Michael Schiff on Addiction, Recovery, and Rebuilding His Life
In Episode 9 of The Real Story, host Michael Silberman sits down with Michael Schiff for an honest conversation about addiction, incarceration, recovery, faith, and what it means to rebuild a life one decision at a time.
Michael’s story begins in Baltimore County, where he grew up in a loving household but was introduced to drugs at a young age. What began with marijuana around age 12 quickly progressed into psychedelics, club drugs, cocaine, crack, and opioids. By 15, Michael had been arrested six times and experienced juvenile detention, treatment, and eventually military school.
His path toward lasting recovery would include relapse, additional arrests, and a sentence that became a defining moment in his life. Today, more than two decades into recovery, Michael reflects on taking personal responsibility, turning his life over to God, building a career in real estate, creating opportunities for others, and using his experience to give back to the communities around him.
About This Episode
Recovery changed more than Michael Schiff’s relationship with drugs. It changed the direction of his life.
After struggling with substance use from an early age, Michael experienced consequences that included arrests, juvenile detention, treatment, relapse, felony charges, and eventually incarceration. At one point, the future he had imagined for himself seemed increasingly out of reach.
That began to change when a judge sentenced Michael to a year and a day in the Florida State Penitentiary. Michael describes hearing the sentence as a moment of clarity. Although he had already accumulated several months clean, he recognized that simply avoiding drugs was not enough. He needed to take responsibility for his actions and approach his life differently.
For Michael, that meant turning toward his faith, embracing spiritual principles, staying connected to recovery, and focusing on doing the next right thing.
Those decisions eventually carried into his professional life. After facing barriers because of his criminal history, Michael was given an opportunity to enter real estate under the mentorship of someone willing to look beyond his past. He has since built a career in the industry and has tried to extend similar opportunities to others.
His story is ultimately one of consequences, accountability, second chances, and what can happen when someone begins directing the same determination they once brought to addiction toward recovery, service, and a different future.
Guest Speaker: Michael Schiff
Title: Real Estate Professional | Schiff Home Buyers
Michael Schiff is a real estate professional whose personal experience with addiction and recovery has shaped the way he approaches leadership, business, and community involvement.
After beginning to use drugs as a young teenager, Michael experienced escalating substance use, repeated arrests, juvenile detention, relapse, and legal consequences as an adult. A period of incarceration became an important turning point in his recovery, leading him to take greater responsibility for his decisions and lean more deeply into his faith and recovery.
After returning to Maryland, Michael pursued a career in real estate but encountered barriers related to his criminal history. A mentor eventually advocated for him and helped him receive an opportunity to work under a probationary real estate license. Michael describes that second chance as something that changed the trajectory of his life.
Today, he applies that experience to the way he leads and serves others. During the episode, Michael discusses creating opportunities for people with difficult pasts, giving back through community initiatives, and using his knowledge of real estate and construction to support the development of properties for substance use disorder treatment and recovery services.
Watch the Full Episode
Memorable Moments from the Episode
Michael sees some of the same determination and resourcefulness that once fueled addiction as qualities that can be redirected toward recovery and a meaningful life. With structure, discipline, support, and a different purpose, he believes a difficult past does not have to determine where someone goes next.