Have you ever wondered if you an alcoholic? In this episode, we talk about signs that might mean that you are an alcoholic. Alcoholism is a progressive disease. Most people don’t just wake up and become an alcoholic. Although, some people may be genetically predisposed to alcoholism. There are a number of signs that when combined can mean that you are an alcoholic or that are precursors to becoming an alcoholic. We also talk about the importance of self-diagnosis, because you can’t fight somethi...
May 23, 2019•53 min•Ep. 68
Talking to your kids about addiction can be difficult. At what age should you start? How open should you be? In this episode, we discuss all aspects of talking to your kids and loved ones about addiction. Every person and situation can be different, but we want to equip you with answers to discover what’s right for your family without making mistakes that can end up backfiring. We also talk about the three Cs of control, cure, and cause. These are things that people need to do for themselves. Yo...
May 16, 2019•29 min•Ep. 67
We are so excited to have Carl on the show today. Carl is a client here at Rock, and he is celebrating his 90 days of being sober. In fact, he says that he hasn't been alcohol free for 90 days since he was 16 years old. Carl has given back and contributed to our community and this conversation shows his commitment to sobriety and service. One of the interesting things about recovery is the diversity of people. People with different backgrounds, jobs, economic experiences, and different ages all ...
May 09, 2019•42 min•Ep. 66
Therapy is a powerful tool for anyone, and today we’ll focus on the role of therapy for someone who is struggling with addiction. My guest, Josiah, is a licensed therapist who has been in the addiction industry for around five years. He has a past history of addiction, so he deeply understands this topic from various angles. Early in our conversation, we’ll take a deep dive into why asking whether a therapist has struggled with addiction is the wrong question. This is a common question for addic...
May 02, 2019•40 min•Ep. 65
Josh Gamaitoni is here today. Josh is the National Director of Business Development for Banyan Treatment Center. Josh has helped so many people and is a legend in the treatment world. It wasn’t always that way, though. Josh started doing drugs when he was 10 and went on a downward spiral as he grew up. He eventually tried some treatment options, but nothing stuck until he decided that getting sober was something he was going to stick to for a year. After getting sober, he became a janitor at a c...
Apr 25, 2019•1 hr 11 min•Ep. 64
We are big proponents of the 12-step program. There is also a spiritual component of the program. For many people this can be a big turn off. Other people have trouble reconciling the difference between spirituality and their individual religion. We talk about all of this today with our guest Elliott Hughes. Elliott is the National Outreach Coordinator for Chapel Hill Medical Detox. In this episode, he shares his struggles with getting sober with just religion and how he didn’t accept the spirit...
Apr 17, 2019•48 min•Ep. 63
Joyce Matera is the National Marketing Director for Inspire Recovery. Inspire is located in West Palm Beach and it’s specifically for people under the LGBTQ umbrella with a specific focus on helping transgender people. Having a safe place for people to go where they can be who they are and get help with like minded people while going through recovery is so important. Tom, Ben, and Joyce talk about Joyces background and how she got involved in the community and recovery industry. Joyce shares som...
Apr 11, 2019•32 min•Ep. 62
Josh McBride now works at Coastal Detox after his own experience with recovery. Josh’s journey is different from many people’s. He was diagnosed with Crohn's Disease at an early age, and eventually his pain management led him to addiction and moving to street drugs. Passing out in his car, led him to a 75-day stay in jail without any drugs or medication. Josh shares his journey with Tom and Ben. He talks about how he didn’t have a lot of resources and had to turn to county and free resources. He...
Apr 04, 2019•38 min•Ep. 61
Ira Levy is the National Marketing Director of Sunrise Detox. Ira has 28 years in the sobriety industry and has been sober since 1980. Ira got into the industry by accident, but continued to learn, educate himself, and move up. He has worked in every aspect of the industry and is as passionate about helping clients as he is about educating their families. Tom, Ben, and Ira talk about the detox process and what patient and family members can expect. Ira shares some of his own personal experience ...
Mar 29, 2019•56 min•Ep. 60
Alex Uslar is the manager of the Hybrid Gym and the Director of Operations for the online company Hybrid Performance Method. Alex is a powerlifting, weight lifting, and crossfit coach. The Hybrid Performance Method is a virtual gym that provides accessible, affordable, and effective online workout programs to athletes of all skill and experience levels. In this episode, we talk about Alex’s journey and how he used nutrition and working out to stay sober. Like many addicts, Alex had a rough start...
