Over The Influence: The Alcohol Free Podcast

In this episode we catch up with the fabulous Susan McGarry, one of our OTI Community members who's had the most marvellous year. Susan came on the podcast for the first time last year and we called the episode "The Believer" - she very honestly talked about how she didn't feel all of the benefits of alcohol-free life that other people talk about, but how she chose to put her faith in others who'd...

In this episode we chat to John Clark, who is also known as The Meal Prep King. Shaz has got John's books on her shelf in the kitchen - but very nearly got rid of them last year after John made the headlines for all the wrong reasons. John has got hundreds of thousands of followers on his Instagram account and did a live video in which he said some really offensive things. He lost his publishing d...

In this episode we chat to Cassie Ridley who very honestly tells us about the ups and downs of her alcohol-free journey. Cassie was over three years AF, but decided to drink on a couple of occasions last year. She talks to us about her reasons for making these choices, but also about how it's strengthened her determination to be completely alcohol-free going forwards. Cassie is incredibly brave to...

In this episode we chat to Hayley Scherders, who's business in Canada has a fabulous name... Living Over The Influence! Hayley talks to us about the joys that alcohol-free life has brought her after alcohol and drug misuse meant she hit her rock bottom. She believes that a rock bottom is a lesson and not a life sentence, and now helps other people to remove alcohol from their lives through Living...

In this episode we chat to Madeline Forrest, known as Happiest Sober! Madeline gave up alcohol in November 2020 when she was 27 years old. She now, like us, sings about sobriety on her Instagram page and her Happiest Sober podcast, and this is a really joyful and insightful conversation. Madeline had two alcoholic parents - her Mum gave up in her early 20s, but she talks to us about how her Dad re...

In this episode we catch up with Thomas Hartley, one of the stars of last year's Married at First Sight UK! We spotted a social media post from Thomas on the 1st January this year and we had to slide in to his DMs... He posted a picture of his sober app, showing that it was his first day. Thomas talks to us about how he has had periods of sobriety since the TV show finished last year, and why he's...

In this episode we catch up with friend of the podcast William Porter, the author of Alcohol Explained! William talks us through what happens to your body and brain when you decide to remove alcohol... And the reasons why it doesn't feel very good at first. He talks us through the science (both physiological and psychological) to give us an understanding of why we feel rubbish at first, but then a...

In this episode we catch up with Michael Brown, aka Misha, aka Don't Cross a Gay Man (@dontcrossagayman) on TikTok, two years after we first spoke to him on the podcast! Michael is over four years sober after deciding to remove alcohol from his life on Christmas Eve 2018 - and he credits all of his success over the last few years back to this moment. When we first spoke to Michael he had a few tho...

If you're doing Dry January this year, then this episode is for you! Sharon and Ben have been alcohol free for 4 years and 2 years respectively, and they give their top tips for not just surviving it, but actually enjoying Dry January 2023! They are also joined by David in Edinburgh who searched for "Dry January" in his podcast app this time last year and stumbled across Over The Influence... He d...

In this episode we chat to the fabulous Davina, one of our very own OTI Community members! When Davina joined Over The Influence she was a moderator... But on one of our community Zoom calls, Ben convinced her to give 100 days completely alcohol-free a go and since then she's never looked back! Davina is now well over a year AF, and talks to us about how it's completely changed her life. She talks...

In this episode we chat to James Moon from #FancyAWalkMate about his journey to sobriety. James talks to us about how he grew up in an environment where alcohol was normalised, and how this impacted him as he got older. For James, drinking alcohol led on to taking drugs socially and then more regularly - until he decided that enough was enough and he went to his first AA meeting. This then made hi...

Trigger warning: this episode contains discussions about attempted suicide and abortion. We fully understand if this week's episode isn't for you - and if you're affected by anything you hear, please see the support links below. In this episode we chat to Molly Desch who tells us her story about going completely alcohol-free - which, like it is for many of us, was a long journey. Molly talks to us...

