While Anderson’s code of the street is often used to explore why people engage in violent behaviours, its role in problematic substance use and the recovery process has yet to be explored. This study draws from life history interviews with 40 men who recovered from active addiction and desisted from offending. Participants articulated a localized version of the street code (being a ‘hard-man’), the key component of which was capacity for violence. Participants also emphasized the role of problematic substance use in the development of hard-man reputations, but reported losing physicality and thus the capacity for violence as substance use progressed into active addiction. This loss of physicality was a ‘hook for change’ which motivated them to begin the recovery process, and step away from their long sought-after hard-man identity.