'I was so hooked on drugs I was going to die - then a coma changed everything'

EXCLUSIVE: 'I was so hooked on drugs I was going to die - then a coma changed everything'Gram Seed, now 61, became addicted to drugs when he was a teenager, which spurred him on to a life of crime, but visions during a six-day coma left him ready to turn his life around for goodCommentsNewsCally Brooks Features Writer11:00, 06 Apr 2026Updated 11:09, 06 Apr 2026Former football hooligan Gram Seed discusses how he turned his life around after a six-day coma'Gram Seed carries his history on his skin - knife scars across his chest, a dismembered chin, and missing fingers.‌But at 61, the former football hooligan is a world away from his former self, who was addicted to crack cocaine and heroin, and nearly had his life support switched off. After a miraculous recovery from a six-day coma that followed a total organ collapse, the dad-of-two has transformed from a violent criminal into a relentlessly hopeful figure, who has dedicated his life to rescuing others from the same darkness that once consumed him.‌Speaking to the Mirror, Gram says he endured visions during that coma that inspired him to turn his life around. Today, he describes himself simply as "a messenger" after transforming his life by helping others escape the same darkness that once consumed him.‌READ MORE: Easter bank holiday 2026 opening times for Sainsbury's as hours set to changeREAD MORE: American tries a custard cream for the first time but is confused by 1 thingView 7 ImagesGram began getting himself in trouble as a youngster(Image: Supplied)Gram's descent into crime began as a "mischevious" child" on a council estate in Middlesbrough, but it quickly escalated into a cycle of robbery, prison and brutal violence."I was just a mischievous child," he recalls. "Nickin' things off washing lines, stealing from corner shops, petty crimes."‌By the age of 13, he had fallen in with a gang, boxing and playing rugby by day but committing ro...