Not many people kick off their sobriety journey with a pact made with their mum - but for Ryan and his mum, it worked. And it’s transformed both of their lives.

For Ryan, the energy he unlocked by quitting drinking didn’t just stay bottled up - it burst open a world of new opportunities. And he said yes to all of them.

Welcome to The Next Round -the podcast that explores what happens after you change your drinking. Whether you’re wondering how to fill all that new free time or feeling supercharged with so many ideas you need help saying no, this show is your source of inspiration for whatever comes next.

When Ryan gave up drinking, he didn't just close a door -he opened a portal. What followed wasn’t just sobriety, but a full-blown transformation that turned him into a festival-hopping, breathwork-leading, mushroom-coffee-brewing creative force. This is the story of what happens when you say no to booze and yes to everything else.

When Ryan gave up drinking, he didn’t just close a door -he opened a portal. What followed wasn’t just sobriety, but a full-blown transformation that turned him into a festival-hopping, breathwork-leading, mushroom-coffee-brewing creative force. This is the story of what happens when you say no to booze and yes to everything else.

Ryan didn’t just stop drinking. He and his mum made a pact, and it stuck. It became an anchor that kept him grounded when life threw him curveballs—grief, stress, pressure. And rather than slide back into old habits, he leaned into something new. Actually, many things new.

His first year of sobriety looked nothing like what you might expect. It began with a love story—he met his girlfriend at a sober-friendly community festival. She opened the door to a world of conscious living: breathwork, ice baths, and music-fueled self-exploration.

What followed was a summer of sober festivals, including Medicine Festival and Boom in Portugal—seven days of breathwork, dancing, Kung Fu, and sound healing in the mountains. He wasn’t just attending these gatherings. He was performing, drumming with his girlfriend’s band, and even leading guided meditations at immersive sound healing events. At Hackney Round Chapel, he took the stage after a 20-year hiatus and led a meditation through the chakra system, paired with a cup of Blue Lotus tea and sacred geometry visuals on the ceiling.

Then came the deepening. He enrolled in an eight-month breathwork facilitator course, digging into trauma, PTSD, and shadow work. He’s now running free sessions as part of his training and sees this as part of his longer-term path: helping others—especially men—through sobriety and healing.

But his creativity doesn’t stop there.

So he’s building “Holy Mush,” a tree-slab-cart-powered mushroom coffee business with a side of kindness and storytelling. Think Lion’s Mane espresso served with a dose of human connection. He’s also cooking up plans to document his journey on social media using first-person glasses.

You can find Ryan's podcast '

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It was a health scare that pushed Jeff out of his comfort zone. He was diagnosed with a fatty liver at 29.

Now he’s reversed fatty liver disease and gained an amazing and active personal life.

Welcome to the Next Round, when things that scare you have the potential to improve your life in ways you never imagined. Your next round can be more than getting better physically, it can help you create a new point of difference.

Meet Jeff Smith, he works in finance by day, a notoriously boozy industry, but in his spare time he now performs improv on stage, jumps into icy fjords, learnt his mother tongue Tagalog, and has even launched a podcast. Most importantly he has reversed a health condition that could have killed him.

When Jeff changed his drinking habits, he didn’t just remove something from his life- he unlocked a more exciting life and imporved his health to boot!

A health scare in his late twenties pushed him to re-evaluate how alcohol fit into his lifestyle. What followed wasn’t just abstinence – it was expansion. From improv stages to ecstatic dance and even launching his own podcast, Jeff’s life now pulses with more energy, creativity, and meaning than ever before.

The catalyst was a diagnosis: fatty liver. At just 29, Jeff found himself dealing with elevated liver enzymes, fatigue, and unpleasant stomach issues. His drinking wasn’t daily, but it was intense – classic binge behavior.

The health wake-up call forced him to stop. Cold. But instead of spiraling, he got curious.

His first discovery? A run club that served matcha instead of beer. That led to Club Soda events, then the Social Wellness Club, and eventually a plunge into activities he never imagined himself doing. Like ecstatic dance.

Even more surprising for an introvert in the corporate finance world? Improv.

Jeff also co-created a podcast with a university friend, “The English Footy Podcast.” With his evenings no longer lost to wine or recovery, he had time and clarity for passion projects. He even began learning Tagalog – his mother’s language – fulfilling a long-held desire to connect more deeply with his heritage.

But perhaps the most meaningful change came from social confidence.

Navigating the finance world – a bastion of long-standing drinking culture – hasn’t been easy. Jeff still finds pressure in client meetings and among old university friends who knew him as a drinker. But with confidence and a kombucha in hand, he’s learned to draw his own line.

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Anneka has a story many of us recognise — that moment where one drink turns into four, and suddenly you’ve lost the night again.

Like so many, she used alcohol to take the edge off anxiety. It worked — until it didn’t.