Mar 21, 2019•1 hr 6 min•Ep. 59
Tom’s friend Blake Cohen is here to today to talk about his work, his recovery, and his upcoming book, “I Love You More” which is coming out in June. Tom and Blake have gotten to know each other while being part of a program where they go to schools and talk to students about addiction including everything from vaping to heroin. Blake is the National Outreach Manager at Recovery Unplugged which is a recovery program that includes music as part of the program. Blake and Tom have a lot in common a...
Mar 14, 2019•38 min•Ep. 58
Getting clean and sober can be stressful. We try to do everything possible to help people going through recovery deal with stress. It's scientifically proven that exercise will help reduce stress levels. This is why we can't emphasize the importance of exercise enough in the process of getting clean and sober. Today’s episode is about exercise and why it is important to incorporate into your journey. Tom and Ben will be discussing this important topic along with the benefits of exercising throug...
Mar 07, 2019•38 min•Ep. 57
Cotton Fever is the name of a condition that is caused by bacteria getting into the blood and creating extreme flu like symptoms and uncontrollable shaking. Unfortunately, addicts will use cotton to filter heroin before injecting it. If the cotton contains bacteria, it can get into the syringe and then the addict’s blood stream and create this condition. In this episode, Tom and Adam discuss the symptoms and Ben shares some personal experiences that happened, before he was in recovery. The whole...
Feb 28, 2019•26 min•Ep. 56
Tom and Benjamin B. are joined by Keith. Keith is a rockstar when he plays the guitar. He is also here to talk about why it's so important to have structure within sober living. There are some places that don't have any structure, but a guy like Keith could whip them into shape really fast. Keith is a behavioral health tech. He has also been a house manager, and he is a recovering addict. He tells it like it is, but is able to do it in a way where he doesn’t offend people and is able to gain the...
Feb 21, 2019•46 min•Ep. 55
Adam and Tom are joined by Myles today. Myles is 23 years old, and this is his first serious time in treatment. When he was 19, his parents forced him to go into treatment, but his heart wasn't into it. He left after 20 days. He shares his journey and how alcohol contributed to a serious health issue. Myles is now committed to treatment. In this episode, we talk about what has changed for him and what has shifted in his head to convince him to take treatment more seriously. He also shares how he...
Feb 14, 2019•35 min•Ep. 54
Our Guest today is Matthew the musician. He has never been to treatment before and is 1 day clean. he is going to share his story and what his expectations are. Since he has never been to treatment before this is going to be a learning experience for him. In this show, he gets the opportunity to ask us questions and we get the opportunity to ask him questions. This show is a good Insight on the perspective of someone who has never done this before and is 1 day clean. Rene and Benjamin join Tom t...
Feb 07, 2019•37 min•Ep. 53
Mark Jennison the founder and CEO of I Am A Comeback is here today. I Am A Comeback is a program created by Mark to help men who are high-level earners and executives get their addiction under control. He has an online component, and he holds his clients accountable by texting them everyday. Mark helps many men get back on track. One of the interesting things about him is that he takes a very different approach than I do. His unique approach is different than AA. It doesn’t even focus on complet...
Jan 31, 2019•1 hr 7 min•Ep. 52
Rene and Nick are here today to talk with Tom about sober living. We are going to talk about what it consists of. What to watch for. What to expect. When is the right time to leave? We are even going to talk about how do you even know if you've left successfully. Nick and Rene are very successful at running sober living facilities. They share their expertise and help us to understand what the process is like. A sober house is a house where you remain sober. Find out about the clinical component ...
Jan 24, 2019•43 min•Ep. 51
Our guest today, is Devon. He has a heck of a story and is willing to share some of the sacrifices he had to make in order to get sober. Getting sober can be challenging. If it were easy everyone would be doing it. There are sacrifices that have to be made. Some of them aren't too bad, but some of them are so difficult not everyone can make them. Devon has done what it takes to become sober, and he shares that with us here today. Show Notes [02:56] Devon has 80 Days of clean time. [03:28] Devon ...
Jan 17, 2019•41 min•Ep. 50
We are going to discuss what exactly you should look for when getting a sponsor in this episode. We will also talk about what to watch out for. There are people out there who in my opinion have no business being a sponsor. By the end of this episode, you should be able to identify the rules of a sponsor, their primary purpose, and what it looks like if they overstep their boundaries. Tom is joined by Benjamin B. and Billy Badass. We are coming to you from South Florida the recovery capital of th...
