Podcast
Sober Motivation: Sharing Sobriety Stories
Hosted by Brad McLeod · EN
The Sober Motivation Podcast – Real Stories. Real Change.
Welcome to The Sober Motivation Podcast, the top-rated recovery podcast inspiring people to quit drinking, stay sober, and build a life they’re proud of. Hosted by Brad McLeod, founder of the Sober Motivation Community, each episode features real sobriety stories, life-changing conversations, and actionable tools to help you overcome addiction and rediscover purpose.
Whether you’re new to recovery, sober-curious, or years alcohol-free, this show will help you find the motivation and mindset to keep going—one day at a time. With millions of downloads and a growing global community, Sober Motivation is where hope meets action.
Topics include: quitting alcohol, relapse prevention, mindset shifts, personal growth, mental health, community connection, and rebuilding your life after addiction.
If you’re ready to live alcohol-free and create real change, follow The Sober Motivation Podcast today—because sobriety isn’t the end of your story, it’s the beginning.
Contact me anytime at www.sobermotivation.com
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
130episodes
Episodes
Newest firstAll episodes
From Hiding Vodka in the Bathroom to 6 Years Sober: Jimmy's Story
May 1401:12:29Tap to summarizeJimmy used to drive his car around the corner, sit alone, and drink vodka all day instead of going to work. At home, he hid bottles behind the sink and inside the toilet cistern, sneaking off mid conversation to top up.He started drinking at 14. By his mid twenties he was going through three bottles of wine a night. A miscarriage, lost jobs, and a spontaneous flight to Mallorca all came and went. Nothing stuck until he hit a hospital detox at 40, during COVID lockdown, and decided he was done.Six years later, he's married, working as a gardener and photographer, and showing up for his life.You'll hear about: the cough medicine trick he used to manage withdrawal; what hiding vodka really did to his relationships; the AA member who told him he wasn't an alcoholic; what 6 years sober actually feels like; the one thing that finally stuck.If you've ever hidden your drinking, this one's for you.Find support: www.sobermotivation.comJimmy on IG: https://www.instagram.com/recovery_jimmy/Sober Motivation Mobile App: https://apps.apple.com/app/sober-motivation-app/id6759266291Sober Motivation Website: https://www.sobermotivation.comSupport the Podcast: https://buymeacoffee.com/sobermotivationContact me anytime: brad@sobermotivation.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Transcribe →Quitting Drinking Saved My Life | Stephanie’s Sobriety Story
May 1100:51:25Tap to summarizeStephanie never thought she had a serious drinking problem. She was successful, working in healthcare, maintaining relationships, and doing everything she could to keep life together on the outside. But behind closed doors, alcohol slowly became the way she coped with anxiety, depression, grief, loneliness, and major life changes.What started as gray area drinking eventually turned into hiding alcohol, drinking alone in parking lots, blackouts, hospital visits, rehab, and feeling completely trapped inside her own mind.In this episode, Stephanie shares her powerful sobriety story, including growing up around alcohol, trying to moderate her drinking, relapsing after rehab, and the heartbreaking moment her father stayed beside her through withdrawal without judgment. She also opens up about how sober community and connection finally helped her stop fighting alone.This conversation is for anyone questioning their relationship with alcohol, struggling to quit drinking, battling anxiety tied to alcohol use, or wondering if life without drinking can actually get better.In this episode:Gray area drinkingAlcohol addiction and recoveryAnxiety, depression, and alcoholRehab and relapseLearning how to cope without alcoholThe progression of drinking over timeSober community and connectionRebuilding life through sobrietyIf you’re trying to quit drinking or stay sober, this episode will remind you that recovery is possible — even when things feel hopeless.Stephanie on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/steph_kan_do_this/Sober Motivation Mobile App: https://apps.apple.com/app/sober-motivation-app/id6759266291Sober Motivation Website: https://www.sobermotivation.comSupport the Podcast: https://buymeacoffee.com/sobermotivationContact me anytime: brad@sobermotivation.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Transcribe →From Alcohol Addiction to Sobriety | Ian Madsen’s Story
May 800:59:49Tap to summarizeIan Madsen grew up in Australia around heavy drinking and alcoholism, Ian shares how alcohol became normalized early in life after losing his mother and how that pattern followed him into professional sprint car racing in America. What started as partying and fitting in slowly turned into isolation, hiding alcohol use, treatment stays, losing relationships, and nearly losing himself completely.In this episode, Ian opens up about the reality of high-functioning alcoholism, trying to moderate drinking, the fear of quitting alcohol, and the moment he realized he had to get sober for himself.Support the show HEREIan also shares how sobriety helped him rebuild his life, reconnect with people, and find purpose again after years of feeling trapped.Topics Covered:Growing up around alcoholismLosing his mother at a young ageAlcohol culture in Australia and racingHigh-functioning alcohol addictionIsolation and drinking aloneFailed moderation attemptsTreatment and recoveryFear of quitting alcoholSobriety and rebuilding lifeFinding community in recoverySober Motivation Mobile App: https://apps.apple.com/app/sober-motivation-app/id6759266291Sober Motivation Website: https://www.sobermotivation.comSupport the Podcast: https://buymeacoffee.com/sobermotivationContact me anytime: brad@sobermotivation.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Transcribe →Quitting Drinking Without a "Rock Bottom": Paula's Story