Now, she’s alcohol-free and in tune with a completely different kind of energy. She turns to her tarot cards — not just for guidance, but to help others explore their own stories too.

Welcome to The Next Round — the podcast that asks what happens after we stop drinking. Maybe you’re wondering what’s next for you. Who knows — maybe it’s written in the cards.

Like Anneka Davie, who’s turned her passion for tarot into a tool for self-discovery and connection. In this episode, she shares how ditching alcohol opened up a whole new path — and yes, she even pulls a few cards for me.

When Anneke Davie stopped drinking, she didn’t just give up wine – she made space for something entirely new. A quiet force emerged. It started with crystals, then crept into her life with the pull of tarot cards and the clarity of a new routine that no longer centred around hangovers or hazy memories.

She’d always been a binge drinker.

Like many, Anneke believed drinking gave her confidence, especially in social situations, but the next day was always brutal.

Her final drink came after a day at the races. Drunk and disoriented, she lost the diamond out of her engagement ring and found herself on hands and knees, scrabbling through the grass.

That was three years ago.

What came next wasn’t just sobriety – it was a reconnection with a part of herself that had been long dormant. As a child, she’d been fascinated by dreams, superstitions and horoscopes. Lockdown gave her the pause she needed to revisit that part of herself. Crystals came first, and soon her house was filled with them – much to the despair of her husband. But then came tarot. She found a reader on Instagram, began training, and started doing readings for herself. The cards became mirrors, windows, and conversation starters.

It wasn’t long before others began asking for readings, and what started as a hobby slowly began to evolve into something more purposeful. At a retreat, someone asked her for a reading and, despite feeling way out of her comfort zone.

The more distance she put between herself and alcohol, the stronger her sense of direction became.

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Alcohol affects everyone – no matter who you are or where you’re from. Take John from Ghana. Sound familiar?

Today, he’s leading the charge for alcohol-free living in Africa – a true trailblazer.

Welcome to the next round, where we dig into the stories that shape us. The journeys that brought people to where they are now.

Like John Asogonnde – who swapped booze and weed in his for purpose, passion, and change.

We recorded this live during John ’s visit to the UK last autumn — so please excuse the audio quality!

When John stopped drinking and smoking weed at 24, he didn’t just walk away from substances -he walked into a mission. Five months after taking his last drink, John knew he had changed. He didn’t feel like he was missing out. Instead, he felt sharper, more alert, more present. And he wanted to create a space where others could feel that way too.

That’s how Eden Bar was born -Ghana’s first alcohol-free nightlife experience.

Launched on October 2nd, 2022 – World No Alcohol Day – Eden Bar started as a one-day pop-up. John raised money from friends and family after being roasted online for even suggesting the idea. But the launch was a success. Word spread fast, and John knew he was onto something bigger.

John’s journey to sobriety was a long one. He started drinking at 13, not because he liked the taste – his first drink was a 40% spirit that gave him a hangover the next day – but because he liked the way it made him feel.

By the time he reached university, drinking and smoking weed had become daily habits. His grades collapsed. Once a first-class student, he failed every course in his second year.

Even after relocating to a different hostel, the habits stayed. And when he graduated, he went straight into Ghana’s nightlife industry, managing a nightclub for a popular musician. The access to substances was constant – and partaking was expected.

But inside, he was miserable. The high never lasted. The low always deepened. He started to rebuild from the inside out – with faith, family, books, long walks, and intention.

You can follow John on @edenbargh but a hard copy of his book on https://joinclubsoda.com/product/john-asogonnde-unchained-book/

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Angie Thompson grew up in a turbulent home, where shouting, swearing, slammed doors, and harsh words were the norm.

But when she quit drinking, she uncovered a truth that changed everything—her past wasn’t just something to escape from; it held the key to her transformation.

Welcome to The Next Round, where we explore what happens after the last drink—because sometimes, understanding why you drank in the first place is the first step to discovering a new purpose. For Angie, that purpose became clear: by healing herself, she could help others do the same.

When Angie Thomson decided to quit drinking, she had no idea it would lead to a complete transformation -not just in her own life, but in the lives of others. Nearly two years into her alcohol-free journey, she’s now a trauma-informed coach, guiding people through the deeper reasons behind their drinking.

For Angie, sobriety wasn’t just about removing alcohol. It was about understanding why she drank in the first place. That realisation pushed her into a new career, one rooted in healing.

Finding the ‘Why’ Behind the Drinking

Angie describes herself as the life of the party -the first to arrive, the last to leave, always pushing others to drink just as much as she did. But behind the fun-loving image was something deeper.

Like many, she didn’t initially connect her drinking to her past. She grew up in a volatile household, where shouting and name-calling were the norm. As a child, she internalised it. “We don’t think logically as kids. We think, ‘My parents are arguing because of me.’” Those feelings of unworthiness followed her into adulthood, shaping her drinking habits.

