Straight Edge The Podcast

In this episode, Clive and Amie chat to Lisa Conway. A renowned member of the Hair Industry. Lisa Conway is a Salon Professional Extraordinaire and Author of tell-all book, The Naked Salon – An Essential Guide to Time, Team and Money for Salon Owners. With genuine passion and boundless energy, she heads up The ZING Project, a business dedicated to teaching Salon Owners how to step-up and transform...

TRIGGER WARNING and ANONYMOUS In this episode, Amie interviews someone, who shares her personal story of growing up in a broken home and being in a codependent and abusive relationship. She opens up about the physical and emotional abuse she endured in her relationship and the challenges of leaving. She also talks about the role of drugs, particularly ice, in her ex-husband's behaviour and the eff...

A self confessed Codependent and a Workaholic who also liked a drink, Hilary has been a long respected member of the Hair Industry for 5 Decades. "Codependency refers to a psychological construct involving an unhealthy relationship that people might share with those closest to them." (reference; https://positivepsychology.com/codependency-definition-signs-worksheets/#overcome-codependency ) Owning...

*TRIGGER WARNING* This episode contains adult only content, with descriptions of drug use and cursing   In this episode, we interview Darcy Cogdale, a former addict who turned his life around. Darcy shares his journey from addiction and criminal activities to becoming a motivational speaker and fitness coach. He discusses the impact of childhood trauma and bullying on his life and how he found sol...

*TRIGGER WARNING* This episode contains adult only content, with descriptions of drug use and cursing   In this episode, we interview Darcy Cogdale, a former addict who turned his life around. Darcy shares his journey from addiction and criminal activities to becoming a motivational speaker and fitness coach. He discusses the impact of childhood trauma and bullying on his life and how he found sol...

Rebekah became active in an eating disorder (ED) at the age of 8. It swallowed up her teens and early twenties. Before recovery, she felt stuck, like she was running on the spot burning a hole in the carpet but never going anywhere.  Now, Rebekah has been in recovery  for 15 years, a day at a time, and the ED doesn’t run her life anymore. She lives in sunny Perth with her fiancé, where she works a...

Ryan has been clean and sober for 15 years, since Grand Final Day 2009. An active, fit and healthy young man, playing AFL throughout his younger years, he had his first drink at 16. That lead to a pathway of bad choices and almost ruined his life.   He first asked for help at 21 years old, then the battle was on to finally make it into 12 step fellowship, the day he says changed his life forever....

Jo Cowan has been at the helm for an admirable 22 years with INSTYLE and Styleicons and now heads up all sales and commercial opportunities as the National Sales Director for each of Hair Festival’s four main pillars; Shop, Learn, Compete and Connect. Also an experienced long distance runner, Jo Cowan’s story is one of persistence underpinned by a love of running that has never been extinguished. ...

In this episode we speak to Ariel, a former alcoholic and user turned leader of a detox centre in the USA.  "I love helping people and I want to continue helping people I work with at the substance - abuse facility. I live a beautiful, happy life today substance free"   

In this episode we chat with the legendary Australian actor, Martin Dingle-Wall, where he shares a deep dive into his life growing up in Australia, his career and his journey to celebrate 10 years of sobriety. Martin was first introduced to Australian audiences with the arrival of his character Dr Flynn Saunders in Home & Away earning him his Logie nomination for ‘Most Popular New Talent’.  He...

Stewart Roberts, MBE, has worked in the Hair industry for most of his life. With 18 years of sobriety under his belt, Haircuts4Homeless started by accident in November 2014, after Stewart was volunteering at a Salvation Army in Essex.   "I had recently seen a guy on Facebook doing makeovers on homeless people on the street so thought I’ll bring my scissors to the next session and give some haircut...

Anna Cee is a DJ and Promoter from Brighton. She has been Djing professionally for the whole 15 years of her recovery from drug and alcohol addiction, so has a unique story to tell of consistent sober days and nights in the Dance Music Industry.  Anna runs an All - Female UK based House Music Brand called Queens House Sessions which is a collective of talented DJs, Vocalists (and a brilliant) Phot...

Established Author, creator and influencer, Jenny Valentish has had an incredible life journey.  In this episode, she shares her story from childhood trauma, to accomplished writer, to the music industry influence of the 90's and her eventual surrender and healing.  As author of several books and in depth researcher of all things addiction, Jenny has reshaped her life through exploration and hones...

