s behavior, however; she encouraged him to avoid violence where possible.

Grim Unicorn

Like many young girls, Manuela Escobar once asked her loving father for a horse. However, it wasn’t a simple pony on this hopeful daughter’s wish list, she wanted a unicorn. A simple matter of those creatures not existing wasn’t going to stop Pablo Escobar’s little girl from getting what she’d asked for.

Escobar brought in a horse and had a cone stapled to its head. He also had wings stapled to the animal for good measure. Amazing for Manuela, not so much for her horse. Not only must it have been in severe pain at the time, it later developed an infection and died.

My Life and My Prison With Pablo Escobar

However, if Maria was Escobar’s biggest supporter, it was not always the case the other way around. In fact, the now 57-year-old widow was only 12 when she fell in love with the drug baron and didn’t know what was expecting her when she married him two years later.

In her memoir My Life and My Prison With Pablo Escobar, she opens up about her marriage and moments of intimacy with the worldwide criminal and recalls a traumatic event from when she was only 14 years old. Escobar caused her to abort her baby, forcing her to lie down in an insalubrious clinic while a woman was placing plastic tubes into her womb.

Affairs

And Pablo Escobar wasn’t always the most faithful husband as well. In 2007, the Colombian journalist and author Virginia Vallejo wrote a memoir titled Amando a Pablo, odiando a Escobar (Loving Pablo, Hating Escobar) in which she detailed a romantic relationship with the cartel leader.

Similarly, the “Queen of Narco-Trafficking”, Griselda Blanco, who helped distribute the cartel’s products, may also have had romantic connections to the famed criminal, and wrote a diary in which she referred to Escobar in the endearing yet quite scary nicknames of “Coque de Mi Rey” (My Coke King) and “Polla Blanca”.

Plan A and Plan B

Pablo didn’t only stray from his relationship with his wife, but he also ignored her advice for than once. Maria tried to persuade her husband against violence but, like many husbands, he didn’t always listen to his wife’s advice. When arrested for possession of 39 pounds of cocaine in 1976, Escobar dabbed in taking the non-violent road and offered the judge a bribe.

When his buy-off attempt was rejected, however, Escobar chose to have the arresting officers murdered rather than take his punishment. This proved to be horrifyingly effective for him, and it was a tactic Escobar would become well known for in his career.

Body Count

In fact, by the time he died, Pablo Escobar had something of a large body count. Though he continued to employ bribery when it was appropriate, Escobar understood violence and murder were often the most efficient way to get the results he wanted.

More than 4000 people are believed to have been killed at the hand, or by the order of, the King of Cocaine. Around a quarter of these were public officials, including police officers, journalists, and government workers. Judges were particularly targeted by Escobar; over 200 are believed to have been included in his tally of murders.

Big Business

At the height of his operations, Pablo Escobar and the Medellin Cartel were so successful it was believed four in every five lines of cocaine consumed around the world had come through their hands. Escobar himself was believed to be earning $21.9 billion a year. No other criminal has ever earned this much money.

To put this into context, Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk today earns around $2.2 billion a year. Of course, the drug trade is a much shorter and less secure career than the electric car industry but, even taking this into account, it’s fair to say Pablo Escobar was phenomenally successful.

Unusual Expenses

Pablo Escobar worked in a cash industry and, like Walter White’s storage locker in Breaking Bad, it meant he had some unusual problems he needed to solve. Fortunately, he could afford the solutions, and put his impressive finances and criminal mind to work, with rather interesting results. 

Escobar had so many notes to keep in order that, at one stage, it was estimated Escobar was spending $2500 every month on rubber bands. Transportation was an issue too. Escobar found buying a private Learjet was the most efficient way to move his mountains of cash from one place to another.

Wheels of Commerce

Aviation was an important part of Pablo Escobar’s business in general. Constantly searching for efficient and undetectable ways to move contraband products across long distances and international borders, Escobar and the cartel discovered a new place to store their checked baggage.