Jan 10, 2019•49 min•Ep. 49
I am in West Sacramento, CA with Mark Bell of Super Training Gym. Mark is a powerlifter and entrepreneur who has had his own experiences with addiction. In this episode, Mark shares his early exposure to addiction and talks about how everybody needs something to hold onto while overcoming addiction. Mark shares all kinds of knowledge like how exercise and nutrition can make everything better and the importance of looking into why you have certain behaviors. Mark is a husband, father, gym owner, ...
Jan 03, 2019•1 hr 11 min•Ep. 48
We have a round table with a group of addicts and alcoholics. We are all sitting here in a circle. We're going to talk about real life experiences when it comes to getting clean, staying clean, and what treatment is like. We also talk about what they've been going through and the struggles that they have. We also talk about what they're looking forward to. Chris, Evan, Casey, Dylan, and James kick off the discussion with what they were going through prior to treatment. We talk about turning poin...
Dec 27, 2018•44 min•Ep. 47
There is no shortage of people who need to be in recovery. Many people in recovery consider at one point or another working in the industry. There are wrong reasons and right reasons to work in the addiction recovery business. Today Tom, Ben, Adam, and Renee discuss how and why they got into the business. We also talk about the right reasons and the wrong reasons to get into the business. We talk about the challenges and complete chaos that happens as well as the joy of seeing people succeed. We...
Dec 20, 2018•43 min•Ep. 46
To get the right answers, you have to ask the right questions. Today's episode is a recording of a group session led by Tom and Ben. Eric and Casey are their guests. Tom asked these gentlemen to answer the following questions. What is your name? Who are you? What are you interested in? Where are you from? He also asked about what their lifestyles consisted of, what are their backgrounds, values, how people describe them, what people notice about them, future goals, what makes them smile, perfect...
Dec 13, 2018•51 min•Ep. 45
David was a guest we had on episode 12 last January. He talked about his journey from addiction to sobriety. That David was a totally different David than today’s David. After the episode, he joined the military, had a relapse, and became sober again. We talk about his journey and the LGBT recovery community. He shares how the military was a scapegoat for him, but it didn’t work out. He ended up getting discharged and going on a party bender right afterwards. He then went back to detox for a wee...
Dec 06, 2018•1 hr 3 min•Ep. 44
We recently received a text from the mother of one of the people that we tried to help. It thanked us for our efforts but said that her son recently lost his battle with addiction and life. Getting a message like this puts everything in perspective. It is sad and heart breaking, but it also is a reminder of why we do what we do. It’s a reminder of all that we have to be thankful for and why it is important that we do the best we can to help people cherish their lives and strive to move foreword ...
Nov 29, 2018•30 min•Ep. 43
Billy is a man who has been clean for 14 months and is helping other people to do the same. In this episode, he shares his story and his history of abuse. He was in a downward spiral until a man he met in jail told him about Fern House recovery center. Billy took it step by step and just followed the directions. He now not only is in recovery, but he is helping others do the same. This show is going to focus on the differences between a private treatment center and a state-run treatment center. ...
Nov 22, 2018•37 min•Ep. 42
Tom and Ben discuss the top five reasons to come to South Florida for treatment. There are a lot of reasons why South Florida is a great place to come to for treatment for you or your loved ones. We talk about those reasons along with real life examples that have affected us. We also give our real opinion on the TV show Dope Sick Nation. We want to set the record straight on why everything on TV isn’t portrayed as accurately as it could be. We also talk about what a good recovery center is and t...
Nov 15, 2018•31 min•Ep. 41
We have a very special guest today, it's my wife Amanda Conrad. Amanda has a lot of knowledge to offer. Many people in her family have struggled with addiction. She is here to talk about what it is like growing up with addiction and being the only one not struggling with it. Some of the things we discuss are how behaviors that she thought were normal actually weren’t. She started to realize this when she was around other families. We also talk about why Amanda was never an addict, how Amanda had...
Nov 08, 2018•33 min•Ep. 40
Paige Fant is back to talk about what it is like to be married to an active user and what it is like being married to someone in recovery. We are joined by Adam Colling and Ben Bueno. Paige shares her personal experience with codependency and how it is important to love without being self-destructive. We talk about the importance of setting boundaries and finding outside support from 12-step programs like Al-Anon and AA. We also talk about achieving balance and each person being responsible for ...
Oct 25, 2018•41 min•Ep. 39
