Sober Motivation: Sharing Sobriety Stories - Danny Shannon lived in addiction for 17 years and had 50+ rehab attempts and now is inspiring the world

Episode Date: January 31, 2023

Danny Shannon was stuck in addiction for 17 years. What started out as fun at 14 years old would be a long long battle with addiction. Danny had over 50 attempts at rehab and other programs and could not stay sober. On Christmas Day of 2009 Danny ended up a literal crossroads on a home visit from rehab.  Danny made a choice that day that changed his life forever. All the way from Australia this is Danny Shannons story on the sober motivation podcast. Follow Danny On Instagram Check out SoberBuddy Here Follow Sober Motivation on Instagram

Welcome back to season two of the Subur Motivation Podcast. Join me, Brad, each week is my guests and I share incredible and powerful sobriety stories. We are here to show sobriety as possible, one story at a time. Let's go. Danny Shannon was stuck in addiction for 17 years. What started out as fun at 14 years old would be a long, long battle with addiction. Danny had over 50 attempts at rehab and other programs that could not stay sober. On Christmas Day of 2009, Danny ended up at a literal crossroads on a home visit from rehab.

Danny made a choice that day that changed his life forever. This is Danny Shannon's story on the Sober Motivation podcast. Hey, everyone, Brad here. Check out the Your Sober Buddy app if you haven't had a chance to yet. We host 10 live support groups per week, and also there's a thriving community of people on the same journey. Everyone is working together to help each other out to support each other And these support groups really help us come together and get to know one another Head over to your sober buddy.com or search your favorite app store your sober buddy

Getting help for addiction is never an easy thing to do and picking the right place to get help makes it even more overwhelming That's why I've decided to partner with the United Recovery Project I've had a chance to get to know some of the incredible people working at the United Recovery Project over the years. And that is why this partnership makes so much sense. The United Recovery Project has a top-notch treatment facility and program. I truly believe in Brian Elzate, who is the co-founder and CEO and has 14 years clean. The properties themselves are beautiful with tons of amenities and activities. But most importantly, it's the level of care they offer.

It's exactly what you would hope a family would receive in the staff who most of which are in recovery themselves truly care. It's really apparent that they do their absolute best to create custom treatment plans to meet everyone's individual needs. If your loved one is struggling, reach out to them directly at 833-551-0077 or check them out on the web at uRP recovery.com. Now let's get to the show. Welcome back to another episode of the Sober Motivation podcast. Today, all the way from Australia, we've got Danny Shurvey. Shannon. Danny, how are you doing today? Very, very good. Thank you very much, Brad.

Awesome, brother. Well, I'm so glad that we could connect and make this happen. I know that the podcast listeners are going to love this. Why don't you take us back to the beginning? What was it like for you growing up? Yeah, Matt. Thanks, Brad. And look, I'm grateful. We connect on a daily basis pretty much you know so i thank you for that thank you for giving me your time and um it's a pleasure to be here on the podcast okay going back look i've told this story a million times i guess i've been i'm blessed to be in recovering now 30 and a half a year so yeah anyway look so i got a good idea of what it was like you know i grew up in this pretty good i think a pretty good household when i say that my dad was a criminal but my mom was this beautiful loving

soul who I feel she taught me all my values, all my good stuff about me. And my dad taught me everything I need to know how to be a criminal. And like everything I need to know to sort of survive, I guess, on the streets as I did growing up, you know, but to go right back, you know, I remember having a pretty good childhood. I was a pretty happy kid. My mom and dad were kind of never really together much. my dad was always overseas doing his thing. But my mum, like I said, kind of looked after us pretty well.

And I think back to those times, and I think I had a pretty good childhood, you know. But as I was going through school, I was quite a popular kid too. I'll say that. And the reason I say that is because when I picked up drugs at the age of 14, I quickly lost that popularity. And I also think I used to be a pretty good skateboard rider. and I think that used to bring a lot of my mates together because we used to do, like,

I used to go breaking into schools and construction sites and we'd build ramps at my house. And mum would always let me build ramps, skateboard ramps, in the backyard, you know? So that would always bring a lot of mates around. And because I was a pretty good skater, and I guess I'm just saying that, like, I was. Like, if I think back, like, oh, you used to be probably the most riskiest guy, you know, who would do some silly stuff that would, anyway, you know,

it's kind of built me a little bit of reputation as a kid and as a good skater. And yeah, look, I don't know, mom and dad were split up most of the time. Look, I can dig deep and try and blame. Look, I am my dad 100%. Well, I certainly was when I got clean, you know, when I, so, and what I'm talking about there is, you know, how they often say, you know, we're a product of our childhood and stuff, too. But, you know, today I don't look back at that much. But I'm sure my, you know, my childhood and my mom and my dad not being together and a little bit of chaos probably set me up for, you know, the life I was about to live, you know.

