Meth is like--
everything's moving fast.
[MUSIC PLAYING]
And it's going to go on and on and on for a long time.
And it wants to stop, but it can't.
And your mind and your body knows you're not in control.
Meth eats your soul.
My name is Michael, 35, and I'm currently living in Las Vegas.
ESTEE: Music is everything to Michael.
It's like food for his soul.
I wanted to be a musician and a dancer, at a young age.
ESTEE: He's performed for Prince, Kanye West.
BRYANT: Michael could have been playing his music
at shows on the strip, but instead,
his addiction got in the way.
Michael is addicted to crystal meth.
He is very thin.
His eyes are sunken in.
He will stay up for days.
[MUSIC PLAYING]
MICHAEL: I sell meth to support my own habit.
If I can't make money selling it, I'll plan sex parties.
BRYANT: His addiction is so bad.
Michael is currently living on the streets.
Oh, my god.
For the past year--
ESTEE: The Michael that I know today
is a completely different person than the Michael
that I used to know.
Michael was born in Oxnard, California.
But by the time he was two, his parents had already split.
MICHAEL: After my parents split, we moved to Camden, New Jersey.
So I have no recollection of my biological father, ever.
He just wasn't there.
Around the age of five, Michael's mother
married his stepfather.
MICHAEL: He was a police officer, and he was a good man.
He was a strict man, but he had love, too.
We never used the term "step," ever.
That was my dad, my daddy.
MICHELLE: Michael and his dad were very close,
but being law enforcement, Michael's father
was very structured and strict, as well.
MICHAEL: When I got to high school,
theater and acting and all that stuff started to impress me.
ESTEE: After high school, Michael met Tye Tribbett.
MICHAEL: And when I was 18, my mom took
me to one of his performances.
And he called me out of the crowd.
I danced all the way up the center aisle,
and the place was going crazy.
He turned and said, Monday nights, we rehearse.
See you there.
So I joined his gospel choir.
And I got to perform for a gospel music fest.
It was BET Awards.
Did a tribute to Oprah, with Stevie Wonder.
It was amazing, and I looked up to him like a father,
definitely a spiritual father.
ESTEE: When Michael was 21, he left the gospel choir
and moved to New York City to dance professionally.
MICHAEL: I ended up entering dance competitions
and winning some.
Started teaching dance out there.
ESTEE: By the time Michael was 24,
he had made a name for himself as a very successful dancer.
But he was looking for something more stable.
MICHAEL: I thought if I joined the Navy,
my dad would be proud.
BRYANT: And while we were in port in Seattle,
Michael met Estee.
MICHAEL: I met her one night out.
And I thought I was in love before,
but when I met her, like, the world stopped.
She just had this energy about her, strong,
passionate, and beautiful.
ANN: Once Michael and Eestee moved back to Seattle,
Michael became employed doing electrical work.
And then he would pursue music at night.
And then, when Michael was 29, they
found out that they were pregnant
and having a little boy.
ESTEE: It seemed like a dream come true for him.
But around the time that Hayden was one, everything changed.
MICHAEL: The reason being was, amongst other things,
my dad having affairs outside of his marriage.
He was lying, cheating, being deceitful
and doing all the things that he used to punish me for.
ESTEE: After he found out, Michael
was fighting heavy depression.
ANN: He started to withdraw.
He became less and less attentive
to his children and the rest of us.
ESTEE: He would leave for days at a time.
He wasn't eating.
He wasn't sleeping.
ANN: After Estee found out that he had a drug addiction,
they immediately got him into treatment.
MICHAEL: Right after I got out of rehab,
I had six months of sobriety.
And right off the bat, amazing things started happening.
A friend who was a past member of the Jabbawockeez,
out in Vegas, heard my music, and he wanted me making
beats with him in the studio.
ESTEE: Michael wanted to move to Las Vegas,
in hopes that he could pursue a career
to financially help his family.
And I felt like it could be Michael's last chance
to turn things around,
[MUSIC PLAYING]
I felt like I was born again.
It was amazing.
It was fast-paced, dog-eat-dog, night after night after night.
And I got overwhelmed.
Instead of saying I need help or I need to slow down,
I just was like, you know what?
Screw that.
I need to get high.
MATT: Once he started to use meth,
it just created a downward spiral.
ESTEE: And he quickly started losing
the relationships he had worked so hard
for within the music industry.
