Podcast
Rise Above with Kevin Lanning
Hosted by Kevin Lanning · EN
Welcome to Rise Above with Kevin Lanning. Join Kevin, a former Google executive in sobriety, as he shares inspiring stories of resilience. Each episode features individuals who have faced life’s toughest challenges—addiction, trauma, anxiety, and more—and emerged stronger. These conversations aren’t just about survival; they’re about thriving and finding practical solutions to rise above adversity. Kevin’s own journey through addiction and childhood trauma fuels his passion for sharing stories that uplift, educate, and inspire. Tune in and discover the strength within you.
62episodes
Episodes
Newest firstAll episodes
She Started Smoking Meth At 15 | From 20 Years Homeless & Prostituting Women To 7 Years Sober
2d ago01:05:31Tap to summarizeBetty Guadagno was born into a long line of addicts — poverty, chaos, eviction notices in red envelopes, and sexual trauma she carried as a small child. By 11 she was mixing drinks behind a stranger's bar. By 15 she was smoking methamphetamine. And for the next 20 years drugs were the only thing that made her feel powerful, beautiful and safe. By the end she was a homeless meth addict who had lost 100 pounds in three months, lost most of her teeth, and was manipulating and prostituting other women to fund her addiction. She had been through over a dozen detoxes and rehabs. Her own cousin — who had come forward about the same family abuse — died of a heroin overdose three days before her 21st birthday. Then Betty overdosed on her bathroom floor. And had a near-death experience that changed everything. She says she met God, was told she was worthy of all the love in the universe, and was forced into a recovery she never asked for. Now 7 years sober Betty is married to a man she met in the rooms, works as a coach helping others break free, and is living a life she never thought was possible. This one is for anyone who believes they are too far gone, too broken, or too unworthy to ever come back. 🔔 Subscribe for new episodes every week📲 Follow Betty: @goodentvgloomy Betty Guadagno was born into a long line of addicts — poverty, chaos, eviction notices in red envelopes, and sexual trauma she carried as a small child. By 11 she was mixing drinks behind a stranger's bar. By 15 she was smoking methamphetamine. And for the next 20 years drugs were the only thing that made her feel powerful, beautiful and safe.By the end she was a homeless meth addict who had lost 100 pounds in three months, lost most of her teeth, and was manipulating and prostituting other women to fund her addiction. She had been through over a dozen detoxes and rehabs. Her own cousin — who had come forward about the same family abuse — died of a heroin overdose three days before her 21st birthday.Then Betty overdosed on her bathroom floor. And had a near-death experience that changed everything. She says she met God, was told she was worthy of all the love in the universe, and was forced into a recovery she never asked for.Now 7 years sober Betty is married to a man she met in the rooms, works as a coach helping others break free, and is living a life she never thought was possible.This one is for anyone who believes they are too far gone, too broken, or too unworthy to ever come back.📲 Follow Betty: @goodentvgloomy If you or someone you love is struggling with addiction or mental health, you don’t have to do it alone. Reach out to my partners at Compassion Behavioral Health. They offer individualized care and a full continuum of treatment. Call or Text: 844-443-5669 Visit: https://compassionbehavioralhealth.com/?utm_source=rise%20above%20with%20kevin%20lanning&utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=may #RiseAbove #WomenInRecovery #7YearsSober #MethRecovery #HeroinRecovery #RecoveryIsPossible#AddictionRecovery #NearDeathExperience #SoberLife #TraumaRecovery #FaithAndRecovery #SobrietyJourney#MentalHealth #RiseAbovePodcast #KevinLanning #BettyGuadagno #FromHomelessToHealed #SpiritualAwakening #GodSavedMe #OneMoreDay Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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"I Was Cut In Half On Impact" | Pronounced Dead 3 Times, A 3.5 Week Coma & I Performed Surgery On Myself