Yeah, and you hear that story a lot, too, that there might be a little bit of a rocky upbringing for people who then struggle with addiction. But I like how you put it there to where you're not looking to place blame on anyone, because of, I mean, I do think there's an extent to where we make our own choices. But you did mention you started using it 14. How did that come about? Yeah, man. Yeah, and look, this is where I guess you can really dig deep and blame. But I'm definitely not about blaming.

Like, I love what you just said. Like, I do. I take complete responsibility for who I am today, you know. I'm really good with working in the here and now. And blaming the past for me, it's just not in my blood, you know. I just don't do it. But at 14, mom and dad had tried one last hurrah up in our northern state, our Queensland. I'll just say that because you wouldn't know where Queensland is.

But anyone from Oswood, of course, know that. But anyway, we moved up to this place called Bundaberg. It's like a beach town, a little beach town. And mom and dad thought they'll try one more time for the kids' sake. And to be honest, I had a huge part in this whole thing. It's like, all right, I got them up there, and then once I were up there, I said to mum, maybe you should go back, maybe, because she wasn't happy, mom wasn't happy. My mom, my sister weren't happy.

So maybe you guys should go back, you know. I feel like I manipulated the whole thing. Who knows, maybe I'm dreaming, but pretty much mom left. It wasn't working out between her and me dad, which it was never going to because my dad's bless him. I love him, but he's just an asshole. My dad's just got no, um, um, um, um, um, um, Maybe no people skills for a wife, that's for sure.

Anyway, mum end up moving back to Sydney. So I'm up there with my dad. My dad goes overseas a lot. So he's going overseas. And every time he comes back from being overseas, we've been kicked out of another unit. This happened three times in a row. I'm getting drunk, stoned.

Actually, to go back, where it started was my first night in Bundaberg was the day I picked up. alcohol and drugs. I had had a cigarette before that and I do think it kind of all started with that cigarette, you know, if I really dig deep. But anyway, my first night up in Bundaberg, I got drunk and stoned and we also sucked on these things called cream bulbs nitrous oxide. I don't know if you call them nangs over there or what you call them. But anyways, it's just butane gas that you inhale and get high. And I remember like a few hours later sort of waking up on the outdoor roller skating rink,

bodies laying around everywhere, broken glass. And I remember thinking, fuck, that was mad, you know, that was a good time. And that's kind of where it started.

Braddon, I just kind of continued from that path then. It was mad. Does that, does that refer to it being a good? Yeah. Well, I just didn't say that,

like, I think, I think this is the difference between an addict, alcoholic kid and a normal kid. Maybe other kids, kids would have gone, oh, I don't know about that, but I've just woken up, like, come out of unconsciousness.

Just thought, yeah, that was good. Let's do it again, yeah? I feel like that was kind of the day it all started to unravel. Yeah. How did things go after that, though? Then it was it, was it an everyday thing for you, drinking and all that stuff? Yeah, pretty much. Yeah, pretty much.

So it started smoking pot pretty much daily. Then, man, I'm 14. It's ridiculous when you think. about like but getting stoned my dad was absent um I'm I went to school but I got I didn't last long um but yeah getting drunk on the weekend started to dabble in LSD magic mushrooms were a thing up there in Queensland as well and by the time maybe 15 maybe say six months later I've been dabbling in pot regularly alcohol regularly a little bit of speed LSD,

magic mushrooms, everything, Coke, everything bar heroin. Pretty much to jump forward, what happened is my dad moved back to Sydney as well

because I got his kicked out of every house he had and I just said to my dad then I'm 15 maybe by now I said, listen, Tony, I call him, I never called him dad my dad told me to call him

Tony as a young kid which kind of reflects our relationship you know. He is my dad, but I told him, I said, Tony, maybe you just go back to Sydney. I said, I'm right, you know. Just leave me up here.