May 501:00:23Tap to summarizeYou don't need a rock bottom to quit drinking. No DUI. No lost job. No moment where everything blows up. For Paula, life looked great from the outside, a beautiful home in South Florida, two kids, a marriage built in the alcohol industry, and a career soaked in alcohol. Nothing was falling apart on the outside or so she thought. She made every soccer practice. She was the homeroom mom. But the hangovers were getting worse, the blackouts had started, and her kids were beginning to see two different versions of her.In this episode of the Sober Motivation Podcast, Paula shares what she calls the "miserable middle" of drinking. The place so many high-functioning drinkers get stuck. Nothing is bad enough to quit, but nothing feels right either. She talks about growing up with a normal relationship to alcohol, building her entire career around it, falling into the mommy wine culture trap, and how managing her drinking became more exhausting than the drinking itself.After 30 years of drinking and four years of being sober curious, it was her teenage daughter's words that finally broke through: "I can't take these two different people." That was Paula's day one. November 2, 2022.We cover:Quitting drinking without a rock bottomHigh-functioning alcoholism and the gray area drinkerMommy wine culture and how it sneaks up on youWhy managing your drinking is exhaustingAnxiety, hangxiety, and the cortisol crashHow alcohol affects your kids even when you think they don't noticeThe "miserable middle" between drinking and sobrietyWhat the first year of sobriety actually looks likeIf you've been sober curious, gray area drinking, questioning your relationship with alcohol, or wondering if your drinking is "bad enough" to quit — this episode is for you. You are not alone, and you don't have to wait for things to fall apart to choose something better.Sober Motivation Mobile App: https://apps.apple.com/app/sober-motivation-app/id6759266291Sober Motivation Website: https://www.sobermotivation.comSupport the Podcast: https://buymeacoffee.com/sobermotivationContact me anytime: brad@sobermotivation.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Transcribe →Quit Drinking Then Got Hooked on Kratom | What No One Talks About
Apr 3001:02:52Tap to summarizeFrom the outside everything looked perfect. Behind the scenes alcohol addiction was taking over and one night it nearly ended everything. In this episode Lauren shares her sobriety story from having her first drink at just 10 years old to years of hiding alcohol addiction behind a life that looked put together.Her drinking escalates over time leading to serious consequences and a life changing moment that forces everything into the open.After quitting drinking and starting her recovery journey things begin to improve. But a legal substance called kratom unexpectedly pulls her back into addiction and nearly costs her everything in just a few months.This episode is an honest look at alcohol addiction relapse and the risks of substances that many people assume are safe.Sober Motivation Mobile App: https://apps.apple.com/app/sober-motivation-app/id6759266291Sober Motivation Website: https://www.sobermotivation.comSupport the Podcast: https://buymeacoffee.com/sobermotivationContact me anytime: brad@sobermotivation.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Transcribe →Quitting Drinking After So Many Day Ones: Bri's Story
Apr 1900:59:17Tap to summarizeBri is almost one year sober. For the year before that she tried to quit drinking over and over, racking up day ones nobody knew about. Two months sober, then a slip. Two months again, another slip. From the outside she was the picture perfect mom. Accountant, wife, two little boys, a pool in the backyard. Behind closed doors it was shots from the freezer on Christmas, weekend blackouts at her own pool parties, and crying in the shower when everyone went home. Then on Easter she pulled her one year old son aside and told him he'd never see her drunk or hungover again. She hasn't had a drink since.In this episode Bri shares what gray area drinking looks like for a working mom; why her two month sobriety cycles kept breaking; the blackouts she hid from everyone; her first sober tax season; and what one year sober actually feels like. If you keep restarting, this one is for you.Bri's Podcast: https://www.youtube.com/@briinsobrietyBri on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/brimarshallll/Sober Motivation Mobile App: https://apps.apple.com/app/sober-motivation-app/id6759266291Sober Motivation Website: https://www.sobermotivation.comSupport the Podcast: https://buymeacoffee.com/sobermotivationContact me anytime: brad@sobermotivation.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Transcribe →27 Years Sober: How Dr. Donald Crowe Quit Drinking
