AIR Pizza recently opened in Mira Monte with a big splash and is making a mark on Ojai with its traditional "pizza by the slice" vibe. For all the fun and excitement of opening a popular new restaurant, AIR's owner Tere Karabatos has larger purposes in mind, of which the pizzeria is only part. AIR stands for Athletes in Recovery, and Karabatos, in recovery himself, is the founder and executive director. He is using the business to build a sense of community and ladder to success for others like himself.

Karabatos, a standout athlete in his youth in baseball and soccer, was also part of the flourishing skateboarding and surf culture in southern California, working with skater legend Tony "Mad Dog" Alva, one of the original "Lords of Dogtown." Now 16 years sober, he vividly describes his battles with drug and alcohol addiction, his road to recovery, and desire to bring others into sobriety and to their full possibility.

He considers Alcoholics Anonymous founder Bill Wilson "as important as the Wright Brothers" with his discoveries and understandings about the psyche, and development of the 12 Step Program. We also talk about the pandemic's effect on Ojai and his sober living facility in Los Angeles, his wife and kids, running a restaurant, and growing up as friends/rivals with baseball All-Star Shea Hillebrand. We did not talk about the Black Plague, 5G or Ukraine.