I just sort of couch surf for the next six months, left school, and probably got myself in a bit more trouble. But then I moved back to Sydney, and that's when I picked up heroin, maybe at like 15 and nearly 16 years of age. Danny, didn't take you long time to get going on things. No, it's, yeah. What was it all for?

Looking back, like, I mean, is there something here underlying, or was it just young man trying to have some fun? I love that question, Brad, because, you know, like, if you look at, and I've worked in drug and alcohol for over a decade, you know, more longer, and you look at all the science behind it, or they all reckon that it all stems from our childhood and that, right? But I love to, I want to fight this one. Like, no, I don't, I feel like I, I was a happy kid until I picked up drugs. And then I remained a pretty happy kid, but this animal or this thing, maybe a disease, I'm happy to call it disease, had sort of started. And I just liked getting stoned.

Like, from the, from the day I picked it up, I just could never stop it again, you know? And it goes back to what I said in the beginning about not blaming anything, whatever. All right, my dad wasn't absent. My mom was beautiful. She done her best, but she had to move back and look after my sister too. For me, I just feel like I just liked it and I just wanted to change the way I feel, you know? Yeah. A good point there at the end to change the way that you're feeling about thing.

How did things look then? So you move back? Yeah, cool. So this is when shit hit the fan, mate, really. like so i'm i'm i'm almost 16 years older i've got me mate i call him my best mate because but in in the truth the way it was going to turn out like he used to rob me and i'd rob him that was the basis and he was my co-offender you know he's a guy did all the crime like him me and him were sitting in his car at the front of this um heroin dealer's house well actually

not the dealer but someone who was going to take us to get heroin and i remember the day Brad, I remember it clearly. It's like, I remember I'm in a yellow Gemini that's holding, yellow holding Gemini, and sitting in the backseat, and we're about to go and see this guy Rob, and he's going to take us to buy heroin. And I remember feeling scared that day, and I remember feeling like this is a really bad idea, and I don't think I even really wanted to do it, you know. But I think peer pressure played a huge role in it, you know, like my mate, Brad, bless him.

He wanted to get on the heroin. He did have probably more troubled childhood than me, but I'm sure enough, next thing you know, me and Brad and Wock, that's the drug dealer in Cabram. Cabram matters where all the heroin was back in the late 80s, 90s here in Sydney. And that's where you'd go and buy heroin. Heroin was at every single corner. Like you couldn't get off a train without being asked by 50 people to get on, you know. Anyway, we got, I took, we bought some heroin.

I'm in this dingy little flat apartment in the middle of Cabramatta and the drug dealer injected me with heroin. And, and mate, if up until that point I'd had, I don't, I wouldn't even say I had a big problem with drugs up until that point. Like, yeah, I was dabbling with everything, like I mentioned, but shit was about to get real the day I used heroin, mate. like for the next 17 years i never missed a day after that of getting stoned on heroin basically so you start out so that's your that's your first time is when this when you meet with this guy

yeah first time on heroin yeah yeah and then you instantly fell in love yeah really you know like definitely like it's it's it's it's really because why why were what was i trying to change so much you know, like you asked me that question, like, why did you pick up drugs? But I don't know, but may it felt so good, Fred. Like, I remember, like that day, and I don't want to go into too much, no trigger warnings and stuff, but like, I remember that day, like, it, you know, it was like it was something I've been looking for forever. It was this euphoric feeling that just made everything really good, you know,

and I chase that for the next 17 years. But it got messy pretty quick, bro. Within six weeks, my family had found out that I was using heroin. And you could imagine, well, I can't imagine. I can only try to imagine what it would be like for a mom. Maybe a dad. I don't know what my dad ever really saw, but my mom, like, I can only just imagine what it would have been like.

But then they tried to lock me up and stop me from using it. And then I'd, you know, I'd start escaping the house. And so I'm back at mums by the stage as well. should mention I was living with my mum, my sister. I had a girlfriend too. I tried to blame my heroin use on her because bless her. And I think she felt guilty for the next 10 years. She got in another relationship.

I'm only a kid. But anyway, I blame that, her getting in another relationship on me using heroin, which was all bullshit, man. I just was addicted, mate, yeah? I started visiting Cabramatta on a daily basis. I was chasing heroin. Like I was stealing, robbing, hurting. Like by the age of 16, I'm locked up in boys' homes as well.

