The Next Fix

Kitty Marie walked into rehab convinced she had nothing to show for her life. Today, people call her a leader. Sometimes, she still wonders if they’re talking about the right person.

Kitty joins Ryan Penley on The Next Fix to share her journey through opioid and meth addiction, abusive relationships, an 84-month federal prison sentence, and the difficult work of starting over.

Getting out of prison didn’t end the cycle. What began to change things was telling the truth in a room full of strangers and discovering that people who barely knew her were willing to help.

Through rehab, 12-step recovery, and Oxford House sober living, Kitty began building a life she once thought was out of reach. But belonging came with its own question: What would these people think if they knew her past?

In this episode, we talk about:

• Why familiar relationships can pull you back toward addiction
• Asking for help when you’re used to keeping everything inside
• Finding community, accountability, and purpose in recovery
• Rebuilding your confidence and career with a criminal record
• Learning to believe you belong in the life you’re building

Today, Kitty works in accounts payable, a position she secured after being honest about her background during the hiring process. She also serves in Oxford House leadership as a Housing Service Committee chairperson, helping recovery homes resolve challenges and support their residents. Through Hospitals and Institutions service, she brings her experience and encouragement to people in detox and early recovery.

Her purpose is personal: show love to people who may have none, and help them see a future beyond addiction.

“There is a way back and it’s not easy, but it’s absolutely worth it.”

CONNECT WITH KITTY

Follow Kitty, let her know what her story meant to you, and share this conversation with someone who needs hope.

Instagram: @kittymarie1022
https://www.instagram.com/kittymarie1022/

Facebook: Kitty Marie
https://www.facebook.com/share/1DhDSBX5wU/

Follow The Next Fix for honest conversations about addiction, sobriety, and making the second half of life count.

Explore more with Ryan:
https://ryanpenley.org/

He had one job: never let the drugs run out. Because when they did, he had to feel again.

Paul Patrick thought heroin had solved the pain of being himself. Then he started stealing from people he loved and using more to escape the guilt.

In this episode of The Next Fix, Paul joins Ryan Penley to talk about childhood shame, heroin addiction, and the cycle that followed him into prison. He shares the brutal reality of detoxing in jail, finding a Bible beneath his bed, and surrounding himself with men determined never to come back.

He also opens up about relapsing just before his release, after years without drugs. He knew what he could lose. In that moment, a few seconds of relief still felt worth the risk.

Today, Paul helps others through Southern Hope Recovery Center and Breaking Through, Inspire the Desire, the nonprofit he leads alongside his wife. His story gets honest about the pull of addiction and the faith, community, and daily work behind his recovery.

Connect with Paul and his work:

Paul Patrick on Facebook (@paul.patrick.74046):
https://www.facebook.com/paul.patrick.74046/

Breaking Through, Inspire the Desire:
https://www.facebook.com/share/1LKH4RWMwJ/

Southern Hope Recovery Center:
https://southernhoperecovery.com/

Follow The Next Fix for more honest conversations about addiction, recovery, and rebuilding your life. Share this episode with someone who needs to hear that their story can still change.

A successful Boston attorney. Three forged documents. Six felony convictions.

Les Delaney Hawkins knew the law. As her drinking spiraled, she made choices that cost her career, her reputation, and nearly her freedom. But she’s clear about one thing: alcoholism doesn’t erase her responsibility.

In this episode of The Next Fix, Les joins Ryan Penley to tell the story of a very public rock bottom, getting sober, and building a life she never imagined.

She opens up about drinking around the clock, forging liquor-licensing documents, and watching her downfall become news. She faced a possible prison sentence, pleaded guilty to six felony counts, and received three years of probation. Losing her law license meant losing the career that had become her identity.

Even those consequences hadn’t reached her the way one conversation over coffee finally did.

Today, Les is the founder of Sober & Curious Boston, a nonprofit creating friendship, adventure, and connection without alcohol. What started with a hike and 12 people grew into a Facebook community approaching 10,000 members at the time of recording. She began building that community while still waiting to learn whether she would go to prison.

