Despite his many athletic competitions, one of the greatest challenges for Charlie Engle was regaining his life.
At the beginning of his presentation, Engle, the only person to compete in the triple crown of endurance races in one year, reassured the audience he was a funny guy and it was fine to laugh at his jokes, even though he would be talking about his personal struggles with drugs and alcohol.
Given the subject matter of his speech, Engle remained light-hearted and upbeat.
He started off by saying the sport he participates in is passionate and requires heavy training and skills in a wide variety of sports.
As Engle told the story of his recovery from addiction, he said he was glad about the situation.
"I actually take more pride in the mistakes I've made because I've learned a lot more from them," he said.
At the same time, Engle told the audience he did not like failure and said people shouldn't do things they know might fail.
Engle said his problems with drugs were tied to a confidence problem he had in his youth. Engle's parents divorced, and at 13, he decided to move to California with his father. There he faced the pressures of fitting in at a new school.
Engle turned to sports to try to fit in.
"I found out I was decent at sports," he said. "By the time I finished high school, I had lettered in six sports and dated the occasional high school cheerleader. I thought I was the man."
Still, Engle said he had little to no self-esteem, especially when he started college at the University of North Carolina.
"I was lost," he said. "I felt like I was drowning. I needed to find something to distinguish myself."
After he turned 18, Engle was introduced to alcohol. By the end of his first year of college, Engle said he had to move out of the residence hall. Eventually, he rushed and was admitted to Sigma Phi Epsilon.
During his time in school, Engle said he started to spend less time in class and more time at the fraternity house drinking with his friends and partying. Engle said not long after that he tried cocaine, which caused him to have to leave college.
"From the very first time I tried it, I knew this was something I liked," he said.
Engle continued to use drugs and alcohol until he was 29 years old, when a five-day drug binge in a motel caused him to re-evaluate his life.
After the experience, Engle decided to stop his drug and alcohol addiction, and for the last 10 years, Engle has been clean and sober.
Engle said he uses the same passion and love of addictions in his athletic life. He participates in a series of adventure races, such as the Eco Challenge in Borneo, a race which was featured on "48 Hours" with Dan Rather.
Engle showed some footage from the show and other slides of the races he's been in.
Engle said he has several projects planned for the future, including a project to climb Mt. Everest next spring.
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