Breaking Down Addiction

Logan Terry’s story is one of devastating loss, remarkable resilience, and discovering that hope, love, and purpose are stronger than addiction. Growing up outside Nashville, Logan’s addiction began with alcohol at 12 before escalating into OxyContin, Xanax, heroin, fentanyl, and intravenous drug use. What started as teenage partying slowly consumed every part of his life, eventually leaving him h...

Zach Grace’s story is a wild ride through addiction, heroin use, incarceration, treatment, fatherhood, faith, and long-term recovery. What began with drinking at 13 quickly escalated into prescription pills, heroin, and intravenous drug use. Zach spent years chasing relief from the anxiety, insecurity, and pain that followed him from adolescence into adulthood. Along the way came arrests, overdose...

Darren Hobbs’ story is a powerful journey through addiction, incarceration, surrender, recovery, intervention work, and helping families find hope in the middle of chaos. For years, Darren lived a double life—bartender by day, drug dealer by night—while cocaine and alcohol controlled nearly every decision he made. After a 2010 arrest left him facing decades in prison, Darren found himself alone in...

Mathew Dwyer’s story is a raw, honest journey through alcohol addiction, service industry drinking culture, relapse, treatment, recovery, spirituality, and service. From Wisconsin barrooms to Nashville restaurants, Mathew spent years hiding his drinking, managing consequences, and convincing himself he had it under control. After pancreatitis, blackouts, job losses, DUIs, and a relapse that led hi...

Michael Rositano’s story is a powerful journey through grief, opioid addiction, treatment, relapse, jail, recovery, and redemption. After losing his father at age 20, Michael found two bottles of Percocet in the medicine cabinet. What began as a way to numb grief eventually escalated into OxyContin, Opana, fentanyl, theft, legal charges, jail, and multiple treatment stays. Today, Michael works in...

Miko Juvinall’s story is a powerful journey from a disciplined childhood as a competitive gymnast to the chaos of addiction, toxic relationships, and federal charges—ultimately leading to a moment of clarity and the beginning of recovery. Growing up with structure, ambition, and a clear path toward becoming a veterinarian, Miko’s life took a turn in college through partying, alcohol, and eventuall...

Jay Booker’s story is a powerful journey through childhood trauma, family addiction, incarceration, relapse, and the long road to lasting recovery—ultimately leading him to a life of purpose, service, and helping other men heal. Growing up in a home marked by alcoholism, emotional instability, and survival-mode coping, Jay shares how early wounds shaped his self-worth, identity, and addiction. Fro...

Tyler Bowman’s story is a candid journey through family disruption, early addiction patterns, relapse cycles, and the long road to lasting recovery—ultimately leading to purpose, faith, and building a treatment culture centered on doing “the next right thing.” Growing up as an only child navigating his parents’ divorce, Tyler describes how early emotional wounds shaped later relationship patterns—...

Todd Mulligan’s story is a blunt look at how fast opioid addiction can take over—and what it actually takes to come back. In this episode of Breaking Down Addiction, hosts Jonny Phillip and Chad Elkin sit down with Todd to trace the arc from prescription pain pills after multiple accidents, to an 11-year spiral that included street pills, Suboxone misuse, benzodiazepines, and daily meth use. Todd...

Brandon Fender’s story is a raw journey through war, trauma, addiction, and ultimately, redemption. A Marine Corps veteran with four combat deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan, Brandon returned home carrying survivor’s guilt, untreated PTSD, and severe physical injuries. What began as prescribed pain medication quickly escalated into opioid addiction, heroin use, and a life marked by isolation, pa...

Will Drury’s story is a raw, winding path through grief, addiction, jail, and the kind of recovery that rebuilds a life from the ground up. He started using at 13, lost close friends to DUI tragedies, and by 18 he was a “kid having a kid”—while sliding deeper into alcohol, weed, and eventually opioids. Hydrocodone turned into oxycodone, tolerance turned into withdrawal, and survival became a daily...

Misty Pearson’s story begins where many never expect addiction to start: a legitimate injury, a doctor’s prescription, and a life that looked “put together.”  One torn ACL set off a chain reaction—opioids, shame, escalation, arrests, and ultimately nine and a half years of incarceration. But Misty’s story doesn’t end there. Through forced sobriety, deep personal reckoning, faith, and an unwavering...

Patrick Custer’s story is a masterclass in courage. Raised in a conservative religious home, Patrick spent his early life feeling “different” and carrying shame he couldn’t name. Addiction took hold in college, spiraling him from functioning student to around-the-clock drinking and stimulant use. At 24, a family intervention saved his life—and sobriety opened the door to years of healing, identity...

Justin Lowry’s story is a wild ride through chaos, collapse, and ultimately, radical redemption. Starting drugs at age 12, Justin’s life spiraled through addiction, business success, bankruptcy, and homelessness—until a near-death hospital stay and jail time forced him to face the truth: he was the problem. Now sober and thriving, Justin has turned his pain into purpose through Smiles for Recovery...

Former NFL linebacker Ryan Fowler opens up about the hidden world of pain, pressure, and performance inside professional football—and how it led to years of addiction. From Vicodin on the sidelines to a staff member supplying players in the locker room , Fowler shares how the drive to be perfect, strong, and “capable” nearly cost him everything. Now in recovery, Ryan talks about rebuilding his lif...

What if the real trauma begins when you’re not allowed to be yourself? In this powerful conversation, Orlando Andrews shares his deeply personal recovery journey—one shaped by loss, discovery, and bold innovation. From confronting the failures of $60,000 treatment programs with 70% relapse rates, to developing new solutions like the SPARC device, Orlando is pushing the industry to rethink what rec...

Episode 2: My Chaos – Kim Ryan on Trauma, Recovery, and the Moment She Knew She Was Okay In this powerful and deeply honest episode, Kim Ryan joins host Jonny Phillip to share her remarkable story of addiction, trauma, and transformation. From surviving the chaos of substance use to finding long-term recovery and peace, Kim opens up about the darkest chapters of her life—and the unexpected moments...

Welcome to the debut episode of Breaking Down Addiction , a podcast by National Addiction Specialists. In this raw and unfiltered conversation, singer-songwriter and recovery advocate Mitzi Dawn shares her powerful journey—from growing up in the rooms of AA to discovering, later than expected, that addiction hadn’t skipped her after all. Mitzi opens up about the early days of using, the isolation...