Olympian, Wrestling Star Kurt Angle Aims To Help Those Battling Addiction

PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- A new app is about to become available to help people who are struggling with addiction and an Olympic winner who is behind the new technology.

The 1996 Summer Olympic Games were the thrill of a lifetime for Kurt Angle. "When you win an Olympic gold medal, you have a responsibility to be a positive member of society," says Kurt, the former Olympic and WWE wrestler.

When he was 27 years old, Kurt won the gold medal in freestyle wrestling and he did it with a broken neck.

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He went on to professional wrestling and became a 13-time world heavyweight champion.

But five more neck breaks led to an addiction to prescription pain pills.

"First one I took, I was hooked, I liked it, I loved the feeling," he said. "When one didn't work, I went to two, from two to four, I just kept doubling and doubling to where nothing was working and before I knew it, I was up to 65 extra-strength Vicodin a day."

Kurt was chasing the highest high he ever felt.

After his fourth DUI charge in 5 years, Kurt decided to go to rehab for 30 days.

It worked, but he wondered about staying clean.

"When you're an addict, you're always an addict and if you're ashamed to talk about it, you're not going to help other people," he said. "I felt like it was time for someone to step forward and do something about it."

Now, he's leading the Angle Strong Initiative to help other addicts stay sober too.

The Angle Strong app is made to help people break the addiction cycle and stay sober. There's a daily check-in, meeting reminders and a care manager to help with reaching goals and tracking sobriety. And to guard against relapse, loved ones are notified if someone doesn't check in.

"We're going to be there with them the whole way through and that's the thing. I want them to know they have security." says Kurt.

The app also has a monthly Skype call with Angle himself.

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"I never had the urge to be rich and famous, but I had the urge to serve a higher purpose for God," he says. "Being a family man and helping people with their struggles with addiction, that makes me happier than winning a gold medal."

The Angle-Strong app is scheduled to be released later this month.