It wasn’t until she stopped drinking that she recognised the underlying wounds that alcohol had been numbing.

You can find out more about Angie at angiethompson.thementalwellbeingcompany.com/ and on instagram @AngieMWC

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Looking back it is easy to see how alcohol drains your time, but for a long time Anna couldn’t quite admit what the problem was.

But Anna is not looking back, and her positive attitude is helpful for us all.

Welcome to the next round where we explore how you fill the space once occupied by wine, hangovers, and the mental weight of drinking culture.

When Ex advertising exec Anna Donaghey stopped drinking, she found herself with a new problem – time. What do you do with it? For Anna, the answer lay in something she’d been drawn to for years but had never quite pursued – podcasting.

Anna launched The Big Drink Rethink, a podcast exploring our relationship with alcohol, the culture around it, and what life can look like without it. It was a creative outlet, a way to channel her curiosity, and, unexpectedly, an anchor that kept her steady in her alcohol-free life.

But her journey to this point wasn’t smooth. It was a long, slow unraveling of drinking habits that had once felt normal, even essential. Anna’s story isn’t one of dramatic rock bottoms, it’s one of creeping dissatisfaction, of realising that drinking wasn’t just stealing her time, but also her sense of self.

Advertising, Drinking, and a Life on Repeat

Anna spent over 25 years in advertising, an industry where drinking wasn’t just acceptable – it was expected. She remembers long lunches, late nights, and the endless socialising that blurred into work.

She wasn’t an outlier. Alcohol was woven into the job – client meetings over wine, celebratory drinks, networking events. It was an industry where drinking was both professional and personal, making it even harder to see when it had crossed the line from social to habitual.

When she got married, her drinking didn’t slow down. In fact, it ramped up. Parenthood brought a new challenge: identity loss. Motherhood was disorienting, and the reality of maternity leave was nothing like the glowing, fulfilling image sold to women.

The loneliness, the shift in identity, the quiet grief for the life she had before, Anna managed it the way she had always managed difficult feelings: with wine.

You can find Anna on instagram at bigdrinkrethink and The Big Drink Rethink podcast on all platforms

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The Club Soda Tasting Room is at 39 Drury Lane, London, WC2B 5RR

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Seana spent most of her adult life in a love-hate tango with alcohol. But in writing her story, she unearthed the reasons she drank

Welcome to The Next Round – where the things you do after booze can often lead to feelings you never expected and can help the adult you in ways you could never imagined.

This week’s guest, Seana Smith, set out to document her first year alcohol-free, but in the process, she delved into her childhood- finding answers to questions she never even knew she had.

A Life Entangled in Alcohol

Seana spent much of her adult life in a push-pull battle with alcohol. On the surface, she was a high-functioning drinker—never the one causing scenes or spiraling visibly out of control. But behind closed doors, she was stuck in a vicious cycle of stopping, starting, berating herself, and repeating the pattern all over again.

Her drinking wasn’t just about the present—it was rooted in a painful past. Seana grew up in a home overshadowed by addiction and domestic violence. Her father was an alcoholic, and his drinking shaped the way she saw herself, the world, and alcohol itself.

A Legacy of Trauma

The echoes of her father’s drinking didn’t just haunt her childhood—they followed her into adulthood. As she tried to make sense of her own drinking, she realized she was wrestling with something far bigger than just a bad habit.

The turning point came when she lost her mother—a moment that unraveled a lifetime of emotions and unresolved pain. Her father’s drinking had defined so much of her childhood, but her mother’s silent endurance had shaped her just as much.

You can find Seana’s book on Amazon and Audible

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For years, Cecilia lived a life dedicated to health and fitness and encouraged others to prioritise their well-being. But one thing didn’t align with her values: alcohol.

Cecilia didn’t drink often, but when she did, she didn’t like how it made her feel. It clashed with the lifestyle she professionally advocated.

Welcome to the next round—where we explore what happens after people evaluate their relationship with alcohol. Whether you’re a daily drinker or an occasional binge drinker, alcohol can affect your life in both physical and psychological ways. Can quitting open up new perspectives?

This week’s guest, Cecilia Shandeva, a Workplace Wellbeing Professional and Grief Recovery Specialist, proves that no matter where you start, social pressures remain the same—but cutting out alcohol can make a huge difference. While the physical benefits of quitting are clear, the biggest gains may come from the psychological transformation.

For years, Cecilia lived a life dedicated to health and fitness. She ran marathons, led group workouts, and encouraged others to prioritize their well-being. But one thing wasn’t aligning with her values: her drinking habits.

Despite drinking less frequently than some, the impact was undeniable. The hangovers, the anxiety, the lost days of recovery – Cecilia realised that alcohol was taking away from the life she wanted to live.

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The Club Soda Tasting Room is at 39 Drury Lane, London, WC2B 5RR

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