This is the AF Christmas Q&A where Shaz and Ben answer your questions about how to thrive during December without the booze! This will be Shazza's fifth AF Christmas and Ben's fourth - both were nervous about their first one, but quickly realised that being alcohol-free at Christmas is a gift in itself! This is a slightly different format to our normal podcast, as we never intended to publish...

In this episode we chat to the lovely Janet White in Florida who decided to give up alcohol when she became a grandmother. In this episode she talks to us about how removing alcohol from her life when she was in her 50s completely transformed it, and how its meant that she is now present and active for her growing family. She also talks very honestly about her difficult past, and how she used alco...

In this episode we chat to the fabulous Ryan Dusick, one of the founding members of Maroon 5. Ryan talks to us about how the band went from being friends playing in a garage to Grammy Award winners who headlined stadiums across the world - and how alcohol insidiously crept up on him when injury meant that he couldn't perform. He talks to us about how he didn't talk about his issues with alcohol, a...

In this episode we chat to the wonderful Steve Rodrigues who talks to us about living with hepatic encephalopathy. Steve is a normal bloke who's drinking ramped up after a change in his work circumstances. He started drinking more at home, and eventually he ended up in hospital. He talks to us about how lucky he is to be here, and what it's like to now live with liver disease on a day-to-day basis...

In this episode we chat to the fabulous Mandy Manners who, if you're a keen podcast listener, you'll know from the brilliant Love Sober podcast! As well as being a podcaster, Mandy is also a coach and an author - and she's over five years sober. She talks to us about her journey and is very honest about the deeper work she's done to understand why she drank alcohol in the first place. She also rev...

In this episode we chat to Professor David Nutt about his decades of research into the effects of alcohol on the body and brain, and about the new project he's working on that could completely revolutionise the drinks industry. Professor Nutt made the headlines in 2009 when he claimed that alcohol was the most dangerous drug to British society. At the time of his report he was the government's chi...

In this episode we chat to the hilarious Robert Mee, who runs the LGBTQI charity Out In The Bay in Lancaster. Trigger Warning: as part of Robert's story he talks about alcohol misuse, drugs misuse, domestic violence, and suicidal thoughts. Robert makes us laugh so much in this episode, which is a true testament to both his character and his outlook - because as you'll hear, he has faced some incre...

In this episode we chat to the wonderful Jamie Cole, in one of the most authentic and honest conversations we've ever had on the podcast. When Jamie first decided to rethink her drinking and remove alcohol from her life, she wanted to shout about her successes from the rooftops... But unfortunately, it didn't quite turn out the way she'd hoped. She talks to us about the version of herself she want...

In this episode we chat to author Nigel Jones, who's book Walking Back To Happiness was published last month. Nigel gave up alcohol in December 2020 and has been AF ever since. He talks about the mindset shift he adopted in the very early days of his sobriety - literally, when he very first started out - and how identifying as a non-drinker helped him to navigate his way into his new life. Nigel d...

In this episode we welcome back one of our all time favourite guests to the podcast to kick off Sober October, author of Alcohol Explained, William Porter! William's book played a huge part in Shazza's own sobriety journey - she read it early on and it made so many things click for her. He also played a big part in Ben's because when William first came on the podcast, Ben was moderating - but chat...

This episode is a special one for us... We can't quite believe it, but we've hit 100 episodes of Over The Influence! (For those looking and going "er... it says 79 guys..." - this is Episode 79 of Series 3 but the 100th episode of OTI overall including our first two series and our special episodes!) When we started this podcast, we committed to producing just ten episodes... We wanted to talk open...

In this episode we chat to Anneka Reece, a health and mindset coach who specialises in alcohol-free living and manifestation. When you remove alcohol from your life, all sorts of amazing things start to happen... Is it a coincidence? Anneka believes that sobriety is a manifestation superpower, and in this episode she explains what manifestation is, what effect it can have on your life, and how you...

In this episode we chat to four of our fabulous OTI Community members, Maz, David, Will and Denise, about the weekend we spent in Wales for the very first OTI Summer Camp! We love connecting on Zoom and through our forums and OTI Chat, but now that we're all able to get together properly again, nothing can beat a bit of face-to-face connection. Thirty members drove from all over the country (one e...