‘I turned to God to help me overcome sex & porn addictions... he told me I had to help others too’ EXCLUSIVE
FORMER Super League star Andy Kirk has told of the sex and porn addictions that used to control his life.
The father-of-four, 38, says he was forced to live a double life to cover up how rampant his lust was and how out of control he felt.
The former Leeds, Salford and Wakefield centre admits that both addictions gripped his life from being in his early teens.
But despite feeling guilty about a lifestyle he knew was “morally wrong”, Kirk said he struggled to stop sleeping around and watching hours of porn every day.
He said: “I was extremely promiscuous. I wanted to have my cake and eat it. But I would convince myself it meant nothing.”
When a friend shared his beliefs in God, Kirk decided he was “so lost” that he had “nothing to lose” by seeing if religion could help.
That revelation changed the last decade of his life and made him a campaigner for better education for young people.
It wasn’t an easy path to take, though. Kirk said: “God had helped me to grasp a real understanding of how and why porn had dominated me for so long.
“He started to speak to my heart about sharing my story with others about the harmful effects of pornography.
“But still I resisted. The very thought of sharing with other people how I was addicted to porn and sex just made me squirm with shame.
“Internally, I argued with
God about months.
“I eventually surrendered but it was terrifying.”
Kirk, who works as a sports therapist, now regularly gives talks to schools and youth groups about the dangers of watching pornography.
He said: “We live in such a sexualised world that is getting increasingly darker.
“I wished someone had visited my school to teach me about the harmful effects.
“I know it would have opened my eyes to all the it for over six negative effects that porn was having on me.”
Former Leeds team-mate Jamie Jones- Buchanan praises Kirk’s bravery in a foreword to Kirk’s book Scandalous Freedom.
He said: “It’s a jawdroppingly frank story unveiling the truths at the centre of Andy’s heart,
“There is an openness to Andy’s story which should inspire and challenge us all.”