Distribution teams would fill plane tires with bricks of cocaine before a flight’s departure. These would then be removed and emptied by a team at the destination, and the product moved on for local distribution. It’s understood this tactic was worth around $50,000 a day to the cartel.

Elected Official

It might seem strange to see a career criminal in an official government position, but that’s exactly what happened to Pablo Escobar. In 1982, with plenty of help from, his vast fortune, Escobar won the election to the Chamber of Representatives as part of the Liberal Alternative movement.

This high-profile side-job had brought with it several important advantages. Most importantly, it granted the cartel leader a diplomatic visa and judicial immunity. It also made him responsible for community projects such as creating football fields and building houses, this improved his image amongst the Colombian public a great deal.

Los Extraditables

“We prefer a grave in Colombia to a prison in the United States,” was the motto of Los Extraditables, a group of Colombian drug lords in the 1980s, of whom Pablo Escobar was one. These individuals faced the potential of extradition to the U.S. and they united to try and prevent it at a constitutional level.

In 1985, a guerilla organization known as M-19 stormed the Colombian Supreme Court in protest of extradition to the U.S. They murdered around half of the judges and destroyed all the files relating to Los Extraditables. It is widely believed Escobar was involved in planning and supporting the event.

Clean Slate

Force Wasn’t the only method employed by Pablo Escobar to try and avoid facing trial and imprisonment in the U.S.A. In another attempt the weaponize his wealth, he had offered that in exchange for changing the country’s extradition laws, Escobar offered to pay off Colombia’s entire national debt. It must have been a tempting offer, but it was refused.

Today’s Colombian government may wish their predecessors had taken a different attitude though, since while at the time Escobar made his offer, the total national debt was around $10 billion, today it is close to $166 billion.

Forbes List

Jeff Bezos, Elon Musk, Bernard Arnault, Bill Gates, Mark Zuckerberg. These are the five names at the top of the Forbes Rich List for 2021. The most widely recognized wealth list in America has also had some more interesting names on it over the decades.

In 1987, Pablo Escobar was included in the list for the first time and he remained there until his death in 1993. His position peaked in 1989 when he was ranked as the 7th richest person in the world. Escobar may have enjoyed the acclaim, but the notoriety wasn’t exactly ideal for a person working in a trade that relied on a certain level of anonymity.

Seizure

While authorities would have to wait until after Pablo Escobar’s death to seize most of his possessions and estate, they did get their hands on a “small” amount of the cartel’s fleet of vehicles and infrastructure in the late 1980s. The amounts they got a hold of were absolutely insane.

Colombia seized 142 planes, 20 helicopters, 32 yachts, and 141 homes and offices – basically enough to establish and defend a whole new town. Drug dealing might not seem like a real “business” to many people, but the administration of Escobar’s logistics department alone must have been complex enough to rival many legitimate corporations.

Submersibles

There are many ways to move drugs around the world; over land, in the sky, or sailing through the waves of seas and oceans. While there is always a way to escape detection, authorities have long since been developing ways to combat these movements.

Pablo Escobar used all these ways, but he also pioneered a new form of movement that looks like it came straight out of a movie. In an effort to evade detection by U.S. authorities, Escobar bought two remote control submarines. An ingenious solution and one that is still used by many drug traffickers today.

Huge Loads

The biggest single shipment of cocaine Pablo Escobar is known to have sent to U.S. shores was weighed at an incredible 25.5 tons, an amount so big that it is almost hard to believe that he was able to pull it off. To put that into perspective. that is the equivalent of eight elephants, or, in financial terms, about $40 million wholesale.

It’s believed that, at the height of the Medellin Cartel’s operations, around 15 tonnes every day was being distributed. That’s almost 5500 tonnes per year – which is over 1700 elephants and well, an awful lot of dollars. Enough to inspire even modern distribution giants like Jeff Bezos.

Robin Hood

Pablo Escobar led a bloody and criminal regime, and there is no denying the horror and damage he caused to ordinary people around the world and the headaches he gave to authorities in Colombia, the U.S, and beyond. However, that didn’t stop him from pursuing an image as something of a “Robin Hood” figure.