We talk about:

• How professional success helped her hide an escalating alcohol addiction.
• The words that finally broke through her denial.
• Facing shame and taking responsibility for her choices.
• Why she needed friendship, purpose, and a new life alongside recovery meetings.
• Creating a community that welcomes people in recovery, sober-curious people, and anyone who wants to socialize without drinking.

If you’ve ever wondered how to move forward after consequences you can’t undo, this conversation is for you.

Connect with Les and Sober & Curious Boston:

Website: https://sobercuriousboston.com/
Les: https://www.instagram.com/lesdh1984/
Sober & Curious Boston: https://www.instagram.com/soberboston/

Follow The Next Fix for honest conversations about recovery, responsibility, and what comes next.

He woke up in a hospital with two days missing. Then he went home and drank again.

A few weeks later, Rhett Sullivan ordered his favorite IPA. When it arrived, he left it untouched and walked out. That was July 17, 2020. He hasn’t had a drink since.

Today, Rhett is married, looking forward to starting a family, and building a life he once could only dream about. His warmth and optimism run through this entire conversation.

In this episode of The Next Fix, Rhett and Ryan talk about the peace he found in AA, the support of the woman who became his wife, and the confidence that came from keeping a promise to himself.

Rhett also shares how he sold roughly 20,000 used books on Amazon before starting a cleaning business with about $500. Two years in, he expected the business to bring in around $40,000 in revenue during the month of this conversation.

Ryan shares how addiction once narrowed his own view of the future to a four-hour window. Together, they explore what becomes possible when you can finally look farther ahead.

Rhett’s message to anyone starting over: “Just keep going. Know it’s gonna get better.”

CONNECT WITH RHETT
The Glebe Clean: https://theglebeclean.com/

FOLLOW THE NEXT FIX
Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-next-fix/id1737680071
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/7ytlQkbD5R8vxtM3KAO0Xs

MORE FROM RYAN
https://www.ryanpenley.org/

If Rhett’s story brings someone to mind, send them this episode. And follow The Next Fix for more conversations about what people build after recovery.

George Lynch was helping other people get sober while his own life was falling apart. After eight years of sobriety, the recovery pastor picked up a drink.

In this episode of The Next Fix, I sit down with George for an honest conversation about addiction, faith, relapse, and finding your way back when you thought you already knew the way.

George shares his journey from drinking at 11 and struggling with heroin and meth to prison, recovery, and becoming a pastor. But his story didn’t stop at the comeback. Behind the smile he brought to church, his marriage was unraveling, and he was carrying pain he wasn’t addressing.

He opens up about stepping away from ministry after his relapse, the people who showed up when he needed help, and the long process of returning to sobriety and rebuilding his life.

One conversation with his sponsor brought a difficult truth into focus: he knew how to work the steps, but he wasn’t living their principles in every part of his life.

We talk about:

• The advice from a fellow inmate that changed his direction.
• Relapsing after eight years sober while leading a recovery community.
• Divorce, resentment, and telling everyone you’re fine when you aren’t.
• How faith, recovery, and accountability came together in his life.
• Rebuilding a healthy co-parenting relationship and returning to ministry.

George now serves as director of Dynamic Life Recovery, a men’s recovery residence in Vero Beach, Florida, and as pastor of Recovery Church Vero Beach.

Explore his work and connect with him:

• Dynamic Life Recovery: http://dynamiclifevero.com
• Recovery Church: http://recovery.church
• Instagram: @george_lynch_iv
• Facebook: George Lynch

If you’re the person everyone leans on, this conversation is for you. Share it with someone who needs a reminder that they can ask for help, too.

Follow The Next Fix with Ryan Penley for more honest conversations about sobriety, second chances, and building a life worth staying sober for.

Dave Mahler lost both of his children. He still chose to show up for families fighting addiction.

This is what a comeback through grief looks like.

Dave survived 9/11, lost his daughter Dana to fentanyl poisoning, and later endured the death of his son. He could have allowed that grief to close him off from the world. Instead, he left Wall Street and devoted his life to helping individuals and families find recovery.

In this powerful return to The Next Fix, Dave explains why getting sober and living in recovery are not the same thing.

“Sobriety is physical. Recovery is change.”

