Rise Above with Kevin Lanning

Logan Houle looked like he had it all. Triple-A hockey. A long-term girlfriend. Good grades. No major trauma. A “normal” life. But behind closed doors, he was blacking out daily by 16… flipping his Jeep while drunk at 17… and later—after getting sober—developing a hidden gambling addiction that led him to wager over $3.7 million in just four months. From stealing from family, draining paychecks in...

Sponsored by Cozy Earth — elevate your everyday with premium bedding designed for deeper rest and calmer nights. Use code RISEABOVE for up to 20% off at cozyearth.com. Fausto grew up in fear. A narcissistic, abusive father. Sexual abuse at 7 years old. Bullying. Codependency. Addiction to validation. By 14, he was faking his own death on MySpace, getting 5150’d into a psych ward, drinking Jack Dan...

Sponsored by Cozy Earth — elevate your everyday with premium bedding designed for deeper rest and calmer nights. Use code RISEABOVE for up to 20% off at cozyearth.com. At 23, Jordan Lexell was exposed on national television after appearing on Dr. Phil in an episode titled “Young, Reckless & Enabled.” By 35, she was shooting heroin on the South Side of Chicago, addicted to fentanyl, arrested nearly...

Spencer Forester had the dream résumé. CPA. 4.0 student. Six-figure career. Big firm promotions. But behind closed doors? He was drinking at 6:30 AM just to steady his hands. What started as weekend partying turned into round-the-clock alcohol dependence. Hallucinations. Severe esophagitis. Resting heart rate over 150. Doctors debated ICU. One doctor told him directly: “Rehab is going to save your...

Sponsored by Cozy Earth — elevate your everyday with premium bedding designed for deeper rest and calmer nights. Use code RISEABOVE for up to 20% off at cozyearth.com. Blake Bilder went from a small-town kid in Minnesota to signing with the UFC… but behind the fights was chaos no one saw. Blackout drinking. Adderall and cocaine. Microdosing mushrooms every day. Taking LSD before a UFC fight. Smugg...

Sponsored by Cozy Earth — elevate your everyday with premium bedding designed for deeper rest and calmer nights. Use code RISEABOVE for up to 20% off at cozyearth.com. Evan grew up in a good Italian family on Long Island. Loving parents. Sunday dinners. Sports. No trauma to blame. By 12, he was smoking weed. By high school, he was selling cocaine. By his early 20s, he was running mortgage fraud in...

Steven Clark was living two lives. From delivering cocaine between California and Hawaii and serving over five years in federal prison… to managing some of the biggest names in professional surfing — including world champions during the height of the Andy Irons and Kelly Slater era. On paper, he had it all. Global travel. Elite athletes. Money. Status. Behind the scenes? Alcohol. Drugs. Ego. Empti...

Landon Finn had everything going for him. Good grades. Fraternity president. Bright future. But behind closed doors he was drinking at 7AM, tripping on LSD four times a week, blacking out in a Bugs Bunny costume, and hearing voices that weren’t there. He lied to his parents. He lied to his sponsor. He lied to himself. After passing out behind the wheel and landing in acute kidney failure at 21 yea...

From Hollywood stardom to rock bottom—and everything in between. In this raw and emotional conversation, Lillo Brancato opens up like never before about his rise to fame in A Bronx Tale, early success alongside legends like Robert De Niro, and how addiction quietly took over his life. Lillo shares the brutal reality of heroin addiction, overdosing while incarcerated at Rikers Island, surviving pri...

Dr. Cali Estes returns for a raw continuation of her first appearance on Rise Above — this time diving even deeper into the realities of addiction, trauma, detox, and what’s broken in the recovery system. In this episode, we unpack why addiction is often mislabeled as the problem, how trauma and body chemistry drive destructive behavior, and why many traditional treatment models fail to address th...

She was a high-powered executive, running multimillion-dollar businesses, praised for her hustle and feared in boardrooms — until addiction took over. In this raw and unfiltered conversation, Margo Siewert opens up about a life fueled by alcohol, cocaine, ego, and control… and the devastating collapse that followed. From growing up as the daughter of a high-functioning alcoholic, to surviving divo...

In this raw and powerful episode, Lindsey Schaefer shares her story of growing up in a broken home, being abandoned by her mother, and entering foster care at a young age. From childhood trauma and instability to addiction, strip club life, and nearly losing everything, Lindsey walks us through the moments that shaped her—and the turning point that led her to sobriety. Lindsey opens up about being...

