Podcast
Chasing Heroine: Addiction Recovery and Sobriety
Welcome to the Chasing Heroine Podcast - weekly success stories from sober alcoholics and addicts. We get into the details of their lives, their active addiction, and HOW they got sober. Jeannine was an active drug addict and alcoholic for 15 years - her using led to multiple arrests, homelessness, and the loss of absolutely everything - which she considers to be the best thing that ever happened to her. Sober since 1-15-15, she is committed to sharing both her own and her guest’s stories in the hopes that they may help guide and inspire others seeking a similar path of recovery and healing.
- Personal Journals chart
- #91
- Episodes
- 273
- Releases
- Weekly
- Typical length
- 1 hr 22 min
- On air since
- 2020
- Latest episode
- 5 days ago
Episodes
273 episodes, newest first
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1 hr 17 min
Six Children by 23, Stripping through Eight Months Pregnant, Using While Pregnant, Escorting and Total Demoralization and Desperation becomes Incredible Entrepreneurial Success with Linnsey Dolson
Season 6, Episode 145
Show notes
By the age of 23, Linnsey Dolson had six children, an extreme meth addiction, and a life spiraling out of control. Five of her children were removed by CPS and adopted out as her addiction took over. She was stripping while eight months pregnant, later working as an escort, and continuing to use meth while pregnant. Some of her babies were born testing positive for drugs, with police called at the hospital. Her addiction even became something she shared with her own father.
But Linnsey’s story didn’t end there. In 2015, she got sober and began rebuilding her life from the ground up. What started as a home cleaning business grew into a multimillion-dollar company. She went on to establish a treatment center in San Diego, where she remains personally involved in the day-to-day lives of the clients she serves.
In this episode of Chasing Heroine, Linnsey shares the devastating consequences of her addiction, what it took to turn her life around, and how she transformed the pain of her past into a mission to help others recover.
Connect with Linnsey on Instagram
Connect with Sacred Journey Treatment Center on Instagram
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1 hr 16 min
Growing Up in Foster Care, Injecting Family with Drugs as a Teenager, Living in Trap Houses in High School, a DUI at 20 and More with Karissa Foster
Season 6, Episode 144
Show notes
In this episode of Chasing Heroine, Karissa Foster shares a story of survival, resilience, and finding recovery when life has given you every reason to give up.
Placed in foster care at just nine years old, Karissa began drinking and using drugs at 13. By her teens, she was living in trap houses and fending for herself in circumstances no child should have to navigate. At just 16, her life had already taken her places most people could never imagine, including injecting her own aunt with cocaine.
At 20, a DUI led Karissa to AA, where she slowly began to hear a message that would eventually change her life. It took time for the words of recovery to sink in, but at 22, Karissa finally got sober and began building a life beyond the chaos she had always known.
Today, Karissa is a mother to twin boys and a powerful example of what resilience, willingness, and recovery can make possible. Her story is a reminder that our beginnings do not have to determine our endings, and that even after years of surviving, it is possible to learn how to truly live.
Tune in for an honest conversation about childhood trauma, addiction, finding sobriety, and discovering that a different future is possible.
Today's episode is brought to you by Sacred Journey Recovery in San Diego, CA. Sacred Journey is a mens only treatment center that blends modern clinical care with immersive outdoor therapy for men facing addiction. Each part of treatment is structured, supervised, and tied to a clear clinical goal, then reinforced through real-life application.
Experiential & Outdoor Adventure Therapy:
Climbing, hiking, jiu-jitsu, archery, yoga, and other structured challenges help men build confidence, discipline, and follow-through.
Evidenced Based Counseling:
CBT, ACT, DBT, and narrative therapy help men work through cravings, stress, trauma, and emotional regulation.
Peer Support & Brotherhood:
Men-only treatment creates a stronger environment for honesty, accountability, and real connection.
Sacred Journey accepts most insurance and will work with you or your loved one.
Call 760-214-9727 for a more information or a confidential assessment.
Connect with Karissa on Instagram
Connect with Sacred Journey Treatment Center on Instagram
DM me on Instagram
Message me on Facebook
Listen AD FREE & workout with me on Patreon
Connect with me on TikTok
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2 hr 31 min
Smuggling Heroin from Mexico, THOROUGH Checks in Secondary, Running from Cops in La Jolla, Using Spray Tan as a Disguise, a Very Tweakery Final Arrest and Exploring Grief with Storywith Story
Season 6, Episode 143
Show notes
Story’s addiction took her from drinking and party drugs in Minnesota to heroin, multiple arrests, and running drugs across the U.S.-Mexico border. After moving to San Diego with her longtime boyfriend in hopes of getting clean, the two became entangled with a heroin supplier in Tijuana, and Story found herself running drugs across the border as her life spiraled further into addiction and crime.
