Nobody thought the antidote to America’s deadliest drug would be burpees and barbell squats in a gritty Ohio gym run by a guy who used to carry an M4.
“Small Town Strong” is what happens when a town says: No one’s coming—so we’ll save ourselves.
Trailer for “Small Town Strong”
You Can’t Make This Sh*t Up
- Ohio was losing 11 people a day to opioid overdoses. Portsmouth’s Project DAWN gave out naloxone kits that saved hundreds of lives.
- In the county where Portsmouth is located, there are 149 opioid pills for every man, woman, and child—more than enough to wipe out the entire population several times over.
Watch “Small Town Strong”
You can find streaming details on JustWatch.
Ratings:
- My Rating: 90/100
- IMDB Rating: 8.7/10
Director’s Note: “Small Town Strong” is directed by brothers Chase and Spencer Millsap. Chase Millsap is known for Songs of Service (2021) and No Way in Hell. Spencer Millsap is known for The Captain: A Bond of Brotherhood Forged in War (2016), and Animals Up Close with Bertie Gregory (2022). Run time is 84 minutes.
Release Date: 2023
My Review of “Small Town Strong”
The Setup
After returning from Iraq, Dale King finds his hometown of Portsmouth, Ohio wrecked by the opioid crisis. But instead of walking away, he opens a CrossFit gym. Not to train athletes—but to train addicts.
The gym becomes the beating heart of the town’s recovery efforts. It’s part rehab, part church, part job center. People come to lift weights—and lift each other.
More Highlights from the Doc
- CrossFit training is used not just for fitness but to rebuild self-worth and community for recovering addicts. Recovering addicts aren’t sidelined—they become coaches, mentors, and team captains at the gym.
- The gym partners with a supplement company to provide jobs, giving participants financial independence and stability. Portsmouth shifts its public health model from “arrest and punish” to “train, treat, and trust.”
- Local police and city officials get involved—some even train at the gym themselves.
Lesser-Known Details from the Doc
- The gym wasn’t built for recovery—it became that by accident, when a few addicts showed up looking for change and were welcomed in. Project DAWN (Deaths Avoided With Naloxone) also trains people to identify an overdose and administer Narcan correctly—sometimes saving people in their own homes.
- At one point, Dale admits he had no training in addiction recovery—he just knew how to lead a team and didn’t want to watch his town die.
- Some of the gym’s most committed coaches are former users who relapsed multiple times before turning their life around through the program. The gym’s mantra? “We don’t do pity. We do reps.”
Wrap Up
“Small Town Strong” shows what happens when a community treats addiction not as a disease to hide—but a battle to fight together. Come for the story of fentanyl and fitness—stay for the redemption reps.
Thanks for reading!
Heather Fenty, Guest Writer, Daily Doc