A man who started smoking marijuana at the age of 12 is celebrating seven years sober after his drug use left him with scabs all over his body.

Hunter Michael-Shepard, 30, got hooked from a young age and became addicted to meth, heroin, fentanyl, cocaine and ketamine.

He spent 11 years and thousands of dollars on drugs and alcohol.

Hunter tried 26 different rehabilitation centres before getting clean in 2018 - after going to a detox facility and doing 90 days of rehab.

He also saw a physiatrist to help recover.

Hunter - now seven years sober - helps support other people's sobriety journeys and will give them advice to find the right treatment centres.

He says his work keeps him sober and holds him "accountable"."

Hunter, an interventionist and a sober transporter, from Parkersburg, West Virginia, US, said: "I would take drugs every day. I couldn't go a day without it. I would use anything I could get my hands on."

"I used meth, heroin and fentanyl, and so I used my parents' health insurance to go to six different treatment centres, but there are a lot of bad treatment centres in the USA."

"This really highlighted these issues and these links to what made me what I want to do now. I get so many people reaching out to me or their loved ones. I get hundreds of messages a day between all of my platforms."

Hunter started drinking and smoking weed when he was just 12 as a way of coping with his mental health struggles.

He then started trying harder drugs and ended up in a cycle of crime.

Hunter said: "When I was 21, that's when I tried to get sober for the first time, and then I went into treatment for the first time. "

"Between aged 21 to 23 I went to rehab six times and I was in and out of psychosis for two years. "

"I went to 26 different facilities, but they didn't teach me how to be sober, and then when I was 23, I hit rock bottom."

"I relapsed for the last time, and I lost 43 lbs as well as only sleeping for three days in three weeks and went into psychosis."

"It was pretty rough. I had hallucinations, both visual and auditory. It definitely wore me out physically and mentally."

Hunter was finally able to get sober in February 2018 by attending rehab and many therapy groups, which has inspired him to do help others.

He now uses his large platform of 1.1M followers on Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok to talk about his past experiences and share other people's amazing transformations.

People contact Hunter who then connects them with inpatient services for their local area.

Hunter said: "It's therapy and detox as well. The best part about my job are the transformations, I love them. Whether it is directly or educating them, it has been thousands. "

"This job keeps me sober, helps me be a better person, and holds me accountable. I couldn't imagine anything else. "

"I want people to reach out and become a part of the community and talk to people who know how to become sober. We become isolated and alone, and the main thing is to be connected."

To find out more visit Hunter's website: https://www.huntermichaelshepard.com/