Escobar, in a very contrasting manner, when considering his other activities, worked hard to improve the lives of those living below the poverty line in his home country. This included establishing food programs, donating to hospitals and churches, building football stadiums, developing parks, and regenerating neighborhoods.

What’s in a Name?

Don Pablo (Sir Pablo), El Padrino (The Godfather), El Patrón (The Boss), The King of Cocaine, The King of Crack, Matar Pablo (Killing Pablo), Paisa Robin Hood – these are just a few of the names Pablo Escobar went by during his career as a drug lord.

His parents had named him Pablo Emilio Escobar Gaviria, but when you’re head of a bloodthirsty cartel, image is important, so it’s good to get a little creative. Which names Escobar himself came up with, and which were thought up by groveling minions or fearful enemies, is unknown.

Lost Money

How much of your savings could you afford to lose each year before it started to have an impact? Two percent? Five percent? One of the hazards of Pablo Escobar amassing such a huge wealth in cash was that he was forced to write off around ten percent of his earnings simply because the actual cash was lost or damaged.

The King of Cocaine had to find so many hiding places for his money it was impossible to make sure all were completely secure. Some money became too water damaged to spend, some was simply lost, and some was eaten by rats. In total, Escobar is estimated to have lost around $2.2 billion a year in this way.

Extreme Measures

On November 27, 1989, Avianca Flight 203 exploded over the Soacha area of Colombia. All 107 people on board were killed, as were three more on the ground. Pablo Escobar had instructed two men to board the flight carrying a suitcase and sit directly above the main fuel tank. Just before take-off, one man left the flight. The other had been told he was carrying a recording device and, once the flight was in the air, he should turn it on to record any conversation between two passengers nearby.

Of course, it was a bomb, not a recorder, and Escobar’s man unwittingly killed himself along with everyone else when he flipped the switch. Escobar’s target had been a single person, the presidential candidate Cesar Gaviria Trujillo. Trujillo was not on board and was elected to office the following year.

It Wasn’t Me

Four years after Avianca Flight 203, Pablo Escobar was accused of orchestrating a bomb attack on New York City’s World Trade Center. A truck bomb was detonated beneath Tower 1 with the intention of collapsing it completely and bringing Tower 2 down with it. Had it succeeded, 50,000 or more people could have been killed. It failed, but it did take the lives of six people, including a pregnant woman.

Before the true perpetrators were discovered, the finger of suspicion was pointed towards Escobar. The cartel leader was enraged. He sent a letter to the U.S. Ambassador to say he would never do such a thing, after all, the people in those towers were his customers.

Anything But America

The reason Pablo Escobar was so determined to take out Cesar Gaviria Trujillo was the potential president’s policy on extradition. Trujillo had declared that, if elected, he intended to pass a law that would allow drug traffickers to be extradited to face trial, and potentially jail, in the United States.

As you can probably tell by now, that was the thing Escobar feared most in the world. If he were imprisoned in Colombia he could still bribe officials, run his business, and look after his family. None that would be possible from an American jail cell.

La Catedral

On August 18, 1989 cartel hitmen assassinated the politician Luis Carlos Galán after he publicly announced support for extradition to the U.S. This prompted Cesar Gaviria Trujillo to take action. Rather than risk the violence escalating, Trujillo made Pablo Escobar an offer.

The deal was that Escobar would hand himself in and halt all criminal activity, in exchange, he would not only be able to serve his punishment in Colombia, but he would also receive a reduced sentence, preferential treatment, and he would be allowed to build his own prison. Escobar took the deal and built La Catedral, a prison that featured a casino, a nightclub, and a spa.

No Deal

Pablo Escobar may have said he agreed to all of Cesar Gaviria Trujillo’s terms, but his actions were different. Yes, he gave himself up and allowed himself to be incarcerated in his own luxury prison. The bit about ceasing all criminal activity, however, he was less willing to comply with.