In 2022, Story finally got sober. But while in residential treatment later that year, she received news that would change her life forever: her husband had died of an overdose.
In this episode of Chasing Heroine, Story shares what it took to survive addiction, find sobriety, and face the unimaginable loss of her husband without returning to drugs. She also talks about rebuilding her life and creating The Upside to Grief, a podcast designed to help people navigate loss through community, connection, and practical tools.
Story’s life has taken some unimaginable turns, and her story is a powerful look at what recovery can make possible, even when life doesn't turn out the way you planned.
Today's episode is brought to you by Sacred Journey Recovery in San Diego, CA. Sacred Journey is a mens only treatment center that blends modern clinical care with immersive outdoor therapy for men facing addiction. Each part of treatment is structured, supervised, and tied to a clear clinical goal, then reinforced through real-life application.
Experiential & Outdoor Adventure Therapy:
Climbing, hiking, jiu-jitsu, archery, yoga, and other structured challenges help men build confidence, discipline, and follow-through.
Evidenced Based Counseling:
CBT, ACT, DBT, and narrative therapy help men work through cravings, stress, trauma, and emotional regulation.
Peer Support & Brotherhood:
Men-only treatment creates a stronger environment for honesty, accountability, and real connection.
Sacred Journey accepts most insurance and will work with you or your loved one.
Call 760-214-9727 for a more information or a confidential assesment.
Connect with Story on Instagram
Connect with Sacred Journey Treatment Center on Instagram
DM me on Instagram
Message me on Facebook
Listen AD FREE & workout with me on Patreon
Connect with me on TikTok
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53 min
Narcan Nate Stops By for a Visit!! We Discuss the Opioid Epidemic in Appalachia, Adderall in Recovery, Charging Dealers after Overdoses, and another Bizarre Celebrity Encounter Story with Jeannine
Season 6, Episode 142
Show notes
Narcan Nate is back!
Narcan Nate was the show co-host for a several years until he moved to TN eighteen months ago. We catch up with what he's been up to since he moved and what his goals are for the community with respect to recovery and harm reduction.
Jeannine also shares another bizarre celebrity encounter from her days in LA, and they talk about her upcoming trip to NYC for Dopeycon!
Let me know what y'all think!
Connect with Narcan Nate on Instagram
DM me on Instagram
Message me on Facebook
Listen AD FREE & workout with me on Patreon
Connect with me on TikTok
Email me chasingheroine@gmail.com
See you next week!
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2 hr 18 min
From Adolescent 5150s to Ecstasy, Acid, Drinking, Whippets and DUIs to Sobriety, Spirituality, and Being a Guiding Light for Men in Recovery
Season 6, Episode 141
Show notes
Jan spent years chasing a good time without much of a direction for his life. Acid, ecstasy, whippets and heavy drinking eventually became multiple DUIs and a growing realization that the life he was living wasn’t sustainable. He moved around, tried to stop, started again, and eventually spent two years using meth before everything finally came crashing down.
On June 20, 2016, Jan went to treatment in Canada. He has not used drugs or alcohol since.
After getting sober, Jan moved to San Diego and began building the kind of life he never really had a roadmap for. Today, he works as a clinician and program manager at a treatment center, where he helps men work through addiction, find direction and start creating lives they actually want to live.
In this conversation, Jan talks openly about what finally brought him to his knees, what changed once he stopped running, and the spiritual practices that have become an important part of his recovery. He also shares some of the ways he works with men in treatment and the lessons he has learned from watching people rebuild their lives from the ground up.
Today's episode is brought to you by Sacred Journey Recovery in San Diego, CA. Sacred Journey is a mens only treatment center that blends modern clinical care with immersive outdoor therapy for men facing addiction. Each part of treatment is structured, supervised, and tied to a clear clinical goal, then reinforced through real-life application.
Experiential & Outdoor Adventure Therapy:
Climbing, hiking, jiu-jitsu, archery, yoga, and other structured challenges help men build confidence, discipline, and follow-through.
Evidenced Based Counseling:
CBT, ACT, DBT, and narrative therapy help men work through cravings, stress, trauma, and emotional regulation.
Peer Support & Brotherhood:
Men-only treatment creates a stronger environment for honesty, accountability, and real connection.
Sacred Journey accepts most insurance and will work with you or your loved one.
Call 760-214-9727 for a more information or a confidential assesment.
