Shelwin Khan: 'I wanted to join the 27 Club. Instead I got sober'

In 2026, Auckland man Shelwin Khan is thriving as a peer support worker and lived experience advisor. But it wasn't always like this.Shelwin started drinking at 13. By his mid-20s he was, by his own admission, 'unemployable', had three stints in rehab he never completed, and wanted to end his life. He wanted to join the '27 Club' - a pop culture reference to a string of celebrities who died tragically at that age.Instead, he got sober at 27. He arrived early to a 12-step meeting by mistake and met a man with 28 years sobriety - longer than Shelwin had been alive. That changed everything.Seven years sober now, Shelwin has learned sobriety is an ongoing journey of personal growth. When he got a cancer diagnosis this year, his reaction showed him how different his thinking is: he really didn't want to die.We'd love to hear from you. Send us a text or a voicemail by clicking here. If you need support, here are helpful links, phone numbers and resources: https://ember.org.nz/resources/in-a-crisis/