We talk about what real recovery requires, how connection can interrupt addiction, and why serving someone else can help us survive what we never thought we could carry.

In this episode:

• The difference between sobriety and recovery
• A father’s journey through unimaginable grief
• Why relapse does not have to be inevitable
• How families can participate in recovery
• Breaking a destructive habit one moment at a time
• Recovery coaching and sober transportation
• Dave’s live-in sober companion work
• Finding the courage to share your story
• Turning pain into purpose through service

Dave Mahler is the founder of Ground Zero Recovery Coaching and the author of “From Stigma to Sanity.”

Connect with Dave:

Ground Zero Recovery Coaching
https://www.groundzerorecoverycoaching.com/

Facebook
https://www.facebook.com/people/Ground-Zero-Recovery-Coaching/100067664186542/

Instagram
https://www.instagram.com/groundzerorecoverycoaching/

Phone: 347-687-9766

If this conversation reaches you at the right time, share it with someone who needs to know that loss does not have to be the end of their story.

Subscribe to The Next Fix for honest conversations about addiction, recovery, resilience, and what it takes to build a comeback.

#TheNextFix #AddictionRecovery #Comeback

Six-year-old Haley was sleeping on a pile of school clothes. When Luke Mickelson delivered her first bed, she hugged and kissed it.

Her mother stood nearby with tears running down her face. Luke had come to deliver furniture. He left understanding that this was about far more than a place to sleep.

Sleep in Heavenly Peace founder Luke Mickelson joins Ryan Penley to share the story behind a Christmas garage project that grew into a movement providing beds for hundreds of thousands of children.

At the heart of this conversation is Haley, a little girl who was proud to show visitors her bedroom even though she had never had a bed. Her story reveals an overlooked need in our own communities, and what ordinary people can do about it.

Luke also opens up about the successful life that still left him feeling empty, teaching his children the joy of giving, and the small moments of compassion that become something meaningful when we act on them.

In this episode:

• Haley’s first bed and the reaction Luke will never forget.
• Why a bed means dignity, belonging, and a place to feel safe.
• How volunteers build and deliver beds for children in their own communities.
• The difference between wanting to change and taking action.
• Finding purpose through service, connection, and helping someone else.

You don’t have to start a nonprofit to make a difference. You can start by noticing someone who needs you.

CONNECT WITH LUKE AND SUPPORT THE MISSION

Sleep in Heavenly Peace, including volunteering, donations, and bed requests:

https://shpbeds.org

Luke’s website and speaking information:
https://lukemickelson.com

Instagram:
https://www.instagram.com/shpluke

Speaking inquiries: luke@lukemickelson.com

Follow The Next Fix on Apple Podcasts for honest conversations about recovery, purpose, and what we build next. If Haley’s story moves you, share this episode with someone who would want to help.

Greg Wallan survived an overdose, watched addiction tear through his family, and still discovered that getting sober was only the beginning.

His real enemy was drift: the slow surrender of your attention, identity and future to anything that keeps you from becoming who you were created to be.

In this powerful episode of The Next Fix, Greg shares how prescription pain medication led him into addiction, how his mother’s final words awakened his faith, and how he rebuilt his life through recovery, discipline, exercise and purpose.

In this episode of The Next Fix, Ryan and Greg discuss:

• How prescription pain medication opened the door to addiction
• The overdose that nearly ended Greg’s life
• His mother’s final words and the spiritual experience surrounding them
• Why sobriety alone was never a big enough goal
• How exercise helped him feel naturally high on life
• Why addiction exists on a spectrum
• The danger of drifting through an unintentional life
• Why recovery may require completely changing your environment
• Greg’s developing ten-week transformation process, The Hero Protocol
• How discipline, purposeful goals and faith can help someone move from surviving to thriving

Greg Wallan is a father, entrepreneur, recovery advocate and performance coach who has been drug-free since 2010. Today, he is building businesses, helping men pursue meaningful transformation and working to become the polar opposite of the person addiction once made him.

Connect with Greg:

Website: https://wallancoaching.com/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/wakingupwallan/
Free Solo Tree Climbing: https://www.instagram.com/freesolotreeclimbing/

Follow The Next Fix for honest comeback stories from people who discovered that sobriety was not the finish line. It was the beginning.

