By . Helen Pow . Toronto mayor Rob Ford has declared 'rehab is amazing' and that it reminds him of 'football camp' as he vows to return fighting fit to 'kick butt' in October's election. The embattled mayor, who is on a leave of absence to tackle his drug and alcohol use, said he feels 'great' and is benefiting from the self-imposed exile. There are meetings with 'eight people in a group,' he told the Toronto Sun from his mystery treatment center Tuesday. And later 'there is a meal before we have some one-on-one sessions.' 'It reminds me of football camp. Kind of like the Washington Redskins camp I went to as a kid,' he said, adding 'I am working out every day and I am learning about myself, my past and things like that.' Where are you? Rob Ford is pictured above on May 1, a day after he announced his leave of absence. He has now spoken out about rehab, calling it the best thing he ever did . There's no timeline for his return to office, but Ford has assured his supporters he'll be back in time to gain re-election later this year. 'Of course, I am coming back and I am going to kick butt,' he told the newspaper. 'I will be on the ballot for mayor in October, guaranteed, and I will do well.' He joked 'on October 28 there will be no need to change the locks. There will be no need to clean out my office because I am coming back.' Ford said the rehab center treats 'addictions to alcohol and other things' and is 'worth every penny.' After a week of being clean and sober, the mayor said he's starting to come to terms with what has happened over the past year but he said he is hopeful he can right his wrongs. 'At first, I was mad. I was mad at myself and saying, "Why me?"' he told the Sun. 'But then I realized it could have been a whole lot worse.' He said the very public fall from grace was possibly what he needed to shake him into action. 'I do feel bad about what happened, but it might have been the best thing that happened because I am working on getting better.' Getting help: The mayor is seeking treatment for alcohol addition. Pictured above arriving at his home early Thursday morning after announcing his leave of absence . Ford refused to reveal the name of the treatment center he's checked into, out of respect for the other patients, and he wouldn't even confirm it was in Canada. He said the decision to check himself into rehab came on April 29 - the morning after he was taped in an apparent intoxicated state at a city pub. He said he woke up and 'I told Dougie, "I am going away" and then started looking up rehab and treatment centres.' Ford told the Sun his family knows where he is and he's been speaking to his children regularly, though they don't know why he's getting help. He said the past week has been tough but he described going into rehab as the 'best decision' he has ever made and said he wishes he'd done it sooner. 'I said to myself, "Am I going to try to cover it up for the rest of your life or deal with it and go to professional help?"' Ford recalled. 'I decided to get help.' The media has been speculating as to the crack-smoking mayor's whereabouts since he announced his leave of absence last Wednesday. He reportedly got on a private plane bound for Chicago but he was turned away at the border, the Globe and Mail reported. Neither . Ford's brother Doug Ford or his lawyer Dennis Morris will say where exactly the mayor is, but insisted Tuesday he is seeking treatment as . promised. Ford was last seen leaving his house the morning of May 1 to board a private plane at Buttonville Municipal Airport. He landed in Chicago but never formally entered the U.S. Back to drugs: Ford's announcement follows the emergence of yet another video showing him smoking what appears to be crack. A still from the new video released by the Globe and Mail, above . 'He . voluntarily withdrew his application to enter the USA,' Ray Norton, . Canada's Consul General in Chicago, told the Globe and Mail. Norton . added that Ford 'was not declined entry, per se'. Norton didn't learn about the incident until after the fact, when he was notified by U.S. Customs and Border Patrol. CBP . spokesman Kris Grogan wouldn't comment on Ford's application, because . of the privacy act, but pointed out that foreigners attempting to enter . the U.S. can be barred on the grounds of 'criminality, security reasons . and documentations, among dozens of others'. Morris wouldn't comment on where the plane went after Chicago, since he wasn't on board. He maintains that Ford is in rehab, but when asked where, Morris said: 'I think it is close to Timbuktu.' 'The . bottom line is he's in rehab, he's getting rehab and he'll be there for . a number of weeks - and that's the answer. It's not like he's at a . baseball game in Los Angeles or something,' Morris said. Doug Ford wouldn't even say which country he was in. He previously announced that Ford was seeking treatment at one of the best facilities in North America. 