Over The Influence: The Alcohol Free Podcast

We've got some news to share with all of our wonderful listeners. Thank you for an amazing five and a half years, we've had an absolute blast! The podcast might be coming to an end, but we hope the message continues long after we've finished: sobriety isn't something you have to do, it's something you get to choose. Wishing you many glorious alcohol free times to come! --- Please note that we are...

No you're not seeing dublé - Shaz and Ben have done another episode with some top tips in for if you're going alcohol free this summer and need a few ideas for how to freshen things up without alcohol. From horticulture to Vegas, this episode has it all.  --- Get In Touch: Of course, you can always get in touch with us (publicly or privately) on our socials - @alcoholfreepod on Instagram, or searc...

This week we have two of our wonderful community members Ian and Neil on the podcast who make up two thirds of the Team OTI Ironman squad! Last weekend they took on the mighty Northumbrian Full Ironman challenge with fellow OTI community member Kelly, all to raise money for Alcohol Change UK. Now they're here to tell us all about it! We're very proud of their achievement and are absolutely delight...

This week we have one of our own on the pod, the fantastic Steve Smith!  Steve grew up in a culture where he felt like alcohol was celebrated. Whenever something fun happened, it always seemed like booze was at the centre of it.  He became a flare bartender (all the cool acrobatics with the bottles) and actually won the Flare Bartender Championships which we have to admit, is very impressive.  Bei...

We at Over The Influence pride ourselves on going out and finding the most interesting guests in the podcast universe, and today is certainly no different! Today's guest is Barney Whiter, a writer and financial expert perhaps better known by the name The Escape Artist. Financially, Barney had it all together; after a troubling finance related experience while growing up, he decided that his adulth...

This week we have the fantastic Kelly Marie on the podcast! Kelly, a.k.a. K-Marie, has been sober since missing a flight on 30th December 2023 when she decided that all this getting drunk nonsense was getting a bit O.T.T. She packed it in, listened to OTI and decided to help spread the word about how great sobriety can be! Kelly is a house music lover and recognised that there aren't enough sober...

This podcast contains references to eating disorders and health issues. This week we have the wonderful Janine Connelly joining us on the pod!  Janine is one of our OTI Community members and we are delighted that she's joined us on the pod today.  She shares with us how she knew she had to stop drinking after a health scare in which she knew that she simply couldn't carry on drinking. She has mana...

On this week's episode we're delighted to welcome Elin Smith onto the podcast! Elin is a fitness fanatic and PhD student in Norwich, specialising in researching gut science. She's come to alcohol free life very young (and yes Sharon goes full Auntie Shaz) after she felt like her relationship with alcohol was becoming unhealthy during lockdown. Her university experience was brought to an abrupt hal...

It's a bit of a different one this week... Ben and Shaz don't have a guest and instead will be giving you their top tips for staying strong and sober through the bank holiday weekend in the UK. If you're not in the UK, don't worry - these tips all still apply! --- Get In Touch: Of course, you can always get in touch with us (publicly or privately) on our socials - @alcoholfreepod on Instagram, or...

Warning: this podcast contains references to recreational drugs What a story we have for you this week, courtesy of the fantastic Sean Willers! Sean is now nearly two years sober and is a lifestyle and fitness coach having been a DJ travelling all over Europe. You'll find out about how his troubled youth led to problematic drinking which then led to recreational drugs as an adult. You'll also hear...

Warning: this podcast contains references to suicide and suicidal thoughts throughout. This week we welcome the wonderful Samantha Southern from onto Over The Influence! Sam felt like she needed to stop drinking alcohol, but it wasn’t because of what it was doing to her; it was the reasons that she was drinking that worried her. As you’ll hear in this episode, she has suffered some tragic bereavem...

We welcome back one of our all time favourite guests onto Over The Influence this week. It's Austin Karr! Austin is now ten years sober and talks to us today about why it's so important to always strive for happiness. Becoming sober is a major hurdle but once you've jumped that hurdle, it's important to not become complacent. It's always a pleasure to have Austin on the podcast and if you'd like t...

This week on the pod we complete the Team OTI trio by welcoming the fantastic Scottish Kelly onto the podcast!  We had Neil & Ian on the podcast a few weeks ago telling us all about it and now we're going to hear about it from the woman who had the idea in the first place.  If you would like to donate (please do if you can!) then please visit justgiving.com/page/teamoti . If you would like to...

