When Michael Leahy was 11 years old, he got his first look at pornography.

It was nothing more than a playing card with a nude woman on it, but the image still remains burned in his mind.

“I could draw it for you,” Leahy said last week. “What she looked like, the pose, every dimension of her body.”

That was the beginning of what would later turn into an obsession. Leahy’s addiction to porn would result in the destruction of his marriage and career.

Leahy told his story to a packed auditorium in DUC Theater last night with his video presentation and lecture, “Porn Nation.”

Leahy is the executive director of BraveHearts, an Atlanta-based nonprofit organization he founded in order to raise public awareness about porn addiction and how it can affect relationships.

He’s been touring the country with “Porn Nation” for more than a year, presenting mostly on college campuses. Last night’s event was sponsored by Campus Crusade for Christ and the Campus Activities Board.

Randall Davenport, a campus minister for Crusade, said that “Porn Nation” emphasizes not only pornography but also the sex-saturated society we live in.

Tony Arnold, director of media relations for Crusade’s national organization, based in Orlando, Fla., said it’s always interesting to see people’s reactions to “Porn Nation.”

“Some people come in very opposed to porn, and some come in hoping to see some porn,” he said. “The larger the crowd, the rowdier the crowd are, usually the more fun the event.”

Leahy has appeared on ABC’s “20/20″ and “The View” with his now remarried ex-wife, Patty Onoroto. He said he didn’t admit he had a problem until a year after the divorce, but has since reconciled with her and their two sons, Chris and Andrew.

Ultimately, “Porn Nation” is all about confronting how people’s views of the opposite sex and relationships in general can be skewed by compulsive porn consumption, Leahy said.

He said one reason his marriage fell apart is that, after watching thousands of women in porn movies, normal sex with his wife couldn’t satisfy him. He said that even now, he struggles in relationships.

Although Leahy is a Christian, and he said his relationship with God has helped him overcome his addiction, he doesn’t want to limit himself to only Christian audiences.

“I’m not on a religious tirade,” he said. “I just don’t anyone in my audience to go through what I went through.”

Reach Hawkins Teague at features@wkuherald.com.