Connect with Sacred Journey Treatment Center on Instagram
DM me on Instagram
Message me on Facebook
Listen AD FREE & workout with me on Patreon
Connect with me on TikTok
Email me chasingheroine@gmail.com
See you next week!
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1 hr 51 min
PART TWO: The Conspiracy to Murder Her Mother with Charlie Wolf (formerly known as Tylar Witt)
Season 6, Episode 140
Show notes
TW: suicidal ideation, violence, homicide, overdose
PART TWO: On the night of June 11, 2009, Joanne Witt was murdered by her teenage daughter Tylar and Tylar's boyfriend Steven "Boston" Colver, one or both of whom stabbed Witt 20 times on the upper half of her body. I sat down with Tylar (Charlie Wolf), to hear the story in her words. We talk about her childhood, meeting her boyfriend, Steve, the escalation of that romance and how it began to clash with the escalation of her mother's alcoholism.
Charlie was sentenced to 15 years to life and Steven is currently serving life without parole. Charlie was released on parole in 2023. After her release, she remarried but her husband tragically overdosed on fentanyl last year. Charlie goes through her whole story, no holds barred, detailing her relationship and rationale behind her decision to murder her mother. We discuss life in prison and ultimately how she came to terms with what happened, her role in what happened and her journey of rehabiltation in prison.
Today's episode is brought to you by Sacred Journey Recovery in San Diego, CA. Sacred Journey is a mens only treatment center that blends modern clinical care with immersive outdoor therapy for men facing addiction. Each part of treatment is structured, supervised, and tied to a clear clinical goal, then reinforced through real-life application.
Experiential & Outdoor Adventure Therapy:
Climbing, hiking, jiu-jitsu, archery, yoga, and other structured challenges help men build confidence, discipline, and follow-through.
Evidenced Based Counseling:
CBT, ACT, DBT, and narrative therapy help men work through cravings, stress, trauma, and emotional regulation.
Peer Support & Brotherhood:
Men-only treatment creates a stronger environment for honesty, accountability, and real connection.
Sacred Journey accepts most insurance and will work with you or your loved one.
Call 760-214-9727 for a more information or a confidential assesment.
Connect with Sacred Journey Treatment Center on Instagram
DM me on Instagram
Message me on Facebook
Listen AD FREE & workout with me on Patreon
Connect with me on TikTok
Email me chasingheroine@gmail.com
See you next week!
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1 hr 20 min
PART ONE: The Conspiracy to Murder Her Mother with Charlie Wolf (formerly known as Tylar Witt)
Season 6, Episode 139
Show notes
TW: suicidal ideation, violence, homicide
PART ONE: On the night of June 11, 2009, Joanne Witt was murdered by her teenage daughter Tylar and Tylar's boyfriend Steven "Boston" Colver, one or both of whom stabbed Witt 20 times on the upper half of her body. I sat down with Tylar (Charlie Wolf), to hear the story in her words. We talk about her childhood, meeting her boyfriend, Steve, the escalation of that romance and how it began to clash with the escalation of her mother's alcoholism.
Charlie was sentenced to 15 years to life and Steven is currently serving life without parole. Charlie was released on parole in 2023. After her release, she remarried but her husband tragically overdosed on fentanyl last year. Charlie goes through her whole story, no holds barred, detailing her relationship and rationale behind her decision to murder her mother. We discuss life in prison and ultimately how she came to terms with what happened, her role in what happened and her journey of rehabiltation in prison.
Today's episode is brought to you by Sacred Journey Recovery in San Diego, CA. Sacred Journey is a mens only treatment center that blends modern clinical care with immersive outdoor therapy for men facing addiction. Each part of treatment is structured, supervised, and tied to a clear clinical goal, then reinforced through real-life application.
Experiential & Outdoor Adventure Therapy:
Climbing, hiking, jiu-jitsu, archery, yoga, and other structured challenges help men build confidence, discipline, and follow-through.
Evidenced Based Counseling:
CBT, ACT, DBT, and narrative therapy help men work through cravings, stress, trauma, and emotional regulation.
Peer Support & Brotherhood:
Men-only treatment creates a stronger environment for honesty, accountability, and real connection.
Sacred Journey accepts most insurance and will work with you or your loved one.
Call 760-214-9727 for a more information or a confidential assesment.
Connect with Sacred Journey Treatment Center on Instagram
DM me on Instagram
Message me on Facebook
Listen AD FREE & workout with me on Patreon
Connect with me on TikTok
Email me chasingheroine@gmail.com
See you next week!
-
50 min
High Functioning: What Actually Makes Rehab Work with Dr. Towers, Clinical Director of Seasons Malibu
Season 6, Episode 138
Show notes
What actually makes addiction treatment work?