4d ago00:48:51Tap to summarizeJerry Lucey beat opioid addiction in 2018. Then in 2020 a motorcycle accident cut his body open from his heel to his chest. He was pronounced dead three times. He spent three and a half weeks in a coma and had a near-death experience he still can't fully explain. In this follow up episode Jerry reveals what wasn't covered the first time — going septic during recovery and nearly dying again, over 100 blood transfusions in a single night, 68 surgeries, five years in a wheelchair, and the moment he woke up from his coma believing he had already died and gone somewhere else entirely. He also shares the unbelievable update from just the last few months — a hip replacement, a knee replacement, breaking his own femur after forgetting his leg wasn't fully reconnected, and performing emergency self surgery at home with a razor blade rather than going back to the hospital and risking opioids again. Doctors said he wouldn't survive. Then they said he would be blind. Then they said his body would never work again. He is still here. And he is still going. Jerry Lucey beat opioid addiction in 2018. Then in 2020 a motorcycle accident cut his body open from his heel to his chest. He was pronounced dead three times. He spent three and a half weeks in a coma and had a near-death experience he still can't fully explain.In this follow up episode Jerry reveals what wasn't covered the first time — going septic during recovery and nearly dying again, over 100 blood transfusions in a single night, 68 surgeries, five years in a wheelchair, and the moment he woke up from his coma believing he had already died and gone somewhere else entirely.He also shares the unbelievable update from just the last few months — a hip replacement, a knee replacement, breaking his own femur after forgetting his leg wasn't fully reconnected, and performing emergency self surgery at home with a razor blade rather than going back to the hospital and risking opioids again.Doctors said he wouldn't survive. Then they said he would be blind. Then they said his body would never work again.He is still here. And he is still going. If you or someone you love is struggling with addiction or mental health, you don’t have to do it alone. Reach out to my partners at Compassion Behavioral Health. They offer individualized care and a full continuum of treatment. Call or Text: 844-443-5669 Visit: https://compassionbehavioralhealth.com/?utm_source=rise%20above%20with%20kevin%20lanning&utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=may #RiseAbove #MiracleStory #OpioidRecovery #MotorcycleAccident #SurvivalStory #RecoveryIsPossible#AddictionRecovery #NearDeathExperience #SoberLife #MedicalMiracle #RiseAbovePodcast #KevinLanning#JerryLucey #PronouncedDead #AgainstAllOdds #TraumaSurvivor #MentalHealth #GratitudeInRecovery #PartTwo#OneMoreDay Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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I Drank a Liter & a Half Of Vodka Every Night & Still Told Myself I Didn't Have A Problem
6d ago01:17:37Tap to summarizeMatthew Polimeno was six years old when he climbed into his mother's bed and woke up next to her body. She had gotten sober through AA. Then a car accident led to an OxyContin prescription. And then she was gone. Growing up without her Matthew watched his father hold everything together while carrying a grief nobody talked about. He went to AA meetings as a kid without understanding why. And then at 16 he had his first drink — and immediately understood exactly what his mother had been chasing. By his worst stretch Matthew was drinking a liter and a half of vodka every single night. Shaking so badly at work he could barely function. Googling urgent cares while blackout drunk at 1pm on a Sunday. By some miracle a substance abuse hotline appeared in his search results instead. Now 16 months sober Matthew is doing the work — the steps the sponsor the hard look in the mirror — and building a life he never thought was possible. If you or someone you love is struggling with addiction or mental health, you don’t have to do it alone. Reach out to my partners at Compassion Behavioral Health. They offer individualized care and a full continuum of treatment. Call or Text: 844-443-5669 Visit: https://compassionbehavioralhealth.com/?utm_source=rise%20above%20with%20kevin%20lanning&utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=may #RiseAbove #SoberLife #16MonthsSober #AlcoholRecovery #RecoveryIsPossible #AddictionRecovery#ChildOfAnAddict #OxycodoneOverdose #GriefAndAddiction #MentalHealth #SobrietyJourney #WomenInRecovery#LGBTQSober #RiseAbovePodcast #KevinLanning #MatthewPolimeno #MomInRecovery #GenerationalTrauma#FunctioningAlcoholic #OneMoreDay Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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I Was Drinking So Hard I Couldn't Get Out Of Bed | From $100K A Week Steroid Empire To Prison