Ali Burke’s longest relationship was with alcohol. After more than 35 years, everything changed following one final wedding and one brutal drive home.

She started drinking at 14, admitted at 19 that she might be an alcoholic, lost her license three times for DUI, and still could not break the cycle.

Sick, ashamed, and terrified of ever feeling that way again, Ali recorded a video and looked herself in the eye:

“You’ll never ever, ever feel like this again.”

She has not had a drink since.

In this episode of The Next Fix, Ali opens up about becoming the funny party girl, using alcohol to find confidence and belonging, surviving an alcohol-fueled marriage, coping with miscarriage through drinking, and recognizing how her addiction was affecting her daughter.

But this is not simply a story about quitting alcohol.

Ali shares the work that came next: sitting with her pain, learning to meditate and journal, rebuilding her identity, reparenting herself, and transforming lived experience into service.

Today, Ali is more than five years sober and co-hosts Laughs Without Lager, an honest Australian podcast about sobriety, healing, identity, connection, and life beyond alcohol.

We also explore why addiction can become a superpower when its intensity is aimed at recovery, purpose, and helping other people.

If you are sober, sober-curious, struggling with addiction, or wondering whether life can become bigger after alcohol, Ali’s story is proof that sobriety is just the beginning.

CONNECT WITH ALI

Ali on Instagram:
https://www.instagram.com/idontdrinkfullstop/

Laughs Without Lager on Instagram:
https://www.instagram.com/laughswithoutlager/

Listen to Laughs Without Lager:
https://podcasts.apple.com/ca/podcast/laughs-without-lager/id1813514971

Podcast website:
https://www.buzzsprout.com/2470602

If this conversation reaches you, share it with someone who needs to know that change is still possible.

#podcastclips #sobriety #addiction #addictionrecovery #wedorecover

Josh Contreras had four weeks to get clean and reclaim a $47-an-hour union ironworker job.

One hour before the meeting that could give him his career back, he was still smoking meth and crying as he lit the pipe.

That was when “powerless” stopped being a word on the wall and became his reality.

In this raw conversation with Ryan Penley, Josh shares how meth addiction cost him his career, damaged nearly every relationship in his life, and left him unable to stop using even when everything he wanted was within reach.

His recovery began with one honest decision. Josh spent his final $20 on the Narcotics Anonymous Basic Text because he knew that if he carried the money home, he would use it to buy meth.

That night became January 24, 2023, his clean date.

With help from his sponsor, Billy, Josh began rebuilding his life through meetings, step work, prayer, accountability, humility, and service. Then, with only about 45 days clean, Jesse, the ironworker who fought to get Josh his career back, died from an overdose.

Josh had every reason to return to the drug. Instead, he reached out, allowed others to support him, and stayed clean.

In this episode:

• Why a $47-an-hour job still could not make Josh stop using meth
• What it felt like to use against his own will
• The final $20 decision that changed his life
• How service and humility helped dismantle his ego
• The overdose that tested his recovery at 45 days clean
• Why Josh now finds purpose in sponsoring and serving others
• His goal of becoming a recovery coach

Josh’s story is proof that recovery is not built through willpower alone. It begins when we stop surrendering to the drug and surrender to a solution.

CHAPTERS

00:00:00 Meet Josh Contreras
00:02:05 Losing His Career
00:04:57 Four Weeks to Quit
00:10:26 One Last Meeting
00:26:38 Jesse’s Final Gift
00:34:07 Purpose After Meth

CONNECT WITH JOSH

Instagram:
https://www.instagram.com/ditchum_433/

MORE FROM RYAN PENLEY

https://ryanpenley.org/

Josh shares only his personal experience and does not represent Narcotics Anonymous.

Misti Spencer escaped human trafficking—but getting out did not instantly free her from addiction, trauma, destructive relationships, or the desperate need to belong.

In this episode of The Next Fix, Misti joins Ryan Penley to share the story behind her memoir, Drinking Beauty and the Seven Narcissists: A Musical Journey, and the difficult recovery work that began after survival.