Just a little brief stints for, you know, writing bodgy checks or having warrants. You know, warrants due to. And then by the time I was 18, I was locked up in prison here for my 18th birthday. And it just, look, for the next 13, 14 years, it just continued to get worse and worse. I was just an animal. I had the obsession and compulsion to get and use drugs. That's all that I cared about.

I didn't care who I hurt along the way. I injured myself really badly in those times too. Like I think, like I cut my Achilles tendon in half on my right leg, climbing out of a broken window that I'd just done a break in enter on. And like it sprung up my leg. my tendon. I managed to get home that night. And I didn't even go to hospital to the next day. The minute I walked into that hospital, they threw me on a stretcher and operated. That was Easter. Easter Sunday, like 2001, maybe, or maybe 99, 1999. And I had a serious motorbike accident, too,

when I was about 17. I was in a brain injury clinic. I was in a coma for a few days. up out of that coma. And I went and got on. I managed to knock off some money of someone in the room next in the coma, some guy that was out of it. I managed to get in the cab, go to cabra, get on, come back. And by the time I'd used the heroin, I'd busted a few staples in my leg. Just like, I just, like, it's just crazy, the obsession, how much of a machine I was

to get on, you know? Yeah, for sure. were there any interventions during those what you said 13 years 17 years yeah yeah but like and this is just for the loved ones out there you know our loved ones of people suffering like there's nothing no one could do man there's not like oh you could try all you wanted i had girlfriend's mom's sisters everyone trying to do plenty and i was kind of listening like i would go to rehab i would go to detox. My story has about 50 rehabilitation attempts, Brad, and that's because of my beautiful, loving mum in the background, but I was never serious. I used to just go just to shut them up.

And I guess I had some kind of fantasy. Maybe I could stop, but the minute I'd straighten up, I'd usually take drugs into the detox or the rehab I'd go to. And the minute I'd straighten up, I'd have a feeling, I'd be legging it. I'd be jumping fences. I'd be running down hills, be doing whatever I can to get away. Yeah. So when did things change for you? Yeah, cool. Well, September 15th, 2009 is my, that's my sobriety clean date,

which is 13 years, four months and 16 days since I've had a drink or a drug. I've got the biggest smile on my face as I say that because it's a miracle. But after 50 rehabilitation attempts, after just all that carnage of addition, for some reason, I feel like I just made a different decision for the first time of my life. I didn't pick up that next drug, you know? It's like the stars and planets aligned. You know, you hear that, but I swear to God, that's exactly what it was. There was this tiny little moment in time that,

I stepped through and I made a different decision. And because of that decision, you know, here I am today. And I reckon, and just to go back to what I was saying about the loved ones, like what I meant to all those loved ones trying to help their, you know, their sons, their brothers, their sisters, their aunties is just that there was nothing anybody could do. And I also want to say to, like, even at my lowest of low, living homeless, under the bridge, hanging out in withdrawals, having to eat and having a shower. Like even then, I still had hope that I was going to get on, you know.

And I need to share that because I know all the loved ones. I've taken thousands of phone calls over the years, Brad, from family members, just in pain about their loved ones in jail here and there. And I just, I say that because they are the true victims, the family members, I reckon, you know, like, I was always going to get stoned. And let me tell you, I would. It's going to get stowed. But, you know, they're the true victim.

So what was it like, though? September 15th, 2009. What was leading up? What made this any different than before? How did you come to place? What was going on? I'm in rehab, okay? I'm in rehab.

I'm in detox. First, I went to detox. I started ringing some phone numbers from the resource book. Let's call a resource book because I was a bad people, please. I had no intentions to getting clean. All right, I'm in detox, but I've done 50 other attempts. Like, I'm just there, I don't know, to drop my tolerance to have another go, wait until I get my next earn.

And I rang a rehab and I'm sure enough that rehab came out and did an assessment on me. And they said, all right, you can come in tomorrow. I said, what? What do you mean? I can come in tomorrow. So I left detox, of course. I went and got on again. And they told me if I did that, I wouldn't get in.

