Steve Marckley, a certified substance-abuse and addiction counselor, has been helping people with addiction problems since 1978.

He knows first-hand the dangers of drug addiction, and as a teenager, he beat his addictions with the help of a 12-step problem.

“I abused substances from ages 12 to 16,” Marckley said. “At 16, I had a bad psychotic breakdown because of drugs.”

The help he received as a teenager inspired him to help others with similar problems, Marckley said.

“I have such gratitude.” Marckley said. “I’ve been able to overcome a lot of adversity in my life.”

To show his gratitude, Marckley has started a mountain-biking program to show young adults and teenagers how to have a good time while sober and teach them valuable life lessons.

The 51-year-old Canyon Country resident started the program two years ago as a way to combine his love for mountain biking with his desire to help patients at his Free, Free Indeed counseling center for people struggling with substance abuse and addiction.

Newhall Bicycles and SixSixOne, a company that specializes in protective gear for mountain-bikers, donated bikes and gear to Marckley’s program. Marckley now has eight mountain bikes for his patients to use.

“A lot of kids use drugs and alcohol to get a thrill,” Marckley said. “This gives kids an opportunity to learn that they can have fun sober.”

Marckley is the young-adult pastor at Heart of the Canyons Church in Santa Clarita. However, Marckley doesn’t specify his counseling center as Christian because he doesn’t want anyone to feel excluded.

Marckley takes patients mountain biking three to four times a month, mainly on local trails he built himself. According to Marckley, mountain biking shows patients the satisfaction that comes from accomplishing a difficult task.

It’s difficult and tiring to bike up the mountain, but it’s worth the thrill of racing back down, Marckley said. In a bigger way, the difficult and sometimes long process of breaking an addiction is worth the reward of sobriety.

Marckley has experienced that adversity first hand. Almost five years ago, he hit a rock while riding and was pitched forward off his bike.

The accident broke his back; left him temporarily paralyzed; gave him a staph infection and put him in the hospital for seven weeks.

The first time Marckley saw his now-son-in-law, Kyle Morrell, was when he was in the hospital. Morrell now accompanies his father-in-law on his mountain biking trips.

It’s an inspiration to see Marckley helping others through mountain biking after his injury, said Morrell, a 24-year-old Canyon Country resident.

“It’s really special to have a father-in-law who is really active,” Morrell said. “We became friends before I asked him if I could marry his daughter.”

Marckley said he enjoys seeing the difference the program can make.

Once, a kid got so frustrated, he wanted to throw the bike off the side of the mountain, Marckley said. But after he got down the mountain, he wanted to go again.

“When you’ve experienced adversity in accomplishing something, you learn how to endure pain,” Marckley said. “Pain is not the enemy.”