Now more than three years sober, Misti speaks honestly about childhood grooming and exploitation, the roots of her substance use, neurodiversity, unhealthy attachment, external validation, and the destructive patterns that continued long after the immediate danger was gone.

This is not a clean survivor story with easy villains and a neat ending.

It is a raw conversation about what trauma can teach a person to tolerate, chase, and use to escape—and what it takes to finally unlearn those lessons. Misti explains why healing required more than sobriety, why accountability is not the same as accepting blame for what was done to you, and how understanding her own mind became part of reclaiming her life.

She also reveals the meaning behind Drinking Beauty: the intoxicating pursuit of beauty, perfection, approval, and relief. Her memoir pairs nine chapters with 99 personally selected songs, creating a soundtrack for a journey through exploitation, addiction, relationships, recovery, and the long walk home.

IN THIS EPISODE:

• Why escaping danger and recovering from it are two different battles

• How unmet needs and the desire to belong can create vulnerability

• What alcohol and drugs appeared to offer—and what they eventually took

• How neurodiversity influenced both Misti’s vulnerability and her survival

• The connection between trauma, attachment, validation, and destructive relationships

• The difference between self-accountability and self-blame

• Why the story of the “seven narcissists” eventually required a mirror

• How 99 songs helped Misti tell what ordinary language could not

• Turning a painful history into something that may help another person survive

Misti Spencer is an author, speaker, coach, and survivor advocate. She serves on the Advisory Board for the University of Central Florida Center for the Study of Human Trafficking and Modern Slavery, contributing to survivor-informed education, prevention, and recovery initiatives.

CONTENT NOTE:

This conversation includes mature discussion of childhood exploitation, human trafficking, abuse, addiction, and complex trauma.

ORDER DRINKING BEAUTY AND THE SEVEN NARCISSISTS:

https://drinkingbeautyjourney.com/

LEARN MORE ABOUT MISTI:

https://www.mistispencer.com/

FOLLOW MISTI:

https://www.instagram.com/misti_spencer/

The Next Fix explores what happens after the fall—because sobriety may remove the substance, but rebuilding is how you create a life you no longer need to escape.

Connect with the host at: www.ryanpenley.org

At seven years old, Mia Godfrey first tasted alcohol while growing up under communist rule in Romania.

By thirteen, drinking had become her escape from trauma.

Mia survived violence, abuse, addiction, devastating grief, and the sudden loss of her first husband. She later mixed alcohol with pills because she could not face her father’s funeral sober. Even after she stopped drinking, overworking became another way to avoid the pain she had buried.

Everything began to change when Mia’s dying sister challenged her to tell the truth about their lives.

That promise became Buried, Not Broken, Mia’s memoir about survival, sisterhood, alcoholism, faith, and transforming a painful past into something that could help others.

In this episode of The Next Fix, Ryan Penley and Mia discuss growing up under communism, her family’s hidden moonshine operation, the illegal goat that led to her father’s arrest, replacing addiction with overworking, healing through writing, and finding purpose after profound loss.

Mia’s life is proof that feeling buried does not mean you are broken. Sometimes, you are being planted for what comes next.

CONNECT WITH MIA GODFREY

Mia Godfrey’s website:
https://miagodfrey.com/

Buy Buried, Not Broken:
https://www.amazon.com/Buried-Not-Broken-Survival-Sisterhood/dp/B0G6Y12J29

Preorder A Second Sunrise, Together:
https://www.amazon.com/Second-Sunrise-Together-Remarriage-Families/dp/B0H89V3CG7

CONNECT WITH RYAN PENLEY AND THE NEXT FIX

https://www.ryanpenley.org/

EPISODE CHAPTERS

00:00:00 Communist Romania
00:07:11 Alcohol Became Her Escape
00:15:43 Love, Loss, and Addiction
00:24:26 Her Sister’s Final Request
00:30:22 Helping One Person
00:39:58 Resetting Her Purpose

Is it ever too late to come back?

Mike Curry lost his parental rights, went to prison, became homeless, battled meth and heroin addiction, and reached a point where almost nothing remained. But his story did not end there.

In this episode of The Next Fix, Mike shares how faith, sobriety, personal responsibility, and relentless growth helped him rebuild his life from the inside out.

