Overcoming Adversity

As you'll hear Co-host Amanda Marino say many times in this episode, the OA podcast is looking to bring this show into the "next level"! In this episode, Amanda and Blake recap 2019 and throw out their goals for 2020. They discuss what the future of the podcast looks like and what we can expect from the upcoming guests. There are a ton of positive changes happening, starting with an...

Eric Paskin, a man in long-term recovery and owner of a Substance Use Disorder treatment facility, and his wife faced one of most difficult times of their lives just three years ago.  As their second son was born, he became fatally ill and with only moments to live, rushed him to the hospital to attempt to save his short life. They spent 90 days in that hospital facing adversity after medical adve...

You may have been thinking to yourself, "Where have Amanda and Blake been for two weeks?" Well, this podcast episode will answer your questions as to where your favorite two show hosts have been and what they have been up to. This episode is a series of gems from Amanda and Blake regarding their experiences with their own positive/negative adversities. We find ourselves at a turning poin...

Randy Grimes, second round draft pick into the NFL, hit the lottery when his dream of playing professional football became a reality. Little did he know that the following decade would be the greatest years of his life but shortly after he would find himself living in the worst years of his life. This is a story of adversity in so many ways where Randy discusses with Amanda and Blake how he found...

Thank you for listening to Episode #15 of the Overcoming Adversity Podcast with your hosts, Amanda Marino and Blake Cohen! This episode is guest-less but full of gems that can be pulled out of a conversation between Amanda and Blake. After much turmoil and growth experiences, the two hosts discuss what their techniques are to help deal with life's daily grind and have a conversation about hop...

Take a second to imagine what it must have been like to be a 12 year old boy in the Bronx, NY during the worst crack-cocaine epidemic this country has ever seen. The violence, the gang banging lifestyle, the lack of structure or anyone to look up to but other thugs. That is what it was like growing up for Anthony Colon. With no one to steer him differently, Anthony led a life that landed him in pr...

Episode number 13 has arrived and it can only be described as being taken on an emotional roller coaster. Our guests this week on the Overcoming Adversity podcast are Cale and Jen S., a married couple out of the midwest. Their story involves loss but not just any loss. Cale and Jen tragically lost their 15 year old daughter after 13 years of her battling an unknown neurological disorder that devas...

Welcome back, everyone! This is going to be one of your favorite episodes yet! Similar to all of our past guests, Robin Styer has seen her fair share of adversities. From living with crippling alcoholism to raising three daughters on her own as a single mother to having 6 different boyfriends die, it's safe to say that "Robi" qualifies to be a guest on the Overcoming Adversity Podca...

Eric "Brooks" Birkhimer was no stranger to adversity by the time he was diagnosed with Hepatitis C. At the time he was diagnosed, he had already been battling with a major substance use disorder as well as having his fair share of family struggles along the way. When Brooks decided it was time to clean up his life, he went to war with his addiction and came out victorious. Some of the fr...

This guest was one of the first people we had in mind when starting this journey of sharing hope through incredible stories of overcoming adversity. Michael Gonzales is the definition of resilient between coming from a home filled with gang violence to becoming a daily methamphetamine user at the age of 14 to his most recent battle of trying to obtain sole custody of his children and circumnavigat...

A former Orthodox Jew, an person in their 30's that's been diagnosed with early on-set Parkinson's disease, an amputee, and a formally homeless person turned CEO all walk into a bar...What do they have in common? They've all been guests on the Overcoming Adversity Podcast! Listen as Amanda and Blake reflect back on what they've learned from their first four guests on the p...

Jeanne Albaugh...A true adversity warrior and the guest this week on the Overcoming Adversity Podcast. This incredible woman went from growing up in a house being physically and verbally abused to living a life of luxury to then losing it all and living under a bridge in Davie, Fl for 10 years while being addicted to substances. Jeanne's remarkable journey eventually led her towards a life of...

This week's guest on the Overcoming Adversity Podcast with Amanda Marino and Blake Cohen is the incredibly resilient, Matthew Zetz. Matthew is 43 years old, has been in recovery from a substance use disorder for 12 years, and has an incredible tale of overcoming adversity after he recently had one of his legs amputated after a horrific accident. On this episode, Matthew tells us of the gut wr...

This week's episode is a tale of survival and a race against time. Kim Rogers, Assistant Principal and Single Mother, was diagnosed with early onset Parkinson's disease just a few short years ago. From pain to painful glares from others, Kim has worked so hard to prove to the world and this disease that it cannot get the best of her! She is living proof that it is possible to overcome ma...

We were honored to be graced with the presence of Public Intellectual, Motivational Speaker, and Rapper, Ben Stone this week on the Overcoming Adversity Podcast! There are many people we've met on our journeys but there are very few that have an impact every single time you talk to them and Ben is one of those. From his incredibly insightful perspective to his ability to freestyle rap at the...

Episode 4 of the Overcoming Adversity Podcast is here for your listening pleasure where your hosts, Amanda Marino & Blake Cohen, discuss their current affairs and what it means to overcome smaller, daily adversities.  Both coming back from a week in sunny Las Vegas and away from their regular routine, our hosts discuss what it means for them to get off track for a little while and the issues t...

Amanda Marino: Concierge Life and Recovery Coach, Curator of Sober Retreats, Founder of Women Empowering Women, Nationally Recognized representative of Recovery Ways Treatment center, and just all around inspirational and motivational guru! This week is all about #Amanda where we get to learn the details of her past and how her road has led her to all of her incredible accomplishments she now humb...

Welcome to Episode 2 of the OA Podcast! It's time to meet your hosts so this episode and the next one will be all about Blake Cohen and Amanda Marino! This episode is called #Blake and it offers a small glimpse into the life and beliefs of one of the show's hosts, Blake Cohen. Blake is a best selling author, National Outreach Manager for Recovery Unplugged, a Drug Trends and Recovery Spe...

Welcome to the Overcoming Adversity Podcast Episode 1 with your hosts Amanda Marino and Blake Cohen! This episode breaks down what you can expect from the show, details future topics, introduces you to your hosts, and reveals our favorite reoccurring segment called "Let It Out" We hope you stick around for the journey as we break down all the tips, tricks, techniques, and grit the hosts...