How Will Cabantog in Melbourne changed his life after Kerobokan Prison in Bali

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A year ago, Will Kabantog was in Bali’s notorious Kerobokan prison. Today, his life looks very different-he even found love.

Looking back, Will Cabantog still remembers the moment he decided to change his life after falling into a living nightmare.

Cabantog was arrested in the trendy Lost City Nightclub in July 2019 with fellow Australian David Van Iersel, with 1.12 grams of cocaine in his pocket, and was immediately thrown into prison.

Van Iersel was later sentenced to nine months in prison, while Cabantog was sentenced to one year for possession of cocaine, some of which was held in solitary confinement in Bali’s notorious Kerobokan prison.

His story was devastating from the beginning, including drug use in prison, and finally salvation.

For the first time, 37-year-old Cabantog exclusively disclosed an extraordinary time to news.com.au. He continued to rebuild his life-moving to the Gold Coast after being released from Melbourne. Imprisoned in July last year.

During the conversation, he wanted to motivate other people in similar situations and make them realize that there is always a way to go back.

related: Australian arrested in Bali for drug trafficking

“When I look back, I think I have taken two paths,” he said of his time in Kerobokan.

“The first path I took was the path of destruction.

“There are gangs in prison, there are drugs, there are contraband, there are parties, there are alcohol.

“Drug addiction has a stable path.

“I went on the dark road of drug addiction, taking methamphetamine, smoking marijuana, doing my best, fighting.”

For Cabantog, he quickly realized that he had to focus his actions.

“If I continue to serve my sentence, my one-year sentence may be five years. This is what happened to many Westerners,” he said.

“At that time I was in solitary confinement, fighting and hoping to get myself met with meth.

“It’s like, if I don’t change, I will be trapped here.

“There is another way, and that is recovery. It’s never too late to change.”

related: Australians sentenced after drug trafficking case in Bali

Strangely, the Covid-19 pandemic is both good and bad for Kabantog. When the pandemic broke out in Bali in the first few months of 2020, many prisoners were released early.

Although he was never released early, he worked hard in prison to quit drug addiction and regained his health.

He said: “Because of the new crown virus, they are releasing prisoners. My name appeared on the list. At first I thought I would be released. I had an epiphany.”

“If I walked out of prison at that time, my health would not be good.

“I am addicted to drugs and my body is unhealthy.

“As far as I am concerned, I hope that those who supported me during my imprisonment know that their thoughts and prayers have not fallen on deaf ears, and I want to change my life.

“That was a critical moment, I thought to myself, this is not the way I want to go out.”

Covid-19 also brought Cabantog one of his most terrifying moments in Kerobokan.

He believed he was infected with the virus, but unlike some of his hapless prisoners, they would never be seen again after being transported away, and he survived.

“It’s very, very scary,” he said.

“People are falling like flies.

“The prisoners are disappearing. Basically, we haven’t seen any sick people. We think they were transferred to the hospital. We don’t know.

“We only know that people are very sick.”

During his one-year prison sentence, one of his worst mornings was when he woke up during the pandemic and found the prison in a state of panic.

“I remember waking up one morning, my eyes and the whole room were filled with smoke,” he said.

“I don’t know what happened.

“I woke up and opened the door. I really couldn’t see the two feet in front of me. When I walked out of the cell, I realized that they were spraying and burning sage through a leaf blower as a precautionary measure throughout the block.”

During Kerobokan, Kabantog recorded everything he experienced and his thoughts. As the history of that period, the content is extremely rich.

He hopes to turn it into a book one day.

This is probably the most detailed personal record ever spent by an Australian prisoner in Kerobokan Prison in Bali, and there are many.

He also once owned an iPhone and was a frequent visitor to WhatsApp, sending messages to supporters in his hometown in Australia, detailing the real life in prison.

In July last year, Kabantog was released after serving for a year. He finally returned to Perth by flight from Jakarta and was quarantined in a hotel for 14 days. From that moment on, he wanted to change his life forever.

Having just returned to Australia, stepping into the hotel room again is a memory he will never forget.

“I remember feeling the carpet on my feet as soon as I took off my shoes,” he said.

“I saw a bed, a refrigerator, a TV, a toilet and running water.

“I can’t believe it. All the material comforts I take for granted have been deprived for a year.

“The first thing I did was take off my clothes and take a hot bath. As soon as the water soaked the back of my neck, I burst into tears, until that moment I was numb.

“From prison to Jakarta to Perth, I didn’t let anything really sink into it, so as soon as the hot water came in, I sat naked on the floor, cried for 45 minutes, and then vomited it all out.”

After he completed the hotel quarantine, Kabantog finally returned to his hometown of Melbourne.

The first thing he did was to find his family.

“The most important thing is to reconcile with my mother and my family. This is the most important thing,” he said.

“So it’s really exciting to be able to meet my mother for the first time, and to be able to hug her after so many years away.

“I need to reconcile with my family to move on, and now I have done it, I am in such a wonderful place now.

“This is such an astonishing height.”

Part of his recovery also became sober.

After years of being a prominent figure in Melbourne’s sometimes hedonistic nightclub scene, alcohol and drugs are always available.

“I used to be the kind of person who couldn’t go out and drink by myself,” he said.

“I will drink a lot of drinks, a bottle of wine or a lot of pints of beer, and then I will get a bag of (cocaine), next you know it is 5 am, I will write down the entire weekend.

“I do this every weekend.

“Now I know my limitations, I know I can enjoy myself, maybe a glass of wine at dinner, nothing more.”

After returning to Melbourne, Kabantog also accepted his faith, which included saying grace before dinner every night.

“My belief and finding God made things clearer,” he said.

“As long as you know that there is a higher being, you have the energy to be the best person.

“It creates an inner strength and motivation, so that everything has a purpose.”

On the Melbourne Cup Day in November last year, Kabantog’s life began to improve again.

He met his so-called lifelong love, Steph Harmon, who is a health, nutrition and lifestyle coach and, like Cabantog, leads a sober life.

They have a common interest in the field of mental health, and they immediately clicked.

The couple moved to the Gold Coast earlier this year and live by the beach, where they go for a walk every day.

“We are all on the same road, and she has no predictions about what I have done in the past,” he said.

“For me, she is the love of my life, I can’t imagine without her.

“I think once you start to change your way, begin to manifest and put positive energy there, the universe will align and give you what you want.

“I’m really on the moon.”

Training mixed martial arts five times a week and running every day, the 37-year-old said he is as healthy as ever.

Cabantog is studying for a diploma in mental health and wants to become a life coach. In the future, he will use every bit of his experience in Kerobokan to help him and others.

He is also actively involved in the #speaklesslistenmore Facebook page, which supports people in solving mental health problems.

His mental health struggles were the same as when he was in prison, and he wanted to make good use of what he had experienced.

This includes admitting past mistakes.

“Everyone makes mistakes. The key is to be able to learn from their mistakes and don’t let the past influence your future,” he said.

“I now want to use my power to help motivate people, help educate them and help those who are experiencing their own mental health problems.”

He and his girlfriend are going to leave Fraser Island Charity Walk on Sunday, July 4.

July 25th will be the first anniversary of Kabantog’s permanent departure from Kerobokan.

When he walked on the pristine beaches of the Gold Coast in the morning, he would never forget how lucky he was to return to Australia and live and prosper again.

“I am grateful every day now,” he said.

Luke Dennehy is a freelance writer.

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