Trey Jenkins was born into a family shaped by alcoholism, addiction, incarceration, and mental-health struggles.

When his mother went to prison during his early childhood, Trey was passed between relatives while his father traveled for work. His grandfather became the closest thing he had to stability and a real father figure.

But after leaving that life to live with his mother and brother, Trey was introduced to drug dealing, gangs, crime, pills, and street life. By 15, he was using substances to cope with what he was seeing—and what he was becoming involved in.

At 17, Trey received devastating news: his mother had breast and lung cancer and did not have long to live.

Two weeks later, she died while holding his hand.

That same night, Trey used heroin for the first time.

To everyone around him, he appeared tough—a gang member and drug dealer who could handle anything. Underneath that image, he was scared, grieving, shooting dope, and completely alone.

Then, just 28 days after losing his mother, Trey’s brother was killed through gun and gang violence while they were together in a car.

His addiction spiraled.

Homelessness, detoxes, treatment centers, crime, and survival became his reality. At 19, Trey was shot in the leg and spent six months in the hospital. Doctors told him he was fortunate the bullet had missed a major artery.

When he was released, he was homeless in downtown New Jersey and walking with a cane.

Around age 20, Trey committed a crime that resulted in 33 months in prison. After his release, he was paroled to Cincinnati and stayed sober for a period—but unresolved pain, manipulation, toxic relationships, and relapse continued to follow him.

Fatherhood eventually planted the seed for change.

Thinking about his son Matteo—and later learning that his daughter Amia was on the way—forced Trey to confront the life he was creating and the kind of father he wanted to become.

He returned to treatment, started listening, accepted guidance, found a sponsor, worked the steps, earned his peer-support certification, and built a genuine foundation in recovery.

Today, Trey has 50% custody of his children and has also become a father figure to Maisie, the daughter of his partner in recovery.

He wakes up every day with the opportunity to help other people and has launched Breaking Generational Curses, a clothing brand that gives a portion of its proceeds to God Behind Bars.

Trey’s mission is bigger than staying sober.

He is building a life his children can be proud of—and working to ensure they never experience the pain of addiction or growing up with an addicted parent.

This is a conversation about grief, heroin addiction, gang violence, homelessness, prison, fatherhood, recovery, and finally building a life you no longer need to escape from.

Every story has a lesson. Every lesson has the power to change a life.

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More than a decade of IV heroin addiction nearly took everything.

Addiction ran through almost the entire family. Life became consumed by survival, consequences, grief, and a system that would eventually change her family forever.

One of the deepest losses came when a child was placed in a closed adoption.

Years later, life came full circle in a way nobody could have predicted.

Today, Jamie Ivey has eight years of sobriety. She is a full-time mother, a college student, and the operations manager at a facility that provides drug testing and counseling services for parents involved in family cases with the Fayette County courts.

The same kind of system that once caused some of the greatest pain in her life is now where she gets to serve others.

She sees firsthand what social workers, parents, and families experience every day. She understands the fear, the judgment, the consequences, and the possibility of transformation because she has lived it.

Before stepping into her current role, Jamie served as the director of operations for a local recovery program for four years. When she moved forward, she passed that leadership position to a former client who had come through the program and transformed into an incredible woman.

That full-circle moment represents what recovery can truly create.

In this powerful conversation with Adam Larkin, Jamie opens up about:

This is not a story about pretending the past never happened.

It is a story about using the most painful chapters of life to become the person someone else needs.

Jamie is proof that recovery can lead to motherhood, education, leadership, service, and an entirely new future.

It is never too late to GITT UP.

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Nathan Thomas was introduced to substances by his own family when he was only 9 years old.

By his early teenage years, his addiction had escalated to benzodiazepines and other pills. At 17, Nathan was homeless, moving from place to place and desperately trying to outrun a life that was quickly falling apart.

But the streets were only the beginning.

For the next 11 years, Nathan found himself repeatedly incarcerated. Every time he was released, his addiction became more destructive. The consequences grew, the pain deepened, and the possibility of building a different life seemed farther away.

After being released from prison on a drug-sales conviction, Nathan experienced the most devastating loss of his life—the death of his first son. He was also blessed with a daughter and finally understood that he could not continue living the same way.

Nathan says God gave him a clear choice: continue down the path that had already taken nearly everything from him, or completely surrender and begin again.

On May 15, 2021, Nathan chose recovery.

Through faith, Alcoholics Anonymous, Celebrate Recovery, accountability, and a willingness to do something completely different, his life began to transform.

Today, Nathan is a trusted man, a devoted family man, and a professional who helps other people every day. He went from childhood substance use, homelessness, addiction, incarceration, and unbearable grief to a life filled with purpose, peace, responsibility, and service.

In this raw conversation with Adam Larkin, Nathan opens up about:

Nathan’s story is proof that your past may explain where you have been—but it does not have to determine where you are going.

It is never too late to GITT UP.

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Chase Dudley received his first camera as a Christmas gift when he was just 15 years old. That one gift sparked a passion that would eventually lead him to become an award-winning filmmaker, director, producer, writer, actor, and entrepreneur.

In this episode, Chase shares how he built his career from the ground up, launched his own production company, directed award-winning independent films, and turned his passion for storytelling into a successful business. We also discuss the realities of independent filmmaking, entrepreneurship, leadership, creativity, and what it truly takes to build a career in one of the world's most competitive industries.

Whether you're an aspiring filmmaker, entrepreneur, content creator, or someone chasing a dream, this conversation is packed with practical advice, inspiration, and the mindset required to keep moving forward.

