S3 Ep176: The Ben Nevis Special!
This week's episode comes from base camp following a challenging (yet rewarding) hike up Ben Nevis with the wonderful OTI community members! We have some of those wonderful members chatting with Ben and Shaz to discuss the hike and their experience of OTI. If you think this sounds like a laugh and would like to get involved, go to https://www.overtheinfluence.co.uk/membership to be the first ...
54m Aug 05, 2024
54m
S3 Ep175: Caroline Evers-Endacott: cee-change.com
In this episode we are delighted to welcome Caroline Evers-Endacott to Over The Influence! In 2018, the loss of a loved one led Caro to rethink the way she was living her life. She left her fast-paced city career behind, and started developing a new lifestyle for herself. Caro started her training in therapy and today, she is an integrative therapist working with common mental health presenta...
50m Jul 29, 2024
50m
S3 Ep174: John Whaite: Ruff Puff Brownies
It's one of our faves, the wonderful John Whaite is back on the pod! Since we last spoke to John on the pod, he has been diagnosed with ADHD. He talks to us about how he thinks his drinking and ADHD were related to one another, and how life is so much more manageable now that he has both under control. We're so grateful to John for coming on to the pod and sharing his time with us. He's alway...
49m Jul 22, 2024
49m
S3 Ep173: Pippa Morris: AF In The Goldie
This week we welcome the wonderful Pippa Morris onto the podcast! Pippa gave up drinking around the same time as our Ben after the first lockdown in 2020. She tried out moderation too and then decided that after successfully completing her first year with no alcohol, that the sober life looked good on her. It's an open and honest conversation about life's stresses and how we think that alcoho...
49m Jul 15, 2024
49m
S3 Ep172: BIG News
We don't have a guest this week because blimey have we got some big news for you! --- Get In Touch: Of course, you can always get in touch with us (publicly or privately) on our socials - @alcoholfreepod (https://www.instagram.com/alcoholfreepod/) on Instagram, or search for "Over The Influence" on Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/alcoholfreepod) . We'd love to hear your story - please ge...
47m Jul 08, 2024
47m
S3 Ep171: Sarah O'Mara: Red Rose Recovery
This week we welcome the fantastic Sarah O'Mara onto the podcast! Sarah is the Drug and Alcohol Lead for Lancashire (our Shaz's neck of the woods!) and in her role with Red Rose Recovery she and the rest of the organisation provide a support platform to individuals from vulnerable groups to reduce their dependency on drugs and/or alcohol so that they can develop themselves and create thriving,...
48m Jul 01, 2024
48m
S3 Ep170: Ellie Webb: Caleño
This week we welcome the wonderful Ellie Webb to the podcast! Ellie is the founder of one of our favourite AF drink brands, Caleño. While taking a break from alcohol in 2017, Ellie was shocked at how limited the drinks options were for people who didn't drink. We've all had the conversation with the bar person where they've looked back at us blankly after asking about their alcohol free option...
44m Jun 24, 2024
44m
S3 Ep169: Ian Thurlbeck: Four Years AF!
Our community member Ian Thurlbeck is back for his third round in the OTI ring! We spoke to Ian after one year, then two years and so now we're catching up with him again after four years to find out what alcohol free life is like for him further down the road. We chat about the new habits he has formed as a result of ditching alcohol and how the integration into alcohol free wasn't the shock...
54m Jun 17, 2024
54m
S3 Ep168: Alex Clapp: Claritee
This week Shaz and Ben are joined by Alex Clapp, a sober events organiser with his company Claritee based in the North West of England. Alex chats everything from pickles to pandas on this episode (it'll make sense) and shares his story of how sobriety has opened a whole new world to him that he didn't know could exist on the other side of ditching alcohol. If you would like to take a look at...
46m Jun 10, 2024
46m
S3 Ep167: Annie Knowles: The Sober Rainbow Rider
We're delighted to have a member of our OTI Community on the pod again this week, and it's the wonderful Annie Knowles! Annie is a NHS Healthcare worker and IPHM Sobriety Coach who, just like us, is singing about the joys of sobriety. During the Covid-19 Pandemic, the stress of working in hospitals led to Annie drinking more. The realisation that her drinking was slipping into dependency was t...
1hr 5m Jun 03, 2024
1hr 5m
S3 Ep166: Sharon Returns!
Sharon is back recording pods following her surgery so her and Ben are catching up to see what she's missed. Welcome back Shaz! --- Get In Touch: Of course, you can always get in touch with us (publicly or privately) on our socials - @alcoholfreepod (https://www.instagram.com/alcoholfreepod/) on Instagram, or search for "Over The Influence" on Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/alcoholfreep...
46m May 27, 2024
46m
S3 Ep165: Dana White-Guerrie: The Yarn Consolery
This week on the pod we have the wonderful Dana White-Guerrie joining us all the way from Colorado, USA! Dana battled with a variety of addictions for decades, having a devastating effect on her mental health. Now, she's living clean and loving every moment. You'll be sure to find Dana a breath of fresh air and if you would like to find out more about Dana and The Yarn Consolery you can head ...