And I rang them that next day. And I said, look, I fucked up. I've left with this person I've got. And they said, all right, we're going to still bring you in. And look, there's two parts of this story. That was when I was still on the methadone. I ended up going to that program and getting off the methadone. But finally, the thing that changed made is, I want to tell you this little story.

It was Christmas Day 2009. This is where my life completely changed forever, okay? Christmas Day 2009. I like to tell this story. It puts a smile on my face because honestly, this is a day a miracle happened. I was on my way home to visit my family. I'd just been holding on by the edge of my seat in rehab. It's Christmas Day. I have to go home and see the family. To be honest, I don't want to see the family. My shame and guilt is so heavy that it's horrific to go home and see the family. but everyone else is doing it. So I think, all right, I've got to do it. And that day, after I left a big family lunch with 15 people at the table that I'd hurt,

stole and robbed, I was just sick with guilt and shame. And I don't mean to blame it on that. Like, boo-hoo, you know, but I just, I gave up. I thought, you know what, I can't do this. Fuck this. I'm going to get on. Excuse my angry jump. I'm going to get on.

And on my way home, I had cash. I thought, that's it. I'm like 10 minutes away from the rehab. I thought I'm just going to go up to the Kings Cross. I'm going to buy some heroin and some cocaine. And as I was standing there at the crossroads, Brad, to my right was King's Cross. That's where I was going to get on.

And to my left was the bus that took me back to the rehab. That day, I just thought about what was going to happen. I knew if I used where I'd end up, I'd end up back in detox. I'd end up back in jail. or I could end up dead, but I just didn't know, and I'd never tried this before, not getting on. And that day, I got on the bus and I went back to rehab, mate, and a miracle happened that day, brother.

Look, for the next few days, I was full of anxiety. It felt like I'd thrown it all away, but I have not come close to picking up a drink or a drug since that day ever again, man. And that was like 13 years and four months ago now. the obsession and compulsion was just completely lifted man i haven't even come close to picking up since that day um so yeah an absolute miracle brother wow so what comes after that though like was it was just all in that moment everything was was done or did you continue to work at something afterwards yeah of course like it wasn't that easy like no one just has a miracle like that you know

I've worked my ass off, Brad, every day continually. Like, what day? Tonight I'll be up at a meeting at 6pm here tonight. So the next 13 and a half years is just I built myself a very structured program that I continue to maintain on a daily basis. You know, I got involved in a 12-step fellowship heavily. Like I was doing two meetings a day for the first two years, basically. I started doing a bit of one-on-one counseling.

I found service positions in the fellowship. I started giving back. You know, I found myself a mentor, a sponsor, somebody who I could trust, somebody who I could sort of, you know, help me guide me along the way. And, mate, I've just, I've worked my ass off. Like, it doesn't feel like I work my ass off today. But if I look back on what my day is like, I think, Danny, how do you do it sometimes? It's just from the minute I wake up to the minute I go to bed, I'm sort of, well, I certainly

was for a long time there, 10 years. A good 10 years of my recovery was just really structured program. You know, today, these days, I do have a very different life. I'm living this. I'm living the dream. And I've got to say, I've been living the dream for the whole 13 years, bro. I really have. The first two years was difficult, absolutely, but just having that freedom to not.

Well, to be able to leave my suburb because I didn't have to get methadone for a long time. I kind of missed that part of my story. But I was on the methadone for 13 years through those roads. But that freedom to be able to leave the local area to travel, for example, and just to feel good, not feel tired and numb and stone, the freedom to feel to live life and life's terms without the use of a substance, like lit me up, you know? But yeah, it's been it's been a long slog, but it wasn't it wasn't just a miracle happened Christmas Day 2009. Like I've worked my ass for it, but it's definitely been worth it, brother.

So the Christmas Day was just sort of a part of the journey, but then you have to follow up with all the other work every day, right? To maintain. That's why I'm a big friend of the word recovery, because recovery leaves the door open for like future progress. The word sober, I feel like is just a destination. and you get there, you're sober, and that's great. But recovery for me is what I'm living in,

where I'm working on this stuff every day, whether it's not really today. It's not really about drugs and alcohol. It's more or less just to be the best person I can possibly be to, and I know if I stay on that track, I'll stay away from the other stuff. So, yeah, that's incredible, though, Christmas, buddy, powerful thing. You know, a lot of people get sober between probably December,

20th and January 3rd. I see the most... Crazy. Yeah. Yeah. Rehabs are very full at that time here in Australia too. Oh, are they? That's the hardest time to get in rehab. It's funny.

