The Apprentice's Tre Lowe reveals teen illness left him locked in his body
The Apprentice contestant Tre Lowe has revealed how a teenage illness left him locked in his body and still suffering ringing in his ears to this day.
The former garage star turned wellness entrepreneur – known for his 2000s hit Body Groove – has opened up about his condition, confessing he used to consider suicide after the medical problems he suffered as a teenager left him with agonising head pain.
But he overcame his condition after learning meditation, and has become a motivational speak and successful entrepreneur.
Lowe told the Stripping Off with Matt Haycox podcast how in 1990 when he was aged 15 he suffered acute appendicitis and then an allergic reaction to an anti nausea drug left him locked in his body. He explained: "Your eyes roll back in your head and you're stiff, that's how violent it is. It's a spasm and it's worse than paralysis."
He added: "Paralysis is when your body goes limp a spasm is when you are locked in. And when I was a kid I suffered from a fear of enclosed spaces. It doesn't get more claustrophobic then being locked in your own body. It was terrifying. I know exactly whats going on, I'm locked in my own body, I can only move my eyeballs.
"My body suffered massive PTSD [post traumatic stress disorder] and when I came out of it my life had changed. I had a ringing in my ears, the world looked like it was unreal, like I was dreaming and I had this pressure sensation at the back of my head.
"Today I still have two of those three things. I try to get on with life, and all those symptoms are getting worse. Fast forward 21, I went to university, did Body Groove, had our massive hit, I was on Top Of The Pops living the dream. Life should have been great."
Lowe confessed to podcaster Matt Haycox he did consider ending his life as the pressure in his head and tinnitus (ringing in his ears) was so unbearable. He said: "It's like the same sort of rationale they have when they go to Dignitas. They're not suicidal, they're pragmatic. If my health gets bad, I can always kill myself. But I love life."
In 2008, when he was 33, he discovered meditation and deep breathing techniques. He revealed: "So I did tons of meditation and within about three weeks the head pressure just disappeared. It was crazy.
"This was condition I thought I would have to live with, that I would have to top myself over. And what's good about that, what helped me overcome the pain was power, and if I can do that, everyone can. And that's what made me become a mentor."
Lowe released Body Groove in 2000 as part of Architechs with his brother Ashley Akabah. Ashley died in 2020 alone in his flat just before the COVID pandemic broke out.
Lowe is among the final five contestants in The Apprentice 2024 who will experience the gruelling interview process with Littner, Baroness Karren Brady, Mike Soutar, and Linda Plant in the semi-final of the show.
He joins recruitment consultant Flo Edwards, dentist Dr Paul Midha, pie company owner Phil Turner and Boutique fitness studio owner Rachel Woolford. Three of them will be fired, before just two go forward to fight it out in the final, helped by returning candidates from this year's competition. The victor will win a £250,000 investment Lord Sugar in their business proposal.
The Apprentice continues with the semi-final, interviews week, on BBC One at 9pm on Thursday, 11 April.
For confidential emotional support contact The Samaritans at any time by calling 116 123 or emailing jo@samaritans.org
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This article originally appeared on Yahoo TV UK at https://uk.news.yahoo.com/the-apprentice-tre-lowe-teen-illness-202301684.html
