This week we're joined by Miriam Lene Roland — Norwegian sommelier, entrepreneur, and founder of Miris Blend, a premium alcohol-free wine brand that is quietly turning heads in the wine world.

Miriam completed her WSET Level 3 in London, spent three years immersed in the wine regions of Portugal, and wrote her master's thesis on the technology and marketing of alcohol-free wine — before going back to Norway and actually building the business. She's now producing a range of award-winning alcohol-free wines using some of the most advanced dealcoholisation technology currently available, working directly with small producers who share her obsession with quality.

If wine is the one thing you miss, or the one thing holding you back, this is the episode to listen to. We get into why most alcohol-free wine is so disappointing, what Miriam is doing differently, and why the market for genuinely good alcohol-free wine is only just getting started.

Find Miriam:

Buy in the UK:

Coach with Steve:

Insta: @sober.illiant

LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/stevesmith-soberilliant

Coach with James:

Insta: @alcoholfreecoach_

LinkedIn: http://linkedin.com/in/james-lloyd-48313032

This week we're joined by Toby Bailey — former professional cricketer turned international coach, currently heading up the Qatar National Cricket Team. Toby has been alcohol-free for nearly three years, which is quite something when you consider he spent decades in two of the booziest environments going — professional cricket and the City.

We get into what drinking culture really looked like inside elite sport, how attitudes have shifted, and what finally made Toby decide to remove alcohol from his own foundations. There's also a brilliant conversation about performing under pressure without it, what you miss socially, and why he's refreshingly honest that the start wasn't easy.

One of the more unique perspectives we've had on the pod. Well worth your time.

Connect with Toby:

Coach with Steve:

Insta: @sober.illiant

LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/stevesmith-soberilliant

Coach with James:

Insta: @alcoholfreecoach_

LinkedIn: http://linkedin.com/in/james-lloyd-48313032

This week we're joined by our good friend from over the pond Ted Gibson. Ted is a fellow coach, and someone we have been meaning to get on the pod for way too long.

Ted's story is genuinely one of a kind. An alcohol free adventure that started with no real plan. Deep into a hospitality career, a trained sommelier and faced with becoming a dad and with a daughter was on the way, Ted just decided to stop. One year. Non-negotiable. No tools, no real plan. Just a decision.

Six years later, here we are who'd have thought it would have unlocked so much.

A great chat with one of life's good guys. Ted brings a perspective we haven't really heard before on this pod, and it's well worth a listen. 

Connect with Ted:

Coach with Steve:

Insta: @sober.illiant

LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/stevesmith-soberilliant

Coach with James:

Insta: @alcoholfreecoach_

LinkedIn: http://linkedin.com/in/james-lloyd-48313032

No guest this week — just Steve and James, and things got all nostalgic.

In this weeks episode we take a step back and look at how the 90s shaped the way our generation drinks — the advertising, the 90's culture, and what it was that made seemed to make us drink differently to today. We also look back on why getting drunk somehow became not just normal but perceived as cool.

If you're in your 40s or 50s this is definitely worth a listen. 

Coach with Steve:

Insta: @sober.illiant

LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/stevesmith-soberilliant

Coach with James:

Insta: @alcoholfreecoach_

LinkedIn: http://linkedin.com/in/james-lloyd-48313032

This week we finally get Barclay on the pod. James has been dropping hints about him for weeks, and he absolutely does not disappoint.

Barclay is 57, drank for 40 years, and came into coaching with one very clear position — he just wanted a short break, not sobriety, absolutely not sobriety. 107 days later he's got a new wardrobe, clearer skin, and no desire whatsoever to go back. Funny how that happens.

It's a proper chat — funny, honest, and we loved every second. Barclay is simply a beacon fro AF life. We talk about what the first week was really like, when things started to shift, how he handles social situations now, and what he wishes he'd known sooner. He also shares the five questions he asks himself whenever a craving hits, which are genuinely brilliant and worth writing down.

Oh, and he built a pub in his garden which he loves just as much as he ever did...his beer just has a zero on it now

Coach with Steve:

Insta: @sober.illiant

LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/stevesmith-soberilliant

Coach with James:

Insta: @alcoholfreecoach_

LinkedIn: http://linkedin.com/in/james-lloyd-48313032

No guest this week — just us catching up on summer so far and ending up in a really good conversation about alcohol-free holidays.