Well, I mean, it's not funny, but it makes sense, isn't it? You know, people... It's that time of year, it's just another day, but whatever. But it's the time of year we're sentimentally, we feel we're missing out, I guess, if we're stoned, you know? Yeah. Yeah, and there's a lot of downtime and there's a lot of money. There's a lot of mess.

There's a lot of opportunity to, you know, a lot of people I think are Christmas too, right? You're off for a couple weeks and you can get into a lot of trouble with a couple weeks without work. So what are things like for you now, though? So you've got this stuff straightened out. And now you've been rocking and rolling for 13 and a half years, 13 years, four months. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah, no, no, um, yeah, um, life's good, mate.

Life's good. Like I just said before, I don't know, Brad, I've been so blessed to have found gratitude, I guess, you know. In this journey, I want to share something. I was 10 months clean. The insanity of the early days was just so painful. Like, my head just never shut up. It was just like, even though, like, it's just the insanity of the early. days of recovery, you know, and I'm, like, my head would just be so busy. I wouldn't talk to

people. I was really isolated, but I was doing everything I needed to do. But anyway, I was on my way home from a meeting one night, and I looked up, and I seen the moon, you know, and for some reason that day, this is kind of like another huge spiritual awakening that I had. I just felt really connected to something bigger than me, you know, and I'm not saying it's God, or it's the universe in particular. I just had this moment of serenity and gratitude that I'd never, ever, ever experienced before. Like that day, I just felt high on life, you know? And, mate, it's like that day was a really good moment that I kind of chased

and I continued to chase as I continue to move forward, you know. And I've had those moments many, many, many, many more times, you know. It's like gratitude is my drug, you know, that feeling, that euphoric feeling, which I get almost every day after the gym, not every day, but I'm like, I've just come from the gym, actually, so I'm feeling pretty alive at the moment as well. This is my best time to work, but it's, well, it's one o'clock now, but you and me have been chatting since, I think, 11 a.m. And I took my daughter to school for her first day of school today, year one as well, so that made me

feel good and then I went and trained. But anyway, my point is, yeah, life's really good. And even when it's not good, it's still good. Like, I've got this ability to, you know, flip the script, to see positive in every situation. I love a bit of pain these days. It's crazy. I don't mean to minimize anybody else's pain when I say that. But when I say, I like having a shit day because it's kind of, I don't know, it makes me feel alive.

It makes me know I can get through that and be. and coming out the other end so powerful i had a question though you were talking about the thing where the story where you saw the moon yeah and you were high on life what is that like though well like i explained it's high on yeah well can i just ask you before i explained it you know that what i'm talking about you know that feeling i do but what what are some other emotions that you can connect with it you know what i mean to see if other people can't say something like yeah sure sure it's just like this extreme happiness, I guess. It's like feeling so peaceful, like there's not a worry in the world.

That's maybe, it's a little bit of that or a little bit of like this really peaceful feeling. Like if you think of serenity, I think it's like just this nice glow. It's just feeling high on life. I get it all the time. It's weird. I actually get it quite often. Yeah, no, I hear you. I don't, I don't personally think it's weird.

I just can relate to that in a sense to where, like, I've had experiences like that, but for what it was for me was just this ultimate acceptance of myself and who I was. Okay. When I was hooked on everything, heroin, alcohol, pills, cocaine, everything. I didn't love who I was. I didn't have any self-worth, the low self-esteem,

if any self-esteem. And I just hated what I saw in the mirror. And for me, those spiritual awakenings that we talk about so frequently in recovery, for me, are most of the time brought on in nature of some sort. And when I'm experiencing it is when I'm truly in line with where I'm supposed to be in life. And I think a big part of my addiction was that why it was so painful. And why it had to stop in a sense is because I was so far out of a love. alignment with what I was supposed to do.

