Homeless man who nearly died from a heroin overdose is now a millionaire

In 2002, Khalil Rafati weighed just seven-and-a-half stone, lived in Los Angeles' notorious Skid Row and was addicted to heroin.

Now, at 46-years-old, Rafati is the founder of juice bar chain SunLife Organics, has become a self-made millionaire and is determined to help others who are in the same position he once was.

RELATED: Meet The Woman Who Lost 130kg And Now Needs To Raise $55,000 To Remove Her Excess Skin
RELATED: Bride invites the homeless to $35K wedding reception after it's called off

Rafati has written a book, titled I Forgot to Die, in which he details his journey from the depths of despair to his fulfilling and rewarding life he has now.

At the age of 19, Rafati's life descended into a downward spiral when he began working as a sports car salesman and he invested his wages in marijuana, selling it off for a hefty profit.

Within years he had advanced to selling ecstasy and was smuggling ketamine over the border to Mexico, soon becoming addicted to heroin himself.

When he was just 32-years-old in 2001, Rafati overdosed at a house party but thankfully was saved by paramedics.

Just one year later he escaped death again when intruders shot at him on the floor of a bathroom where he was using drugs.

He ended up homeless, living on Skid Row and eventually in jail.

"I’d finally reached the bottom of all bottoms,” he told the New York Times.

“There was no more digging left to do; all of my shovels were broken. I was done."

Astonishingly, he managed to turn his life around and found Riviera Recovery, a rehab centre for drug addicts and alcoholics.

Within months, after a friend spoke to him about health foods, Rafati started selling health juices to people who came to the centre.

Speaking to the New York Times, he said: “It was meant to rejuvenate and strengthen the patients, and give them some much-needed strength.

“Lethargy in sobriety is pretty brutal, especially if you’re coming off a long run with hard-core drugs.”

Before long, word got out about his incredible health juices and now he operates his juice bar, SunLife Organics, across six locations in LA.

He employs people, like himself, who were once on the path to destruction and never forgets his roots and where he came from.

His Instagram page is filled with images of his friends, his business and the life he never thought he would have.

In one image, he's posing next to a private jet and in another he's eating pizza on the streets of Paris.

One of his employees, Cache Coelho said: “Right from the start, he was trying to better my life.

“He gets very personal with us, especially the ones he believes in.

“This shirt I’m wearing? It’s one of like 20 James Perse shirts he’s given me.

“He pushes us very hard, in a father-like sense.”

Want more celebrity, entertainment and lifestyle news? Follow Be on Facebook,Twitter, Pinterest, Tumblr and Instagram