My guest today is Gregg. After nearly ruining his life with drugs and alcohol, Gregg’s been sober for more than 28 years. Amongst many things, he’s a seasoned recovery professional, branding expert, author, TEDx speaker, and co-founder of Start Up Recovery, a sober transitional living center that uses his proprietary “life reset” curriculum, aptly coined “The Recovery Playbook,” to help individuals suffering recover, build richer, more meaning lives, and shift their addiction into passion and purpose. Gregg has helped hundreds globally, and he’s since gone on to make waves in the recovery and wellness spheres through his newest venture, Start Up Wellness – a program designed to maximize mental, spiritual, and physical well-being.

Gregg is an entrepreneur through and through, always striving to be the best at everything he does – even when, at his darkest hour, that meant being able to chug the most beers or deal the most drugs. It took a DUI the night before his college graduation, 8 arrests in the span of 2 years from the ages of 22 to 24, getting busted in the airport after attempting to transport 50 pounds of marijuana across the East Coast, and a whole lot of self-awareness and "willingness" for Gregg to finally get sober and into recovery for over a quarter of a century.

This notion of addiction lives on a much broader spectrum than I think many of us might realize. When we think of addiction, we think of the junkie shooting up in a dark alley or the gutter drunk wreaking havoc in the streets. But in between that polarity, there’s a whole spectrum of addictive substances and behaviors. We live in this world, seizing moments or opportunities through behavior or substance because to distract ourselves because we are experiencing discomfort, and it’s easier to divert to something that will give us a sense of ease or distraction than to sit with that sense of discomfort. We’re living in a world that increasingly primes us all for the problem of addiction, and it is my hope that through these stories, people are able to see themselves, connect, relate, and perhaps find a modicum of peace with the compulsive overconsumption that afflicts many, if not all, of us. I hope that individuals currently suffering are inspired by a story of courage and hope that resonates so deeply, perhaps it even motivates them to stop using and finally seek help.

There is so much value in this episode – whether you identify as an alcoholic in the rooms of AA or with the relentless pursuit of distraction on social media – I

This podcast traverses difficult emotional terrain. If you are struggling, you are not alone. Please reach out for help and call ⁠⁠SAMHSA’s National Helpline⁠⁠ at 1-800-662-HELP (4357). If you are experiencing suicidal ideation, I encourage you to call the ⁠⁠988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline⁠⁠ at 988.