When authorities learned Escobar was still running the cartel from inside La Catedral, they began making plans to move him to a standard prison. Of course, Escobar found out and the deal was off completely. He escaped and remained officially on the run for the rest of his life.

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Joined Forces

Pablo Escobar’s escape from prison was the last straw for the authorities who had sought to bring him to justice for around three decades. This was the moment when the Colombian police had teamed up with U.S Special forces in order to put an end to his crimes once and for all.

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A joint unit was constructed featuring members of Central Spike (Intelligence Support Agency), Delta Force (Army Special Ops), and DEVGRU (Navy Seals). Escobar remained in hiding but, with this sort of power and commitment amassing against him, he must have known his days as a free man were numbered.

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Los Pepes

It wasn’t only the authorities who had lost patience with Pablo Escobar and the Medellin Cartel. Troubles had begun to bubble from within, and as the drug gang leader remained on the loose, a vigilante group formed and began carrying out increasingly violent actions against members of the cartel.

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Los Perseguidos por Pablo Escobar (People Persecuted by Pablo Escobar), who were largely funded by rival cartels and former associates of Escobar, destroyed property and killed anyone they could find connected to Escobar. Associates, lawyers, and family were all murdered in a bloody campaign which resulted in more than 300 deaths.

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Fuel Bills

Similar to the laws of supply and demand, one of the most simple economic rules is that the more of something you have, the less it is likely to be worth. That was certainly the case with Pablo Escobar’s cash. With more available money than he could possibly spend, each paper note was of far less consequence to Escobar than it might be to you or me.

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This was demonstrated when Escobar’s daughter became ill while the family was hiding out in the Medellin mountains in 1992 and 1993. She needed to be kept warm and the most combustible material to hand was cash, so Escobar burned around $2.2 million to generate the heat the family needed.

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Final Showdown

Pablo Escobar remained on the run for 18 months after his escape from prison. Then, on December 2, 1993, he found himself cornered at a property in Los Olivos. Colombian police tracked Escobar’s location by using cell phone triangulation and a party of 8 officers stormed the building in which they believed Escobar to be hiding.

What ensued was a movie-style shoot-out leading to a climactic rooftop scene. After two other fugitives were killed, Escobar was dealt gunshot wounds to the leg and torso. The final shot that killed Pablo Escobar traveled through his ear. Whether this was done in the shootout, in a final execution, or was delivered by a cornered Escobar himself, is a matter of ongoing debate.

He Said He Would

The theory that Pablo Escobar turned a gun on himself once he knew the game was up has been perpetuated by his two brother’s events since that fateful day on the Los Olivos rooftop. Roberto Escobar and Fernando Sánchez Arellano released a statement saying, “[Pablo] had committed suicide, he did not get killed. “

One of the brothers explained this by telling readers and listeners that, “during all the years they went after him, [Pablo] would say to me every day that if he was really cornered without a way out, he would ‘shoot himself through the ear’.”

Popular to the End

Despite the swell of public and political opinion against him, Pablo Escobar had remained hugely popular with many people in death as he had in life. Amazingly, his funeral was attended by more than 25,000 people.

These types of grand funerals are usually saved for beloved artists or world leaders, and Escobar’s policy of using his wealth and power to help the lives of Colombia’s poor had ensured he would be remembered in some quarters as a folk hero. A violent, bloody, and merciless folk hero for sure, but one who earned the love of those he helped nonetheless.

Pablo Belfort

If you’re wondering what it was like to be an “employee” of the Medellin Cartel, then you might want to re-watch The Wolf of Wall Street. Just like Jordan Belfort, Pablo Escobar was happy to spend huge amounts of his ill-gotten gains to entertain his loyal team members.

On some occasions, he was known to hire groups of beauty queens to eat insects, climb trees, or take part in sports car races – all while nude, of course. At other times, Escobar and his football-mad lieutenants would pay to fly in their favorite soccer players and organize matches for the cartel men to bet on. 

