Rock Bottom With Ryan

Allie Clark on Narcissistic Family Trauma, CPTSD, and Finding Sobriety Without “No Contact” | Rock Bottom with RyanOn Rock Bottom with Ryan and Rachel, guest Allie Clark (Kansas City area) shares how her drinking changed the day her mother died—publicly framed as kidney cancer but actually an opioid overdose tied to treatment—leading to years of blackout drinking, especially on Thanksgiving. She d...

From 37 Years in the Army to a Bio-Thriller: Randal Maurer on Threat Unseen, Purpose, and Veteran Advocacy | Rock Bottom with RyanIn this episode of Rock Bottom with Ryan, Ryan interviews Randal Maurer, author of the biological thriller Threat Unseen, focusing on how Randal’s 37-year Army career and plant biology background shaped his writing. Randal shares growing up in rural Wisconsin, joining t...

From Cocaine Rock Bottom to Recovery: Richard’s Story & Inside Ark House Rehab | Rock Bottom with RyanRichard, from Scarborough in North Yorkshire, shares how early alcohol use and a pressured upbringing led to a long, escalating cocaine addiction that progressed from social use to daily dependence, car-park and hotel binges, job loss, debt, and an attempted suicide plan. A WhatsApp message fr...

From Military Brat to Building Arcana Recovery: PTSD, Substance Use, and a Tech Solution for Treatment Engagement | Rock Bottom with Ryan Sharina joins Rock Bottom with Ryan and co-host Rachel to share her background as a military brat who moved frequently, navigated learning disabilities, and later joined the military at 17, including deployment to Iraq. She describes early substance use beginnin...

Michael’s Rock Bottom: Tequila, Rehab, AA, and Finding Sobriety Through Ibogaine & IbogaOn Rock Bottom with Ryan, Michael shares how his tequila drinking progressively worsened—especially during COVID—despite being a high-functioning husband, father of three, and long-time tech sales professional. With a family history of alcoholism and mounting anxiety and physical discomfort, he struggled to...

AJ’s Rock Bottom: Opioid Addiction, Intervention, Rehab, and Recovery Through Fitness | Rock Bottom with Ryan On Rock Bottom with Ryan, guest AJ shares how a high-achieving, sports-focused upbringing and heavy partying in early adulthood eventually gave way to opioid addiction after multiple surgeries beginning in 2018. Prescribed Percocets, he quickly escalated to taking far beyond the recommende...

On Rock Bottom with Ryan, Ryan and co-host Rachel Sereni interview Jaron Lyle, who shares his addiction and recovery story. From a supportive childhood in Arlington, Texas, he began using weed at 15, escalated to pills, then heroin and injecting drugs, alongside periods of crime that led to about 21.5 months in Texas prison. He describes multiple treatment stints (2010, 2015, 2019), a strong NA pe...

From Rock Bottom to Recovery: Baelie’s Story of Alcohol Addiction, Rehab, and Sober Life in Utah | Rock Bottom with RyanOn Rock Bottom with Ryan, Ryan and co-host Rachel Sereni interview Baelie, a respiratory therapist from Moab, Utah, who got sober from alcohol on 4/26/24. Baelie describes growing up LDS, first drinking at 13–14, and how college freedom led to daily drinking—even during her respi...

In this episode of Rock Bottom with Ryan, Britt Gusmus shares his journey from chasing superficial gratification through years of alcohol and drug abuse to lasting recovery, faith, and service. Originally from Denver, Britt celebrates 20 years sober (9/19/2005) and recounts early warning signs, blackouts, violence, and escalating use that included cocaine, ecstasy, and meth, alongside deep shame,...

Ryan interviews Michael, founder of Sober Hats, about his long, relapse-filled recovery journey. Michael describes starting alcohol at 13 with a Southern Comfort blackout, growing up in a family marked by secrecy and his father’s alcoholism, and first entering AA at 20 with periods of sobriety that faded as he stopped engaging in recovery. After building and selling a pizza business, running early...

Kenneth’s 476 Days Sober: Trauma, Rock Bottom, and Rebuilding a Life in Recovery | Rock Bottom with RyanIn this episode of Rock Bottom with Ryan, Ryan reunites with Kenneth, now 476 days sober, to revisit his long history of addiction beginning in early teens amid severe childhood trauma and sexual abuse, and major adult traumas including miscarriages, his wife’s HELLP syndrome and years of surger...

In this episode of Rock Bottom with Ryan, Ryan and co-host Rachel Sereni interview Utah educator and alternative-school principal Steve Solon about his path into education, severe financial hardship caused by repeated paycheck cuts at a charter school, and how he eventually found purpose working with incarcerated and credit-deficient youth in a district-run alternative program. Steve explains how...