6d ago01:24:10Tap to summarizeRyan Root was a skinny kid from upstate New York who got picked up by girls at 13 and couldn't grow facial hair at 28. Doctors dismissed him. So he went to the black market for testosterone at 23 — and his life changed overnight. He put on 32 pounds of muscle in weeks. His confidence exploded. His ambition came back. And then he discovered he had a gift for business. What started as trying to make $200-$300 extra dollars a week turned into a full blown black market steroid operation making $100,000 a week at its peak — with chemists, shippers and employees compartmentalized across the entire country specifically to avoid detection. He was dropping $60,000 at Vegas tables on a single trip and living in a penthouse overlooking Manhattan. Then at 5am, 15 DEA agents kicked his door in. He did federal prison. And never drank again. Now 11 years sober Ryan has built one of the largest legitimate hormone replacement therapy companies in the country — using the same obsessive business mind that built the empire that took him down. This one is for anyone who has ever turned a dark chapter into the foundation of something extraordinary. 🔔 Subscribe for new episodes every week 🌐 gofor.com 📲 @go_for4 (Instagram) If you or someone you love is struggling with addiction or mental health, you don’t have to do it alone. Reach out to my partners at Compassion Behavioral Health. They offer individualized care and a full continuum of treatment. Call or Text: 844-443-5669 Visit: https://compassionbehavioralhealth.com/?utm_source=rise%20above%20with%20kevin%20lanning&utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=may #RiseAbove #DEARaid #BlackMarketSteroids #FederalPrison #SoberLife #11YearsSober #RecoveryIsPossible#AddictionRecovery #Testosterone #HRT #MensRecovery #SobrietyJourney #MentalHealth#EntrepreneurRecovery #RiseAbovePodcast #KevinLanning #RyanRoot #GoFor #PrisonToSuccess #OneMoreDay Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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I Shot Fentanyl Until I Was Completely Unconscious | Jail, Losing My Daughter & How I Finally Got Sober
1w ago01:39:38Tap to summarizeBrittany Ellis grew up in a small town in South Georgia watching her parents drink & party. It wasn't until her oldest brother poured gasoline on a bonfire at 14 and burned his entire arm that everything changed. The doctors loaded him up with OxyContin. He brought it home. Her parents got hooked. And then Brittany did too. What followed was 15 years of addiction that took her from pills to heroin to fentanyl to IV crack cocaine. She married the man who introduced her to Oxy while they were both in the grips of addiction. She got pregnant on a run so bad her own dealer told her she needed help. No rehab in a three state radius would take her because she was pregnant. She tapered herself down at home with her mother just to protect her unborn daughter. Then she lost custody of that daughter for three years. When her father died she drove to Savannah to steal his prescriptions from the mailbox before anyone knew he was gone. Now 5.5 years sober Brittany has her daughter back, got married and is working in the recovery field helping others find the life she almost never found herself. This one is for every mother out there who thinks she's too far gone to come back. If you or someone you love is struggling with addiction or mental health, you don’t have to do it alone. Reach out to my partners at Compassion Behavioral Health. They offer individualized care and a full continuum of treatment. Call or Text: 844-443-5669 Visit: https: https://compassionbehavioralhealth.com/?utm_source=rise%20above%20with%20kevin%20lanning&utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=may #RiseAbove #WomenInRecovery #SoberMom #FentanylAddiction #HeroinRecovery #5YearsSober#RecoveryIsPossible #AddictionRecovery #MomInRecovery #LostCustody #SoberLife #SobrietyJourney#MentalHealth #GriefAndAddiction #RiseAbovePodcast #KevinLanning #BrittanyEllis #SouthGeorgia#FaithAndRecovery #OneMoreDay Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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I Shot Heroin With USB Cords Tied To My Arm After 2 Tours In Afghanistan | 7 Years Sober