Self-Taught

Of course, when authorities raided Pablo Escobar’s home there were many things they expected to find. Some, however, were quite a surprise. In Escobar’s book library, they found one particular title which may have explained his phenomenal success.

On one of Escobar’s bookshelves was El Poder Del Pensamiento Tenaz, the Spanish translation of Norman Vincent Peale’s self-help book, The Power of Positive Thinking. How Peale felt about inspiring one of the bloodiest cartel leaders in modern history is unknown, but it seems at least his theories have been thoroughly put to the test.

ZooKeeper

Pablo Escobar built a private zoo at his Hacienda Nápoles estate in Puerto Triunfo, Antioquia. He imported giraffes and elephants, but it was his hippos that have made the longest-lasting impression. Escobar originally brought in four hippos. The animals were judged too difficult to seize and move after the drug lord’s death and were simply released into the local habitat.

By 2014 they were believed to be around 40 hippos with the population doubling in size every few years. Today they are considered a real threat to the local ecosystem and need to be managed by a program of chemical castration.

Buried Treasure

Another way Pablo Escobar hid cash was to stuff it into plastic drums, which he would then bury. Most were buried in or around his many properties, but some were taken out into the countryside. 

Unfortunately for both Escobar and the Colombian authorities who ultimately seized all his wealth, keeping records of where these drums were buried doesn’t seem to have been one of the Medellin Cartel’s strong points. Millions, if not billions, of dollars were never recovered and are assumed to still be underground somewhere in Colombia. A couple of spades and a plane ticket to Bogotá, anyone?

Escobar was but one of many successful criminals that left their mark on history, keep up to learn some more about those brilliant evil masterminds! 

Frank William Abagnale. Born in 1948, he carried out his criminal activities between the ages of 16 and 21.

Within this period:

He forged his driver’s license to seem ten years older and then opened several bank accounts using different identities. In order to remove suspicion while cashing his forged checks, he decided to become a pilot.

He forged a pilot’s license and an employee ID.

He forged $2.5 million worth of bank checks across 26 countries he had flown to as a pilot.

Shortly after he stopped working as a pilot he moved to Georgia where he became a pediatrician. He quit after he almost killed a baby.

He then moved on to work as a lawyer claiming to have graduated from Harvard.

When he was arrested in 1969 twelve countries sought his extradition.

While he was in prison he posed as an undercover inspector and this made him receive special treatments. He was able to escape from prison but was re-arrested.

He was released on parole, the condition being that he must work for the FBI. Till this day Frank still works for the FBI.

Each of those three professions he impersonated takes years before anyone could practice them.

How was he able to work as:

A doctor without going to medical school.

A lawyer without going to law school.

A pilot with no training.

No one knows how he was able to pull this off. But this can only be done by a highly intelligent criminal.

The most intelligent criminal in history is still alive today, 74 years old and he is Frank William Abagnale Jr.

People are known to assume fall identities but to go to the extent of assuming false professional competences which were all pulled off with convincing demonstrations as Frank William Abagnale Jr. did, is rare.

His life inspired the movie, Catch Me If You Can.

Extreme Humiliation

When looking back at our younger years, there is usually a certain memory that makes you cringe with embarrassment. Sometimes those awful memories tend to affect others more and can cause trauma. You try to shake off those bad vibes whenever they come.

By Linda Edwards

The young man at the center of our story here just experienced the worst possible experience he could have in his youth. 

He had become the subject of ridicule by a girl. To make things worse, it occurred in front of many people. He was so frozen in humiliation that he started to feel nauseated. Blood rushed to his cheeks. He knew he looked red like a tomato at that very second. His next response was to quickly run away and escape, thinking nothing could be worse than that in his life. However, he would soon find that he was dead wrong about that…

Too Much Fast Food

This young man, Anthony Bayer, had trouble eating healthily for quite a while now. He loved fast food and ate it every single day. Fries, burgers, pizzas, and hot dogs. The supposed weekend treats had become an everyday menu for this young man.

