Primary Purpose with Pej

This week on Primary Purpose with Pej, Pej sits down with Sasha who shares his journey through meth addiction, hacking, crime, and prison to recovery and addiction intervention work. Together, they explore family dynamics, why loved ones need to be part of the recovery process, and what it means to rebuild your identity after addiction. This candid conversation connects a remarkable personal story with a shared purpose: helping individuals and families find a path forward. Subscribe for more honest conversations about addiction, recovery, interventions, and finding purpose.If this conversation resonates with you, please like the episode, subscribe to the channel, and share it with someone who may need to hear it. If you or someone you know is struggling with substance use, consider reaching out to a qualified healthcare professional or a trusted local support service.CHECK OUT The Foundations To Freedom Youtube! ↓https://www.youtube.com/@FoundationToFreedomTo learn more about Foundations to Freedom visit this link:https://f2f-pej-help.com/YouTubeCall Foundations to Freedom for more information:833-8-Hope4UPej's Links |Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/pejinterventions/Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/PejizCorner/All Links - https://beacons.ai/pejSasha's Links |Website - https://seizethedays.org/Chapters | Tags in this video ↓#addictionrecovery #recoveryjourney #sobrietyjourney #mentalhealth #healing #hope #resilience #personalgrowth #recoverycommunity #inspiration #doctor #education #awareness #addiction #addict #school

This week on Primary Purpose with Pej, Pej sits down with interventionist and recovery expert Chris Howard for an honest conversation about addiction, mental health, intervention, sober living, and what it takes to create lasting change. Chris shares how childhood instability, foster care, poverty, substance use, incarceration, and opiate addiction shaped his life—and how getting sober led him from working overnight grocery shifts to graduating from UCLA and building Ethos Recovery. Drawing on more than 16 years of frontline experience, Chris explains why trauma is not always the root of addiction, how mental health diagnoses can become part of a person’s identity, when medication-assisted treatment such as Suboxone can save lives, and why short-term addiction treatment often fails to produce long-term lifestyle change. Pej and Chris also discuss accountability, family involvement, therapeutic communities, distress tolerance, intervention strategies, and the balance between compassion and confronting destructive behavior. This episode offers direct, practical insight for individuals in recovery, families affected by addiction, treatment professionals, and anyone trying to help a loved one change.CHECK OUT The Foundations To Freedom Youtube! ↓https://www.youtube.com/@FoundationToFreedomTo learn more about Foundations to Freedom visit this link:https://f2f-pej-help.com/YouTubeCall Foundations to Freedom for more information:833-8-Hope4UPej's Links |Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/pejinterventions/Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/PejizCorner/All Links - https://beacons.ai/pejChris' Links |Website - https://ethosrecovery.com/Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/chrishoward/Chapters | Tags in this video ↓#addictionrecovery #recoveryjourney #sobrietyjourney #mentalhealth #healing #hope #resilience #personalgrowth #recoverycommunity #inspiration #doctor #education #awareness #addiction #addict #school

This week on Primary Purpose with Pej, Pej sits down with Katherine Russell who shares how a devastating car accident and a prescription for narcotic pain medication led to years of addiction—and how she ultimately transformed her pain into purpose. After losing nearly everything, Katherine began rebuilding her life through recovery, Narcotics Anonymous, step work, and community support. Today, she is the founder and Executive Director of Foundations To Freedom, an organization dedicated to helping people navigate early recovery through sober living, practical resources, and compassionate support from staff with lived experience. Katherine’s inspiring journey is a reminder that prescription drug addiction can affect anyone, healing is possible, and a meaningful life can be rebuilt after addiction. Watch this episode to hear her remarkable addiction recovery story, learn why supportive sober living matters, and discover how Foundations To Freedom is helping people create lasting change. Learn more about Foundations To Freedom, support its mission, and share this conversation with someone who needs hope.If this conversation resonates with you, please like the episode, subscribe to the channel, and share it with someone who may need to hear it. If you or someone you know is struggling with substance use, consider reaching out to a qualified healthcare professional or a trusted local support service.CHECK OUT The Foundations To Freedom Youtube! ↓https://www.youtube.com/@FoundationToFreedomTo learn more about Foundations to Freedom visit this link:https://f2f-pej-help.com/YouTubeCall Foundations to Freedom for more information:833-8-Hope4UPej's Links |Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/pejinterventions/Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/PejizCorner/All Links - https://beacons.ai/pejKatherine's Links |Website - https://foundationstofreedom.org/Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/foundationstofreedomfl/Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/ftfdeland/Chapters | Tags in this video ↓#addictionrecovery #recoveryjourney #sobrietyjourney #mentalhealth #healing #hope #resilience #personalgrowth #recoverycommunity #inspiration #doctor #education #awareness #addiction #addict #school

