By the late 2000s, Tyson found himself attempting to walk the straight and narrow for the first time in his life. However, the tragic death of his 4-year-old daughter, Exodus, in 2009 caused Tyson to briefly relapse. She was killed in the family home after playing with a faulty treadmill.
“Where I come from, people aren’t happy, so they get hooked on drugs,” Tyson says. “People get drunk, snort cocaine, smoke marijuana and use syringes because they can’t stop [the] pain. They’re trying to kill pain. Drug use won’t stop until someone can stop the hurt. We’re in pain out here.”
Tyson walked away from drugs and alcohol and has been sober for three years. He’s a devout Muslim and has adopted a strict vegan diet for the past 12 months. The diet allowed Tyson to flush many of the impurities out of his system and he eventually lost 100 pounds.
Tyson now looks back on his past hardships and realizes that they made him stronger and led him to approach life differently.
“I’m glad I went through those experiences because I survived them, and look at where I’m at now,” he says. “Nothing’s perfect in life and I love who I am and who I’m becoming. I’m establishing a relationship with my wife and staying committed. I’m really enjoying this stage of my life.”
This stage of Tyson’s life actually has him on stage. Nearly two years ago, Tyson sat down with his wife, Kiki Tyson, and the two found an interesting way for him to tell his story to the masses. They came up with the one-man stage show, Mike Tyson: The Undisputed Truth.
The nearly two-hour show, directed by Spike Lee, features an unfiltered Tyson divulging stories on fi ghting Don King; time in prison; his mother’s drinking issues; his sexual conquests and how he once caught Brad Pitt making out with his ex-wife, Robin Givens.
“There’s not much of a difference in preparing for boxing and preparing for the stage,” he says. “Everything must be precise. You just have to possess a great deal of confidence and understanding of where to go and how to maintain energy.”
