EPISODE SUMMARY

Not every journey to purpose is a straight line. For Matt Tulle, it wound through stigma, addiction and some of the darkest corners of mental health — all while growing up queer in rural Queensland.

Matt didn't just survive that journey. He transformed it. Today he works as a peer worker in alcohol and other drugs (AOD) support, walking alongside men who are exactly where he once was. In this honest, generous conversation, Matt unpacks ten years as a "functional drug addict", the cocaine years in a Melbourne ops manager role, the breakdown that followed, and the night he felt his late father's presence and chose a different path.

This is a story about lived experience as a connection multiplier — and why peer work might be one of the most important roles in modern recovery.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

LIVED EXPERIENCE IS A CONNECTION MULTIPLIER

Matt explains why "me too" lands in a way no textbook can — and how peer work uses it with intention, not as a trauma dump.

SHAME TO GUILT IS THE MOVE

"I'm a bad person" becomes "I had a bad moment." Matt walks through how that single reframe rebuilt his self-worth.

ADDICTION CAN BE THE THING HOLDING IT TOGETHER

For ten years, the drugs weren't the problem — they were the unprocessed solution. Real recovery meant doing the harder, slower work underneath.

THE WORK TAKES AS LONG AS IT TAKES

Eight years into healing and still going. Matt's view: time doesn't matter, you'll do it when you're ready.

YOU MAY NEED A NEW POT

On outgrowing people, redrawing boundaries, and why moving on isn't betrayal — it's growth.

GUEST BIO

Matt Tulle is an AOD peer worker based in Queensland, supporting men through addiction, mental health and recovery. A social work graduate, Matt brings a decade of lived experience to a workforce he believes belongs at every multidisciplinary table.

RESOURCES MENTIONED

- Lifeline Australia (24/7): 13 11 14 — https://www.lifeline.org.au

- Beyond Blue: 1300 22 4636 — https://www.beyondblue.org.au

- QLife (LGBTI peer support): 1800 184 527 — https://www.qlife.org.au

- 13YARN (First Nations crisis line): 13 92 76 — https://www.13yarn.org.au

TIMESTAMPS

00:00 Introduction

03:11 Growing up queer in Gympie

13:20 Melbourne, burnout and cocaine

15:42 Breakdown, withdrawal and first attempt

22:00 Losing Dad and the cat moment

26:00 Uni, therapy and doing the work

30:48 Peer work — shame to guilt

52:21 Future of peer work and LGBTQI+ hopes

CALL TO ACTION

If this conversation moved you, share it with one person who needs it. Subscribe on Spotify, Apple Podcasts or wherever you listen, and please leave a rating and review — it helps others find these stories.

Support Kintsugi Heroes with a tax-deductible donation: https://www.kintsugiheroes.com.au

THE KINTSUGI CONNECTION

Watch on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@kintsugiheroes

If this resonated, you may also like:

- KH episodes on men's mental health and recovery

- KH episodes on lived experience and peer support

ABOUT KINTSUGI HEROES

Kintsugi Heroes is a not-for-profit storytelling platform sharing real stories of resilience, disability and transformation. Inspired by the Japanese art of kintsugi — repairing broken pottery with gold — we believe our breaks make us more valuable, not less.

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Theme music: "Broken" by Colin Lilly, used with permission.