Maybe in this world or maybe a bigger picture thing, those pieces of the puzzle, I don't know, but I was able to get to a spot and I have those moments too where I'm like, I've accepted that I'm exactly where I'm supposed to be right when I'm supposed to be there. And I feel like my years of addiction, I never did that. I never enjoyed the little things. I never even could notice anything outside of my little work. world. So I think that's really cool because that is what a lot of people wonder about when I get sober. Is it going to be boring? Is it going to be lonely? Is it going to be, you know, all this

stuff? And the short answer is no, but it might take some time is what you're telling, what I'm hearing from your story. Yeah. Yeah. Thanks for you. That's spot on. Yeah. There is all of that stuff. It's loving yourself, you know. It's like not, not wanting to change much. It's like being a piece of yourself. Yeah, there's a bit of that too. That's a really good point. Thanks for helping me realize that. It's not just that feeling.

It's like, and I do know this. People often ask me for some reason, Danny, do you like yourself? Or someone asked me last night on one of my live shows. I said, yeah, I love me so much. It sounds dinky to say that. But like, I've got to, like, and I do, I guess, like, there's not much about my life that I would want to change. And if I do want to change it, I'm changing it.

I'm doing it, you know? Yeah. Yeah, let's go, man. So true. Let's go. Let's go. Yeah. And I mean, that's what that's another thing too.

Another point there. That's where recovery and sobriety brings us to a point where, you know, we have some level of control. I mean, we're not in control of everything, but we can kind of steer the ship the best we can. I felt like when I was stuck up in the addiction, everything just happened around me. I just really was just looking to solve one problem. What can I do right now to escape the way I feel

and forget about everything, every bad thing that I've done in my life and all the pain and all the heartbreak, everything? What can I do the fastest to do that? And it was always drugs until I learned a different way. Yeah, definitely. It's a different way of life now. You know, like even just responsibility today,

Like I had no responsibility. Well, I probably did. I just never, ever, ever paid any attention to the word responsibility. But today my life is full of responsibility. And strangely enough, like responsibility where a lot of joy comes from, isn't it? You know, like my daughter, today or my son. My career, my life, it's a very rewarding thing. And that's something we never had in addiction either.

Yeah, wow. Yeah. I just remember back to when I used to work at this rehab. That would be one of the first things you're working on people with is responsibility, accountability, all these big words, ability. But those are some of the big things you hammer on every day, right? It's being responsible, following through with what you say you're going to do, showing up when you're supposed to.

Those are big things that you've got to rinse and repeat, right, over and over again. And then it just becomes part of what you're doing every day. That's so true. And it might not feel like it's going to change, but if you just keep doing it, next thing you know, it's changed. Like, let me just talk about the Toll Step Fellowship for a second. Like, that stuff, I've been studying life for 13 years, four and a half months. And that's something on, like, I thought I had a problem with drugs.

Then I got off drugs and I realized I got a problem with life. It's not drugs. I've got a problem with living life and life's turns without a drug. And along this journey of recovery, I've learned so many things. Because I've been really involved in my recovery, I've been studying to live life in the best way possible. What would you say if somebody was listened to the show here and they're struggling to get or stay sober?

Yeah, don't ever give up 100%. you know, because I guess it felt like I'd kind of given up along that journey, but I feel like it's really important that I had the seed plants as whenever it was. Like I was stone most of the times I was in rehab or I wasn't paying any attention, but something was planted in my head. And that something kept me coming back thinking, all right, maybe there's hope for me. Maybe there is another life out there.

but I think don't ever give up, you know. And I also think to dream big too. I think a big part of my journey has been almost fantasy. Like dream big. Like the thing is we can do anything. I can do anything. You know, and I love to believe that I'm big on manifesting and visualization, all these stuff that I've learned along recovery.

It sounds a bit crazy as I'm saying out loud now, but it's true, right? It's all true. Yeah. No, I love that. Yeah, never give up. That's so important too, right? Because you never know when it's going to when that's going to happen, man.

I was sharing my story the other day too. And I never set out for this to be the outcome. Like I just set out for the pain to stop. But I thought once it stopped, I would, you know, I would get back at it. I would get back out there and do my thing. It's all I knew, right? But something happened, man. You know, through all the celebrate recovery meetings, I did 12 months treatment, you know, jail.

12-step meetings and I mean I was going to everything but I was like you I was like you a lot I didn't really have any intention of quitting I just wanted to get people off my back maybe it was court ordered

but something eventually happened man like without me realizing it's something something happened to where yeah and day it wasn't even after a bad day like I mean it was normal for me I woke up on my brother's floor

I used to live on the floor of his apartment. Yeah. He had a two-bedroom apartment with another roommate. When he had friends over, sometimes I'd sleep on the couch, but when he had friends over, they would hang out and I would sleep in the bedroom and watch Dexter. I remember like it was yesterday.