'The most important thing, everyone who is concerned if he's in rehab, the answer is yes. As for his whereabouts that's personal and that should stay with Rob,' Doug Ford said. But that's not enough for politicians in Toronto, who are demanding answers for Ford's whereabouts. Infamous: Since the original crack video scandal, Ford has been the center of scandal after scandal. Pictured at a news conference with wife Renata (left) on November 14 . 'The mayor should explain where he's . going to be and how long he anticipates being there,' Councillor Giorgio . Mammoliti told the National Post. 'I think everybody will leave him alone if he does that.' 'Right . now nobody in this city believes him and trusts him on any of this. If a . plane landed and he didn't get off, he better tell this city where he . is going for treatment.' While the U.S. has barred foreigners from entering the U.S. before for noted drug use, such as when celebrity chef Nigella Lawson wasn't allowed to enter from the UK because she admitted to taking cocaine in a court case, Ford was allowed into the country as recently as March for an appearance on Jimmy Kimmel Live. But that was before news broke of yet another tape in which the mayor appears to be smoking crack-cocaine. The same day Ford announced his leave of absence, the Globe and Mail published screen grabs of a new video which shows Ford smoking the illegal drug at his sister's house on April 26. Ford made headlines last year when another group in Toronto was trying to sell a different video of Ford smoking crack, and he refused to step down. The new video also corresponded to reports that Ford got drunk at a Toronto bar Sullie Gorman's on April 28, making lewd comments about mayoral competition Karen Stintz. Public display: Ford also reportedly got drunk on April 28 at Toronto bar Sullie Gorman's where he made lewd statements about mayoral competition Karen Stintz .
The controversial Toronto mayor announced he was taking a leave of absence and pausing his re-election campaign to enter rehab last Wednesday .
He said he feels 'great' and is benefiting from the self-imposed exile .
Ford wouldn't reveal which treatment center he was at or whether it was even in Canada .
It was earlier reported that he was turned away from entering the U.S.
By . Helen Pow . Toronto mayor Rob Ford has declared 'rehab is amazing' and that it reminds him of 'football camp' as he vows to return fighting fit to 'kick butt' in October's election. The embattled mayor, who is on a leave of absence to tackle his drug and alcohol use, said he feels 'great' and is benefiting from the self-imposed exile. There are meetings with 'eight people in a group,' he told the Toronto Sun from his mystery treatment center Tuesday. And later 'there is a meal before we have some one-on-one sessions.' 'It reminds me of football camp. Kind of like the Washington Redskins camp I went to as a kid,' he said, adding 'I am working out every day and I am learning about myself, my past and things like that.' Where are you? Rob Ford is pictured above on May 1, a day after he announced his leave of absence. He has now spoken out about rehab, calling it the best thing he ever did . There's no timeline for his return to office, but Ford has assured his supporters he'll be back in time to gain re-election later this year. 'Of course, I am coming back and I am going to kick butt,' he told the newspaper. 'I will be on the ballot for mayor in October, guaranteed, and I will do well.' He joked 'on October 28 there will be no need to change the locks. There will be no need to clean out my office because I am coming back.' Ford said the rehab center treats 'addictions to alcohol and other things' and is 'worth every penny.' After a week of being clean and sober, the mayor said he's starting to come to terms with what has happened over the past year but he said he is hopeful he can right his wrongs. 'At first, I was mad. I was mad at myself and saying, "Why me?"' he told the Sun. 'But then I realized it could have been a whole lot worse.' He said the very public fall from grace was possibly what he needed to shake him into action. 'I do feel bad about what happened, but it might have been the best thing that happened because I am working on getting better.' Getting help: The mayor is seeking treatment for alcohol addition. Pictured above arriving at his home early Thursday morning after announcing his leave of absence . Ford refused to reveal the name of the treatment center he's checked into, out of respect for the other patients, and he wouldn't even confirm it was in Canada. He said the decision to check himself into rehab came on April 29 - the morning after he was taped in an apparent intoxicated state at a city pub. He said he woke up and 'I told Dougie, "I am going away" and then started looking up rehab and treatment centres.' Ford told the Sun his family knows where he is and he's been speaking to his children regularly, though they don't know why he's getting help. He said the past week has been tough but he described going into rehab as the 'best decision' he has ever made and said he wishes he'd done it sooner. 