In this episode, I sit down with Dr. Tiffany Towers, Clinical Director at Seasons in Malibu, to go behind the scenes of what it takes to create and maintain a truly high-quality treatment program. We talk about how Seasons builds an incredibly varied team of clinicians, why different perspectives matter, and how they decide which therapeutic modalities are worth bringing into the program.
We also get into some of the questions people often have about treatment but don't always get to ask: What role should Twelve Step play in recovery? Can the beach actually be therapeutic? What happens when someone relapses while they're in treatment? And what are clinicians seeing as new substances and patterns of use emerge?
Dr. Towers also shares what she's seeing with the growing number of people coming into treatment for kratom detox, and how increasing regulations in California are changing the treatment landscape.
This conversation isn't just for people considering rehab. It's for anyone interested in addiction, recovery, therapy, or becoming a better-informed participant in their own personal growth. The more we understand about how treatment decisions are made, the better equipped we are to ask questions, advocate for ourselves, and choose the approaches that actually make sense for us.
Today's episode is brought to you by Seasons in Malibu. For over 18 years, Seasons has been a sanctuary for individuals seeking to reclaim their lives from addiction and mental health challenges. Our story began with a simple but profound vision: To create a luxurious sanctuary for individuals struggling with addiction or mental health issues, where they can receive the finest, evidence-based treatment in the world.
Built on Compassion, Driven by Excellence
What started as a small number of compassionate professionals has grown into one of the nation’s most respected luxury treatment centers. But growth has never meant losing sight of what matters most—the individual engaging with our therapists, one-on-one, taking the courageous first step toward healing.From the beginning, we understood that truly transformative treatment requires more than clinical protocols. It demands a personalized approach, led by the most qualified professionals, in an environment that nurtures the whole person. That’s why we’ve assembled a team where every primary therapist holds a Doctorate in Psychology - a distinction virtually unmatched in our field. Check out Seasons Malibu online or call 1-866-314-5160 for more information.
Connect with Seasons on Instagram
DM me on Instagram
Message me on Facebook
Listen AD FREE & workout with me on Patreon
Connect with me on TikTok
Email me chasingheroine@gmail.com
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1 hr 28 min
Stoner Surf Culture becomes Hell's Angel's Meth Culture, Arrested Twice in ONE Day, Hallucinating About Rob Dyrdek?? Gunnar's Story Will Entertain and Inspire You
Season 6, Episode 137
Show notes
(Encore episode - originally aired November 2025)
Gunnar grew up in what looked like the perfect family - until addiction slowly unraveled everything. After his parents fell deeper into their own substance use, his mother disappeared without a word, leaving Gunnar to navigate a childhood suddenly marked by instability and pain.
By his teens, he turned to meth and heroin, beginning a long cycle of drug court, jail stays, and surviving on the streets of downtown San Diego. But Gunnar’s story didn’t end there. Through grit, recovery, and a community that believed in him, he rebuilt his life from the ground up.
Now three years sober, Gunnar has graduated college and applied to graduate school with a mission: to advocate for the homeless community he once belonged to and push for real policy change.
This episode is a powerful testament to resilience, redemption, and the impact of turning lived experience into purpose.
Episode sponsored by Worthy Wellness Center
Worthy Wellness Center is nestled within the charming village of Carlsbad, in North County, San Diego, less than half a mile from the tranquil local beaches. Worthy stands as a sanctuary wholly devoted to nurturing the healing and well-being of those in recovery. Committed to addressing the holistic needs of individuals navigating through life’s challenges, whether related to substance abuse, alcohol addiction, or mental and mood disorders, Worthy Wellness Center takes a comprehensive approach to healing the body, mind, and spirit.
DM me on Instagram
Message me on Facebook
Listen AD FREE & workout with me on Patreon
Connect with me on TikTok
Email me chasingheroine@gmail.com
See you next week!
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1 hr 28 min
Check Fraud, Gaming the Probation System, Turning a Boyfriend into an Unknowing Trafficking Partner and a Family Legal Intervention that Saves Her Life with Cheree Ashley of Osier Wellness
Season 6, Episode 136
Show notes
Cherie Ashley was arrested for fraud. Arrested for possession. Caught in a cycle of trying to beat drug tests. Heroin had her convinced there was no way out.
14 years later, she's the founder and CEO of Osier Skincare and Wellness. She owns treatment centers. She's a certified interventionist who's helped hundreds of people find the same freedom she found.