And it was just one day I woke up and, you know, I said, that's it. Enough is enough. And I didn't have any plan. It wasn't a bad day. I had plenty of bad days, but I never got sober after one. And it's really weird, you know.

And I feel like a lot of people are, waiting around. People are waiting around for this bottom for relationships or they're waiting around for driving while impaired or they're waiting around for some reason. My message to people is simple. You can stop the madness whenever you want. It doesn't have to be after, you know, something tragic has to happen for us to figure this stuff out. You know, good. True. Absolutely. Brad, so what did you do that day? You decided enough enough. Did you go to rehab?

Did you or did you stop? Yeah, no, it wasn't that easy. No, I went to rehab. So I had burned basically every bridge near me, every relationship. And people were willing to help, but not willing to help. There was very boundaries were set, right? It was limited.

So we reached out to my grandparents. I picked up the 3,000 pound phone. and I was like, yo, grandparents, I need some help. They had no idea, right? No idea what was going on. They didn't understand the stuff. But they drew down. I went to detox.

And then after that, I moved, I moved back up to Canada. So I get a new location and, you know, I started my life over. But it was a slow grind, but it was a really, really slow grind. Yeah. Of learning, right? Because I was, I was unemployable. I had, you know, no education. Yeah, I mean, it was, I had.

had no belongings. The only things I owned were, you know, in a suitcase, maybe five or six pieces of clothing. I had absolutely nothing. So I was starting from complete scratch. And then, you know what I mean? You just have to chip away at the old block, though. You have to stay with it. You have to believe you just have to go against what you want to do. You know, just got to keep going in the right direction. Yeah, you had to be that. You had to be sort of open to it, which you were. That's amazing, bro. Yeah. So that's a little bit, man. That's a little bit of the journey. But this has been incredible, Danny.

I appreciate you jumping on here, buddy, and sharing your story and sharing some of your insight. Because you've worked with a lot of people on their journeys as well, right? Yeah. Brad, it's crazy. Like, so I worked in drug and out. I worked in a rehab. I actually worked in the rehab.

I went through back in 2009 for the next 10 years. Well, no, it took me two years to get a job there because I went and studied. And then I worked there for a solid. of 10 years. And then about five years ago, I went on this trip to America and I'd started recording these video time capsules with the clients that I work with. And the idea was I'd get individuals to record a video to their future selves so that they could measure their growth and where they'd, how far they'd come from the day they came

into maybe six or 12 months down the track. And when I was in America, I was really inspired by all these entrepreneurs to come back home and turn that concept into an idea, like a platform. And I came back, I took out a big loan and I built this web platform called Encapsular. So we provide time capsule video programs allowing individuals to reach. record and document their hopes, their dreams, their fears and their future aspirations. And then we locked this away into a secure time-locked vault, waiting to be discovered at a date that you choose in the future.

That's encapsulator. And since then, we've kind of developed it into this really safe place for individuals to express themselves without fear of judgment. So we have expert design questions and programs that come up that allow people like you and I, people on the journey of personal development, mental health and wellness to start to explore some of their emotions. So often, when we attend a counselor or a professional, we put on this front. It's never the true, well, I've never told the truth. But what we do allow with encapsulators people to record video, answering these questions to their future

yourself and in doing this they start to explore some of those emotions that they may never have spoken about before and when we do that we when we verbalize our goals our fears our dreams out it adds this extra level of accountability and motivation as you progress towards your goals and then i started sharing that stuff on social media about five years ago and now today my life is just like it's crazy i started sharing encapsulated but somehow in doing that i was shared about my recovery journey, which leads us here. Another amazing episode. I know you're going to love this one.

Thank you, everybody, for leaving your reviews and downloading the episodes of the podcast and sending me a message on Instagram or Facebook, letting me know that you love it. Thank you so much. None of this would be possible without your support. And if you haven't had a chance to leave a review yet, please do so. And send Danny a message and let him know. Thank you, Danny, for being on the sub-reiberation. Motivation podcast.

Until next time, I'm out.