Push Each Other to the Top

Brian spent thirty years with one goal every day: get drunk. He grew up in a well-to-do Massachusetts home where there was money but no love, and he feels like an outsider in his own family. He learns early to stay defiant, stay angry and never let anyone see him hurt. At fifteen he finds the thing that finally makes him feel confident. By seventeen he's driving west with two six-packs, a pac...

The day after she gets out of detox, Chrissie walks into an AA club and tells the woman at the desk that she has a friend who needs some paperwork. The woman hands it over, wraps her in a hug, and tells her to come back. For the first time in years, Chrissie feels like she's home. Twelve years later, on the anniversary of her sobriety, she sits down with Brent and Jonathan to tell the rest of...

"How do you deal with the hangovers?" Todd P.'s answer: he never had one. He never quit drinking. By his early forties he's drinking 20 hours a day, sipping through the night to hold off the DTs, with a fraud case hanging over his head and everything else already gone: wife, family, house, business.  It didn't start that way. Todd grew up charmed in a tiny Idaho town on th...

Lance shows up on short notice and delivers one of the season's most complete stories. Third-generation Japanese-American, raised in Fruit Heights, drinking from his parents' liquor cabinet before junior high — he walks us through decades of beating the system through court-ordered therapy, jail stints, and the moment in a treatment center bed when Bill's story in the big book tells...

Sarah thought she was holding everything together. She was managing the business, running carpool, keeping the calendar full — doing everything right. What she didn't know was that her toddler had already figured it out. In a video found years later on an old iPad, her youngest daughter is pretend-talking to a friend, casually explaining why they can't come over: "Today's a day...

Brock was a Mesa police officer chasing a guy over a stolen 24-pack when he blew out his knee. His doctor handed him opioids with a promise: "You're a cop. You'll never get addicted to these things." Ten years of addiction later, he was medically retired, alone in a bathroom in Show Low, seven days into a cold-turkey detox with nobody coming to save him.  Brock walked out of th...

Ryan grew up the "designated driver" — the holier-than-thou kid who swore he'd never touch drugs or alcohol. Then a snowboarding accident shattered three vertebrae, a doctor friend sat him down at a Ruth's Chris lunch, and a Purdue Pharma rep promised the new painkiller was "non-addictive." Four years later Ryan was hurling two fresh bottles of pills into Lake Powell,...

What does it take to finally change? For Matt, it was losing his dad, his second wife walking out, and 30 years of alcohol — all colliding at once. He checked himself into a hardcore six-month program in the Arizona mountains, fought it every step of the way, relapsed, and got back up anyway. Eight years later, he's sitting in detention centers telling his story to men who are right where he...

She parked a blue minivan with fake wood panels on the street outside his apartment and sat there. He watched her through the window for thirty minutes, too ashamed of what he'd become to walk down the steps. She wasn't leaving. Fifteen minutes later, he came down — and the next day, at 19, he was in rehab. That was 1993. What followed was a psychology degree, a master's in social w...

Brent had never really prayed. When a counselor told him to get on his knees and ask for help, he thought it was ridiculous — but at the bottom of the barrel, he did it anyway. He closed the door, got on the floor, and all he could muster was one word: "Help." Nothing happened. No trumpets, no rush. Then 30 days later he picked up his chip and realized he hadn't thought about drinki...

A psychologist once told Brent he had a fatal disease, handed him a copy of the Big Book, and said, "Don't come back." It took years, but that seed eventually saved his life. In this Father's Day episode, Brent and Jonathan open up about the fathers who shaped them, the fishing trips they still remember, and what it really means to show up sober. Then they dig into Step 9 — mak...

Recording from a beautiful island in Thailand, Brent joins Jonathan for a candid conversation about how to protect your sobriety when alcohol is everywhere — summer barbecues, weddings, work trips, casinos, and a condo with a full wall of booze. Brent shares the hard-won tools that keep him grounded: working Step One and truly conceding you're powerless, making a plan before you walk into a t...

