Before U.S. Senator Chuck Schumer swore in Corey Johnson as City Council speaker on Sunday, he couldn't resist recapping Johnson's life in a speech. It's no wonder: the Councilman from Manhattan has done a lot in his 35 years, much of it dramatic, although not always in a good way. And really, Schumer was following Johnson's lead. The Councilman from the west side of Manhattan, more than many politicians, has skillfully used the story of his life to fuel his rise.

Schumer began where you begin these tales: the hardscrabble childhood. "You read Corey's background, it is unbelievable," the senator said. "He was born in public housing in Middleton, Massachusetts, a union household. The family struggled and struggled and struggled."

And then success: at 16, Johnson was a star linebacker and co-captain of his high school football team. That's when he decided to come out as gay on national TV. His teammates supported him, as did others around the country. Despite a torrent of criticism from commenters on the right, it made him an icon — a precocious one, at that.

At 19, he visited New York, looked around, and vowed never to live anywhere else. He found a cheap place in Chelsea and landed a job with the Retail Workers Union. Within ten years, he was elected as chair of Community Board 4. In 2013, at age 30, he won a City Council seat.

Two things had happened in the meantime. He'd tested positive of HIV — a status he's quite public about. And he'd quit abusing alcohol and cocaine. Today, he has ten years clean.

These are some of the details used by Schumer to connect Johnson to the powerful myth of the self-made political man. "Why is this a great day for Corey?," he asked the more than 200 members of the city's political class crowded into an auditorium for the inauguration at the Fashion Institute of Technology. "Because of how he got here. No one put a silver spoon in his mouth. No big shot power plucked him out of nowhere and put him in this position. Corey got here the old fashioned way: he earned it."

Johnson marched through his agenda in a well-received speech, to tackle homelessness, the mass transit problems, gentrification, inequality, and the rising cost of living. 

"The affordability crisis that grips our city threatens the very existence of our neighborhoods. New Yorkers who have lived in the same community, their entire lives, now find themselves priced out," he said.

Johnson is the first openly gay male speaker in the history of New York.

Correction: An earlier version of this article misstated that Johnson was the youngest ever City Council speaker. Gifford Miller, who served as speaker between 2002 and 2005, was sworn in at 32.