"Look Good, Feel Good, Do Good"  In this episode we chat to the iconic Celebrity Hair Stylist, Jason Schneidman. He shares his journey from, drifting through life, partying and surfing to the moment he woke up at 34 and realised he was broken needed to stop.  He left San Diego and headed home to LA, where he transformed his life into the magical one it is today. From shampooing Brad Pitt to buildi...

Michael is a top tech executive, born and raised in Australia. He has lived in California for the last 20 years with his wife and 2 kids. Back in 2019, both himself, his wife, family and work realised there was a problem. From doing shots of Vodka in the morning to hiding Vodka in the park, it was time for a change. And he shares his heartwarming story to recovery

In this first episode of Series 2, we reconnect with Niall Colgan. He shares more details of his recovery process and answers some of the burning questions we had sent in from our listeners. He also shares the heart warming story of when his son Hugo, heard our previous podcast in Series 1, held his hand and said, "Dad, you really did go from zero to hero!" 

In this episode we talk with Alan Earnshaw, who shares his intimate story of recovery and growth. From being addicted to Heroin, then other substances, to finding a new life in Seattle USA, where he now lives a simple life off the grid, spending his days building his relationship with God and helping others in their recovery. Alan Earnshaw is the ultimate educator and motivator, with a worldwide r...

In this episode we reflect on the journey so far with Straight Edge The Podcast. We chat about our own personal experiences of interviewing all of our incredible guests and thank every listener who has joined us and supported us so far! A special thank you to our guests of 2023 - Eden Sassoon, Niall Colgan, Peter Lorimer, Louis Byrne, Lisa G, Sarah Rusbatch, Giselle Woodley, Harry Crichton Clark,...

At only 22, Harry has already been gaming for 10+ years and shares his experience about the growth in the industry and some deep, dark secrets of the online gaming space. We chat about the dopamine hits, how the industry "dangles a carrot" to keep you engaged and how he can easily spend a "working day" gaming online. Harry is a recent graduate who has come to realise the effects of over a decade o...

In this episode we chat with iconic, Award winning, celebrity Hairstylist - Louis Byrne. He shares his incredibly inspiring story over overcoming, learning to listen to our body, deeply connecting to our own identity and using his past trauma in the most uplifting way. Louis Byrne is an international hair stylist who has worked many editorial shoots for Vogue, Harper’s Bazaar, Dazed, ID and L’Offi...

In this episode we explore the growing world of Pornography and whether you can actually become addicted. We discuss the research into the effects on the brain and in particular the increase of exposure to teens and it’s impacts. . Giselle Woodley is researcher and current PhD candidate under the School of Arts and Humanities at Edith Cowan University. Her research examines teens’ perspectives of...

In this episode we speak to Eden Sassoon, daughter to one of the most iconic hairdressers in history, Vidal Sassoon. She shares her own, raw, honest and open story about her struggles with alcohol, the painful loss of her siblings to addiction and her passion to overcome. Eden Sassoon, is a well known beauty and wellness entrepreneur, reality TV star, salon owner and loving mother to her two child...

A story of resilience, overcoming and the power of being "loved" back to life with Niall Colgan. Niall began his hairdressing career as part of the Hugh Campbell Hair Group where he stayed for twenty years. By the time he left, he had one of the top jobs in Irish Hairdressing as manager and Creative Director of the group's flagship Marbles salon. Niall was also a trainer at the L'Oreal National Ac...

As the face of “CHOOSE YOUR SOBER”, a term which she coined to highlight that sobriety is a spectrum, this highly sought after speaker, sober coach, health & fitness consultant, columnist and founder of SOBEROBICS, Lisa Greenberg loves sharing her real life stories and happiness hacks of inspiration, connection, and overcoming self-doubt through enhanced self-love, self-belief and self-worth....

Sarah is a certified Women's Health and Wellbeing Coach, an accredited Grey Area Drinking Coach and a Key-Note speaker sharing her journey to Sobriety and impact of alcohol on mental health to global audiences. After developing what she describes as 'a dysfunctional relationship with alcohol', Sarah made the decision to remove alcohol from her life in early 2019 and has never looked back. She now...