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Welcome to the Hopeaholics Podcast, where we tackle addiction and mental illness through sharing real life experiences, honesty and hope! Hosted by Chad Carlsen, who knows firsthand the destruction that these issues can cause, we're here to offer listeners a much-needed source of inspiration and understanding that will carry them through tough times. Through powerful, honest, and unfiltered interviews, The Hopeaholics provides a beacon of hope for listeners facing similar issues, banishing stigma in the process. If you're looking for an authentic podcast that'll motivate you to overcome hard times and live well, look no further. To get help for yourself or someone you love, call 949-989-6550
309 Episodes
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1 Billion Hugs with Reed Byers | The Hopeaholics Podcast In this powerful episode of the The Hopeaholics Podcast, we sit down with Reed Byers to share his raw and inspiring journey through addiction, consequences, recovery, and purpose. Reed opens up about how substance use gradually took control of his life, the painful turning points that forced him to confront reality, and the mindset shifts that helped him rebuild from the ground up. He talks honestly about accountability, faith, repairi...
What It Really Takes to Get Clean and Stay Clean w/ David Gates | The Hopeaholics Podcast In this powerful episode of the The Hopeaholics Podcast, we sit down with David Gates to talk about addiction, recovery, faith, and the realities families face when a loved one is struggling. David shares his personal journey through loss, survival, and transformation, opening up about the friends he’s lost, the moments that forced him to change direction, and the purpose he found in helping othe...
Five Years Trapped With Her Cocaine Dealer with Gladys Seisay | The Hopeaholics Podcast In this powerful episode of the Hopeaholics Podcast, Gladys Seisay shares her raw and unfiltered journey from growing up in Sierra Leone to navigating trauma, addiction, domestic violence, jail, and ultimately fighting her way back to freedom. What started as teenage rebellion turned into alcohol abuse, cocaine addiction, and a five-year abusive relationship that nearly cost her everything. Gladys opens ...
The 12th Arrest That Changed Everything with Samantha Jurado | The Hopeaholics Podcast In this deeply emotional episode of The Hopeaholics Podcast, Samantha Jurado shares her unfiltered story of trauma, addiction, loss, and long-term recovery—from surviving childhood abuse, early suicide attempts, and meth addiction, to becoming a young mother, experiencing homelessness, incarceration, and the devastating loss of her daughter in a car accident that changed the course of her life foreve...
How Addiction Nearly Killed Three Sisters w/ Amanda Crossley | The Hopeaholics Podcast In this powerful episode of The Hopeaholics Podcast, Amanda Crossley shares her raw and unforgettable story of addiction, survival, and recovery—from growing up in New Jersey, stealing pills while working in a pharmacy, and descending into heroin use alongside her two sisters, to writing a desperate letter to Doctor Phil that ultimately changed all of their lives. Amanda opens up about the chaos of addicti...
Facing a Life Sentence After Getting Sober w/ Vinsent Franke | The Hopeaholics Podcast In this intense and deeply emotional episode of the Hopeaholics Podcast, Vinsent Franke shares a raw, unfiltered account of trauma, addiction, crime, faith, and recovery that spans decades. He opens up about early childhood exposure to drugs and alcohol, severe abuse that shattered trust, and a life split between discipline and chaos that fueled addiction from a young age. Vinsent details his descent into ...
Why Money, Power, and Women Didn’t Fix the Pain with Michael Lynch | The Hopeaholics Podcast In this raw and powerful episode of the Hopeaholics Podcast, Michael Lynch sits down to share an unfiltered story of survival, addiction, crime, success, and redemption. From growing up in foster care and running the streets, to building a viral underground fight empire funded by prison hustles, Michael opens up about the rise that came with money, fame, and excess—and the quiet collapse that followe...
Bare Knuckle Fighting Addiction with Brooke Evans| The Hopeaholics Podcast In this powerful episode of the Hopeaholics Podcast, Brooke Evans shares her unfiltered journey through addiction, trauma, and recovery, revealing the stark contrast between outward strength and inner struggle. A competitive fighter and athlete, Brooke opens up about using drugs and alcohol while training, escalating into heroin addiction, public injection, relapse after periods of sobriety, and moments where surviva...
Growing Up in Chaos and Choosing Sobriety with Jasper Wilkins | The Hopeaholics Podcast In this raw and deeply emotional episode, Jasper Wilkins shares his life story of growing up in chaos, addiction, and trauma, and how those experiences ultimately led him to the brink of death before finding recovery. Jasper opens up about being raised by parents battling substance use, enduring neglect, sexual abuse, and repeated loss, including the devastating death of his mother to addiction. He recou...
