Armchair Expert with Dax Shepard

Episode: Dominic Fike
Release Date: September 22, 2025
Guest: Dominic Fike
Host: Dax Shepard (w/ Monica Padman)

Episode Overview

This episode features musician, producer, and actor Dominic Fike, famed for his breakout performance on Euphoria and his genre-blurring music career. Dax and Monica dive into Dominic's tumultuous upbringing, musical journey, struggles with addiction, family dynamics, and his somewhat accidental foray into acting. Throughout, they celebrate vulnerability, resilience, and the complexities of self-identity, delivered in the show’s signature candid, humorous, and self-deprecating style.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

First Impressions and The "Dirty" Stereotype

• Dax and Monica immediately comment on Dominic's appearance versus his online persona, with Dom explaining (05:08):
  • "I take a long time to shower. I spend time showering. I'm a single man."
• Dominic notes he's aware he looks "dirty" to some on social media, which they quickly dispel in person.

Childhood, Family Dynamics, & Socioeconomic Divide

• Dominic grew up in Naples, Florida among both affluent and less privileged groups (05:49):
  • "The division between middle class and rich people and poor people… wasn’t so thick and palpable. It felt like you could slip into any one of those sections."
• He discusses his mother's serial relationships and absentee, addicted father, contributing to a chaotic childhood marked by instability, step-siblings, and violence (15:09):
  • "My stepdad would beat the shit out of my mom all the time. And… the cops would come and arrest my mom every time."

Addiction, Sobriety, and the "Malone Collective"

• Conversation shifts to substance use, self-definition of sobriety, and treatment approaches (08:01):
  • Dom mentions involvement with a quasi-cultish wellness group that offers somatic therapy and defines sobriety individually.
  • On using psychedelics for insight: "It’s like opening a map. … You check where you’re at… take that 30,000 foot perspective." (09:47)
• He reflects on evolving relationships with substances and supporting his brother through addiction (10:53):
  • "Sometimes you evolve past where you're supposed to go and it knocks you back."

Generational Trauma, Guilt, and Self-Compassion

• Dominic shares struggles with being both caretaker and survivor in his family (11:26):
  • “I kind of shut the phone on him. Let me just see if he figures it out.”
• Dax and Dominic connect over witnessing violence against their mothers and how that shaped overprotectiveness and wariness around men (16:24).
• Dominic is open about not extending to himself the grace he gives others (23:30):
  • “I never extend that care to myself or that courtesy or that grace. I've never ever done it. And part of that I think makes me who I am.”

Escapism, Early Creativity & Avalon Forest

• Dominic describes using adventures and music with friends as a means of coping with home life, conjuring a fictional “Forest of Avalon” to escape reality (26:53):
  • “My childhood was kind of like South Park… an adventure takes place. And the forest of Avalon was just one of those episodes of that season.”
• On first experiences with weed and music as both peer acceptance and emotional outlet.

Entry Into Music & Jailhouse Bidding War

• Details on living situations, supporting family through crime, and ultimately being jailed for interfering with a police officer to protect his brother (34:13).
• On house arrest, producing his debut mixtape, and failing a drug test for cocaine (39:54):
  • “It's right as I finish the last song on the mixtape … and I just failed. And he put cuffs on me right there.”
• Releases the mixtape while incarcerated, triggering a label bidding war and a $4M Columbia Records contract (42:01):
  • "By the time they he gets out, there is a bidding war to sign you, and you signed at Columbia for $4 million dollars."

Providing for Family and Pressure of Success

• Much of the initial deal money went to lawyers to get family members out of jail and regain custody of his sister (43:09).
• Dominic discusses imposter syndrome, family responsibility, and navigating fame post-release. Dax notes the “miracle” dimension of such a turnaround.

Evolution as an Artist and Collaborating with Justin Bieber

• Dominic retreats to Colorado to make music post-signing, expression inspired by stories of creative isolation.
• On collaboration with Bieber (51:27):
  • “He is an athlete with it. When he shows up, it’s like seeing Michael Jordan or Kobe step on a court.”

Euphoria: Accidental Acting & On-Set Struggles

• Cast in Euphoria after a viral music performance, despite a disastrous audition (58:01):
  • "I show up to the audition… beyond fucked up. I'm just laughing at Sam and everyone's laughing at me."
• Sam Levinson, Euphoria creator, rewrote the part for Dom based on his personality (58:25).
• Honest about ongoing substance use during filming and risk of being fired:
  • "Doing a lot of coke and a lot of really great weed." (63:04)
  • "All the money... this is a temporary fix for something that I need to actually go and heal." (63:28)

Public Reaction & Being Vulnerable On Screen

• Addresses negative response to his Euphoria musical scene and the intensity of online judgment (64:50):
  • "People hated that scene... the whole internet just blew up about me doing that."

