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This is the second part of a two-part series featuring the charismatic founder of The Club Kids, Michael Alig. 

The Club Kids were a group of young, flamboyant New York City underground dance club personalities in the late 1980s and early 1990s, who were also heavily involved in the drug culture.

Alig spent 17 years behind bars for his part in a brutal drug-induced murder in 1996 when he and roommate Robert "Freeze" Riggs murdered a third roommate, drug dealer Andre "Angel" Melendez, using a hammer. They poured drain cleaner down his throat and kept the lifeless body of their roommate in their apartment for days before finally getting butcher knives to dismember him, disposing of the body in separate locations in the river.

That murder and the partying lifestyle that led up to it was the subject of the movie, Party Monster, starring Macauley Culkin as Alig. 

In this second part, Alig recounts his relationship with his mother, discusses what kind of person he would like to be in a relationship with, talks drug use, and also his creative plans for the future.

Host: Karla Stephens Tolstoy 

Co-Producer: Jessica de Bruyn Production

Editor & Sound: Peter Anthony Holder

Narrator: Peter Anthony Holder

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Michael Alig is a complex character. He’s the charismatic founder of the Club Kids, a group of young, flamboyant New York City underground dance club personalities in the late 1980s and early 1990s. They wore outrageous costumes and were on the scene to be seen, setting an artistic standard for the fashion-conscious youth culture.  But they were also part of the drug culture, with many of the Club Kids becoming addicted. The party-hardy heavy drug use caused a spiral in Alig’s life. 

In 1996, he and roommate Robert "Freeze" Riggs killed a third roommate, drug dealer Andre "Angel" Melendez during an argument over drugs. Alig and Riggs brutally murdered Melendez with a hammer. They poured drain cleaner down his throat and kept the lifeless body of their roommate in their apartment for days before finally getting butcher knives to dismember him, disposing of the body in separate locations in the river. But they were eventually caught, partly due to Alig’s bragging about it openly. 

He spent 17 years behind bars. Now a free man and back in New York, we catch up with Alig as he tries to rebuild his life. 

In this first part of a two-show series, Michael discusses the notoriety he’s achieved, both as the founder of the Club Kids and also his incarceration for murder, plus he delves into his life behind bars and his attempts to creatively turn his life around.

Host: Karla Stephens Tolstoy 

Co-Producer: Jessica de Bruyn

Production Editor & Sound: Peter Anthony Holder

Narrator: Peter Anthony Holder

Music: Evil I Know by Ascot Royals www.slaightmusic.com/music-we-dig#!ascot-royals

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We first met Devin Price in Episodes: I Spent $1 Million on Drugs: The Devin Price Story Part 1 and I Spent $1 Million on Drugs: The Devin Price Story Part 2, when he took us through his road to addiction, becoming a drug dealer and pimp and his eventual arrest. After serving three years in prison, he had returned to his hometown to start over and we ended on an optimistic note with Devin getting a new job and restarting a relationship with his mother, Linda, who had also started her own recovery. 

In this follow-up episode, we speak with Devin after a relapse that put him back into rehab. He tells us how one bad decision lead to slipping back into the world of partying and drugs that he and Linda had both tried to leave behind. As Devin decided to check himself back into rehab, he began keeping an audio diary of his final days before entering treatment and the aftermath once he was released. Devin’s struggle is not over.

He speaks to our host, Karla Stephens-Tolstoy, about trying to connect with his children, who have been put into the foster care system and are eligible for adoption. He also speaks to us about Linda’s relapse and how addiction continues to affect all of the members of his family.

Host: Karla Stephens Tolstoy 

Co-Producer: Jessica de Bruyn

Production Editor & Sound: Cesar Del Castillo

Narrator: Matt Cundill 

End Music: "The Best Is Yet to Come" by Ascot Royals (www.ascotroyals.com) 

We want to thank Ascot Royals for the donation of this song, which speaks about overcoming adversity like that Devin has faced. Find their latest single, "Evil I Know" on iTunes, Spotify and places where music is sold.

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Kelly Donovan is a whistleblower. Her story begins working for a major bank, marrying a police officer, then deciding to become a police officer. After only a few years, Kelly began to learn about internal inconsistencies, and unethical and unlawful decisions being made without any guiding policy or legislation. In 2016, she addressed the issues with the Board, the oversight body of the police service, and as a result, faced reprisal and was further silenced. 

She researched the prevalence of the issues and just how often police whistleblowers are silenced, while police leaders avoid any accountability. After involving all legislated oversight bodies to no avail, Kelly resigned in June 2017. Upon her resignation, she released her Report of Systemic Misfeasance in Ontario Policing and the Coordinated Suppression of Whistleblowers; sending the report to all MPPs and MPs in Ontario and the media.

Kelly has since published the report on Amazon in eBook and paperback formats. Then she started her own business, Fit4Duty™ to educate employers, policy and lawmakers about the risks of having a purely perfunctory vision and mission statements. Too many Canadians work in a toxic environment due primarily to poor oversight and autonomous decisions made by inadequate management.