In this episode, Cherie breaks down the skill she used to survive her addiction and the exact same skill she used to build a business empire in recovery. The hustle that kept her using is the same hustle that built her life back. She didn't have to unlearn it. She had to redirect it.
We talk about what it actually takes to go from arrest records to running multiple facilities. Why the traits that make addiction so hard to escape are the same traits that make recovery entrepreneurs so hard to stop. And why Osier exists to put money back into the hands of people just like her.
If you've ever felt like your past disqualifies you from your future, this episode will change your mind.
Connect with Cheree on Instagram
Message me on Facebook
Listen AD FREE & workout with me on Patreon
Connect with me on TikTok
Email me chasingheroine@gmail.com
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10 min
High Functioning: Why Feeling Like Quitting Means You're Winning
Season 6, Episode 135
Show notes
Feeling like a failure right now? Science says that might actually mean you're winning.
In this episode, I break down the frog pond effect, a 1966 study that explains why growth feels like falling behind instead of getting ahead. When you level up, your standards change, your environment changes, and suddenly you're comparing yourself to people who are further along than you used to be around. That feeling of not measuring up isn't proof you're failing. It's proof you're in a bigger pond.
And here's the part most people miss. Addicts already understand this better than anyone. We know what it feels like to have 30 days in a small meeting and 30 days in a big meeting. Same 30 days. Same objective progress. But that big meeting feels scary to claim, feels smaller, feels like it doesn't count as much even though it's the exact same milestone. We've already lived that gap between what's true and what it feels like. We know how to sit in that discomfort and internalize the win anyway, because we've done it in the rooms.
If you've ever felt like giving up right when things started getting hard, this episode is going to change how you see that moment completely.
DM me on Instagram
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Listen AD FREE & workout with me on Patreon
Connect with me on TikTok
Email me chasingheroine@gmail.com
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1 hr 16 min
PART TWO: Prison Terms, Interstate Theft Rings, Assault with a Deadly Weapon, Credit Card Fraud Rings, Prostitution Extortion Scams, Extreme Paranoia and Destroyed Rental Cars with Matt Handy
Season 6, Episode 134
Show notes
Today picks up with Matt Handy where we left him at the end of part one...choosing to be homeless and setting up a tent in downtown San Diego.
From here, Matt's choices continue to be absolutely insane, eventually culminating a bank robbery with a note claiming to have a bomb in his backpack. Matt ends up in jail on an unrelated charge, but things begin to unravel as various law enforcement agencies start to communicate and suspect Matt for the robbery. This ultimately leads to Matt's recovery journey. After a stop at the infamous LA treatment center, Delancey Street, Matt begins to find his way. Now with years sober and a treatment center owner, Matt has reconstructed his life and reunited with his family.
Connect with Matt on Instagram
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Email me chasingheroine@gmail.com
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1 hr 23 min
PART ONE: Prison Terms, Interstate Theft Rings, Assault with a Deadly Weapon, Credit Card Fraud Rings, Prostitution Extortion Scams, Extreme Paranoia and Destroyed Rental Cars with Matt Handy
Season 6, Episode 133
Show notes
Matt Handy went from heroin addict to convicted felon to tent-dweller on the streets of downtown San Diego. By choice.
Assault with a deadly weapon. Narcotics trafficking. A prostitution extortion ring. Matt did it all, and prison became a revolving door he couldn't escape.
In part one, Matt takes us through the chaos: the addiction that ran his life, the crimes that landed him behind bars again and again, and the moment he walked away from every safety net he had left.
This is not a redemption story yet. This is the bottom before the climb.
Part two drops next week: how Matt built a treatment center, a marriage, and a family from the wreckage.
Connect with Matt on Instagram
DM me on Instagram
Message me on Facebook
Listen AD FREE & workout with me on Patreon
Connect with me on TikTok
Email me chasingheroine@gmail.com
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53 min
High Functioning: Your Body Holds the Answers; Craniosacral Therapy Connects You to Your Inner Knowing
Season 6, Episode 130
Show notes
Sunil Kalwani is part of the clinical team at Seasons Malibu. As a craniosacral therapist, his work isn't about fixing people. It's about listening to what the body already knows.
Craniosacral therapy works with the subtle rhythms of your nervous system. Sunil believes your body holds everything: every tension, every pattern, every unspoken story. He doesn't see symptoms as problems. He sees them as communication.
In this episode we talk about what craniosacral therapy actually is, how the nervous system remembers what the mind forgets, and why the goal was never to solve you. You were never broken to begin with.
Today's episode is brought to you by Seasons in Malibu. For over 18 years, Seasons has been a sanctuary for individuals seeking to reclaim their lives from addiction and mental health challenges. Our story began with a simple but profound vision: To create a luxurious sanctuary for individuals struggling with addiction or mental health issues, where they can receive the finest, evidence-based treatment in the world.