Brisbane’s finest Sarah Connelly is back for another round on the podcast and blimey, she’s been busy since we last spoke!  She’s now five and a half years alcohol free, she’s a coach and focussing specifically on the ‘grey area drinkers’: the people who don’t drink enough to have a problem, but drink enough that it is causing them problems.  On the podcast, you’ll hear Sarah talking up the ‘Thirt...

This week we have one of our fantastic community members on the podcast, James Ruiz calling us all the way from Stamford, Connecticut! James is first and foremost a Dad and a husband and decided just under 18 months ago that he was going to take the plunge into sobriety to be the best he could possibly be for his family. He had been drinking to mask the pain that he felt from not having that from...

This week we welcome back the wonderful Sarah Chamberlain to the podcast! This time we're going to take a deep dive into a topic that Sarah is dedicated to: understand shame. We talk about why you might feel it and how best to deal with it. Many people feel shame about the past when going sober for all sorts of reasons, so if that is you then this will be a really interesting listen. For more on S...

We have a first on the pod this week; we've had all sorts of family duos but never sisters... until now! We're delighted to welcome Sharon and Lauretta Gavin to Over The Influence! Both sisters have been alcohol free now for twelve years and much like most others who drop the booze, it wasn't meant to be forever. What started as a break, developed into something which triggered an enormous amount...

This week on the pod we welcome James Laughlin onto Over The Influence! James is a Dad, partner, coach, drummer, key note speaker and soon to be author! During his teens growing up just outside of Belfast in Northern Ireland, alcohol started to play a bigger and bigger role in his life. When he then got the opportunity to move to New Zealand, he felt like part of his identity as an Irishman was to...

This week on the pod we welcome back two legends of the OTI Community, Neil and Ian! They're here to tell us all about their upcoming Iron Man challenge which they'll be taking on alongside OTI Hall-of-Famer, Scottish Kelly. If you would like to donate (please do if you can!) then please visit justgiving.com/page/teamoti . Good luck team, we know you're going to smash it!!  --- Get In Touch: Of co...

On the pod this week, we finally welcome the wonderful Sarah Rusbatch to Over The Influence! Sarah is originally from Manchester and now lives in the much sunnier Perth, Australia. We've wanted to get together for ages but with time zones it's been tricky. We found out she was back in the UK so we took our opportunity to get her on the pod! Sarah is author of the best selling book “ Beyond Booze,...

This week we have the fantastic Annalise Woolfson on the podcast! Annalise from North London is now two years alcohol free and absolutely smashing it.  Her relationship with alcohol started from a young age and when she came to give it up, she discovered as so many others do that it's not as easy as just moving on. She relapsed but now she's here to tell everyone, don't give up!  Thanks so much to...

On the podcast this week we have one of our own on the pod, the fantastic Lauren Newhouse! Lauren is now 18 months alcohol free and it's safe to say that at the start of her journey she wasn't quite sure about all of this alcohol free stuff. Everyone seemed a bit OTT about how great they felt and it was all a bit suspicious. She gave it time though and it's certainly paid off. She's now better tha...

This week we welcome one of our own on to the pod, Jen Mugan! It's safe to say that Jen is a big fan of the pod and we're delighted that she's come on to the show to share her story with us. When trying to juggle everything that came along with her busy lifestyle, Jen decided that something needed to go, and the 'Mummy Wine Culture' was the thing she chose to get rid of. She hasn't looked back sin...

This week we welcome the wonderful Tabbin Almond on to Over The Influence!  Tabbin is a sobriety coach, podcaster and author who is now seven years alcohol free following her fight with breast cancer. During this episode, we discuss her inspirational story through to her fantastic work as a sobriety coach, particularly her involvement with the Bluelight Live Alcohol Experiment . If you'd like to l...

On this episode we have one of our wonderful community members Mikey on the pod! Mikey, a teacher from Liverpool and now based in London, decided to take the plunge and join OTI eighteen months ago. In this episode, he talks to us about how being part of a community of like minded people helped him continue on with his alcohol free journey. You'll hear all about Mikey's now famous 'Five C's' of so...