1w ago01:12:04Tap to summarizeJohnny Schrey grew up in West Boca watching his two older brothers destroy their lives with drugs. He told himself he would never be like them. By 25 he was splitting Roxy 30s with his best friend because they couldn't scrape together $10 for one pill between them. So they joined the Marine Corps.. He detoxed off opioids in boot camp. Got a DUI his first night back from engineering school. Deployed to Afghanistan twice — watching friends die, getting his vehicle hit by IEDs, and coming home to bottles of Jack Daniels waiting on the bus. He married a bartender, had a daughter, lost a twin son at 22 weeks, and shot heroin in a condemned apartment in Overtown with USB cords tied to his arm looking for a vein. His brother — his hero — died on his birthday. Now 7 years sober, Johnny got his ex-wife back, is raising his daughter, and has built a life beyond anything he thought possible. This one is for every veteran out there who came home and didn't know how to turn the switch back on. If you or someone you love is struggling with addiction or mental health, you don’t have to do it alone. Reach out to my partners at Compassion Behavioral Health. They offer individualized care and a full continuum of treatment. Call or Text: 844-443-5669 Visit: https: https://compassionbehavioralhealth.com/?utm_source=rise%20above%20with%20kevin%20lanning&utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=may #RiseAbove #VeteranRecovery #MarineCorps #HeroinRecovery #7YearsSober #RecoveryIsPossible#AddictionRecovery #AfghanistanVet #SoberDad #PTSDRecovery #SoberLife #MensRecovery #RiseAbovePodcast#KevinLanning #JohnnySchrey #VeteranSobriety #CombatVeteran #SobrietyJourney #FamilyInRecovery#OneMoreDay Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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I Found Out I Was Adopted At 13, Got My First DUI At 18 & Did 4 Months In Jail | 3.5 Years Sober
2w ago00:59:28Tap to summarizeRise Above | Adam Vohra's Story Adam Vohra grew up in Connecticut ....a kid of color in a Jewish day school who always felt different. At 13 he found out why. He and his sister had been adopted. Nobody had told them. And six months later he had his first drink. What followed was 15 years of DUIs, gambling debts with drug dealers, dropping out of college, four months in a Connecticut jail, and relapse after relapse. Every time he got sober it was consequence driven. Every time something good happened he went right back out. Then his best friend Lauren called. And he didn't answer. She took her own life shortly after. It wasn't until a recovery coach flew him down to a tiny house in low country South Carolina and a stranger at a local meeting invited him to dinner and read him the Doctor's Opinion that something finally clicked. Now 3.5 years sober Adam has his recovery coaching certification, a nonprofit consulting practice, a podcast and a life built entirely around purpose. This one is for anyone who has tried to get sober for the wrong reasons and keeps ending up back at square one. 🔔 Subscribe for new episodes every week 📲 Follow Adam: @adavohra (Instagram) 🎙️ Finding Purpose Podcast If you or someone you love is struggling with addiction or mental health, you don’t have to do it alone. Reach out to my partners at Compassion Behavioral Health. They offer individualized care and a full continuum of treatment. Call or Text: 844-443-5669 Visit: https://compassionbehavioralhealth.com/?utm_source=rise%20above%20with%20kevin%20lanning&utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=may #RiseAbove #AddictionRecovery #SoberLife #3YearsSober #RecoveryIsPossible #AdoptionStory #DUIStory#MensRecovery #GriefAndRecovery #SobrietyJourney #MentalHealth #RecoveryCoach #FindingPurpose#RiseAbovePodcast #KevinLanning #AdamVohra #ConsequenceSobriety #PurposeDrivenRecovery #SoberCommunity#OneMoreDay Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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I Blacked Out Every Night While Running The San Francisco Bureau of HuffPost | Highrise Suicide Attempt and How I Got Sober
2w ago01:07:06Tap to summarizeCarly Schwartz had a career most journalists only dream about. Running the San Francisco Bureau of HuffPost at 26. On the leadership team of one of the biggest news organizations in the world. Blogging for a governor who became California's Governor. Expense accounts, concerts, restaurant openings and a life that looked absolutely electric from the outside. And she was going to bed every night wishing she wouldn't wake up the next morning. Behind the blazing career was a secret life of cocaine benders, blacking out, taking hits of nitrous oxide under her covers at noon on a Sunday, and a depression so severe that she dropped out of Northwestern University, checked herself into a psych ward, and eventually found herself standing on the roof of a Panama City highrise on the phone with a suicide hotline. She went to a Panamanian jungle to find herself. She found cocaine instead. Now 8 years sober, Carly has written her memoir I'll Try Anything Twice — and built a life centered on storytelling, healing and finally understanding what it means to love herself. If you or someone you love is struggling with addiction or mental health, you don’t have to do it alone. Reach out to my partners at Compassion Behavioral Health. They offer individualized