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Jessica Ashby's story is one of unimaginable loss, addiction, redemption, and hope.

After losing her brother in a tragic car crash as a teenager, Jessica spent years trying to outrun grief. What began as experimenting with drugs and alcohol eventually turned into a devastating opioid addiction after being prescribed oxycodone following the birth of her daughter. Addiction led to a felony conviction, broken relationships, and years of chaos.

Everything changed when Jessica made the decision to return to treatment and fully commit to recovery.

Then tragedy struck again.

On December 7, 2024, Jessica's mother and stepfather were killed by an impaired driver. Instead of returning to addiction, she leaned on the recovery community that had helped rebuild her life and turned unimaginable pain into purpose.

Today, Jessica is living proof that redemption is real. She received a full pardon from Governor Andy Beshear, founded the Cardinal Grace Foundation to help others rebuild their lives, is pursuing her Master's in Public Administration, and continues to advocate for recovery, second chances, and hope.

This is a powerful conversation about grief, addiction, recovery, forgiveness, resilience, and rebuilding your life after unimaginable tragedy.

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What does it take to walk away from a successful corporate career and completely reinvent your life?

In this episode of GITT UP with Adam Larkin, Damian Tanenbaum shares his incredible journey from the corporate boardroom to Hollywood, where he built a career as an actor, stunt performer, fight coordinator, entrepreneur, Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu black belt, and CrossFit coach.

We dive into the mindset required to start over, what it really takes to succeed in Hollywood, the lessons martial arts taught him about leadership, entrepreneurship, discipline, and why betting on yourself is often the biggest risk—and the greatest reward.

Whether you're an entrepreneur, athlete, business leader, actor, martial artist, or someone chasing a dream, this episode is packed with practical advice, inspiration, and real-world lessons on building success through discipline.

Watch until the end and let us know your biggest takeaway.

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GITT UP with Adam Larkin features unfiltered conversations with entrepreneurs, athletes, actors, creators, business leaders, recovery advocates, and high performers who share the real stories behind their success, setbacks, and the mindset that helped them build extraordinary lives.

Ronni Welcher joins Adam Larkin for one of the most emotional and inspiring conversations ever featured on GITT Up Podcast.

Growing up in poverty, Ronni witnessed domestic violence, alcoholism, and chaos inside her own home. As she got older, the trauma continued through abusive relationships, sexual assault, addiction, homelessness, mental illness, incarceration, and unimaginable loss.

Ronni shares the painful reality of surviving childhood trauma, multiple assaults, prison, and losing her mother just weeks before her release. Soon after, she lost her longtime boyfriend to an overdose and later her father, leaving her feeling completely hopeless. What followed was what she describes as a year-long suicide mission.

Everything changed when she cried out to God and made the decision to fight for her life instead of giving up.

Today, Ronni is more than seven years sober and has dedicated her life to helping others. She founded her own nonprofit, advocates for overdose prevention and recovery, serves as a Certified Peer Support Specialist, is Narcan trained, and provides street outreach to people experiencing homelessness and addiction. Her dream is to build a resource center where people can find safety, hope, essential services, and a pathway to recovery.

This conversation is about resilience, faith, recovery, second chances, and proving that no matter how dark life becomes, hope is still possible.

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• Childhood trauma

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Zachary Schwartz joins Adam Larkin for a powerful conversation about overcoming childhood trauma, building a successful life, entrepreneurship, fatherhood, and the unexpected role he played in Adam's recovery journey.

In 2019, Zachary was the friend who drove Adam to the first and last detox of his life—a decision that ultimately changed everything. While Zachary's story is very different from Adam's, his influence helped set in motion a chain of events that led to lasting sobriety and a completely different future.

In this episode, Zachary opens up about growing up in an abusive environment, the challenges he faced as a child, and the adversity he had to overcome to build the life he has today. He shares lessons learned through hardship, the mindset that helped him succeed, and how he became a successful entrepreneur, devoted father, and leader for his family.

This conversation is about resilience, personal growth, entrepreneurship, fatherhood, overcoming obstacles, and the impact one person can have on another person's life without ever realizing it.

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• Childhood trauma and abuse

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Chandler Maze joins Adam Larkin for a raw and powerful conversation about addiction, incarceration, recovery, redemption, and rebuilding a life after years of destructive choices.

At the height of his addiction, Chandler was heavily dependent on Xanax and heroin. His addiction ultimately led to armed robbery, a prison sentence, and years of consequences that impacted every area of his life.

In this episode, Chandler opens up about the reality of addiction, what life was like behind bars, the mindset that kept him trapped, and the moment he decided he wanted something different. He shares how recovery transformed his life and how he now helps others battling the same addictions he once faced himself.

This conversation is about second chances, personal responsibility, redemption, and the hope that recovery can bring, no matter how far someone has fallen.

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• Heroin addiction

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Daniel Cameron joins Adam Larkin on the GITT Up Podcast for a powerful conversation about leadership, faith, resilience, public service, and what it takes to make an impact in today's world.

In this episode, Daniel shares lessons from his personal and professional journey, discussing leadership under pressure, staying grounded in your values, overcoming adversity, and the importance of faith, family, and perseverance. He opens up about the mentors who helped shape his path, the challenges leaders face in a rapidly changing world, and why resilience, character, and purpose matter more than ever.

From leadership and personal growth to public service and making a difference, this conversation is packed with insights for entrepreneurs, business owners, creators, professionals, and anyone looking to level up in life.

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