The Hopeaholics

Barbell Saves Project with David Perez & Robert Best | The Hopeaholics Podcast  In this inspiring episode of the Hopeaholics Podcast, Robert Best and David Perez share their powerful journeys through addiction and recovery, and how those experiences fueled their mission to create the Barbell Saves Project—a nonprofit fitness-based recovery community that’s changing lives. What started as free...

Recovering Through Stem Cells w/ Mike O'Hearn & John Merola | The Hopeaholics Podcast In this episode of the Hopeaholics Podcast, Mike O’Hearn and John Merola join the hosts to share powerful stories of resilience, discipline, and recovery, offering a rare look into the mindset it takes to overcome life’s greatest challenges. From the opening minutes, John reflects on his early struggles...

BECOMING A MONSTER TO FACE LIFE w/ Michael "Multifaceted Monster"| The Hopeaholics Podcast In this episode of the Hopeaholics Podcast, we sit down with Michael, also known as Multifaceted Monster, to hear his raw and powerful journey through addiction, heartbreak, and redemption. Michael opens up about his struggles with alcoholism, codependent relationships, and the chaos of blackout dr...

"BLAMING GOD FOR MY ADDICTION": Vaughn Von Lewis | The Hopeaholics Podcast In this episode of the Hopeaholics Podcast, Vaughn Von Lewis opens up about his remarkable journey of survival, struggle, and transformation. His life was shaped by a childhood of abuse, abandonment, and the devastating loss of his mother when he was just 17 years old. He began using drugs as early as eight years...

Chasing Euphoria & Finding Faith with Kat Sorensen | The Hopeaholics Podcast In this compelling episode of The Hopeaholics Podcast, Kat Sorensen, a recovering alcoholic and rehab center owner, who shares her powerful journey of overcoming addiction and finding purpose through faith and service. Kat candidly recounts her childhood in Denver, marked by feelings of alienation and sensitivity, whi...

Wendy Grijalva: How Victim Shaming Changed Everything | The Hopeaholics Podcast Wendy Grijalva delivers a raw and inspiring exploration of her journey through addiction, trauma, and recovery. Wendy, celebrated for her impactful presence at a "Recover Out Loud" event, shares her story with vulnerability, detailing a childhood marked by feeling like the "black sheep" in a stable...

Wade Muhlhauser: Plugged INTO Recovery | The Hopeaholics Podcast In this gripping episode of The Hopeaholics Podcast, the CEO of Plugged In Recovery, Wade Muhlhauser, shares his remarkable journey from homelessness and a 20-year struggle with opioid addiction to founding a network of 14 sober living homes and a treatment center in Arizona. Wade candidly discusses his chaotic childhood in foster ca...

Phil "Wildcard" Andrade: Spitting Truth After Rock Bottom | The Hopeaholics Podcast #264 Phil Andrade, known as Wildcard, for a raw and inspiring conversation about his journey from addiction to artistic triumph! A rapper and filmmaker with a 20-year career, Phil shares how his love for music was ignited by influences like Oingo Boingo, Black Sabbath, and Guns N’ Roses, shaped by his cre...

Adam Larkin: Taking the Sober Risk | The Hopeaholics Podcast In this inspiring episode of The Hopeaholics Podcast, hosts Natalie and Chad welcome back Adam Larkin, a recovering addict turned entrepreneur, who shares his transformative journey from a 17-year struggle with opioid and benzodiazepine addiction to building a thriving life of sobriety and purpose. Adam details his pivotal "God thin...

Richard Macias: The Warpath to Redemption | The Hopeaholics Podcast Growing up in San Bernardino County, Richard was exposed to alcohol as early as five years old, leading to years of substance abuse, run-ins with the law, and a lifestyle that strained his marriage and family. His breaking point came the day he returned home to find his wife and children gone—a moment that drove him to his knees i...

Gabe Cohen: Creating a Legacy Through Lived Experience | The Hopeaholics Podcast Gabe, a former convict turned recovery warrior whose unrelenting passion to save lives has transformed communities and inspired his powerful book, a guide for building recovery organizations from the ground up. Starting with no experience, no money, and no building, Gabe’s journey from addiction’s grip to founding a t...

Kristen Domke: Military Mental Health is Broken  | The Hopeaholics Podcast In this deeply emotional and brutally honest episode of the Hopeaholics Podcast, we sit down with Kristen Domke—an Air Force veteran, personal trainer, and survivor—whose life story is nothing short of extraordinary. Kristen opens up about the emotional toll of serving in the military, including multiple deployments, witnes...

Michael Henderson: Cultivating The Wolfpak Mentality | The Hopeaholics Podcast Dive into the awe-inspiring journey of Michael Henderson, a true titan of resilience who turned life’s darkest moments into a blazing legacy. Once a powerhouse automotive executive commanding ten collision centers and millions in revenue, Michael faced a seismic stage three testicular cancer diagnosis that shook his wor...