Built on Compassion, Driven by Excellence
What started as a small number of compassionate professionals has grown into one of the nation’s most respected luxury treatment centers. But growth has never meant losing sight of what matters most—the individual engaging with our therapists, one-on-one, taking the courageous first step toward healing.From the beginning, we understood that truly transformative treatment requires more than clinical protocols. It demands a personalized approach, led by the most qualified professionals, in an environment that nurtures the whole person. That’s why we’ve assembled a team where every primary therapist holds a Doctorate in Psychology - a distinction virtually unmatched in our field.Check out Seasons Malibu online or call 1-866-314-5160 for more information.
Learn more about Sunil Kalwani
Connect with Seasons on Instagram
DM me on Instagram
Message me on Facebook
Listen AD FREE & workout with me on Patreon
Connect with me on TikTok
Email me chasingheroine@gmail.com
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2 hr 2 min
Natalie Eva Marie on Soccer, DUIs, Jail, WWE Divas, "Graduating" AA, NEM Fitness, Her Recent Divorce and Starting Over Again
Season 6, Episode 131
Show notes
Natalie Eva Marie went from college soccer player to WWE superstar to a trap apartment in Sherman Oaks. This episode is her real story, not the highlight reel.
She talks about her childhood, the partying that spiraled into multiple DUIs, and the months she spent in jail because of it. Cocaine took over next, and it nearly took everything with it. Her first shot at sobriety gave her three years clean. Then she decided she'd "graduated" AA and walked back out on purpose. That decision cost her three months, gone, holed up in a trap house before she landed at Dr. Drew's center in Pasadena.
She got sober in name only. Then WWE called. She landed the audition, got cast on Total Divas, and married the man she thought was forever. From the outside, she had it all.
Years into that marriage, she realized she wanted something completely different. An invitation to co-host the Hopeaholics and open her own treatment center brought her to Orange County, and that move became the beginning of the end of her marriage.
Natalie gets honest about where she is right now: a woman at a turning point, leaning hard into the program to get through it. This isn't a comeback story wrapped in a bow. It's what actually staying sober looks like when life keeps changing underneath you.
Today's episode is brought to you by Seasons in Malibu. For over 18 years, Seasons has been a sanctuary for individuals seeking to reclaim their lives from addiction and mental health challenges. Our story began with a simple but profound vision: To create a luxurious sanctuary for individuals struggling with addiction or mental health issues, where they can receive the finest, evidence-based treatment in the world.
Built on Compassion, Driven by Excellence
What started as a small number of compassionate professionals has grown into one of the nation’s most respected luxury treatment centers. But growth has never meant losing sight of what matters most—the individual engaging with our therapists, one-on-one, taking the courageous first step toward healing.From the beginning, we understood that truly transformative treatment requires more than clinical protocols. It demands a personalized approach, led by the most qualified professionals, in an environment that nurtures the whole person. That’s why we’ve assembled a team where every primary therapist holds a Doctorate in Psychology - a distinction virtually unmatched in our field.Check out Seasons Malibu online or call 1-866-314-5160 for more information.
Connect with Natalie on Instagram
Connect with Seasons on Instagram
DM me on Instagram
Message me on Facebook
Listen AD FREE & workout with me on Patreon
Connect with me on TikTok
Email me chasingheroine@gmail.com
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1 hr 42 min
Four Felonies, Smuggling Heroin into Jail, "Mooching" Off Family, Volunteering for the Most Intense Behavior Modification Program in California, Finally Landing at Freedom Ranch, Now 14 Years Sober
Season 6, Episode 130
Show notes
Luis Romero didn't just try heroin. He fell in love with it. That love affair started in his teens and followed him straight into adulthood, into gang life, and into four felonies.
By the time he was sentenced to four years in prison, Luis thought a behavioral modification program was his way out. It wasn't. He got out, relapsed, and ended up at Freedom Ranch in San Diego, the place that finally gave him a program that stuck.
He started over with nothing. Dishwashing shifts. Three years riding the bus because he couldn't afford a car. No shortcuts, just the slow work of rebuilding a life from scratch.
Fourteen years later, Luis hosts the Fuck Fentanyl podcast and works at the same Freedom Ranch that gave him his start. This episode is proof that where you begin has nothing to do with where you end up.
