On the streets of Los Angeles, a man was fighting his inner demonsmired in addiction and hopelessness. His name is Khalil Rafatiand his story is a testament to human resilience and the ability to reinvent yourself, against all odds, until you become a millionaire.
Born in Ohio, the son of a Polish Jewish mother and a Palestinian father, Khalil had a turbulent childhood. Her parents were war refugees in their respective countries and Rafati says neither of them were prepared to take on the responsibility of having children. He left school without graduating and was arrested for vandalism and theft. With dreams of greatness, he moved to Los Angeles at age 21, hoping to become a movie star. But destiny had other plans.
Khalil’s acting career never took off, and although he managed to make a good income washing cars for Hollywood stars, he soon began to dabble in drugs. From that moment on came the debacle, his life entered an uncontrolled spiral, leading him to sleep in cardboard boxes with other addicts and to sell drugs to support his own addiction. Khalil even spent two years in prison before his redemption.
“I picked up cigarettes from the ground and then smoked them, I shared needles with the homeless”Khalil says in the documentary Malibu Stories, which chronicles his life.
At 33 years old, Khalil was facing his ninth heroin overdose. The paramedics fought to save his life, and in that critical moment, Khalil made the decision that would change his destiny: give up drugs and rebuild his life.
After four months in rehab, he emerged drug-free and with new vision. He founded Riviera, a center for drug addicts and alcoholics, helping others find the path to recovery. But his real success came with the creation of Sunlife Organics, a fruit and vegetable juice chain that catapulted him to business stardom.
It all started when at the rehabilitation center he ran he began to prepare juices from fruits and vegetables, The objective was to strengthen the defenses of patients under treatmentbut immediately the rumor spread and People began to arrive who wanted to try those smoothies. What good press they had.
Shortly after, the current businessman qualified to obtain a loan and thus opened his first store selling his fruit and vegetable juices and smoothies to the public, which today are a success. One of the keys to their business are the so-called “super foods”That is, the company’s juices and smoothies have many nutritious ingredients and their pleasant-tasting combination turns out to be a powerful natural combo for health.
For example, SunLife Organics has a smoothie called Alchemist which has kale, cucumber, spinach, fennel, mint, lemon, ginger and aloe vera. Another, with which he became famous, is called Wolverine, and has bananas, raw almond butter, raw cocoa beans, dates, maca, bee pollen, almond milk and royal jelly.
This way, with annual sales of more than US$6 million and expansion plans to other states and JapanKhalil transformed his life and became an example of improvement and success. His book, “I Forgot to Die”inspires others to create change and win the battle against addictions.
