What if joy isn’t something you chase — but something you practice?

In this deeply honest and energizing conversation, Christa “Cricket” King sits down with Jacques Martiquet, the self-described Party Scientist, to explore what it really means to choose joy through sobriety, radical vulnerability, and conscious connection.

Together, they unpack how alcohol and other cultural “shortcuts” can quietly block authentic joy, and Jacques introduces his powerful framework of the 5 S’s — the common ways we’re taught to outsource happiness: substances, sugar & salt, screens, stuff, and sites. While these offer temporary relief, they often keep us disconnected from the deeper, embodied joy we’re actually craving.

This episode dives into why vulnerability is a skill (not a personality trait), how boundaries protect joy, and how social intelligence, movement, presence, and honest emotional processing create real, sustainable aliveness. You’ll hear reflections on sober joy, grief as a teacher, reframing hardship into fuel, and the courage it takes to be fully seen — especially when your light makes others uncomfortable.

You’ll explore:

• Choosing sobriety as a gateway to clarity, connection, and joy

• The 5 S’s and how they quietly replace true fulfillment

• Why joy is not toxic positivity, but a trainable, embodied practice

• Radical vulnerability, grief, and the gifts hidden inside loss

• Building relationships that support growth, reciprocity, and aliveness

• Why human connection may be the most underrated “antidepressant” we have

This conversation is for anyone who feels called to live more awake, authentic, and joy-forward — without numbing, bypassing, or shrinking to fit old norms.

✨ Joy is available. Sobriety clears the way. Vulnerability opens the door.

Important links:

Zero for Life: The-Science-Meets-Soul Method to Alcohol Freedom

The Party Scientist website

Join Jacques on Instagram>>>