This week on Primary Purpose with Pej, Pej sits down with Laisha Martinez who shares her journey through substance use, X**ax dependency, and three DUIs and the wake-up calls that ultimately led them toward sobriety and a completely different life.Together, Pej and Laisha Martinez explore what it was like to get sober at such a young age, experience emotions clearly for the first time, and learn how to navigate adulthood without escaping uncomfortable feelings. Laisha also opens up about the legal consequences of their decisions, what rock bottom looked like, the realities of early recovery, and the difficult process of taking accountability without living in shame.This episode is about more than addiction. It is a candid conversation about emotional growth, rebuilding an identity in sobriety, and finding hope and purpose through recovery. Above all, it is a reminder that a person’s lowest moments do not have to define their future.If this conversation resonates with you, please like the episode, subscribe to the channel, and share it with someone who may need to hear it. If you or someone you know is struggling with substance use, consider reaching out to a qualified healthcare professional or a trusted local support service.CHECK OUT The Foundations To Freedom Youtube! ↓https://www.youtube.com/@FoundationToFreedomTo learn more about Foundations to Freedom visit this link:https://f2f-pej-help.com/YouTubeCall Foundations to Freedom for more information:833-8-Hope4UPej's Links |Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/pejinterventions/Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/PejizCorner/All Links - https://beacons.ai/pejLaisha's Links |Podcast -  @fthestigma  Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/nolongerlaisha/ & https://www.instagram.com/fthestigmapod/Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/fthestigmapod/Chapters | 00:00 Welcome & Introduction00:47 Lisha's Story Begins03:36 Growing Up in North Carolina06:14 Family Dynamics & Early Trauma12:20 Middle School Memories16:40 High School & Insecurities24:40 First Drink & Substance Use28:40 First Xanax & Rapid Escalation33:20 DUIs & Rock Bottom41:00 Struggling with Addiction44:00 Third DUI & Final Straw47:00 Deciding to Go to Rehab50:00 Life in Treatment & Early Sobriety56:00 Finding Purpose: Film & Podcasting01:01:00 Building 'F the Stigma'01:06:00 Moving to Baltimore & Nonprofit Work01:12:00 Family Relationships Today01:15:00 Maintaining Recovery & Sobriety01:19:00 Message for Young People & Final ThoughtsTags in this video ↓#addictionrecovery #recoveryjourney #sobrietyjourney #mentalhealth #healing #hope #resilience #personalgrowth #recoverycommunity #inspiration #doctor #education #awareness #addiction #addict #school

This week on Primary Purpose with Pej, Pej sits down with Danny. He shares how growing up in an abusive household led him to use drugs and alcohol to cope with feeling like he never belonged. After eight years sober—but still feeling restless, irritable, and discontent—he relapsed and remained in active addiction for 15 years. Now celebrating 18 years of sobriety, Danny’s powerful recovery story offers hope to anyone struggling to get sober, stay sober, or find lasting freedom from addiction.CHECK OUT The Foundations To Freedom Youtube! ↓https://www.youtube.com/@FoundationToFreedomTo learn more about Foundations to Freedom visit this link:https://f2f-pej-help.com/YouTubeCall Foundations to Freedom for more information:833-8-Hope4UPej's Links |Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/pejinterventions/Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/PejizCorner/All Links - https://beacons.ai/pejChapters | 00:00 Opening Story and Introduction01:46 Introducing Danny D's Sobriety Journey03:34 Who is Danny D? Early Life and Family07:51 Childhood Abuse and Escaping Through Music12:06 First Drink and Running Wild15:21 The Rod Stewart Lie and Hollywood20:20 Skid Row and Desperation in San Francisco25:05 Finding AA and the Phone Booth28:10 Eight Years of Untreated Alcoholism31:09 Relapse at the Anniversary Meeting35:44 15 Years of Chaos and Music38:07 Ron Johnston Never Gave Up40:32 The Rainy Night in Venice42:32 The Rodeo Meeting and a Glimmer of Hope45:04 Earl Becomes Sponsor and Never Gives Up48:16 Asking Earl Why He Never Let Go50:10 The Beast and the Turning Point53:42 The Laughter That Changed Everything55:40 The Lineage and Service57:27 Final Thoughts and How to Find DannyTags in this video ↓#addictionrecovery #recoveryjourney #sobrietyjourney #mentalhealth #healing #hope #resilience #personalgrowth #recoverycommunity #inspiration #doctor #education #awareness #addiction #addict #school