After Hours with Jimmy Thistle

Episode 53 | Amy Devine — From Newbury Council Estates to Peru: 3 Years Sober, Ayahuasca & the Serbian Housemate Who Changed Everything In this warm, wide-ranging and genuinely one-of-a-kind episode, Jimmy sits down with Amy Devine — sobriety mentor, breathwork facilitator, founder of Numb No More and the Sober Sisterhood Breathwork Circle — speaking from her home in Pisac, Peru, surrounded by...

Episode 52 | Alicia Butler — 173 Days Sober, a Viral Day One & Why ‘You Don’t Have a Problem’ Are the Most Dangerous Words in Recovery In this warm, funny and deeply honest episode, Jimmy sits down with Alicia Butler — the woman whose raw, tearful Day One Instagram video went viral and has been inspiring people to get sober ever since — for a conversation about grey area drinking, gym culture,...

Episode 51 | Jimmy Thistle — The Host’s Full Story: From Vodka at Dawn to 5 Years Sober on the Isle of Man After 50 episodes of interviewing others, Jimmy Thistle finally sits in the guest chair — interviewed by his wife Jen — and tells his full story for the first time on his own podcast. Jimmy grew up in Eaglesham, a village outside Glasgow, in a mostly happy childhood with an older brother, a m...

Send us Fan Mail Even more amazing and incredible guests coming your way in 2026! From heartbreaking stories to triumphs and hope, you wont want to miss out! Get ready on New Year's Day 2026 for the first episode drop! Support the show My Instagram is: https://www.instagram.com/recovery_jimmy And you can find all my other links at: https://linktr.ee/jimmythistle Buy me a coffee… https://buyme...

Episode 50 | Will Gordon — Two Transplants, a Perforated Stomach & a 4% Survival Rate: The Season Finale That Will Stay With You In this staggering, life-affirming season finale, Jimmy sits down with Will Gordon — host of the Will Power Podcast, former teacher, liver and kidney transplant recipient, and one of the most remarkable recovery stories in the English-speaking world. Will grew up the...

Episode 49 | Beth — 4 Years Sober, the Book She Bought at 23 & Why She Built a Free Community for Women Who Can’t Afford Help In this warm, funny and deeply relatable episode, Jimmy sits down with Beth — co-founder of the SOS Collective (Sober Online Sisters), TikTok sober advocate and four-years-sober mother of three from County Durham, now living on the edge of the New Forest in Southampton....

Episode 48 | Kim (Sober Kimbo) — From Blackout at 14 to a Year Sober: The Canadian Dental Hygienist Who Lost Two Phones in Europe & Found AA in Nova Scotia In this warm, funny and genuinely relatable episode, Jimmy sits down with Kim — aka Sober Kimbo on Instagram — a dental hygienist from Nova Scotia, Canada, who got her one-year anniversary just weeks before this episode aired. Her story spa...

Episode 47 | Will Edwards — 1,360 Days Sober: The NHS Cardiac Instructor Who Quit Before It Became a Problem & Journals Everything In this refreshingly different and genuinely thought-provoking episode, Jimmy sits down with Will Edwards — NHS cardiac exercise instructor, cold water therapy advocate, obsessive journaler and one of the most proactively sober people the podcast has ever featured....

Episode 46 | Jen Hirst — 12.5 Years Sober: The Minnesota Coach Who Drank Mouthwash, Hid in the Sober Closet for Four Years & Built Lighthouse Sobriety In this warm, searingly honest and deeply relatable episode, Jimmy sits down with Jen Hirst — founder of Lighthouse Sobriety, sober coach, and one of the most open voices in the US recovery community — whose story spans a perfectionist childhood...

Episode 45 | Ryan Kennedy — Rock Bottom With Ryan: Airlifted, Arrested & Almost Out of Time in Washington State In this raw, funny and deeply honest episode, Jimmy sits down with Ryan Kennedy — host of the Rock Bottom With Ryan podcast — whose story spans a chaotic childhood in Seattle, fraternity drinking, a toxic marriage to a bartender, an abusive relationship, a DUI he drove away from to g...

Episode 44 | Oli Stringer — 1,000 Days Sober: The Bedford Carpenter Who Stood on a Cliff in Cyprus, Saw His Kids & Chose to Come Home In this raw, warm and deeply spiritual episode, Jimmy sits down with Olly Stringer — carpenter, hiker, father and Bedford-based sober advocate just days from his 1,000-day milestone — whose story spans a construction apprenticeship drinking culture, a horrific w...

Episode 43 | Tom McLeod — 3 Years Sober: The Toronto Filmmaker Who Almost Partied Himself to Death & Found Out Rooms Full of People Who Did the Same Are Actually Pretty Entertaining Tom McLeod grew up in Calgary — an unpopular kid who had his first drink at 14 at a cool party and immediately chose it. Within weeks he was the guy who could out-drink everybody. Skateboarding made him popular; al...