His family tried to intervene, but Anthony was so sneaky he always got a hold of this unhealthy food every single day. He gained more and more weight, but he never seemed to be bothered by it. He was blinded by these so-called fast foods and never gave proper nutrition a single thought. 

The Mocking and Taunting Started

With his unhealthy weight and obvious lack of effort to control his eating tendencies, he soon became the subject of teasing and taunting in the school. What was sadder was that even his teachers joined in and made subtle comments about his issues without actually helping solve the problem.

Although still affected by the humiliation around him, Anthony learned to build a wall around him and continued with his awful eating habits. His unhealthy coping was slowly dragging him further down. He was not aware of what was about to come.

He Struggled Alone in School

It is now obvious that the cycle of poor food choices and an unhealthy emotional state is locking the young man in a world of harm. Unless some miracle happens (or real help occurs), he will only continue bringing himself down further. Meatballs for breakfast, two pizzas for lunch, and a fried chicken for dinner do sound tasty but not ideal for everyday consumption.

This cycle of mindless eating turned into a method of coping with the ridicule he gets at school. The more he felt alone and rejected, the more he held tight to his poor eating habits. 

Prom Is Coming

As with every high school, prom can be the highlight of the year. Will it be the same for Anthony? When he heard about the news, he was quick to dismiss the idea of attending and thought that was not his thing. He could still feel the exciting vibe in the corridors as everyone was frantic about looking for a partner for the prom.

Again, he told himself he was never going to go. Something unexpected happened a short while later. The high school Ms. Popular, Molly, suddenly approached him during math class. Puzzled, he wondered what she could possibly want from him. 

Beauty That Dazzles

Molly was the typical popular girl in high school. He felt blood rushing to his cheeks when she started to talk to him. Butterflies filled his stomach. When she opened her mouth, everything felt like slow motion for Anthony.

She just asked him if he would go to prom with her! At a loss for words, he could only utter, “Yeah sure.” Anthony for the first time was filled with excitement and happiness in school. Young Anthony was thrilled to think about what could possibly happen next. 

Prom Night

Days went by so quickly that it was already prom night. Anthony went all out, trying to look and feel his best. He rented a very fancy suit and even went another level by renting a limousine to impress beautiful Molly. He still could not believe that he was asked out by the prettiest girl in school.

All prepped up, he kissed his parents goodbye for the night and hopped into the fancy vehicle to pick up Molly. He had no idea what was in store for him.

Ready to Pick Up His Prom Date

The dashing Anthony ticked off all the boxes to complete the perfect prom date checklist. Confident but still with a racing heartbeat, he walked towards Molly’s porch and rang the doorbell. He could still feel his shaking hands as he released the doorbell button.

The only thing he could do was take a very deep breath while waiting for Molly to open the door. What the supposed high school sweetheart did next would leave young Anthony traumatized for the rest of his life. 

He Became a Laughingstock

Young Anthony had no premonition at all on what was about to happen. Molly soon appeared and as expected, she looked stunning in her prom gown. However, her reaction upon seeing Anthony was rather bizarre. She started to laugh at him. A split second later, a group of people behind Molly joined in and laughed all together.

Confused, Anthony wondered if he had cookie crumbs on him or even a shaving cream on his face. It soon dawned on him that the reason for the laughter with reasons that were worse than what he initially thought. 

Shamed

Molly uttered the meanest words towards Anthony while pointing a finger straight to his face. “You’re just a big joke,” Molly cruelly said. Upon hearing that line, he suddenly felt pale in disbelief. His whole being was crushed in the blink of an eye. Tears went gushing into his cheeks.

He instantly ran towards the limousine and hurried to get home. He felt shattered and so wronged. In his young life, never did he receive such a cruel act. All the hurtful comments at school became so little compared to what Molly did that night. 

Trying to Feel Safe at Home

Anthony rushed home and the very first thing he went for was the fridge. The young man suffered so much inner turmoil and confusion. He immediately went for the only thing that had been giving him comfort—food. He tried to eat everything that he could more in the hopes of calming his nerves down than actually filling his stomach.