We talk about:

• The hidden pain he carried for years
• Robbing pharmacies and going to prison
• Losing his rights as a father
• Homelessness, meth, heroin, and self-sabotage
• The moment he finally admitted, “I’m the problem”
• How God began rebuilding his life
• Turning addictive tenacity into discipline, service, and purpose
• Rebuilding trust with his daughter
• Why sobriety is only the beginning
• Creating a life worth staying sober for

Mike now helps business owners, entrepreneurs, and professionals break free from alcohol and discover who they are without it. His comeback is proof that no life is too far gone and no chapter has to be the last one.

Connect with Mike Curry

Website: MikeCurryCoaching.com
Instagram: @mikecurryofficial
Podcast: Sobriety, Spirituality, and Sales

Connect with Ryan Penley

Website: http://MyRockBottomRecovery.com
Book: Man Up. Sober Up.
Podcast: The Next Fix

Sobriety is not the finish line. It is the beginning of the life you were meant to build.

How does a psychologist become powerless over his own worst decisions?

Fernando Alessandri spent years helping people through trauma, PTSD, psychosis, and crisis. Yet in his own life, he kept making one costly mistake: forcing solutions before he had clarity.

At 38, Fernando left a religious organization he had belonged to since age 15 and now describes as a kind of cult. The years that followed brought broken relationships, professional consequences, and an exhausting search for love and certainty.

Then Fernando discovered Al-Anon.

Its first three steps helped him confront his powerlessness, believe sanity could be restored, and finally stop trying to force every answer.

In this raw, funny, and deeply human conversation, Ryan and Fernando explore:

• The childhood tragedy that shaped Fernando’s family
• Leaving a controlling religious environment after 23 years
• Becoming “powerless over stupidity”
• The danger of making decisions before clarity arrives
• How our worst choices develop through a “perfect storm”
• What maximum-security prison taught him about dignity and service
• Why helping someone else can keep you moving when your life is falling apart
• The role of faith, Al-Anon, and dark humor in his comeback

Fernando also reveals the unexpected creative opportunity that emerged from his professional setback.

Agent Bigglesby: Not Dead Yet follows an 84-year-old superspy who is officially dead, trapped in senior living, and convinced his enemies are still coming for him. The problem is that nobody believes him.

The story began as a screenplay more than 20 years ago. Fernando transformed it into a comedic novel, but the larger vision remains: bring Agent Bigglesby to the screen.

Want to help Bigglesby make the jump from the page to the movies? Buy the book, leave a review, share it with someone who loves smart comedy, and sign up for project updates.

Connect with Fernando:

Everything Fernando: https://linktr.ee/fernfactor

Discover Agent Bigglesby: Not Dead Yet, sample the story, and follow its journey toward the screen:
https://jamesprochester.com

Download free “mental health CPR” resources for helping loved ones in crisis:
https://incapables.org

Explore Fernando’s comedy, messaging, merchandise, and fundraising ideas:
https://fernfactor.com

TikTok: @http://fernfactor.com

Connect with Ryan Penley:

https://myrockbottomrecovery.com
https://ryanpenley.org

#comeback #AlAnon #MentalHealth #TraumaRecovery #PTSD

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Mike Acker helped people speak with confidence, but alcohol forced him to admit the truth he kept avoiding: “I don’t got this.”

In this episode of The Next Fix, Mike Acker opens up about sobriety, pride, pressure, faith, family, public speaking, and the quiet alcohol cycle so many people understand:

Stop drinking.
Feel back in control.
Find a reason to drink again.
Crash.
Repeat.

Mike is the founder of Uplevel Communication, a keynote speaker, executive communication coach, and bestselling author of Speak With No Fear. He helps leaders, executives, entrepreneurs, and teams communicate with confidence, clarity, and influence.

But behind the success, Mike was wrestling with something deeper.

After years of stopping and starting, he finally realized that “I’ve got this” was not confidence. It was pride. And the comeback began when he told himself the truth.

This conversation is about more than alcohol.

It is about breaking the cycle.
It is about becoming honest.
It is about rebuilding your life before your family has to meet the version of you that alcohol brings out.