Episode 42 | Lexi — 1,000 Days Sober: The Canadian Wellness Coach Who Got Sober Alone, in Her Room, With No Help — On Exactly Day 1,000 Lexi grew up in Ontario adopted by older, strict parents who she loved but never quite felt connected to. Her first drink at 15 felt like medicine — instant relief from everything she was carrying. Within weeks she was sneaking a mickey of vodka into sleepovers wh...

Episode 41 | Amber Hughes — The Sister Left Behind: How Addiction & Homelessness Took Hannah, & What Amber Built in Her Name Amber Hughes grew up in Oxfordshire with a 16-year age gap between her and her older sister Hannah — close enough that Hannah came to every sports day, every school fete, and said goodnight across town at eight o’clock every evening even after moving out. Their child...

Episode 40 | Craig Hewins — 3 Years Sober: The Surrey Sales Guy Who Cold Turkeyed Alone in a Rented Room & Never Told Anyone Craig Hewins grew up in Surrey — happy childhood, no trauma, no excuses as he puts it. Started drinking at 14 in the park with cider, loved the confidence it gave him, and just never really stopped. Football was his other passion through his teens and twenties, but slowl...

Episode 39 | Mike Longthorn — The Alcohol-Free Introvert: Dragon’s Den, Bankruptcy & Finding Out Who He Was Without a Drink Mike Longthorn grew up in a happy home in Anglesey but spent his school years feeling different — quieter than others, struggling in ways he couldn’t name. It was only through therapy decades later that he understood why: he’s dyslexic, and had spent his childhood quietly...

Send us Fan Mail Jodi Clark is the founder of Sober Flourish, a powerful coaching platform and community supporting women who want to change their relationship with alcohol and reclaim their clarity, energy, and purpose. After spending two decades in the corporate world and navigating her own transformation - losing 84 pounds, becoming alcohol free, and rebuilding her life from the inside out - Jo...

Send us Fan Mail In 2022, Lucy lost her partner, Daniel, whose life was tragically cut short by the effects of alcoholism. Navigating the grief of his passing, she has found strength in sharing their story to raise awareness about the hidden impact of addiction on families. Today, she honours Daniel’s memory by supporting charities like NACOA and standing alongside her daughter Amelie, whose lette...

Send us Fan Mail Kristen Bear is the founder of Creative Sobriety, a multi platform resource for anyone looking to change their mindset on alcohol and its place in their life. As a writer and actor, she sees sobriety as the key to unlocking our full creative potential and a true rebel move in a society that glamorizes booze. Kristen is 5 1/2 years sober and splits her time between San Francisco an...

Send us Fan Mail Ashton has spent most of her adult life escaping reality with addiction to alcohol and drugs. When she hit 30 years old she realised her life had to change, now 6 months sober and still working as a bar manager, working with pure willpower she stays sober. Helping others through her instagram journal, with her pure honesty about life before and after addiction. You can find Ashton...

Send us Fan Mail Tash is 39, and she’s been sober for 7½ years. Tash started drinking at 13, and by her late 20s, she was drinking daily, passing out most nights, and battling drug addiction, failed relationships, financial struggles, and even periods of homelessness. Her mental and physical health were falling apart, and she couldn’t show up for her children the way they deserved. Sobriety has tr...

Send us Fan Mail Rickey Franks lives in Alabama. His sobriety date is 9/21/22 and has been in some stage of addiction his entire adult life. Alcohol is a liar! Rickey found himself waking up to drink at 2 A.M. every morning because he would have started withdrawing. The absence of alcohol would make him sick and shake uncontrollably so he always had to have it in his system, even at work. Rickey c...

Send us Fan Mail Victoria Vanstone is the host of Sober Awkward, a popular comedy podcast. Victoria became a renowned over-sharer on her blog drunkmummysobermummy.com. Originally from Reading in the UK, Victoria now lives on the Sunshine Coast in Queensland with her brood of uncontrollable children, a rather confused dog and a very patient husband. Sober Awkward won the best wellness podcast at th...

Send us Fan Mail Luke Jones is a sober transformation coach, ICF-accredited Life Coach, and NLP Master Practitioner who helps dads quit alcohol for good and become the role models their kids deserve. After a wake-up call from his son, Luke made the bold decision to get sober, move his family to the Isle of Man, and create a life rooted in clarity, presence, and purpose. Now, he empowers other dads...

Send us Fan Mail Marcus Jones – Alcohol-Free Coach, Ultra Runner, and Mental Health Advocate Following a turbulent divorce and years of using alcohol to cope, Marcus Jones turned his life around through sobriety, discipline, and relentless self-development. What began as a personal reset evolved into a powerful mission to help other men break free from the same destructive patterns. Now over four...