This episode was actually recorded a couple of years ago, before alcohol became the mainstream conversation it is today. Listening back now, it’s fascinating how many of the things we discussed then are starting to become widely talked about in 2026.

Ahead of tomorrow’s brand new episode with Andy Ramage, I wanted to re release our original conversation because so much of it still feels incredibly relevant.

In this episode, Andy and I talk about alcohol, stress, identity, social conditioning and the uncomfortable reality that many of us spend years normalising habits that quietly impact our energy, confidence, relationships, focus and mental health.

At the time of recording, I was at the very beginning of my own alcohol free journey, still questioning my relationship with drinking and trying to understand why something so socially accepted could also leave so many people feeling anxious, depleted and disconnected from themselves.

We talk about the culture surrounding alcohol, the pressure many people feel to drink in social and business environments, and the growing evidence linking alcohol to anxiety, poor sleep, depression and even cancer, despite how normalised drinking has become in modern society.

Andy also opens up about his own transformation from burnt out City broker to becoming one of the leading voices in the alcohol free movement, after realising many of the people he once viewed as “successful” were privately exhausted, unhealthy and unhappy behind closed doors.

What makes this conversation even more interesting listening back now is hearing some of my own thoughts and beliefs at the very start of this journey, especially knowing how much my perspective has evolved since recording it.

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Key moments include:

✔ Why alcohol became embedded into almost every part of modern life

✔ The hidden pressure people feel to drink in social and professional settings

✔ The growing links between alcohol, anxiety, poor sleep and chronic illness

✔ Why so many successful people are privately struggling despite outward appearances

✔ Andy’s journey from professional footballer to City broker to one of the biggest voices in the alcohol free movement

✔ Why many people never realise how much alcohol is impacting them until they remove it

✔ The cultural blind spots around alcohol that most of us never question

✔ My own honest reflections from the very start of my alcohol free journey

✔ Why younger generations are beginning to rethink drinking culture altogether

✔ The mindset shift that changes alcohol from something you’re “giving up” into something you no longer want

This isn’t a preachy anti alcohol conversation. It’s an honest discussion about awareness, health, mindset and questioning behaviours many of us have accepted for years without ever really stopping to think about them.

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