In this deeply honest episode of Rise Above, Brianna Sirlin shares her unfiltered journey through addiction, relapse, and recovery during the height of the opioid epidemic. Growing up on Long Island, Brianna’s story didn’t start with trauma on the surface — it started with insecurity, anxiety, and the need to feel “enough.” What began with alcohol, weed, Xanax, and Adderall quickly escalated into...

In this special Q&A episode, Kevin Lanning from Rise Above with Kevin Lanning sits down with Louis Ruggiero from Nothing’s Off the Table with Louis Ruggiero for an honest, unscripted conversation answering the most common addiction and sobriety questions from both of our audiences. These questions were pulled directly from comments and DMs across both podcasts — real questions from real people nav...

For the first time, Kevin Lanning and Louis Ruggiero pull the curtain back. After Hours with Kevin & LJ is a new mini-series created because you asked for it — a real, unfiltered, behind-the-scenes look at our lives, conversations, and perspectives when the cameras aren’t “on.” This series isn’t about perfectly structured interviews or polished narratives. It’s about real talk, recovery, friendshi...

Mike Shooty had it all on the outside — a successful career in high-level security, executive protection, and international risk mitigation. On the inside, he was quietly losing everything. In this raw and unfiltered conversation, Mike opens up about growing up in a stable home, starting to drink at 14, binge drinking through college, and how alcohol slowly took control of his life. After multiple...

Dave Marquess grew up in chaos—raised by addict parents, hustling for survival as a child, and spiraling into drugs by his early teens. By his twenties, Dave was deep in PCP, oxy, heroin, and cocaine, running the streets of Kensington, in and out of jail, and living in full-blown addiction and psychosis. In this raw conversation, Dave opens up about: Growing up with parents addicted to meth and he...

Crystal Ambroselli’s story is raw, heartbreaking, and ultimately life-saving. Raised in a home shaped by alcoholism, chaos, and secrecy, Crystal was exposed to addiction at a young age. By 12, she was in treatment. By 15, she was a pregnant teen mom. By 17, she was smoking crack. At 19, she overdosed on fentanyl-laced cocaine and was clinically dead for 10 minutes. This episode dives deep into: •...

Austin’s story is one of the most intense, raw, and honest recovery journeys ever shared on Rise Above. After 7 years sober, Austin relapsed—triggered by success, ego, and untreated trauma. What followed was a devastating downward spiral: 🔹 Crack, benzos, kratom, and gambling addiction 🔹 A near-fatal overdose at the Hard Rock Hotel 🔹 20 months running from his life in Mexico, embedded in cartel...

Amy Simmonds had everything from the outside — a thriving real estate career, a family, success — but inside she was slowly being destroyed by alcohol. In this raw and powerful conversation, Amy opens up about her childhood wounds, blackouts, relapse after years sober, and the moment she finally surrendered. She shares how grief — especially the sudden loss of her mother — became the catalyst for...

Romaine Campbell is a police officer, husband, father, and a man of unshakable faith — but in 2019, his life was shattered forever. Romaine’s two-year-old son, Hayden Campbell, was rushed to the hospital brain-dead, with a fractured skull and signs of blunt force trauma. The explanation given? “They said he fell out of a bed.” Medical evidence told a different story. In this raw and heartbreaking...

When someone you love is struggling with mental illness or addiction, the pain doesn’t stop with them — the family feels it too. In this powerful and eye-opening conversation, I sit down with Brittany Bennett, a licensed mental health counselor specializing in supporting families who love someone diagnosed with conditions like bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, ADHD, and substance use disorders. We...

Becky’s story is one of survival at every level. She was sexually abused as a child, adopted into a strict household, and later diagnosed with aggressive cancer just one month after giving birth. Doctors told her she’d be lucky to see her son turn five. She beat cancer—multiple times. But the unresolved trauma, years of surgeries, and being told her life was a ticking clock led her down a darker p...

Juliet Warner shares her raw, unfiltered journey through addiction, relapse, recovery, and redemption. From a lonely childhood and early substance use to rehabs, relapse after nearly a decade sober, and ultimately rebuilding her life, marriage, and purpose—this conversation is a powerful reminder that addiction doesn’t always look the way we expect. #AddictionRecovery#RelapseAndRecovery#SobrietyJo...

DJ ActRight sits down with Kevin Lanning to share his powerful journey from active addiction to over 2.5 years sober — all while living a true double life. By day, he’s a middle school teacher in West Virginia. By night and on weekends, he’s touring the country as Petey Pablo’s DJ, performing in packed venues where alcohol and temptation are everywhere. After a DUI became his wake-up call, DJ ActR...