Nobody was able to stop him as his parents went out that night too. While swallowing all the food, he could not help but think about the next day’s bigger mockery in school. He was sure that news of the prank would spread, and he would be the talk of the town.

The Embarrassment Keeps Building Up

He knew he still needed to go back to school and face his bullying schoolmates. The next Monday morning, he could see everyone was laughing at him in school and the news of the awful prank just kept spreading on the campus. His public rejection appeared to be a source of humor for his cruel schoolmates.

Despite being swallowed up in embarrassment and still using his unhealthy coping mechanisms, Anthony was blessed to have the awareness that high school was just about to finish and that his life would go on. All these cruel people would soon get what was coming to them…

Still Using Unhealthy Eating Habits 

Trying to ease down the emotional effects of his recent nightmare, he continued with his bad eating. He was now finding it more and more difficult to slow down and actually feel full. Large pizzas, chocolate cake, meatball subs, KFC burger meals, a bottle of coke, and a packet of Magnum ice-creams continued to be his daily munchies.

All in all, he consumed around 10,000 calories per day which is an extreme caloric intake. Anthony still did not see the downside of his ways. 

Heavier and Heavier

It was not long before his weight doubled and tripled. His relentless poor eating habits were now taking a toll on his body. He even reached almost 300 pounds on the scale. He grew more obese and attracted more hurtful remarks around him. More than the bullying, his deteriorating health was tapping him on the back for some real attention.

All the scornful looks and rumors are now slowly fading in the background as he becomes more and more aware of what is actually happening in his body. 

Health Issues on the Rise

Teenagers are not typically bombarded with health issues. Overall health is usually good for a young person. Anthony, although young, is in an atypical situation. Being overweight, he is at high risk for developing type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure, gallstones, high cholesterol, stroke, coronary artery disease, and sleep apnea.

These are major health issues that are not normally present in one’s teenage years. He might potentially develop liver issues and bone issues. Anthony took a while to wake up and realize his situation. 

Out of Control

Anthony confessed he fell into a deep depression after that incident in high school. He was extremely affected that it went on for a couple of years after graduating. His self-esteem was at its lowest and he thought he could never be with someone else. The cycle of seeking comfort in food continued on together with his depression.

He let his food addiction run the show for many years. He claimed he never knew how to eat properly and that he could not even bother to care about it. 

Lost Self Conviction

At some point years later, he thought of trying the gym, However, he was too weight conscious that he could not bear walking inside the gym and be looked at and possibly be ridiculed again. Deep inside, he knew he should go.

Similar to a hungry person, they have every right to be inside a restaurant to eat. A little help from the doctor was about to give him the nudge he needed to change his life for the better.

Hello Doctor

A supposed regular visit to the doctor turned out to be the best thing that had happened to him in the last couple of years. It became the wake-up call that he badly needed. His doctor performed some tests, and the results were causing a loud bell in his ears that made him wake up to his reality.

He was on the verge of developing diabetes. The result scared him, and he panicked.  He knew he needed to make some changes right away or he would be on the losing end very soon. 

Changes Must Be Made Right Away

The trip to the doctor pushed him to do better for his own welfare. He felt that he could die if he did not make any necessary changes in his lifestyle soon. His very first step inside the gym soon happened, and also, he made some much-needed alterations in his eating habits.

Eating healthy became his priority. Young Anthony did struggle at first. After all, greatness does not always happen in one’s comfort zone. He knew he was on the right track and giving up was not in his vision at all. 

Lifestyle Makeover

Anthony eventually learned to cut down on unhealthy foodstuffs and stick only with nutritious ones. Gone are the pizza days for Anthony. He was becoming more aware of food variety and moderation. Whole grains, fruits, carbohydrates, proteins, and vegetables filled his daily routine.

With dietary changes, he was able to boost his metabolism. His cravings were greatly cut down due to his high-protein meals. He also learned to cut down on sugar to minimize his predisposition towards diabetes. Fast foods are now gone with the wind for the new and improved Anthony!

