What does it take to keep going when a doctor tells you your son has less than a 10% chance of survival?

Vince Benevento is the founder of Causeway Collaborative – a counseling and mentorship organization that has helped over 2,500 young men between the ages of 14 and 30 – and the author of Boys Will Be Men: 8 Lessons for the Lost American Male.

Last July, his 12-year-old son Leo was diagnosed with aplastic anemia — a rare, potentially fatal blood disease. What followed was 150 days in the hospital, emergency surgeries, experimental treatments, and two doctors telling Vince to prepare for the worst. Leo is now back in school and back on the lacrosse field. Against every odd.

In this conversation, Vince opens up about what those 150 days actually looked like – the fear, the sleepless nights, the moments his marriage buckled under the weight of it. He talks about his own bipolar disorder diagnosis, his struggles with addiction and alcohol, and how the mess of his own life became the foundation of his life's work helping young men find their way.

This is one of the most honest conversations we've had on this show. If you're a father, a son, or someone who has ever had to find a reason to keep going – this one is for you.

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If you or anyone you know is struggling, please do not hesitate to contact Release Recovery:

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I'm fired up. New studio, new energy, and a month that reminded me exactly why I do this. In this solo episode – with a surprise appearance from Release Foundation’s own Caitlin Healy – I break down three moments that stopped me cold.

First: how a viral Bravo moment turned into a $25,000 donation to the Release Foundation, and why I had absolutely nothing to do with it. Caitlin takes us behind the scenes of the "Carl's a Mess" moment – the relationships, the hustle, and what it actually takes to capitalize on something like that in 24 hours.

Then I go deep on the London Marathon – not just the race, but what it took to get there. After two brutal years of missed workouts and ego-driven training, I finally let go, listened to my coach, and ran a five-minute PR. The parallel to recovery is impossible to ignore: you get out what you put in, and the moment you think you know better, you don't.

Finally, the Release Foundation Gala. 650 people. A nightclub in lower Manhattan. Questlove on the decks. Sober people, not-sober people, and a dance floor that didn't empty until the lights came up. This is what breaking down stigma actually looks like.

If you've ever wondered what a life in recovery can look like – please give this episode a listen.

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If you or anyone you know is struggling, please do not hesitate to contact Release Recovery:

(914) 588-6564

releaserecovery.com

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What If Guys Just Said It Out Loud?

Zac Clark goes solo this week and gets honest – uncomfortably, refreshingly honest. It starts with something small: he's losing his hair, and he's embarrassed about it. But that admission opens the door to something much bigger.

If a guy in recovery, with years of hard-won self-awareness, can barely say that out loud – what hope is there for the man who hasn't yet found words for his anxiety, his depression, or his darkest thoughts? Zac connects the dots between the small silences men keep and the devastating ones, and makes the case that permission to be vulnerable starts earlier than we think.

He also reflects on the wave of DMs he received after speaking out about The Bachelorette, the surprising power of Theo Von and Pete Davidson modeling sobriety to millions of young men who don't even realize they're being influenced, and why saying something out loud – even on a microphone, even to strangers – is sometimes the fastest way to take its power away.

Raw, real, and a little bit of a therapy session. The best kind of episode.

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If you or anyone you know is struggling, please do not hesitate to contact Release Recovery:

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When addiction hits a family, everyone feels it – but recovery can ripple through a family too.

In this powerful episode of The Zac Clark Show, Zac sits down with siblings Sean and Kathleen McGowan, two people whose lives were once consumed by addiction and chaos, and who today both work in the behavioral healthcare field. 

Sean shares the moment that changed his life: waking up in a hotel room after a cross-country road trip, facing the reality of his heroin addiction, and finally surrendering to treatment. Kathleen tells her own devastating story – from drug arrests and life on a California weed farm to a severe nitrous oxide addiction that left her unable to walk.

Their paths diverged for years until a desperate phone call brought their family back together. Today, both siblings are sober, working at High Watch Recovery Center, and using their experiences to help others find hope.

This episode includes:

This is a very honest and raw conversation about family, accountability, second chances, and the power of showing up when someone you love asks for help.

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If you or anyone you know is struggling, please do not hesitate to contact Release Recovery:

(914) 588-6564

releaserecovery.com@releaserecovery

Is kratom safe – or is it quietly becoming the next opioid crisis?

In this quick-hit episode, Zac sits down with recurring medical contributor Dr. Michael McCormick, Chief Medical Officer at Release Recovery, to clear the air on one of the most polarizing substances in America right now: kratom.

Marketed as a natural herbal supplement and sold openly at gas stations and smoke shops, kratom is used by millions for energy, focus, pain relief – and even to help curb opioid withdrawal.

But inside treatment centers, doctors are seeing something very different.

In this episode, we break down:

We’re not here to attack people who use it responsibly. We’re here to speak to the 10–15% of people predisposed to substance use disorder – the ones who may not know the risk until it’s too late.

