Soberly Speaking

Join our Patreon:  ⁠⁠https://patreon.com/SoberlySpeaking⁠   Taylor started sleeping with men when she was just 16 years old. From a young age, she was hanging around older boys for drugs and what began as one man to fund her addiction quickly escalated to posting herself on a sugar baby website. Taylor lives with borderline personality disorder (BPD) and currently has two parents in recovery. She...

Join our Patreon:  ⁠⁠https://patreon.com/SoberlySpeaking⁠   I've been following Michael Lappin on social media for a while now and even reached out to him when Soberly Speaking first launched, hoping to have him on as one of my guests. Weeks passed without a reply—until I came across a video where he shared he had relapsed. Michael's story, and this interview, really show how messy and non...

Join our Patreon:  ⁠⁠https://patreon.com/SoberlySpeaking⁠   Julia Vogl never identified with having a drinking problem, but she realised alcohol was holding her back and capping her potential. It’s a story so many can relate to, knowing something isn’t good for you, not being addicted to, yet continuously crawling back to it. Growing up confused about her sexuality and living with internalised hom...

Join our Patreon:  ⁠⁠https://patreon.com/SoberlySpeaking⁠   Patrick’s struggle wasn’t just with alcohol and drugs, they were symptoms of a much deeper issue: his inability to sit with discomfort. For years, he convinced himself that, “Once my mental health is under control, I’ll stop drinking.” A lie I’m sure we’ve all told ourselves at some point. In the beginning, alcohol seemed like the solutio...

Join our Patreon:  ⁠⁠https://patreon.com/SoberlySpeaking⁠   This is my most controversial episode to date — and it’s now live on The Unspoken, Soberly Speaking’s new membership on Patreon. After being abused by a family member as a child, Zoe’s life was chaos from early childhood. She fell into addiction young and remained trapped in a cycle of substance abuse and extreme domestic violence. Her fi...

Join our Patreon:  ⁠⁠https://patreon.com/SoberlySpeaking⁠   Andrew Moses grew up as a closeted Jewish gay boy, feeling immense pressure to be academically successful, marry a Jewish woman, and have Jewish children, all while battling the belief that something was fundamentally wrong with him. To fit in, he started using party drugs, masking his true identity and trying to convince everyone, includ...

Join our Patreon:  ⁠⁠https://patreon.com/SoberlySpeaking⁠   These are the stories people don’t believe until they hear them. The unimaginable lives. Told with courage, by some of the most resilient humans I’ve ever sat across from. This is The Unspoken . Starting this Thursday, 5th June 2025, Thursday episodes become The Unspoken — and will live on Patreon. This isn’t about gatekeeping. It’s about...

Join our Patreon:  ⁠⁠https://patreon.com/SoberlySpeaking⁠   Last week, we heard from Tiana Wadsworth, and throughout her story, there was one name that kept coming up. Today, we meet him. As a kid, Klayton was infatuated with the drug addicts who hung around his local train station. While other kids looked away, Klayton felt drawn in. To him, they looked like his people. Mirroring someone close to...

Join our Patreon:  ⁠⁠https://patreon.com/SoberlySpeaking⁠   Jacintha Field spent 15 years in a violent relationship, an experience that shaped her into the healer she is today. Her story is one so many can relate to, growing up feeling unseen and unheard, carrying deep-seated low self-worth into adulthood, and seeking escape in toxic relationships and substances. A recovering people-pleaser, she o...

Join our Patreon:  ⁠⁠https://patreon.com/SoberlySpeaking⁠   For Dean , addiction has always been about seeking pleasure, whether through sex, drugs, or alcohol. But it wasn’t until he quit alcohol and drugs that he and his therapist realised that sex was his primary addiction all along.  His journey has been about breaking free from the need to constantly feel good, and today, he’s found peace in...

Join our Patreon:  ⁠⁠https://patreon.com/SoberlySpeaking⁠   For Ash Butterss , addiction was a constant pursuit of more: more thrill, more chaos, more ways to avoid the emptiness. It started with sugar in childhood, then alcohol at 12, and drugs by 14. She moved from one addiction to another, telling herself she didn’t have a problem as long as she had periods of sobriety. On the outside, her life...

Join our Patreon:  ⁠⁠https://patreon.com/SoberlySpeaking⁠   Once dubbed Hawaii’s most wanted criminal, Kyle Quilausing was a golf prodigy by age 10, competing on the PGA World Tours alongside Tiger Woods. He had a full ride to America’s most prestigious colleges. But one split-second decision changed the course of his life. Addiction. Crime. A high-profile prison escape. Then, three years alone in...