Steve's just back from the New Forest with his mate, James went to the Eden Project and saw Bastille in Cornwall, and how and howe AF holidays are just better and you don't end up spending two thirds of a trip to Iceland in an American-themed bar without seeing a single thing. 

We also get into why if you're thinking about making a change, right now — post-summer, pre-Christmas — is actually the perfect window. And why doing it properly, rather than just white-knuckling it makes all the difference.

Coach with Steve:

Insta: @sober.illiant

LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/stevesmith-soberilliant

Coach with James:

Insta: @alcoholfreecoach_

LinkedIn: http://linkedin.com/in/james-lloyd-48313032

This week we're joined by Sarah Connelly, a grey area drinking coach, speaker and educator based in Brisbane, Australia. Originally from Hertfordshire, Sarah has been alcohol-free since 2019 and coaching since 2020. Her approach is science-backed, identity-focused and built around small group coaching for high performers.

In this episode we cover what grey area drinking actually looks like, why understanding the science of alcohol removes the shame, the difference between coaching and more traditional routes like AA, and why investing in a programme changes outcomes. We also get into the state of alcohol-free culture in Australia, the very real problem of 24-hour home alcohol delivery, and why group coaching creates connections and results that one-to-one often can't match.

A really informed and honest conversation from someone who has both lived it and built a career around it.

Find Sarah:

Join our free community:

Every Monday at noon.

Coach with Steve:

Insta: @sober.illiant

LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/stevesmith-soberilliant

Coach with James:

Insta: @alcoholfreecoach_

LinkedIn: http://linkedin.com/in/james-lloyd-48313032

This week we're joined by Henry Beercock: What Henry has accomplished since making the decision to go AF 1000 days ago s simply astonishing , he's a community builder, run club organiser, loneliness campaigner, and someone who has built something simply remarkable in his hometown of Hull.

Henry went from binge drinking every weekend and tipping the scales at 19 stone, to losing 7 stone, running marathons, setting up a local alcohol-free community, and being nominated for a BBC Make a Difference Award. He's also the Hull organiser for Empty Chair UK, a campaign tackling loneliness that started with one man, one pub, and one empty chair, and has since gone international.

We get into how Henry built a community without being preachy about it why showing up quietly and letting people come to you works so much better than trying to convince anyone of anything. The story of Dan, who came to one of Henry's events having never run before and just completed the Leeds Marathon alongside his 63-year-old dad. The state of alcohol-free options in pubs. And why Henry decided that if no one else was going to fix the choice, he'd make his own beer Schmaltz Brew, launching August 2026.

A genuinely brilliant guest and a conversation we could have kept going for hours.

Find Henry:

Join our free community: 

Coach with Steve:

Insta: @sober.illiant

LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/stevesmith-soberilliant

Coach with James:

Insta: @alcoholfreecoach_

LinkedIn: http://linkedin.com/in/james-lloyd-48313032

This week we're joined by good friend - Siobhan O'Connor. Journalist, former Dublin radio presenter, and four years alcohol-free on the 4th of July. Independence Day. As Steve points out, it doesn't get more fitting than that.

Siobhan's story is one we haven't heard quite like this before. Growing up in Ireland in the 80s where drinking wasn't just normal, it was expected. The wine o'clock culture that crept in with motherhood. And the moment on a beach, Prosecco in hand, watching other mums be fully present with their kids, that made everything click.

We get into the I deserve it narrative aimed at women, and then there's the wedding. Siobhan recently got married in the Algarve, sober, and the best part she remembers every single minute of it.

A brilliant conversation with a brilliant guest.

Join our free community: Every Monday at noon.

Coach with Steve:

Insta: @sober.illiant 

LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/stevesmith-soberilliant

Coach with James:

Insta: @alcoholfreecoach_

LinkedIn: http://linkedin.com/in/james-lloyd-48313032

No guest this week just Steve and James, and we're recording on a very special day.

27th June 2026. Five years alcohol-free for Steve. We crack open an ice-cold Estrella Zero and mark the occasion properly.

So this week we break down exactly what week one and month one actually look like. We get into why approaching it with curiosity rather than dread changes everything.

We also talk about the power of filling your head with the right stuff — books, podcasts & audiobooks on dog walks

If you're thinking about taking a break, this one's for you. And if you want a full reading list, head back to episode 39.

Join our free community: Every Monday at noon.

Coach with Steve:

Insta: @sober.illiant

LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/stevesmith-soberilliant

Coach with James:

Insta: @alcoholfreecoach_

LinkedIn: http://linkedin.com/in/james-lloyd-48313032