Justin Credible says he is approaching one year of sobriety, a year after he was using heroin daily in Philadelphia.
The former ECW World Heavyweight Champion posted a photo of himself on a beach to X on Thursday with the update.
“On the beach mid September reading my Tony Robbins Awaken the Giant Within book. Going on one year of sobriety. This time last year I was 50lbs overweight and on the verge of death. Doing a bundle of heroin a day, copping on Kensington Ave South Philly. So grateful I’m here!! Truly blessed.”
Credible, whose real name is Peter Polaco, has been public about his addiction for most of the past decade. The timeline in Thursday’s post puts his low point in September 2025, a period he has described elsewhere. Last October, he told listeners on Francine’s podcast that he had been sober since December 14, 2024, the day he was jailed, and that he was starting a job at Chili’s in December. In November 2025, he posted a certificate of completion from the Discovery Institute for Addictive Disorders in New Jersey, dated November 12.
He has credited WWE’s talent assistance program with paying for treatment more than once, including a 2017 stay in Tampa that followed a YouTube video in which he described his drug use and said he had suffered more than 20 concussions in his career. In an interview last year he said his painkiller use escalated after doctors stopped prescribing opioids to wrestlers in the wake of the Chris Benoit case in 2007, and that he turned to heroin because it was cheaper.
Credible was hospitalized in January with a calf infection, which he said at the time was not life-threatening. He wrestled his first singles match in more than three years in August 2025, a no-rules match against Sycho Simon for Memphis Wrestling’s Heritage Championship.
Credible, 52, debuted in 1992 and worked for the WWF as Aldo Montoya from 1994 to 1997 before joining ECW, where he and Lance Storm won the tag team titles twice as The Impact Players and where he beat Tommy Dreamer for the ECW World Heavyweight Championship in April 2000. He returned to WWE in 2001 as part of X-Factor with X-Pac and Albert and held the Hardcore Championship eight times. His autobiography, written with Kenny Casanova, was released in 2024.
We wish Justin Credible continued strength in his recovery. If you or someone you know is struggling with addiction, the SAMHSA National Helpline is available at 1-800-662-4357.
On the beach mid September reading my @TonyRobbins awakened the giant within book. Going on one year of sobriety. This time last year I was 50lbs overweight & on the verge of death. Doing a bundle of heroin a day, copping on Kensington Ave South Philly so grateful I’m here!!… pic.twitter.com/sT80WLviMf
— Justin Credible (@PJPOLACO) September 17, 2026