Paul Hutchinson: How Do We END Child Trafficking? | The Hopeaholics Podcast Paul Hutchinson, a former real estate tycoon turned global anti-child trafficking advocate whose courageous journey inspired the hit film Sound of Freedom. Once a billionaire managing over $20 billion in assets with a lavish lifestyle marked by ego, greed, and addiction, Paul’s life took a dramatic turn when he was recruit...

Dr. Sayeh Beheshti: Unveiling the Conscious Feminine | The Hopeaholics Podcast Sit down with Dr. Sayeh Beheshti, a psychiatrist whose extraordinary path from Silicon Valley software engineer to mental health advocate will inspire and uplift. Born in Iran, she immigrated to the U.S. at 16 after the Iranian Revolution and war closed universities, forcing her family to seek educational opportunities...

Patrick Belliveau & Ryan Burgio: Gambit's AI Tool to Fight Addiction | The Hopeaholics Podcast Dive into a powerful episode of The Hopeaholics Podcast with Pat and Ryan, the visionary founders of Gambit, a company revolutionizing conversational AI to tackle real-world challenges like addiction and mental health support. This episode explores their journey of building the world’s first AI...

Stephen "Riggy Marz" Melnick: The Medicine of Music | The Hopeaholics Podcast From a privileged upbringing in a musical, artsy family in Pasadena to a decades-long battle with addiction, Stephen shares his harrowing journey through heroin, meth, and fentanyl, surviving over 50 overdoses, including a devastating one on his son’s birthday that left him confronting the profound impact of hi...

Satch Selden: Surviving The Mirror and Embracing Yourself | The Hopeaholics Podcast In this riveting episode of The Hopeaholics Podcast, Satch Selden, a resilient advocate for recovery with ten years of sobriety as of March 6, 2015, lays bare his transformative journey from a harrowing battle with heroin addiction to confronting a life-threatening eating disorder, offering profound insights into t...

Adam Jablin: Harnessing Compulsions to Fuel Passions | The Hopeaholics Podcast In this powerful episode of The Hopeaholics Podcast, Adam Jablin, a recovery advocate, author, and creator of the Rewiring Addiction Loops Masterclass, shares his transformative journey from addiction to nearly two decades of sobriety, offering raw insights into overcoming personal struggles and embracing spiritual grow...

Ocean Eagle: Embracing Our Traumas Through Breathwork | The Hopeaholics Podcast In this riveting episode of The Hopeaholics Podcast, Ocean Eagle, a recovery advocate, author, and breathwork facilitator, shares his profound journey from a traumatic childhood to over 25 years of sobriety and spiritual awakening. Born in Palo Alto and raised across California and Texas amidst the chaos of alcoholic p...

Sunnie Ray: sMothered in Recovery | The Hopeaholics Podcast In this deeply moving episode of The Hopeaholic Podcast, Sunnie Ray, a dynamic reality TV personality, entrepreneur, author, and passionate advocate for recovery and animal welfare, opens up about her extraordinary journey through addiction, trauma, and triumph. Best known for her heartfelt appearance on TLC’s sMothered, where she highlig...

Kristina Padilla: A Rainbow Person’s Journey to Recovery | The Hopeaholics Podcast In this engaging episode of The Hopeaholics Podcast, Kristina Padilla, a passionate recovery advocate and dual doctorate candidate, who shares their compelling journey from gang involvement and personal challenges to becoming a transformative figure in mental health and addiction recovery. Kristina discusses their e...

Sonny Von Cleveland: Vocalizing Our Pain to Heal | The Hopeaholics Podcast  Sonny Von Cleveland—a man who turned a life marked by profound trauma into a beacon of hope and redemption. From a childhood scarred by molestation beginning at age three, a felony charge at seven, and a harrowing prison sentence at 16, Sonny’s story is one of survival against unimaginable odds. He opens up about enduring...

Caleb Watson: Suffering in Silence | The Hopeaholics Podcast On this compelling episode of The Hopeaholics Podcast, Caleb Watson, a 31-year-old Army veteran, former lineman, and lymphoma survivor who has battled cancer twice. Caleb shares his journey from a challenging childhood marked by poverty and his mother’s addiction to becoming a stepfather to three children and father to one, navigating th...

Jennifer Foote: Embracing The Higher Power | The Hopeaholics Podcast Jennifer Foote, a resilient survivor celebrating five years of sobriety. Recorded at the Hope by the Sea treatment facility, Jennifer shares her transformative journey from a life gripped by alcohol addiction to one of strength and purpose. She recounts her initial resistance to rehab, sparked by a family intervention led by her...