Life changer: Sydney party boy’s explosive details on addiction
A Sydney party boy who once dated Paris Hilton has opened up about his spiralling into drugs. Now, Tyler Atkins has revealed his next move.
Confidential
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Former Sydney party boy and actor Tyler Atkins is drawing on his own experience as a kid in directing his debut feature film.
The 34-year-old, who once dated Paris Hilton, was forced to reassess his life after suffering acute kidney disease following his win of reality TV series, The Amazing Race Australia.
“My journey was I got through alcohol, I got through taking drugs and I am becoming a man,” Atkins told Confidential.
“I am really taking ownership of the things that I have done wrong and I embrace that.”
Manhood and masculinity are main themes Atkins explores in his film, Bosch & Rockit, which is being shot in and around Byron Bay and stars Luke Hemsworth, Isabel Lucas and Rasmus King.
Bosch & Rockit is a story told through the eyes of a 13-year-old boy coming to terms with discovering his father is a drug dealer, while his mother has deserted the family home.
“It is not about me, it is a deeper level that came through me and I feel blessed I am telling this story,” said Atkins, who has partnered with Jamie Arscott to form Black Pearl Productions.
Atkins was a fixture on the Sydney scene about a decade ago. He once appeared on the cover of Vogue Australia, was the face of Bonds alongside Ruby Rose and won Amazing Race in 2011 with close mate Nathan Joliffe.
After being treated for acute kidney disease, he moved to the US to study film and went on to work on major productions, including Chantaram.
Academy Award nominated American screenwriter Eric Warren Singer is a mentor and is an executive producer on Bosch & Rockit.
“I had five operations, I was in and out of hospital for two years,” recalled Atkins, who took up Sikhism after a trip to India in 2013.
“My whole world changed. When you have a crisis in your life like a life-threatening situation, it is the biggest opportunity for you to change your ways.
“As hard as it is for me, I have been sober now for seven years. I haven’t drunk and I meditate a lot.
“I was really blessed, I found Sikhism and it was a way of life that really spoke to me and it allowed me to get through my darkness.”
Another major issue explored in the film is mental health, particularly relating to males and the fact men don’t talk about their emotions enough.
Atkins is doing his bit to start that conversation.
“There has to be some deeper discussions about how we raise men, boys into men, and how men can open up and discuss and not bottle things up,” he said.
“It is such a deeper issue. I wrote this film based on childhood experiences around parenting and my experiences being a child and having parents that weren’t necessarily there at all. I am still getting through it.
“I still have days where I am depressed but that is human, I am not meant to always be high. Every day is an opportunity for us to grow and to really grow into a human being and let go of all of the stuff that doesn’t serve us.”
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