Ashley Amundson: From Bartending & Alcohol Withdrawal to 10 Years Sober, COO & Therapist | Rock Bottom with RyanOn Rock Bottom with Ryan, Ashley Amundson shares growing up in San Diego in a complex military family with six siblings and a live-in nanny, feeling like she didn’t belong in school, and using alcohol as a tool for confidence that became a crutch. After entering the bar industry...

On Rock Bottom with Ryan, guest Ashley Baker shares how childhood trauma—his mother’s two suicide attempts and his father leaving—fed rebellion and led him to start drinking at 12 while growing up in Dubai. Alcohol quickly became daily, escalating after moving to Germany where access was easier and drinking was normalized in the restaurant industry as he trained and worked as a chef. At his worst...

From Social Anxiety to Two Bottles a Night: Meghan Haynes on Alcohol Recovery, Treatment, and Sober-Curious SupportOn Rock Bottom with Ryan, guest Meghan Haynes (sober date February 19, 2023; alcohol; raised in Washington, now in Central Oregon) shares how perfectionism, social anxiety, and not fitting in led her to love alcohol after her first drink in high school. In college at the University of...

From After-Hours Chaos to 815 Days Sober: Jonny’s Recovery & Dry Culture Fitness Blueprint | Rock Bottom with RyanRyan interviews Jonny, founder of Dry Culture, about his recovery from alcohol (and cocaine in the mix) after years of escalating binge drinking that began in high school, intensified at Southern Illinois, and continued into his 30s with after-hours bars, blackouts, fights, jail, a...

On Rock Bottom with Ryan, author and Army soldier Devin Fish from Rockford, Illinois discusses growing up in poverty and instability, moving more than 16 times, bullying and extreme shyness, and witnessing addiction in his family, including his father’s cocaine-and-alcohol-fueled breakdown and his mother’s pain medication dependence. Devin shares how self-hatred and loneliness led him into a yearl...

In this insightful interview, Jay Sapovits shares his journey of overcoming gambling addiction, the importance of recovery, and how his experiences shaped his entrepreneurial success. Discover practical advice on taking action, facing ego, and building resilience from someone who has navigated the depths of addiction and emerged stronger.

Patrick, born and raised in Chicago, shares how childhood abuse and emotional neglect contributed to early marijuana use, dealing in high school, and multiple treatment stays that initially led to more connections to get high. At 18 he unknowingly tried heroin at a party, quickly progressed from snorting to injecting daily, cycled in and out of court-ordered treatment, and eventually became homele...

In this Quick Sip episode of Rock Bottom with Ryan and Rachel, they discuss how traumatic childhood experiences shaped their adult lives and addictions. Rachel reflects on the anniversary of her mother’s overdose when she was 16, the guilt of pushing her mother out of the apartment the last day she saw her, and how grief contributed to her drinking, compounded this year by the recent death of her...

In this episode of Rock Bottom with Ryan, Ryan and co-host Rachel Sereni welcome back guest Amber, who shares her sobriety dates (11 years alcohol-free and clean from all substances since July 30, 2018) and recounts early addiction shaped by childhood chaos, including a rock-bottom moment waking up near a meth lab. Amber describes getting fully clean through NA/12-step support, taking suggestions,...

On Rock Bottom with Ryan, guest Jude Hunkar—originally from Hungary and now in the UK—shares how early drinking at boarding school became tied to belonging, escalated into drugs, and progressed into years of increasingly frequent partying and functional but hidden alcohol use, worsened during COVID, while raising two children. She describes wake-up calls, including her child writing that her mom “...

In this episode of Rock Bottom with Ryan, Carolina shares her recovery story: a first-generation American Latina with a sober date of 2/18/2021 whose substance use began around ages 10–12 and escalated from alcohol and marijuana to cocaine, crack, heroin, PCP, acid, and ultimately methamphetamine. She recounts childhood physical and sexual abuse, running away, homelessness, gang-associated environ...

In this episode of Rock Bottom with Ryan, Sadie shares her recovery story: clean since November 21, 2019, originally from Georgia and now in North Carolina, with amphetamines as her drug of choice. She describes a chaotic childhood with an addicted father, emotional disconnection at home, bullying that damaged her self-esteem, and lifelong masking through invented identities. After moving to Fayet...

Ryan interviews Matthew, a UK-based psychotherapist and co-founder of Sober Life, about his progression from drinking and early substance use at 13–14 to alcohol dependence by 16 and eventually smoking and injecting cocaine by 24. Matthew describes childhood family dysfunction, severe withdrawals including seizures and hallucinations, arrests, hospitalizations, and daily use that included 10–12 li...