The Downward Spiral of Addiction with Ashleigh Ethridge | The Hopeaholics Podcast In this powerful and deeply vulnerable episode of the Hopeaholics Podcast, Ashleigh Ethridge shares her full story of addiction, recovery, and spiritual awakening, offering an unfiltered look at how alcoholism can quietly take over a life that once appeared stable and successful. She walks through her early years, the influence of the LA nightlife and service industry, and how drinking slowly evolved from soci...
Geoffrey Blaylock Returns: The Information That's Gap Killing Addicts | The Hopeaholics Podcast In this powerful return episode, Geoffrey Blaylock comes back to the Hopeaholics Podcast to continue the conversation on addiction as a brain-based disease, diving even deeper into the realities that families and individuals often misunderstand. Building on his previous appearance, he expands on trauma, attachment, and epigenetics, while challenging outdated intervention models and the damaging b...
Mommy Wine Culture Hid Her Addiction w/ Olivia Flynn | The Hopeaholics Podcast In this raw and deeply moving episode of the Hopeholics Podcast, Olivia Flynn shares her journey through generational addiction, early exposure to alcohol, and the quiet ways substance use became normalized long before anyone called it a problem, opening up about growing up with an alcoholic father, getting drunk for the first time and feeling relief, how bartending culture fueled addiction, and the internal unrav...
How Denial Keeps Addiction Alive w/ Anthony Zorzetto | The Hopeaholics Podcast In this powerful episode of the Hopeholics Podcast, Anthony Zorzetto shares an unfiltered story of addiction, identity loss, and rebuilding from the ground up as casual drinking and recreational drug use slowly spiral into full-blown addiction alongside a failing marriage, a collapsing construction business, and overwhelming financial pressure, opening up about how substances stopped being social and became a mea...
"GETTING SOBER AT 17 NEARLY BROKE ME" w/ Teddy Tarantino | The Hopeaholics Podcast In this episode, Teddy Tarantino shares his raw and unfiltered journey from severe addiction at a young age to more than 17 years of sobriety. Getting clean at just 17 years old, Teddy built a disciplined recovery foundation that led him to open a successful treatment center in his mid-20s, helping countless people find their way out of addiction. Along the way, he navigated complex questions around identity, ...
The Version of Him That Couldn’t Survive w/ Dave Puhky | The Hopeaholics Podcast In this powerful one-on-one conversation, Dave Puhky shares a brutally honest look at how alcohol quietly became the center of his life, blurring the line between control and collapse. What started as normal drinking slowly evolved into isolation, secrecy, and crossing boundaries he once swore he never would, all while trying to convince everyone around him that he had everything handled. Dave opens up about hid...
When Drinking Becomes a Daily Requirement w/ Mike Schuab | The Hopeaholics Podcast In this deeply personal episode, Mike Schuab shares an unfiltered account of how alcohol gradually took control of his life while he worked tirelessly to convince everyone—including himself—that everything was fine. What began as normal social drinking slowly evolved into secretive behavior, isolation, and a daily reliance on alcohol just to feel steady, leading to broken relationships, constant lying, and an...
The Inner Shift That Ends the Need to Escape with Jay Stinnett | The Hopeaholics Podcast In this powerful and deeply reflective episode, longtime sober member, historian, spiritual teacher, and filmmaker Jay Stinnett shares an extraordinary journey that spans addiction, surrender, awakening, and a lifetime of conscious spiritual practice. With more than four decades of continuous sobriety, Jay recounts hitting bottom at a young age, walking into his first recovery meeting broken and despera...
Breaking the Cycle of Addiction as a Family w/ Rafael & Nodia | The Hopeaholics Podcast In this emotionally charged episode, Rafael and Nodia sit side by side to share a raw, multi-generational story of addiction, denial, fear, and ultimately healing. What begins as Rafael’s attempt to escape the shadow of his past and Nodia’s effort to prove control through drinking spirals into cocaine, meth, psychosis, DUIs, hospitalizations, and moments where death or prison felt inevitable. Togethe...
“HEROIN ALMOST TOOK MY LIFE” w/ David Cohen | The Hopeaholics Podcast In this powerful episode of the Hopeaholics Podcast, a raw and unfiltered story of survival takes center stage as David Cohen shares the gripping truth of his journey through addiction, chaos, and redemption. From forging prescriptions on Windows 95 to surviving a near-fatal heroin overdose that left him in a coma for days, his life spiraled through crime, crack houses, and moments where death felt inches away. But throug...
Getting Used To Saying NO with Justin Wenzel | The Hopeaholics Podcast In this highly anticipated return to The Hopeaholics Podcast, Justin Wenzel sits down for an incredibly open and transformative conversation about self-worth, personal growth, and the journey he’s been on since his last appearance. Known for his bold transparency and massive impact on social media, Justin dives deep into the emotional work he’s spent the last year doing — from facing codependency and people-pleasing patte...
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