Connect with Luis on Instagram
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Email me chasingheroine@gmail.com
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2 hr 8 min
Child Star to Skid Row...Living in a Car, Trap Motels, Auditioning for 8 Mile on Cocaine, and Being Present for the Fatal OD of a Hollywood Icon: Natanya Ross in Her Own Words
Season 6, Episode 129
Show notes
She played Robin Russo on The Secret Life of Alex Mack. Millions of 90s kids knew her face. Nobody knew what was happening behind the scenes.
Natanya Ross started using in her teens like a lot of kids in the industry did. Party drugs turned into heroin by her twenties. She had one shot left, an audition for Eight Mile, and she blew it. Showed up high off cocaine and lost her team, her career, everything that took her childhood to build.
She ended up living in her car on Skid Row. In and out of treatment more times than she can count. She was there the night someone she loved, a well known name in Hollywood, died of an overdose right in front of her.
Now 44 and sober, Natanya works in treatment helping people who are exactly where she used to be. She just launched her own podcast to tell the stories nobody wants to talk about out loud.
Today's episode is brought to you by Seasons in Malibu. For over 18 years, Seasons has been a sanctuary for individuals seeking to reclaim their lives from addiction and mental health challenges. Our story began with a simple but profound vision: To create a luxurious sanctuary for individuals struggling with addiction or mental health issues, where they can receive the finest, evidence-based treatment in the world.
Built on Compassion, Driven by Excellence
What started as a small number of compassionate professionals has grown into one of the nation’s most respected luxury treatment centers. But growth has never meant losing sight of what matters most—the individual engaging with our therapists, one-on-one, taking the courageous first step toward healing.From the beginning, we understood that truly transformative treatment requires more than clinical protocols. It demands a personalized approach, led by the most qualified professionals, in an environment that nurtures the whole person. That’s why we’ve assembled a team where every primary therapist holds a Doctorate in Psychology - a distinction virtually unmatched in our field.Check out Seasons Malibu online or call 1-866-314-5160 for more information.
Connect with Natanya on Instagram
Connect with Seasons on Instagram
DM me on Instagram
Message me on Facebook
Listen AD FREE & workout with me on Patreon
Connect with me on TikTok
Email me chasingheroine@gmail.com
-
1 hr
High Functioning: The OCD Symptoms That Get Overlooked (And How To Spot Them)
Season 6, Episode 128
Show notes
Eden Presti wears many hats. Case manager at Seasons Malibu. Brainspotting practitioner. PsyD doctoral student two years out from finishing. But before any of that, she was a young woman trying to figure out why her own brain wouldn't let her rest.
In this episode, Eden takes us through her role at Seasons and what brainspotting actually does for trauma and anxiety. Then she gets personal. She walks us through her history with OCD, and it's not the version most people picture. Her symptoms built slowly, then all at once. She saw therapist after therapist. Nobody connected the dots. So she started researching on her own, piecing together a picture of her own mind that the professionals around her kept missing.
Things got bad enough that she had to leave school. That's when she landed on her own diagnosis, before any doctor confirmed it. She also talks about leaving a relationship that wasn't serving her, and how untangling that was its own kind of clarity. Medication and therapy came next, but real management came from Eden learning her own patterns better than anyone else could.
If you have ever been curious about OCD or wondered about it's larger role in addiction and/or mental health, this episode is for you.
Today's episode is brought to you by Seasons in Malibu. For over 18 years, Seasons has been a sanctuary for individuals seeking to reclaim their lives from addiction and mental health challenges. Our story began with a simple but profound vision: To create a luxurious sanctuary for individuals struggling with addiction or mental health issues, where they can receive the finest, evidence-based treatment in the world.
Built on Compassion, Driven by Excellence
What started as a small number of compassionate professionals has grown into one of the nation’s most respected luxury treatment centers. But growth has never meant losing sight of what matters most—the individual engaging with our therapists, one-on-one, taking the courageous first step toward healing.From the beginning, we understood that truly transformative treatment requires more than clinical protocols. It demands a personalized approach, led by the most qualified professionals, in an environment that nurtures the whole person. That’s why we’ve assembled a team where every primary therapist holds a Doctorate in Psychology - a distinction virtually unmatched in our field.Check out Seasons Malibu online or call 1-866-314-5160 for more information.
Connect with Seasons on Instagram
DM me on Instagram
Message me on Facebook
Listen AD FREE & workout with me on Patreon
Connect with me on TikTok
Email me chasingheroine@gmail.com
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1 hr 51 min
Ecstasy, Cocaine, DJing, Broken Relationships and Alcoholism to Sobriety and Connection in the Treatment Community
Season 6, Episode 127
Show notes
This episode of Chasing Heroin features John Nettles, host of Recovery Refined and a team member at Refine Recovery in LA. Adopted at four days old and raised in St. Louis, John started using young. Weed at 13, blackout drinking by 15, and a benzo prescription at 16 that fueled an addiction lasting well over a decade. He got into the rave and EDM scene, became a DJ, and started a promotion company, all while his drug use kept escalating into cocaine, Xanax, and eventually a move to Chico, CA to grow weed and "start over," which didn't work.