Sobriety—Multiple Attempts, Relapse, and Parenthood

• Open about four rehab stints, including Cirque Lodge and Crossroads (69:09).
• On fatherhood not being the rock bottom moment, but rather having a breakdown following withdrawal (67:00; 67:45):
  • “It’s a fallacy to say there’s a bottom because I’ve had a dozen billion bottoms. But certainly I did have the profound moment... you got everything you wanted, and you're the most miserable you've ever been."

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Self-Compassion:
  “I never extend that care to myself or that courtesy or that grace. I've never ever done it. And part of that I think makes me who I am.”
  — Dominic Fike (23:30)

• On Substance Use and Recovery:
  “Sometimes you evolve past where you're supposed to go and it knocks you back. And I think I'm finally at the point where, like, you know when you stretch out a rubber band and it's like… I'm like, right here, right?”
  — Dominic Fike (10:42)

• On Family Trauma:
  “My stepdad would beat the shit out of my mom all the time. And we would have to watch it. And then the cops would come and arrest my mom every time.”
  — Dominic Fike (15:35)

• On Surreal Success:
  “It was kind of like the first of its kind in that span of time to happen to this bidding war thing. I'd never been a part of anything.”
  — Dominic Fike (42:33)

• Dax on Escapism:
  “My dad was an addict and I was like, I’m never going to do anything. And then that failed. But that was my initial game plan…”
  — Dax Shepard (28:45)

• On Being Judged in Hollywood:
  “I would have been so triggered by, like, I bet she thinks I'm a piece of shit.”
  — Dax Shepard, on acting alongside Zendaya (71:58)

• On Pressure and Meaning:
  “Why don't I like what I see? I'm supposed to like it. Yeah, it's scary.”
  — Dax Shepard (67:33)

Important Timestamps

• [05:08] — Dominic on hygiene, public perception, and “dirty” stereotype
• [09:47] — Psychedelics as emotional mapping, views on ayahuasca
• [15:15] — Mom’s addiction and ability to function
• [23:30] — Discussion of self-compassion and grace
• [26:53] — Avalon Forest, his childhood escape and imagination
• [34:13] — Getting arrested protecting his brother, days before his mixtape release
• [39:54] — Failing a house arrest drug test right after finishing mixtape
• [42:01] — Post-jail, $4 million record deal, family legal battles
• [51:27] — Collaborating with Justin Bieber, creative work ethic
• [58:01] — Euphoria casting story, messy audition, part rewritten for Dom
• [63:04] — On nearly getting fired for drug use during Euphoria
• [67:00] — Fatherhood, hitting bottom, and the misconception that parenthood triggers sobriety
• [71:58] — Hollywood insecurities working alongside “goody-goods” like Zendaya

Standout & Lighthearted Moments

• [17:19] Dominic: “I just don’t really want to hang out with dudes.”
• [35:04] Dominic’s brother using the “reed in the lake” cartoon escape trick during a police chase.
• [45:10] Dom watching the money hit his account at a urinal after his record deal.
• [56:08] Dom jokes about seeing girlfriends fawn over Bieber: “Her eyes turned black like a shark, smelling blood.”
• [72:34] Dom at a bar with Tom Holland and Toby Maguire, asks them to do the Spider-Man meme.

Final Notes & Episode Mood

Dominic’s presence is winsome—equal parts enigmatic, self-aware, and boyish. The rapport with Dax is instant, with shared backgrounds in family trauma and addiction, but also a shared sense of humor about pain, class, and recovery. Dax and Monica lean into their roles as both interlocutors and enthusiastic fans, sometimes maternal toward Dominic’s hard-lived but hopeful story. The episode is honest without being bleak, celebratory without glossing over pain—a testament to Armchair Expert’s enduring tone.

For Further Listening

• Tiny Desk Concerts — Mentioned as an appearance Dominic missed due to substance use ([66:30]).
• Working with Labyrinth and Euphoria Soundtrack ([60:46])
• Standout Podcasts — Dominic shouts out Theo Von and Matt and Shane’s Secret Podcast ([73:22]).

This episode is highly recommended for anyone interested in stories of resilience, creative reinvention, and the lived realities behind modern celebrity.