If you or someone you love is using kratom, this conversation could change how you think about it.

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If you or anyone you know is struggling, please do not hesitate to contact Release Recovery:
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@‌releaserecovery

When you look up Ken Rideout, you get a wild list of labels: prison guard. Wall Street trader. Opioid addict. Fastest marathoner in the world over 50.

In this episode, Ken sits down with Zac to talk about reinvention – and what it actually takes to change your life. From crushing opioids and cocaine, and hiding addiction while building a career in finance, to detoxing, rebuilding from the ground up, and eventually becoming a World Champion marathoner, Ken’s story is one of radical ownership.

We talk about:

They also discuss Ken’s new book, The Other Side of Hard, is for anyone standing at the edge of a decision – sobriety, career shift, health reset – wondering if it’s possible.

His message is simple:

No one is coming to save you. You can reinvent yourself. Take the first step.

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If you or anyone you know is struggling, please do not hesitate to contact Release Recovery:

(914) 588-6564releaserecovery.com@releaserecovery

Seven years ago, Zac Clark walked into a treatment center to speak at a Tuesday night meeting – and met a guy in pajama pants wearing a “Grateful Dead” tee who had no idea if he was going to make it.

That guy was Blake Porter.

In this episode, Zac and Jay sit down with Blake – now Vice President of Business Development at Release Recovery – to trace the full arc: growing up in a small town in upstate New York, the fear and insecurity that shadowed his talent, the slow slide from booze and cocaine into opioids and heroin, and the moment his dad found a needle and the truth finally had nowhere to hide.

Blake opens up about what early sobriety actually looked like: structure, accountability, humility, and the near-relapse that still scares him to remember – five months sober, back home, texting a dealer from a hotel bathroom… right up until something intervened and he chose honesty instead.

Topics include:

If you’re trying to get sober right now, Blake’s message is simple – and it might save your life: be honest.

Corey Davis is 15 years sober – and he left a high-paying corporate career to build Soba Golf, a fast-growing community at the intersection of sobriety, wellness, and golf.

Corey joins Zac and Jay to share how golf became more than a hobby: a daily practice in presence, humility, discipline, and emotional regulation – the same muscles recovery demands. He tells the origin story: during COVID, living with his in-laws on a golf course, buying clubs on eBay, and dropping his handicap from 30 to 3 in four years.

They also unpack the “sober lifestyle” boom – what’s real vs. performative – and why Soba Golf is different. Corey reflects on back-to-back PGA Tour wins by sober players Chris Kirk and Grayson Murray, and how Murray’s tragic death later deepened the urgency behind his mission.

Soba Golf now includes a digital community to find sober playing partners, weekly Thursday night meetings, and upcoming retreats designed to reimagine golf culture – with breath work, mindset coaching, meditation, and real connection.

Plus: rapid-fire on shame, early sobriety, accepting help, and what “freedom” means on the other side.

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If you or anyone you know is struggling, please do not hesitate to contact Release Recovery:(914) 588-6564releaserecovery.com@releaserecovery

In this episode, Zac and Jay sit down with Rivkah Reyes – actor, musician, and the bass player from School of Rock – for a candid, nuanced conversation about growing up in the spotlight, addiction at a young age, and finding sobriety.

Together, they walk through Rivkah’s journey from child stardom into substance use, the role drugs and alcohol played in coping with pressure and identity, and how getting sober transformed her relationship with herself, her emotions, and her life.

Rivkah opens up about the realities of addiction behind the scenes, and reflects on the stigma, shame, and courage involved in getting sober while still figuring out who you are – including coming out and embracing her sexuality.

This is an honest, grounded exploration of what it means to heal, grow, and build a life in recovery.

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If you or anyone you know is struggling, please do not hesitate to contact Release Recovery: (914) 588-6564releaserecovery.com@releaserecovery

In this episode, Zac sits down with Release Recovery’s Chief Medical Officer, Dr. Michael McCormick, for a candid, nuanced conversation about one of the most controversial questions in recovery: can drugs ever help sobriety?

Together, they break down three major categories of medications – benzodiazepines, stimulants, and opioid medications like Suboxone, methadone, and Vivitrol – and explain how each works in the brain, why they can be both lifesaving and dangerous, and how clinicians decide, case by case, when medication is part of recovery and when it becomes a risk.

Dr. McCormick challenges black-and-white thinking about “being sober,” addresses the stigma many people face in the rooms of recovery, and shares how careful monitoring, individualized care, and real behavioral change are essential if medication is used at all.

This is not a pro-drug or anti-drug episode – it’s an honest, clinically grounded exploration of the gray area where medicine, addiction, and recovery meet.

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If you or anyone you know is struggling, please do not hesitate to contact Release Recovery:(914) 588-6564 releaserecovery.com@releaserecovery