BRYANT: Due to his addiction, Michael lost his connections
with the Jabbawockeez.
MICHAEL: I even lost my job, and I started to really isolate.
BRYANT: He was assaulted with a brick in the head
trying to sell drugs, which ended
up leaving him in the hospital.
But that didn't change Michael's perception of the lifestyle
that he was living.
I just don't see any way out of this,
if he doesn't get help.
MICHAEL: I don't know.
Like, three-- I lose track of time.
It's a long time ago.
Too long.
ESTEE: Michael moved to Las Vegas three years ago,
and we have not seen him since he left.
ANN: He's hiding out from us.
He does not want anybody to know that he's in bad, bad shape.
I'm afraid he's going to die and his son
will never know his father.
[MUSIC PLAYING]
Currently, I got about 55 bucks on me.
I think there's a lot more to this story
than we're all aware.
ESTEE: Yeah.
MICHELLE: Two years ago, I got a message
from Michael asking me for some money to go back to Seattle.
And I text Michael back, I don't have that.
And then, after that, my son cut me completely off.
ESTEE: Well, Michael's family life was pretty normal,
in a lot of ways, but Michael also mentioned
certain instances of abuse.
When you say abuse, what kind of abuse are you speaking of?
Physical or mental?
ESTEE: Both.
By whom?
Both parents, actually.
A lot of physical abuse, as far as he
would just make normal mistakes that any kid would make,
but the punishment was just so amplified.
He's told me stories of being beaten
naked, right out of the shower, things being thrown at him.
He had a really hard life.
MICHAEL: We got beat for lying, but the beatings
were horrible, dude.
My mom was the worst.
MICHELLE: If he wasn't honest and truthful, oh,
I'd tear that butt up with a belt.
It still takes its toll today.
You know?
I just wish they never put their hands on me like that.
MICHELLE: You question yourself as a parent.
Was I too strict?
Was I too structured?
But I only wanted the best for Michael.
It was humiliating.
[MUSIC PLAYING]
ESTEE: Michael's family is not participating
in the intervention because the relationship
is currently very distant.
And we weren't sure how he would react.
And the biggest goal is to get him help.
MICHELLE: I was not asked to be a part
of Michael's intervention because I haven't
been able to see Michael.
I haven't been able to speak with Michael.
Would I have made a difference?
Probably not.
I just hope that whatever decisions that he
makes, going forward, they're better
than what the past has been.
I got to change something, you know?
I got to change it.
And I got to, above all, get back into my son's life.
And he probably doesn't feel like he's mine right now,
and I got to change that.
That's the most important thing.
[SNIFFLES]
A son needs his father, but I can't stop.
Like, you know you got to eat food?
I got to use meth.
ESTEE: My biggest fear is that he doesn't go and he dies,
and Hayden has to feel like he feels.
And he has to wonder if his dad ever loved him or wonder
about who he even is because he didn't have his dad to help him
through figuring out who he is.
Hello.
OK.
Cool.
[EXHALES]
[MUSIC PLAYING]
Oh, sh--
Go out and get him.
This way.
Go out and get him.
[CRYING]
It's OK.
What's up, bro?
It's so crazy, yo.
What's up, baby?
Michael, my love, I've been enamored with you
since the moment I saw you.
You made me feel like a princess,
and I was in shock that someone could love me so much.
Remember when you used to let me hear all your music first?
Your excitement for life was always an inspiration to me.
I miss seeing you love on our children.
You are the missing link in Hayden's life,
and no one can fill that void, except for you.
Please accept this gift of love.
So, Michael, you know that this family loves you.
We've got lined up for you 90 days of treatment.
Our question for you is will you accept the help?
Yes.
ANN: Oh, we love you.
MITCHELL: Hi, Michael.
Welcome to Palm Springs.
- How you doing? - I'm Mitchell.
Pleasure to meet you
Nice to meet you, Mitchell.
Ready for this new journey?
As much as I will be, I guess.
MITCHELL: There you go.
[MUSIC PLAYING]
I feel healthy, and physically, I feel amazing.
[MUSIC PLAYING]
Hi.
To watch Hayden and Estee walk through that door
is the greatest reward I could ever receive.
In three years, I didn't get to see them one time.
So to put my arms around my son and then
for him to embrace me back, I'm so thankful.
Hug.
[LAUGHS]
[MUSIC PLAYING]