You've been carrying it so long you forgot it was even there. A bag full of rocks slung over your shoulder, one for every resentment, every fear, every thing you swore you'd never tell a soul.  This week Brent and Jonathan dig into Step Five: admitting to another human being the exact nature of our wrongs. Brent shares what it was like walking guys through it at the detention center. The...

It's Memorial Day, and Brent and Jonathan take a moment to reflect on the people who made their lives possible — not just the service members who fought for their freedom, but the mothers, sponsors, and strangers who showed up when they needed it most.  In this episode, they dig into gratitude as more than a feeling — it's an action. They talk about what it means to break out of autopilo...

What do you say to someone who might be about to kill you?  Brent found out the hard way on a 12-step call he probably shouldn't have taken alone. Rick was a 275-pound bodybuilder, no shirt, glaring from his bed, looking like he was ready to come through the wall. Brent talked him down slowly, carefully, until Rick finally agreed to go to the hospital. When Rick threw back the blanket to get...

Growing up in an alcoholic home, Brent knew fear before he knew much else — hiding when his dad came home drunk, holding his breath through holidays. He also knows that the kids watching their parents struggle right now feel exactly the same way. In this episode, Jonathan shares what happened during his latest Thursday night prison outreach — nine men, one makeshift translator, and a conversation...

After a break, Jonathan and Brent are back—and the conversation goes deep right away. They explore how both of them unexpectedly found themselves working in addiction recovery, the power of spiritual guidance, and what it really means to help people change. From prison classrooms to family interventions, this episode is about hope, hard truths, and the surprising paths that lead us to purpose. 🔗...

In this episode, Stefan joins Brent to share his powerful story of recovery — from the dark caverns of addiction to discovering hope, resilience, and brotherhood. Along the way, he opens up about fear, surrender, and the realization that nearly all of the catastrophe he once imagined never came to pass. This is an honest conversation about learning to live one day at a time, leaning on others, and...

In this episode, Brent, Jonathan, and Michael open up about the powerful shifts that happen when families stop enabling and start facing the truth. Brent shares the turning point when the “dance” of addiction finally stopped, changing the entire family dynamic. Michael reflects on moments of chaos—like the neighborhood fire—that reveal how fragile and precious stability can be. Together, they expl...

In this special family roundtable, Brent sits down with his children to talk about the impact of recovery on all of their lives. They share honest reflections about years of struggle, the work it took to rebuild trust, and the miracles they’ve witnessed along the way. This episode is a powerful reminder that recovery doesn’t just change one person — it can transform an entire family. 🔗 Stay Conne...

In this powerful episode of Push Each Other to the Top , Brent welcomes his longtime friend Chaz to share his journey from addiction and brokenness to hope and purpose. Chaz opens up about growing up in chaos, battling heroin and meth addiction, and the pivotal moment in jail that sparked his transformation. With honesty and vulnerability, he reveals how recovery, community, and faith gave him the...

In this episode of Push Each Other to the Top , Brent and Jonathan dive deep into the challenges families face when living alongside addiction. Brent shares real experiences helping loved ones navigate relapse, codependency, and the difficult decisions that come with setting boundaries. At the heart of recovery, he reminds us, is the courage to surrender and follow direction. From powerful stories...

In this episode of Push Each Other to the Top , Phillip joins Brent and Jonathan to share his path from isolation to belonging. He opens up about how addiction slowly took over his life, threatening his family and future, and how he found hope through fellowship and spiritual renewal. Phillip’s story is a reminder that recovery isn’t about willpower alone — it’s about connection, honesty, and comm...

In this heartfelt episode of Push Each Other to the Top , Brent shares how recovery isn’t just about the individual — it’s about healing the entire family. Through years of hard work, honest conversations, and mutual growth, he’s learned that families can come back together, build healthy relationships, and truly enjoy life again. This episode offers hope to anyone feeling the weight of addiction’...

In this moving episode of Push Each Other to the Top , Brent reflects on what it feels like to wake up inside a life he never thought was possible. From once being lost, angry, and shortcut-seeking — to now building meaningful relationships, earning an honest living, and facing his own character defects — Brent shares how recovery has felt like stepping through a veil into a completely different w...