Aware and Aggravated – Episode 49: "How I Got Out Of The Rut"

Date: October 12, 2025
Host: Leo (Aware and Aggravated)
Theme: Make Leveling Up Your Natural State Of Being

Episode Overview

In this vulnerable, unfiltered solo episode, Leo takes listeners through his personal journey of emerging from a recent emotional and energetic rut. He discusses the importance of self-love, the dangers of over-giving, setting boundaries, and reclaiming his own energy. The episode is a candid look at how burnout, overextension, and obligations (to oneself vs. others) can shape one’s mental health—and the liberating decisions required to "level up" and return to authenticity.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Recognizing and Owning the Rut (01:02–02:45)

• Honest Admission: Leo openly shares that he’s been “in a rut again,” acknowledging how this isn’t the first time and won’t be the last.
• Main Causes: Feeling energetically depleted, like he was “bleeding out,” because of prioritizing everyone and everything over himself.
• Taking a Break: He briefly stepped offline, ghosted everyone (including his own audience), emphasizing the need for space to recover.

  "I ghosted everybody. But I had to do it for me." (02:14)

2. Choosing Self-Love Over Obligations (03:00–13:40)

• Turning Down Major Opportunities: Despite a lucrative Vegas trip (with brand obligations), Leo caught a cold and, more importantly, realized mentally and physically he couldn’t show up.
• Sacrifice as Investment: He reframes declining opportunities as “investments of love” into himself.

  "Everything that you give up and sacrifice is an investment to yourself." (06:09)

• Alcohol & Sobriety: Shares his newfound commitment to sobriety, being 12 days sober, and the discomfort yet necessity of facing emotions head-on.

3. Giving: Out of Obligation vs. Authentic Alignment (14:00–30:00)

• Energetic Bankruptcy: Leo feels that constant giving—money, energy, social content, emotional labor—left him empty.
• Recognition Burnout: Regularly recognized in public, he strives to give everyone a “good experience,” but admits how draining that can be.

  “When I go out in public for me is never an easy thing. I have to kind of brace myself—what kind of interaction am I going to have?” (19:27)

• Emotional Isolation: The cycle of over-giving led to resentment, identity crises, and a loss of self.
• Self-Exploration Pause: Decides to halt all social media output and distractions to see who he is when he’s not giving to others.

  “Who am I when I’m not constantly bleeding out to give to everybody and everything?” (30:07)

4. Boundary Setting & The Power of Saying “No” (13:45–18:10)

• Saying No as Boundaries with the Universe: Declining misaligned opportunities (even if tempting) is seen as a way of communicating intention and boundaries with the Universe, leading to better-aligned blessings.
• Receiving Instead of Giving: By stopping and letting himself receive love—from strangers, his community, or just through rest—he starts to recharge genuinely.

5. Impact—Despite Stepping Back (31:00–35:00)

• Surprising Outcome: Even after “going ghost” online, Leo keeps getting recognized and is moved by how many express that he’s helped them. These real-life touches are restorative.

  “You guys brought the life back into me and kind of helped me see that the impact was still there, even though I wasn’t giving and bleeding myself dry.” (33:02)

• Encouraging Listeners: He tells listeners that prioritizing self-love (“even if it feels scary as hell”) is not only valid but often necessary.

6. Merch, Customer Service, and Community (Approx. 24:30–26:20)

• Behind-the-Scenes Stress: Talks exhaustively about the stress and disappointment around fulfilling his merch orders—with 15,000 orders and only about 100 issues, but feeling as if he let everyone down.
• Handing Off Responsibilities: Delegates customer service to avoid focusing solely on the negative, reclaiming enjoyment in seeing happy customers.

7. Authentic Giving and Intuitive Generosity (35:00–35:50)

• When Giving Feels Right: Leo discusses the difference between pressured, draining giving and generous, soul-led giving. Offers multiple stories of spontaneously helping strangers, including “Venmoing” a neighbor $500 for her birthday after a heartfelt conversation.

  “My soul don't see no skin color. My soul doesn't see nothingness. He's a human being. And I give to anybody I feel to give to.” (34:01)

8. Fierce Response to Online Accusations (Approx. 34:20–35:30)

• Addressing Rumors: He delivers an expletive-laden defense against accusations of racism, detailing his charitable acts to people of all backgrounds and calling out online haters.

  “Anybody saying Leo Skeppy's racist, choke and fucking die. You’re a liar. All these people taking everything out of context…” (34:52)

9. Taxes, Anger, and Refocusing on Purpose (35:40–36:10)

• Tax Frustration: Opens up about the pain of paying $270k in taxes and questions what the government does with it.
• Lasting Good from Aggravation: Describes his plan to create a nonprofit to help pay off student lunch debts at schools, starting with his own elementary school.

  “I want to pay off the entire school’s debt with the food for the kids. That’s my goal for Christmas this year.” (36:07)

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Taking Time Off:

  "If you've been going through and you're like, it doesn't make sense, it's gonna make sense. It always makes sense for us in the future. When you look back, it all makes sense." (03:12)

• On Self-Care:

  “To have someone care about you enough to stop everything going on… That’s a lot of love you’d feel. That’s what happened with myself. So I encourage you to do it if you got that thought.” (29:31)

• On Public Interactions:

  “No one who's ever met me in public has had a bad experience with me. And I can say that confidently… But… when I need to relax… you feel like you're bleeding out.” (20:08)

• On Over-Giving & Resentment:

  “The cycle that got me into the rut was giving constantly to everyone and everything… when I need to be taken care of, I would start to resent and hate everything that I was giving to.” (21:01)

• On Recalibrating Giving:

  “There's a good distinction now between giving out of obligation—whether it's time, money, energy—any of it, versus giving because it's what I'm aligned to do. And I'm always going to do that.” (35:29)

• On Algorithm vs. Authenticity:

  “My energy is its own algorithm… My happiness and my success are now in tandem.” (31:23)

Timestamps for Key Segments

| Segment | Timestamp | |----------------------------------------------------|--------------| | Honest admission of being in a rut | 01:02–02:45 | | Vegas trip dilemma and choosing self | 03:10–10:22 | | Insights into self-love and setting boundaries | 12:00–14:30 | | Cycle of over-giving explained | 16:00–21:00 | | Burnout, resentment, and isolation | 21:00–25:00 | | Merch stress and community stories | 25:00–27:00 | | Self-discovery beyond giving | 28:00–31:00 | | Being fed by community and genuine interactions | 32:00–35:00 | | Stories of authentic, impulsive generosity | 35:00–36:00 | | Fierce clapback at online rumors | 34:15–35:35 | | Nonprofit plans to help students | 36:00–36:25 | | Closing reflections and future episode plans | 36:27–End |

Episode Tone and Final Thoughts

Leo maintains his signature tone: raw, direct, honest, laced with humor, profanity, and intense emotional candor. There’s an undercurrent of encouragement—the episode isn’t just personal storytelling, but a call for listeners to prioritize themselves even when it feels unfamiliar or scary.

Leo ends with:

“I feel good. I feel a lot better and I'm happy to be back on my own terms. So that’s it. All I got for this week. Everybody be safe, take care of yourself and I’ll talk to you guys next Sunday.” (36:50)

Summary Takeaway

This episode is an invitation to reflect honestly on whether you’re pouring out too much, whether your passions and giving are still authentic, and to bravely choose yourself—knowing your worth, even through self-imposed breaks. Leo’s experiences serve as both a caution and inspiration for anyone feeling stuck in a cycle of obligation and burnout.