Positive Transformations 

When he was extremely overweight, Anthony recalled how poor his self-esteem was. He was full of hate for himself and even thought nobody could ever love him. Finding the right help came at just the right time, and his desire for a life partner and family of his own helped him create a healthier future.

He could already feel the difference physically and emotionally. He liked the changes that were happening and stopping now was not an option.

New Life

Going to the gym and eating healthy became his new coping mechanism for stress. His motivation to become a better version of himself only became stronger every day. The scales are slowly showing his progress. His path towards fitness was long and exhausting, but his motivation was greater than anything else.

His confidence kept rising. He soon realized he had become so much happier. In the midst of all these positive changes, little did he know that someone from his ugly past was about to show up. 

In Better Shape Inside and Out

Five long years have now passed since that unfortunate prom night happened. Anthony was nowhere near the 17-year-old Anthony physically, mentally, and emotionally. He is in his best shape so far. He even started a YouTube channel with the sole purpose of inspiring people to be better.

He knew he had a lot to share and he could relate to the dilemmas of young people with health issues. Being more physically fit, it was not long before he started to get attention from girls. Dating applications got him over 1000 matches. Things were now so much better for him. However, he still had no idea what or who he had to face again. 

An Unexpected Message

After a routine session in the local gym one afternoon, Anthony was ready to go home and call it a day. As he parked his car in the driveway, his phone suddenly made a little beeping noise. Who could it be? As he reached out for his mobile phone, he saw the message notification.

He opened it and when he saw who the sender was, he felt nothing but disgust. His initial hyped vibe after a gym workout was suddenly replaced with repulsion. 

From Molly

He was trembling when he saw her name on the screen. Molly. That cruel girl from five years ago is now texting Anthony. Aside from disgust, he was also filled with questions. He could not figure out how she got his number, nor what she was up to now.

The hurtful past is coming back in flashbacks in his mind. Why is she reaching out to him now? With what she had done before, Anthony could not believe how she got the nerve to even text him. 

Speechless

The message gave Anthony a great sense of disbelief and disgust. Although she expressed her apology for the act she had done years ago, the remaining part of the message was just out of this world and totally unbelievable. With the pain she has caused young Anthony, will one simple apology through text and a date invitation be enough to erase everything?

Anthony could not believe what he just read. Was she up to her same cruel shenanigans from all those years ago? Could it be that she was really into him now?

Turning the Tables

The unexpected message from Molly allowed Anthony to relive all those awful memories on prom night. She was an extreme bully and caused him pain that lasted for years. He knew he would not give her any portion of time at all. Anthony, later on, thought of something to turn the tables, or at least make everything fair and square at least.

What he did afterward was something Molly never expected him to do. This time she was the one who was clueless and about to get a taste of her own medicine.

To Forgive Is One Thing, to Forget Is Another Thing

If you thought Anthony was going to prank Molly after how she humiliated him, you got it wrong. Anthony actually thought of completely ignoring her text. She would be left hanging in the process and eventually will feel rejected by the man she mocked before. But would that be enough?

Anthony was keen to move forward and let go of all the bad things in his life. He does not need to do low acts to get even. With his head up high, he knew he already got the last laugh. 

Realization

In a later interview, Anthony recalling how she humiliated him, revealed that realizations in life take time, and for him it took years. It also took a dip in his health before he woke to the reality that his health was already in danger. Being told that he was pre-diabetic made him so scared and afraid for his life. The need to change for the better should come from within. Being wide aware of the situation and what you should do helps pull out a person from the depths of possible harm.

Anthony claimed he eventually stopped going for fast food and relied on his own home cooking skills. The gym has been his second home since 2014. Perhaps his struggles in life did play a big role in helping him change for the better, but no one should have to experience such cruel behavior. Anthony took the opportunity to be a better version of himself, despite the ridicule he endured all those years ago.

Source: graduatez.com