Damon Conrow

Damon has been addicted to heroin for seven years.
In hopes of ending the cycle that slowly eats away at him, he pleaded up to first-degree felony so he could stay in prison longer than the state asked, for his drug distribution charges. It was the only way he could think of to get away from the drug.
I spent time with Damon before he went to prison, back in January, and visited him a few times in Gunnison, where he currently serves his sentence. He's gained upwards of 30 pounds and looks healthy again -- healthy enough for me to hardly recognize him after I saw him again for the first time back in April.
This story started as part of a giant project on opiate addiction in Utah. But after a couple of months I realized that I didn't have the time to do that on my own and I also thought Damon's story could very well stand on its own.
As I got to know him, the fact that he is a drug addict faded behind the story of his life, his lonely days and nights in his dad's basement. His withdrawal from a world he very much wants to be a part of and his desperate and unsuccessful attempts at escaping the drug. And through getting to know him my goal to show an addict's life became a desire to show Damon's life, with the addiction that's wrecking him being a part of it. A part of a lot more things I felt and saw when I spent time with him.

Video is here.
I also wrote the story, which is here.