'I said to myself, "Am I going to try to cover it up for the rest of your life or deal with it and go to professional help?"' Ford recalled. 'I decided to get help.' The media has been speculating as to the crack-smoking mayor's whereabouts since he announced his leave of absence last Wednesday. He reportedly got on a private plane bound for Chicago but he was turned away at the border, the Globe and Mail reported. Neither . Ford's brother Doug Ford or his lawyer Dennis Morris will say where exactly the mayor is, but insisted Tuesday he is seeking treatment as . promised. Ford was last seen leaving his house the morning of May 1 to board a private plane at Buttonville Municipal Airport. He landed in Chicago but never formally entered the U.S. Back to drugs: Ford's announcement follows the emergence of yet another video showing him smoking what appears to be crack. A still from the new video released by the Globe and Mail, above . 'He . voluntarily withdrew his application to enter the USA,' Ray Norton, . Canada's Consul General in Chicago, told the Globe and Mail. Norton . added that Ford 'was not declined entry, per se'. Norton didn't learn about the incident until after the fact, when he was notified by U.S. Customs and Border Patrol. CBP . spokesman Kris Grogan wouldn't comment on Ford's application, because . of the privacy act, but pointed out that foreigners attempting to enter . the U.S. can be barred on the grounds of 'criminality, security reasons . and documentations, among dozens of others'. Morris wouldn't comment on where the plane went after Chicago, since he wasn't on board. He maintains that Ford is in rehab, but when asked where, Morris said: 'I think it is close to Timbuktu.' 'The . bottom line is he's in rehab, he's getting rehab and he'll be there for . a number of weeks - and that's the answer. It's not like he's at a . baseball game in Los Angeles or something,' Morris said. Doug Ford wouldn't even say which country he was in. He previously announced that Ford was seeking treatment at one of the best facilities in North America. 'The most important thing, everyone who is concerned if he's in rehab, the answer is yes. As for his whereabouts that's personal and that should stay with Rob,' Doug Ford said. But that's not enough for politicians in Toronto, who are demanding answers for Ford's whereabouts. Infamous: Since the original crack video scandal, Ford has been the center of scandal after scandal. Pictured at a news conference with wife Renata (left) on November 14 . 'The mayor should explain where he's . going to be and how long he anticipates being there,' Councillor Giorgio . Mammoliti told the National Post. 'I think everybody will leave him alone if he does that.' 'Right . now nobody in this city believes him and trusts him on any of this. If a . plane landed and he didn't get off, he better tell this city where he . is going for treatment.' While the U.S. has barred foreigners from entering the U.S. before for noted drug use, such as when celebrity chef Nigella Lawson wasn't allowed to enter from the UK because she admitted to taking cocaine in a court case, Ford was allowed into the country as recently as March for an appearance on Jimmy Kimmel Live. But that was before news broke of yet another tape in which the mayor appears to be smoking crack-cocaine. The same day Ford announced his leave of absence, the Globe and Mail published screen grabs of a new video which shows Ford smoking the illegal drug at his sister's house on April 26. Ford made headlines last year when another group in Toronto was trying to sell a different video of Ford smoking crack, and he refused to step down. The new video also corresponded to reports that Ford got drunk at a Toronto bar Sullie Gorman's on April 28, making lewd comments about mayoral competition Karen Stintz. Public display: Ford also reportedly got drunk on April 28 at Toronto bar Sullie Gorman's where he made lewd statements about mayoral competition Karen Stintz .
election. The embattled mayor, who is on a leave said he feels 'great' and is benefiting from the Sun from his mystery treatment center Tuesday. leave of absence . Ford refused to reveal the wouldn't even confirm it was in Canada. He said announced his leave of absence last Wednesday. He Chicago but he was turned away at the border, the foreigners from entering the U.S. before for