Apr 1301:05:16Tap to summarizeDr. Donald Crowe was telling patients they needed to stop drinking. Then he'd go home, open two bottles of wine, and pass out. Every single night. A physician with 40 years in medicine, Donald started drinking in college and spent the next two decades convincing himself it couldn't be that bad because his career was still moving forward.A possible ALS diagnosis at 40 gave him the excuse to drink harder. He lost his first marriage. He chose alcohol over her. When legal consequences finally forced him into treatment, three months of sobriety cracked open a truth he'd been hiding from: "I wasn't drinking to feel better. I was drinking to feel less bad."You'll hear about: the bitters experiment that proved his brain was wired differently; defending your drinking as an early warning sign; why consequences aren't the real measure of a problem; building a life where resistance is unnecessary.If you've ever told yourself it can't be that bad because things are still working, this one's for you.Dr. Donlad Crowe on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@SecondactrecoverySober Motivation Mobile App: https://apps.apple.com/app/sober-motivation-app/id6759266291Sober Motivation Website: https://www.sobermotivation.comSupport the Podcast: https://buymeacoffee.com/sobermotivationContact me anytime: brad@sobermotivation.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Transcribe →From DUI Manslaughter To 22 Years Sober — Martin's Story
Apr 900:52:39Tap to summarizeOn New Year's Eve 2003, Martin Lockett ran a red light drunk and killed two women, and severely injured a third. They where all long-time members of Portland's recovery community, one 16 years sober, one 17. They were returning home from a clean and sober New Year's Eve party. Martin served 17 and a half years in prison. Today he's 22 years sober, a certified substance abuse counselor, and a national speaker who's devoted his life to preventing the tragedy he caused.In this raw, unforgettable episode, Martin takes us back to his first drink at 14, the identity struggles that drove him to alcohol as a shy Black kid in 1980s Portland, the night his own twin brother begged him to slow down, and the newspaper article four days after the crash that changed everything.You'll hear about: what it's like to learn who your victims were; the DUI stop three months before the fatal crash; the "alcoholic's brain" that still whispers at 22 years sober; and Martin's warning for anyone who thinks one more drive home is fine.Martin on Instagram: HereSober Motivation Mobile App: https://apps.apple.com/app/sober-motivation-app/id6759266291Sober Motivation Website: https://www.sobermotivation.comSupport the Podcast: https://buymeacoffee.com/sobermotivationContact me anytime: brad@sobermotivation.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Transcribe →He Drank for 25 Years… And Didn’t Recognize Himself Anymore
Apr 701:03:49Tap to summarizeQuit drinking is not about willpower. It is about the moment you realize you cannot keep living like this anymore.For over 25 years, alcohol was part of Paul’s life. From the outside, everything looked fine.But inside, the anxiety was building, the anger was growing, and he was slowly becoming someone he didn’t recognize.There was no rock bottom.Just a quiet realization that something had to change.In this episode, Paul shares what it really looks like to live that way for decades, the denial that keeps people stuck, and the moment he finally chose to quit drinking.If you have ever questioned your drinking or felt stuck in the cycle, this one will stay with you.Paul on Instagram: Click HereGet Support. Get ConnectedSober Motivation WebsiteSober Motivation Mobile App: https://apps.apple.com/app/sober-motivation-app/id6759266291Sober Motivation Website: https://www.sobermotivation.comSupport the Podcast: https://buymeacoffee.com/sobermotivationContact me anytime: brad@sobermotivation.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Transcribe →You Don’t Have to Lose Everything to Quit Drinking - Ash Butterss
Apr 200:23:49Tap to summarizeYou don’t have to lose everything to question your drinking.In this episode, I sit down with Ash Butterss to talk about the moment she realized something needed to change—and why you don’t need a traditional “rock bottom” to quit drinking.Ash shares her sobriety journey, from living a life that looked fine on the outside to realizing she wasn’t truly happy or showing up as her authentic self. We talk about sober curiosity, emotional growth, and what it really takes to build an alcohol-free life.This conversation dives into the reality of quitting alcohol, learning how to deal with emotions without drinking, and why comparison and expectations can keep people stuck.Ash also opens up about the early days of sobriety, navigating major life changes, and how sobriety helped her reconnect with who she truly is.If you’re questioning your relationship with alcohol, trying to stop drinking, or wondering if life could be better without it—this episode will resonate.Ash on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ashbutterss/For support visit: https://www.sobermotivation.com/Sober Motivation Mobile App: https://apps.apple.com/app/sober-motivation-app/id6759266291Sober Motivation Website: https://www.sobermotivation.comSupport the Podcast: https://buymeacoffee.com/sobermotivationContact me anytime: brad@sobermotivation.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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