El Paso, Texas – Long‑time morning‑show personality Fernando Montejano, known on air as “Grizz,” used his platform on the Iris & Grizz show to speak candidly about a painful past marked by family instability, substance abuse and several suicide attempts before he turned 18.
Early hardships and first attempts
Grizz said his mother struggled with alcoholism and spent time in jail, leaving his father to bring him home. He was separated from his sisters, who later endured similar trauma, including sexual abuse and exposure to drug activity. “I was angry, sad, but I didn’t know why I felt what I was feeling inside,” he recalled.
The first suicide attempt occurred when he was 12, and he experienced roughly four attempts before reaching adulthood. His traditional Midwest upbringing did not emphasize mental‑health treatment, so the attempts were largely hidden until a public incident prompted a friend to intervene.
Finding help
That intervention led Grizz to his first stay in a mental‑health facility, where he found a community of people who understood his pain. “They’d say, ‘You’re hurting. This isn’t normal – you need to fix this,’” he said.
At 18, after moving out of his family home, Grizz began seeking therapy despite limited finances. He attended sliding‑scale clinics, sometimes paying as little as five dollars per session. Over time, he discovered dialectical behavior therapy and attachment‑focused therapy, which he credits with reshaping his emotional regulation and outlook.
Recent tragedy and renewed purpose
Grizz’s sister Bianca later died of a fentanyl overdose, prompting him to return to El Paso to care for her young daughter, Aria, and support his mother’s ongoing recovery. He marked his mother’s one‑year sobriety milestone, noting that the family now enjoys a more stable and hopeful life.
Both Grizz and co‑host Iris Lopez, a vocal mental‑health advocate, use their daily broadcast to spread a message of hope across the borderland. “We have like a brother‑sister relationship,” Lopez said. “If one of us is having a bad day, the other will just sit and listen and not judge.”
Message to listeners
Grizz urges anyone struggling with thoughts of self‑harm to reach out for help. “Don’t give up. At some point you’re going to get past this. If you try, you will,” he said, adding the national suicide‑prevention hotline (988) for immediate assistance.
The story underscores the importance of accessible mental‑health resources, community support and faith‑based encouragement in a region where many families face similar challenges.
Original reporting: El Paso News (HLL/CB) — read the source article.
