A Derby car salesman who nearly died from alcohol addiction has transformed his life with the help of his employer NK Motors.
Suki Bains, 48, from Littleover would use alcohol to get through every day, while outwardly maintaining a career in car sales and hiding the true extent of his drinking.
At his lowest point, Suki was drinking dangerous amounts of alcohol. He was close to death, and his marriage, finances, friendships and family relationships were all suffering.
There were periods in rehab, attempts to get sober and promises that this time would be different and then he would relapse.
Each time, Suki tried to convince himself that he could regain control. But deep down, he feared that if nothing changed, alcohol would eventually kill him.
Suki said: “I was drinking dangerous amounts every day.
“I knew I was putting my life at risk. I honestly didn’t know how long I could carry on like that.”
Yet while almost every area of his life was in turmoil, he found stability in his work.
Suki credits NK Motors, and particularly Managing Director Sanj Kumar, with refusing to give up on him when he was at his lowest.
The dealership, which has a site at Pride Park in Derby, gave Suki something he desperately needed when almost everything else in his life was beginning to crumble, a reason to get up in the morning and a sense of purpose.
Now more than a year sober, Suki has gone from fearing he could lose his job to becoming one of the Pride Park dealership’s top-performing salespeople and has recently been promoted to Team Leader.
Suki said: “If it wasn’t for Sanj, I’d have lost my job. And if I’d lost my job, I genuinely think I would have just carried on drinking until I died.
“Having that job gave me something to get up for and a purpose. I was terrified that if I was honest about how bad things had become, I would lose everything.
“But Sanj didn’t give up on me. He kept communicating with me, meeting me and supporting me. I will never forget that.”
Suki’s relationship with alcohol began when he was young and struggling with his confidence.
Overweight at school and finding it difficult to make friends, he discovered alcohol made him feel more confident, sociable and able to connect with people.
But what began as social drinking gradually became a way of escaping problems rather than confronting them.
Suki said: “I thought I was a superhero, that I could fix it myself.
“I would tell myself I would only drink on certain days or that I would stop for a few months. I’d make promises to myself and then break them.”
As his addiction worsened, Suki became increasingly adept at hiding just how bad things had become.
There were times when he could drink extraordinary amounts and still function. At one point, he could drink a litre of vodka and still go out and run a half marathon.
Yet his addiction affected his finances, marriage, friendships and, most painfully, his family, including his two daughters, now aged 18 and 14.
When his employer NK Motors learned how serious things had become, the company chose to support him.
Sanj Kumar, Managing Director of NK Motors, said: “There were difficult times, but we never wanted to give up on Suki. We knew what he was capable of and could see there was a good person and a talented salesman underneath everything he was going through.
“To see where he is today makes us incredibly proud. He has worked enormously hard to turn his life around and he hasn’t just returned to work, he has become one of our top-performing salespeople and is now a Team Leader.”
For Suki, getting sober was not simply about giving up alcohol. It meant confronting the reasons he had been drinking in the first place and accepting that he could not do it alone.
Faith became an important part of his recovery, and he joined the Sikh Recovery Network, which supports people and families affected by addiction.
For the first time, Suki found himself surrounded by people who understood what he was experiencing without judging him or simply telling him to stop drinking.
Today, more than a year sober, Suki says recovery is not simply about not drinking but discovering what life can be like without alcohol controlling it.
He has thrown himself into new challenges, taking part in the Great North Run, with Tough Mudder and Hyrox challenges also on his bucket list.
Suki said: “I want to show people that life is so much better without alcohol.
“I’m doing things on my own now that I never thought I could do. I’m going to festivals, doing events and taking on challenges.
“I want people to see that you don’t need a drink in your hand to have a good time.”
Suki is also increasingly speaking publicly about his addiction and recovery in the hope that his experience might encourage someone else to ask for help.
His story will feature in a book being produced to mark the 10th anniversary of the Sikh Recovery Network and he is due to attend an event at the Houses of Parliament in October.
His progress at NK Motors has also given him another ambition, to train an apprentice salesperson and pass on the knowledge he has gained throughout his career.
For Suki, the next chapter is about giving back and using the second chance he was given to create opportunities for other people.
And after years of believing he could beat addiction by himself, perhaps the biggest lesson he has learned is a simple one, asking for help is not a weakness.