If you have ever said, “I’ve got this,” while knowing deep down that you don’t, this episode is for you.

🎧 Topics in this episode:
• Mike Acker’s first experiences with alcohol
• Going from pastor to corporate communication coach
• The hidden danger of “I’ve got this”
• Binge drinking, pride, and the yo-yo sobriety cycle
• Why breaking the streak gave him permission to drink again
• Becoming sober for his marriage, children, health, and future
• Public speaking, confidence, and building a life that helps people

Learn more about Mike Acker:
Official Website: https://mikeacker.com
Uplevel Communication: https://uplevelcommunication.com
Speak With No Fear: https://speakwithnofear.com
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/ADVANCEwithMikeAcker
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mikeackerdotcom

Learn more about Ryan Penley:
Website: https://www.ryanpenley.org
The Next Fix Podcast: https://www.ryanpenley.org/podcast
My Rock Bottom Recovery: https://www.myrockbottomrecovery.com
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/7ytlQkbD5R8vxtM3KAO0Xs

Subscribe for more comeback stories, recovery conversations, and real talk about what happens after the rock bottom.

Survival was not the finish line.

What if real recovery is not just getting clean, but becoming whole enough to live with purpose again?

Dr. Sarah Nasir joins The Next Fix for a powerful conversation on addiction, stigma, medicine, purpose, and what it means to transcend the old version of yourself.

Dr. Nasir is a dual board-certified physician in family medicine and addiction medicine. She brings a rare mix of medical insight, compassion, and whole-person thinking to the recovery conversation.

In this episode, we talk about:

• Why addiction is not simply a matter of choice
• How stigma shows up in healthcare
• Why shame does not help people heal
• The role of medication-assisted treatment
• Whole-person recovery: body, mind, spirit, relationships, finances, and purpose
• What it means to become “transcendent”
• Why survival was never meant to be the final destination

If you have ever wondered what comes after getting clean, this conversation is for you.

Learn more about Dr. Sarah Nasir:

Dr. Sarah Nasir’s Website: https://sarahnasir.com/
Transcendant You: https://transcendantyou.com/
Zenara Care: https://zenaracare.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/sarahnasirdo/

Learn more about Ryan Penley and The Next Fix:

Ryan Penley Website: https://www.ryanpenley.org/

Pornography, the "P" Word, addiction is quietly shaping a generation while most parents and leaders are still too uncomfortable to even say the word out loud.

If we don’t start having honest conversations now, we risk losing our kids to a battle they’re fighting in silence.

In this episode of The Next Fix, Ryan Penley sits down with Chris Rogers, founder of Rebooted Teen, to talk about pornography addiction, compulsive behavior, shame, recovery, and what it really means to “reboot” instead of just white-knuckling your way through change.

Chris spent much of his professional life as an educator, but behind the scenes, he was fighting his own battle with pornography and unhealthy coping patterns. Now, he helps parents and teens address one of the most overlooked struggles facing young people today.

This conversation goes far beyond “stop doing the bad thing.”

Ryan and Chris talk about:

• Why pornography is often treated like the hidden addiction
• How shame keeps teens and adults stuck in secrecy
• Why recovery is more than just swapping one behavior for another
• What it means to rewire the brain and rebuild identity
• How parents can lead with curiosity instead of condemnation
• Why the home should be a safe place to practice hard conversations
• How Chris helps families through Rebooted Teen

One of the most powerful ideas from this episode is simple:

If you lead with shame, they will stay the same.

This episode is for parents, people in recovery, men fighting hidden battles, and anyone who wants to understand how compulsive behavior takes root and how real freedom begins.

Learn more about Chris Rogers and Rebooted Teen:
https://www.rebootedteen.com/

Host: Ryan Penley

https://www.ryanpenley.org

What does it feel like to be trapped in the bucket of life?

After years of addiction, chaos, homelessness, and trying to outrun the pain of his past, Bryan Blackmon found himself in Huntington Beach, California with almost nothing left. But through a series of what he calls God moments, including a powerful mirror moment where he heard “you are worth it,” Bryan began rebuilding his life one day at a time.

In this episode of The Next Fix, Bryan shares how a dream to move west turned into a fight for survival, how his 87-year-old landlord Elaine became a surprising source of love and stability, and how getting sober helped him turn pain into purpose.