In this episode - you’ll hear what drove Kelly to start the business and what needs to be done to end the corruption.

Host: Karla Stephens-Tolstoy

Co-Producer: Evan Surminski

Editor & Narrator: Matt Cundill

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In the first part of this two-part podcast series interviewing Frank, an addict who has abused drugs from the age of 12, he told us the origins of his addiction and how sniffing glue as a child turned into full-on heroin addiction as an adult.

By his own admission, Frank has done some terrible things, including using his child’s stroller to steal from shops so he could fund his addiction. Along the way he has survived attacks from gangs of drug dealers, a punctured lung, septicemia, stab wounds and a knee infection that left him wheeling around, scoring drugs in a wheelchair. Time and time again the need to satisfy his addiction was always powerful enough for him to overcome any illness.

Host: Karla Stephens-Tolstoy

Co-Producer: Kris Mulliah

Editor & Narrator: Dave Wheeler at SafetyNet

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Franky Frank runs the My Cold Turkey Detox website where he shares the story and updates about his struggle overcoming drug abuse, primarily heroin and crack. His sister filmed his struggle as he detoxed cold turkey at her place in Sweden after 30 years as a chronic long-term addict.

Franky Frank - not his real name - is now in his forties, in recovery and is our guest on the podcast to tell us how, despite having fallen many times in the past, cold turkey detox does work for some. 

In this first of a two-part series, Frank explains how he became addicted by the age of 12, and how that was the beginning of a lifelong struggle.  

Host: Karla Stephens-Tolstoy

Co-Producer: Kris Mulliah

Editor: Joel at East Coast Studio 

www.mycoldturkeydetox.com

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Erica has endured a lifetime of trauma marked by a difficult upbringing, abusive relationships, an addiction to phone sex, attempted suicide, and a number of diagnosed mental health issues. Recently, we heard of a website called writeaprisoner.com 

While Erica is not a prisoner herself, she has turned to the site in what seems to be a way of coping with her own past, and actually fell in love with a man on the inside, who turned out to only be using her. 

Erica’s story highlights yet another case of neglect and having nowhere to turn, nobody who believed her when she needed it the most. 

Host: Karla Stephens-Tolstoy

Editor and Co-Producer: Joel at East Coast Studio 

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Rob Rawlings is working hard to break the cycle of drug addiction in his family. Despite his father’s abrasive nature and drug use, Rob continued to seek approval as his son. 

At the age of 14, Rob himself was introduced to drugs. It was only a matter of time before he tried opiates, and then heroin. To feed his addiction, Rob was led to a life of crime, he’d even steal from his own family. 

Now, at 43 years old, Rob is in rehab for the 9th time, but feeling optimistic - and says he’s in the best recovery home yet. In this episode, Rob shares his story, and we’ll hear what he’s planning to do with life after recovery. 

Host: Karla Stephens-Tolstoy

Editor and Co-Producer: Joel at East Coast Radio Creative

Links: 

• www.facebook.com/calipalmsrecovery  
• www.facebook.com/Pottamus

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Support the show: www.standupspeakup.ca/give/

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Rob Rawlings is working hard to break the cycle of drug addiction in his family.

Despite his father’s abrasive nature and drug use, Rob continued to seek approval as his son. 

At the age of 14, Rob himself was introduced to drugs. It was only a matter of time before he tried opiates, and then heroine. To feed his addiction, Rob was led to a life of crime, he’d even steal from his own family. 

Now, at 43 years old, Rob is in rehab for the 9th time, but feeling optimistic - and says he’s in the best recovery home yet. 

In this episode, Rob shares his story, and we’ll hear what he’s planning to do with life after recovery. 

Recently we’ve featured addiction stories of people who had clear trauma growing up that contributed to the path they took in life. However, these things can happen to anyone. 

Danielle McCarron is a recovery advocate, working to shift the stigma of addiction. She had what appeared to be the perfect life. A good home, good parents, good looks, and she was smart. As some teenagers do, Danielle began experimenting with alcohol in her teenage years. 

By the time university rolled around, her drinking habits slowly transitioned from normal partying to drinking every day. Eventually, it got to the point where, after being hospitalized for over-consumption, Danielle would purchase more alcohol on the way home after release. 

Today we’ll learn about her experience with alcoholism and recovery, and learn an important lesson - that you can’t force an addict to stop - you have to wait for them to be ready. This is an important episode for parents to hear and share with their children. No matter how perfect an individual’s life may appear, or how unlikely a candidate they seem for addiction, it can happen. This story will teach you how to see the signs early and understand how to help. 

Host: Karla Stephens-Tolstoy

Editor and Co-Producer: Joel at East Coast Radio Creative

Links:

• www.daniellemccarron.com  
• www.instagram.com/danimccarron

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Support the show: www.standupspeakup.ca/give/

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.