Join our Patreon:  ⁠⁠https://patreon.com/SoberlySpeaking⁠   You might know Kate Forster for her sharp TikTok opinions, but who was she before becoming a popular author and our favourite fashion critic? In this episode, we revisit Kate’s childhood, growing up with a father battling severe alcoholism. She shares how his struggles led to a suicide attempt, one she witnessed firsthand, and how alcohol...

Join our Patreon:  ⁠⁠https://patreon.com/SoberlySpeaking⁠   Welcome back to part two of Glen’s story. If you haven’t listened to part one yet, go back and catch up now. In today’s episode, we follow Glen as his girlfriend’s murder sends him spiralling into a 35-year heroin addiction. He tries to end his life—twice— and hear how jail, against all odds, became the best thing that ever happened to hi...

Join our Patreon:  ⁠⁠https://patreon.com/SoberlySpeaking⁠   Glen’s childhood was something no one should ever have to experience. His father was a predator, and his mother a heroin addict who later turned to alcohol. Throughout this two part interview you'll hear Glen be abused by many people- the first was being raped by a close family friend at just nine years old.  one year later, he was al...

Join our Patreon:  ⁠⁠https://patreon.com/SoberlySpeaking⁠   Dionne’s life was shaped by chaos from the start. She grew up with a father who drank heavily and cheated on her mother, and she was forced to move schools after relentless bullying. She was desperate to be loved by the time she met her ex-husband, He battled his own addictions, and together, their lives unraveled. Dionne lost her home in...

Join our Patreon:  ⁠⁠https://patreon.com/SoberlySpeaking⁠   Jane had the picture-perfect life—married, two kids, a white picket fence, and a home in a nice suburb. But behind closed doors, she was stuck in an unhappy marriage and secretly drowning in alcohol addiction, blacking out every night after finishing breastfeeding her youngest. Despite seeking help through therapy and AA, the cravings wer...

Join our Patreon:  ⁠⁠https://patreon.com/SoberlySpeaking⁠   I came across David on TikTok, where he’s known as Bipolarguylovinglife   and he instantly caught my attention. Sitting in his car, talking to the camera about his ex-cocaine dealer, who he moved into his spare bedroom in hopes of getting a discount. I was hooked. For the first 27 years of his life, David’s world looked very different. He...

Join our Patreon:  ⁠⁠https://patreon.com/SoberlySpeaking⁠   Kara’s earliest memory is of her father’s addiction and the police at their home, trying to restore order. As she grew older, she found herself caught in a similar cycle; Xanax consuming her life, self-harm becoming routine, and her mother quietly preparing for her funeral. But everything changed the night she was sexually assaulted on a...

Join our Patreon:  ⁠⁠https://patreon.com/SoberlySpeaking⁠   If you’ve been sitting on the fence about giving up alcohol, or even just taking an extended break, then this is the episode for you. Dominique Ellisa is going alcohol-free for 2025, and trust me, her energy around it is contagious. Going into this interview, I knew two things—Dom is a stunning model, and she’s committing to a year withou...

Join our Patreon:  ⁠⁠https://patreon.com/SoberlySpeaking⁠   Casey, a proud Aboriginal woman, used alcohol to mask her ADHD and autism, hiding her creative and quirky side for years. In this episode, she opens up about how alcohol became the foundation of her long-term, codependent relationship, which began to fall apart after a traumatic assault. She also shares a mind-blowing rule she set for her...

Join our Patreon:  ⁠⁠https://patreon.com/SoberlySpeaking⁠   Richard Galvan grew up in LA, born into a world of substance abuse, violence, selling drugs and gangs. He became an alcoholic at just 12 years old, which quickly spiralled into a heroin addiction before he understood the gravity of his situation. Richard experienced a sliding doors moment on Skid Row whilst doing crack cocaine, he chose t...

Join our Patreon:  ⁠⁠https://patreon.com/SoberlySpeaking⁠   Maxi Shield has been a drag queen since the 90s, a true Sydney icon. You might’ve seen him perform on Oxford Street or caught him on RuPaul’s Drag Race Down Under . But in today’s episode, I want to introduce you to the unknown Maxi, the one who grew up with 12 siblings, lost his mum at just 10 years old, and endured regular beatings from...

Join our Patreon:  ⁠⁠https://patreon.com/SoberlySpeaking⁠   Alice openly shares her experience of applying for bankruptcy at just 20 years old, drowning in debt, and stealing from multiple jobs to fund her party lifestyle.  After an abusive relationship and an unplanned pregnancy from a one-night stand, she then went on to meet her now partner, who gave her a final ultimatum. It was then that she...

Join our Patreon:  ⁠⁠https://patreon.com/SoberlySpeaking⁠   Working in construction can come with a heavy drinking culture, but for Liam, the pressure to drink was just one layer of his young life so far. In this episode, he opens up about his complicated relationship with his mother, experiencing homelessness, struggling with body image issues, and how he's finally found a sense of belonging...