care and a full continuum of treatment. Call or Text: 844-443-5669 Visit: https://compassionbehavioralhealth.com/?utm_source=rise%20above%20with%20kevin%20lanning&utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=may 🔔 Subscribe for new episodes every week 📲 Follow Carly: @carlyzita (Instagram) 🌐 carlyz.inc 📖 I'll Try Anything Twice — available now #RiseAbove #DepressionAndAddiction #SoberLife #8YearsSober #RecoveryIsPossible #AddictionRecovery#MentalHealthAwareness #FunctioningAddict #WomenInRecovery #SuicideAwareness #CocaineAddiction#SobrietyJourney #ITryAnythingTwice #RiseAbovePodcast #KevinLanning #CarlySchwartz #Journalist#HuffPost #StorytellingHeals #OneMoreDay Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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I Drank A Bottle Of Scotch Every Night | From Alcoholic Depression to 39 Years Sober | Suebelle Robbins
2w ago00:52:29Tap to summarizeSuebelle Robbins had a life that looked like a movie. Playboy Bunny by night, first grade teacher by day. Travel escort taking groups to Hawaii and Switzerland. Corporate wife living on Gulfstream jets. Beautiful homes, European vacations and everything money could buy. And she was miserable every single minute of it. Every morning started with a bong. Every afternoon she switched to Scotch. She was so depressed she took sleeping pills on a sunny day in Honolulu just so she could sleep through paradise. She made three suicide attempts, he last one a full bottle of pills that sent her to the hospital to have her stomach pumped. She lost her father to a drunk driver at 13. Her house burned to the ground at 17 — taking her dog and every childhood memory with it. She married twice. She had everything. And she wanted to die. Then a housekeeper showed up in Ralph Lauren — and invited her to a meeting. Now 39 years sober, Suebelle has written her memoir Beyond Your Wildest Dreams — and built a life so full of love, laughter and purpose that she says if she ever drank again she'd lose everything that matters. 🔔 Subscribe for new episodes every week 📲 Connect with Suebelle: https://www.suebellepalmbeach.com/ #RiseAbove #WomenInRecovery #39YearsSober #AlcoholRecovery #SoberLife #RecoveryIsPossible#BeyondYourWildestDreams #SuicidalIdeation #FunctioningAlcoholic #SobrietyJourney #MentalHealth#GriefAndRecovery #PalmBeachSocialite #RiseAbovePodcast #KevinLanning #SuebellRobbins #MemoirMonday#SoberAndThriving #WomenWhoRecover #OneMoreDay Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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Inside A Chicago Street Junkie's 20-Year Spiral | 3 DUIs, Heroin, Cook County Jail & Finding God
3w ago01:24:13Tap to summarizeMike Supak was a Division 1 track athlete. He never touched a drop of alcohol in four years of high school. He was structured, dedicated, trustworthy — the model kid. Then he discovered alcohol the summer before college and everything changed immediately. What followed was 20 years of cocaine, heroin, DUIs, overdoses, jail, and a slow death that nobody around him could stop. He got his second and third DUIs within 48 hours of each other. He overdosed on heroin in the back of a cab, was Narcanned six times, and showed back up to his family's St. Patrick's Day party hours later wearing a blue paper hospital suit — with no memory of any of it. He tried to die. He kept waking up instead. It wasn't until a judge set his bond at $900,000 to keep him off the streets — and a nun in Saint Augustine, Florida answered a calling from God — that Mike finally found the thing that saved his life. He spent three years with no phone, no TV, no computer, washing his clothes in a five-gallon bucket, praying the rosary three times a day. And it worked. Now seven years sober, Mike is married, reconnected with his kids, back working as a building engineer in Chicago, and more at peace than he has ever been in his life. If you or someone you love is struggling with addiction or mental health, you don’t have to do it alone. Reach out to my partners at Compassion Behavioral Health. They offer individualized care and a full continuum of treatment. Call or Text: 844-443-5669 Visit: https://compassionbehavioralhealth.com/?utm_source=rise%20above%20with%20kevin%20lanning&utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=may #RiseAbove #HeroinRecovery #SoberLife #7YearsSober #RecoveryIsPossible #AddictionRecovery#FaithAndRecovery #CatholicFaith #ChicagoAddiction #MensRecovery #GodSavedMyLife #SobrietyJourney#MentalHealth #JailToSober #RiseAbovePodcast #KevinLanning #MikeSupak #Unbreakable2413 #HopeReborn#OneMoreDay Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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