Road to Conviction Episode 4: It Was a Process

While incarcerated, Fletcher Tholin discovered CrossFit. Watch his rehabilitation in this eight-part series.

In Episode 4, we hear the story of Tholin’s reunion with his father, David. The two hadn’t spoken for more than two years when David went to visit his son in prison.

“I heard where he was at, and I thought it was time to reconcile and try to help him out,” David says.

Fletcher acknowledges he caused his father a lot of trouble in the past. At his worst, he drank a bottle of whiskey and smoked a pack of cigarettes every day, Fletcher says. Reflecting on old photographs, he’s embarrassed.

“When I look back at the party photos, I’m ashamed of them,” he says. “I’m disgusted with myself, really. That’s not something that’s appealing to me.”

Later, Fletcher tells the story of his arrest and conviction.

“(My younger brother) told me that the FBI and the DEA had been out to the house looking for me,” he says. “So I was real nervous and worried about it.”

When he arrived home, the authorities took him into custody.

After he was sentenced, Fletcher began to change his outlook on life. But it didn’t happen overnight, he says.

“It was a process that happened. And it started to fall into place when I started doing CrossFit.”

Video by Gary Roberts and Jordan Shalhoub.

13min 58sec

Additional reading: “Addiction, Recovery and CrossFit” by Andréa Maria Cecil, published Dec. 13, 2012.