We talk about addiction, identity, the lies we start believing about ourselves, the power of resilience, and how Bryan’s Crab Crew Life was born from the idea that some people pull you back into the bucket, while the right crew helps you crawl out.

This conversation is about more than sobriety. It is about becoming clean, resilient, adaptable, and grounded in belief.

Because sometimes the life that almost destroyed you becomes the story God uses to help someone else keep going.

Connect with Bryan Blackmon:

Crab Crew Life: https://crabcrewlife.com/
Bryan’s official links: https://linktr.ee/bryanandelaine
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@bryanblackmon
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bblackmon25/
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@bryanblackmon25
Facebook: https://m.facebook.com/bblackmon25
Crab Crew Discord: https://discord.com/invite/Vg9sFSGWw6

Connect with Ryan Penley:

Website: https://www.ryanpenley.org/

#TheNextFix #sober #alcoholic #CrabCrewLife #sober #wedorecover #comebackstory #addictionrecovery

What if recovery was never meant to be one-size-fits-all?

Andrew Zamacona, founder of The CCRI Project, joins The Next Fix to talk about addiction, connection, identity, and building a life you no longer need to escape from.

Andrew’s story started with a search for belonging. What began as connection through drug culture eventually led to consequences, arrests, surrender, and a deeper question:

What does real transformation actually look like?

In this episode, Andrew talks about:

• How drug culture gave him a sense of connection, meaning, and direction
• Why escape and belonging can both pull people into addiction
• The moment he realized the street life was either going to lead to prison or death
• Why traditional recovery helped him, but did not feel like the full answer
• The danger of performing recovery on the outside while feeling stuck on the inside
• Why recovery should be dynamic, not static
• Why AA and 12-step programs can be a way, but not the only way
• How lived experience can become a mission to help others

Andrew also explains The CCRI Project, which stands for Consciousness-Centered Recovery and Integration.

CCRI is built around three core pillars:

• Consciousness
Awareness, presence, reflection, and learning to notice the patterns running your life.
• Recovery
Turning awareness into action by correcting imbalance, adjusting misalignment, and making measurable changes.
• Integration
Building consistency, restoring wholeness, and creating a sustainable life that does not require escape.

This conversation is about recovery beyond checking boxes.

Beyond pretending.

Beyond survival.

It is about becoming aware, taking action, and building a life that actually holds you.

Connect with Andrew and The CCRI Project:
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/the.ccri.project
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@theccriproject

Connect with Ryan Penley:
Website: https://www.ryanpenley.org

Subscribe for more comeback stories, recovery conversations, and real strategies for rebuilding life after addiction.

#TheNextFix #Recovery #Sobriety #AddictionRecovery #WeDoRecover

🚀 More people have walked on the moon than professionally flew a Rocketbelt.

Dan Schlund is known as The Last Rocketman, one of the few people on earth to professionally fly a real Rocketbelt. He spent years flying jetpacks across 26 countries and six continents, but behind the incredible performances was a much deeper comeback story.

In this episode of The Next Fix, Dan opens up about surviving catastrophic burns, losing 185 inches of skin, breaking his neck during a world-record attempt, being introduced to hydrocodone, battling anxiety, losing his identity, and rebuilding his life through faith, purpose, and reinvention.

This conversation goes far beyond extreme sports.

Dan shares what it felt like to crash, recover, return to the rocket belt, and eventually build National Set Medics after realizing his Rocketman career was no longer enough to carry his future.

We talk about:

• Flying a real Rocketbelt
• The crash that caused devastating burns
• Breaking his neck during a world-record attempt
• Hydrocodone dependency after injury
• Anxiety, PTSD, and mental scars
• Losing your identity after life changes
• Faith, prayer, and finding the way back
• Building a new life after the crash
• Why Dan says he has no regrets

Dan’s book and documentary are both titled The Last Rocketman.

Learn more about Dan here:
https://rocketman.tv/

Subscribe for more comeback stories, recovery conversations, and real stories about what comes after rock bottom.

#sober #sobriety #recovery #comebackstory #TheNextFix