Two years ago, Will Russell's life was hijacked by bipolar disorder, resulting in a months-long manic episode that led to multiple arrests, bankruptcy and the loss of two businesses.

Those closest to Russell thought they had lost a lot more: him. They feared he would fall victim to a mental illness that contributes to a third of the homeless population.

Russell, a Louisville entrepreneur and co-founder of the Lebowski Fest, hasn't spoken about his lost months until now. Much of it remains a blur of mania exacerbated by drugs and alcohol. What he does remember is painful.

But as his life continues to realign and settle down, Russell has become determined to fashion some version of a happy ending.

Part of Russell's recovery means becoming a more vocal advocate for mental health, and this year's Lebowski Fest – held July 7-8 – will for the first time raise money for Wellspring, a Louisville nonprofit that helps adults with mental illness.

As Lebowski Fest continues to regain its footing and returns to staging events nationwide, Russell will partner with local mental health organizations in each city to raise money and awareness. He also briefly served on the National Alliance on Mental Illness outreach committee and had shared aspects of his recovery on social media.

"I'd really like to find a way to reach a bigger audience," said Russell, 41, who has struggled with bipolar disorder since he was a teenager. "I really think my story, as awful as it was, can help somebody who's struggling with mental illness, or is helping someone else who's struggling.

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"And it's an interesting story, you know? It's a weird thing. This guy buys a rundown Wild West town and then goes crazy in the Wild West town."

By many people's standards, Russell's entire life has been a weird thing.

He made his name in Louisville, and internationally, with the Lebowski Fest, which he founded in 2002 with Scott Shuffitt. The festival, which celebrates the movie "The Big Lebowski," has traveled to more than 30 American cities, England and Ireland.

Russell, an intuitive entrepreneur, later opened two successful stores called WHY Louisville, which were gift emporiums dedicated to Kentucky. Always prone to mood swings, and especially to fits of depression, Russell maintained his upward climb through medication, therapy and sobriety.

In 2015, while gripped in the early stages of a powerful manic episode, he suddenly decided to buy Guntown Mountain, a run-down roadside attraction in Cave City, Kentucky that once featured shoot-outs and dance hall girls.

Like most of Russell's ideas, it was just crazy enough to work. He planned to revamp the site and call it Funtown Mountain, with activities geared toward families and music lovers. He gathered support and loans, including $250,000 from the Kentucky Tourism Development Loan Program and began to construct his dream business.

It would never come to fruition.

As the mania intensified, Russell felt bulletproof and stopped taking his meds. Worse, he threw away 20 years of sobriety and began smoking weed, drinking and likely worse. He's not really sure; his fleeting memories are more episodic than linear.

Russell was ultimately arrested four times, three involving public intoxication and possession of drugs or drug paraphernalia. He set fire to his home in Louisville and either burned or gave away much of the inventory at Funtown Mountain. He has a vague memory of off-roading through deep mountain woods in a sedan and defaced one of his WHY Louisville stores for reasons unknown.

"The person that did those things was not the real Will," said Russell's father, Bill. "It was a Will that was mentally ill and psychotic."

"I never thought anything was wrong with me, which is shocking to think about," Will Russell said. "I had no insight into the fact that I was mentally ill and in the middle of an episode. I was just gone."

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But by the end of 2015, Russell was finally in a hospital and back on medication. After months of legal wrangling in multiple Kentucky counties that stretched well into 2016, bankruptcy had claimed everything other than Lebowski Fest, which Russell was allowed to keep under an exemption.

Russell had damaged dozens of friendships, become Internet joke fodder and threatened his relationship with his daughter. As a deep depression followed the mania, going to the grocery store became a monumental effort and overwhelming remorse clouded his thinking.

"What do you do when you wake up and feel like you've destroyed a great deal of your life?" wondered Tyler Gill, Russell's second in command at Lebowski Fest.

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Gill struggled to keep the festival afloat while Russell was raging. He briefly quit but couldn't stay away because the Russell he had known for years was a much different man.

"Will's really been focused on recovering ... in the right way, slowly and following his steps," Gill said. "I feel like he's in a great place and has been getting there for a while."

Russell said he does not take his recovery for granted and realizes there's one degree of separation between his life now and a life in prison.

"I would say that 20 months later, I'm still coming to terms with what I did and trying to get some perspective on it," said Russell, who has leaned on Louisville's recovery community. "I'm just glad that I didn't give up because there was a big part of me that wanted to.

"It just felt so impossible and I'm still, to this day, dealing with some of the consequences ... but for the most part, life is pretty good. Even though I did not think things could get better, things did get better."

Reporter Jeffrey Lee Puckett can be reached at 502-582-4160 and jpuckett@courier-journal.com.

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IF YOU GO

WHAT: 16th annual Lebowski Fest

WHEN: July 7-8

MORE DETAILS: lebowskifest.com