He cycled through multiple treatment stints starting at 24, including two trips to Sierra Tucson, each one followed by a relapse. A DUI, other legal trouble, and a series of increasingly dangerous blackouts (including one at his grandmother's house in Rhode Island) finally pushed him to call a sober coach who leveled with him bluntly: he'd never actually been sober, only abstinent. That call led him to Refine Recovery at 29, where, for the first time, treatment stuck. He talks candidly about getting a sponsor, doing the steps, and rebuilding his life from the ground up, plus how he stumbled into working in treatment and later launching his own podcast.
He also opens up about finding his birth mother through an AncestryDNA test in his mid twenties, and the surprisingly close relationship they've built since, including meeting his half brother and starting a new family Thanksgiving tradition.
Today's episode is brought to you by Seasons in Malibu. For over 18 years, Seasons has been a sanctuary for individuals seeking to reclaim their lives from addiction and mental health challenges. Our story began with a simple but profound vision: To create a luxurious sanctuary for individuals struggling with addiction or mental health issues, where they can receive the finest, evidence-based treatment in the world.
Built on Compassion, Driven by Excellence
What started as a small number of compassionate professionals has grown into one of the nation’s most respected luxury treatment centers. But growth has never meant losing sight of what matters most—the individual engaging with our therapists, one-on-one, taking the courageous first step toward healing.From the beginning, we understood that truly transformative treatment requires more than clinical protocols. It demands a personalized approach, led by the most qualified professionals, in an environment that nurtures the whole person. That’s why we’ve assembled a team where every primary therapist holds a Doctorate in Psychology - a distinction virtually unmatched in our field.Check out Seasons Malibu online or call 1-866-314-5160 for more information.
Connect with Seasons on Instagram
Connect with John on Instagram
DM me on Instagram
Message me on Facebook
Listen AD FREE & workout with me on Patreon
Connect with me on TikTok
Email me chasingheroine@gmail.com
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1 hr 22 min
Childhood Trauma Leads to Multiple DUIs...Stopping Drinking Leaves Her Sober but Suicidal Until Working the Steps Finally Changes Her Life
Season 6, Episode 126
Show notes
Elisa Saunders looked like she had it all figured out. A successful teacher, put together, dependable. Nobody saw the drinking that started long before she ever stepped into a classroom, rooted in childhood trauma that set the stage for what came next.
For years she functioned. She showed up, she performed, she kept the mask on. Until two DUIs threatened the career she'd built her identity around, and the gap between who she appeared to be and who she actually was became impossible to ignore.
Getting sober wasn't the fix she thought it would be. She quit drinking but didn't work a program, and ended up suicidal while dry, proof that just removing the alcohol isn't the same as recovery. It wasn't until she started working the steps that things actually changed.
In this episode, Elisa talks about that turning point, and the deeper work that came after: learning to reparent herself and give herself the love she never got as a kid. She now works in treatment, helping others find their way through the same wreckage she climbed out of.
This is a conversation about the distance between appearing fine and actually being fine, and what it takes to close that gap for good.
Today's episode is brought to you by Seasons in Malibu. For over 18 years, Seasons has been a sanctuary for individuals seeking to reclaim their lives from addiction and mental health challenges. Our story began with a simple but profound vision: To create a luxurious sanctuary for individuals struggling with addiction or mental health issues, where they can receive the finest, evidence-based treatment in the world.
Built on Compassion, Driven by Excellence
What started as a small number of compassionate professionals has grown into one of the nation’s most respected luxury treatment centers. But growth has never meant losing sight of what matters most—the individual engaging with our therapists, one-on-one, taking the courageous first step toward healing.From the beginning, we understood that truly transformative treatment requires more than clinical protocols. It demands a personalized approach, led by the most qualified professionals, in an environment that nurtures the whole person. That’s why we’ve assembled a team where every primary therapist holds a Doctorate in Psychology - a distinction virtually unmatched in our field.Check out Seasons Malibu online or call 1-866-314-5160 for more information.
Connect with Seasons on Instagram
Connect with Elisa on Instagram
DM me on Instagram
Message me on Facebook
Listen AD FREE & workout with me on Patreon
Connect with me on TikTok
Email me chasingheroine@gmail.com
See you next week!
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