47m May 20, 2024
47m
S3 Ep164: Sarah Turner: The Unmumsy Mum Returns!
We're delighted to welcome back author Sarah Turner, who's also known as The Unmumsy Mum! We catch up on how Sarah is getting on with alcohol free life with some honest chat about how once you come down from the initial high of going alcohol free, there's a settling in period as you get comfortable with the new you. If you'd like to find out more about Sarah, search for The Unmumsy Mum on soc...
51m May 13, 2024
51m
S3 Ep163: Gary Mairs: Sweary Sobriety Mentor
In this episode we welcome the fantastic Gary Mairs onto Over The Influence! Gary is ten years (yes a whole decade!) alcohol free and is smashing life. Following a challenging first year of sobriety, Gary ditched the alcoholic label and decided to leave that life behind him completely. Recently, since the birth of his lovely daughter, he decided that through social media he would try to give ...
48m May 06, 2024
48m
S3 Ep162: Sharon Hartley: The Not Very Patient Patient
This week, our Shaz is the one doing all the talking (even more so than usual). You may or may not already know that she's about to take some time off so we thought it best that we let you know why. Of course, she's a trooper and when Shaz is back she will be back better than ever but it never hurts to have a few words of support so feel free to drop us a message at otihq@overtheinfluence.co.u...
40m Apr 29, 2024
40m
S3 Ep161: Sue from Halifax: Two Years AF!
In this episode we welcome our lovely community member and jet setter Sue to the podcast! Sue is just about to hit her two year alcohol free milestone, an amazing achievement and we're so proud to have been a part of her AF journey. We talk all about why Sue felt it was time to knock drinking on the head for good and how joining our Over The Influence community helped overcome some of the cha...
49m Apr 22, 2024
49m
S3 Ep160: Kelly from Scotland: The Fighter
In this episode we welcome Kelly from Scotland onto Over The Influence! Kelly has just celebrated a whole year alcohol free - although she has been part of our OTI Community for a little longer than that. Kelly's story is about the importance of keeping on - and even though it has been far from easy, she talks about why being AF is so important to her. Kelly talks about the importance of acti...
49m Apr 15, 2024
49m
S3 Ep159: Scott Woolley: Arclett
In this episode we welcome Scott Woolley onto Over The Influence! Scott is a FDAP Substance Misuse Professional and the founder of Arclett, which is a community brand devoted to removing the stigma attached to sober living. Scott quit alcohol at 26 to spend less time hungover and spend more time exploring his passions, the culmination of which is his beautiful portfolio on his website arclett...
46m Apr 08, 2024
46m
S3 Ep158: Venessa McPhie: The Sober Bus
This week we welcome the fantastic Venessa McPhie onto the podcast! Venessa is a listener to the pod and was keen to share her story with all you other sober curious folks out there. Following a traumatic experience caused by alcohol, Vanessa decided it was time to rid herself of alcohol once and for all. She now runs the Facebook page The Sober Bus (https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=10...
45m Apr 01, 2024
45m
S3 Ep157: Dan: One Year AF!
This week we have one of our own on the pod, Big Dan from Essex! Dan has successfully smashed his one year milestone and now in his year two, he’s looking to spread the sober message. He’s an absolute breath of fresh air and we know you’re going to love hearing what he has to say. Thank you again to Dan for coming on the show and sharing your thoughts on AF life. If you think you might benef...
52m Mar 25, 2024
52m
S3 Ep156: Justin B. Long: The Righteous Rage Of A Ten Year Old Boy
This week we are joined on the podcast by the fantastic author Justin B. Long! Justin takes us through the reasons why his drinking got out of control, stemming from his difficult childhood. If you'd have told him fifteen years ago that he is where he is today, he wouldn't have believed you. His books include his inspirational memoir The Righteous Rage of a Ten-Year-Old Boy: A Journey of Self...
53m Mar 18, 2024
53m
S3 Ep155: Luke Colson: Well, That F*cked Me Up!
This week we welcome the fantastic Luke Colson onto the podcast all the way from sunny California! Luke is a fellow sobriety advocate and has come along to tell us about some of the lows he reached as a drinker, but more importantly the glorious highs that he's now enjoying as a non-drinker. Luke is a fascinating person to listen to, we could have chatted to him all day. If you enjoy this epi...
53m Mar 11, 2024
53m
S3 Ep154: Chris: Our OTI Community
In this episode we welcome back the lovely Chris to the pod! Chris is a big part of our OTI Community, joining us all the way from New York (the state, not the top of the Empire State Building like Shaz seems to think) in the US of A. We've heard from Chris before when he came on with his AF BFF Aran but now he's back to tell his sobriety story and what has brought him to where he is today. I...
44m Mar 04, 2024
44m
S3 Ep153: Danny: 500 Days AF!
He's a man that goes by many names in our community. Some call him 'The Porky Prince', others 'The Prince of Pastry'. It's even been claimed that he is 'The Sausage King of the North West'. We simply know him... as Danny Bangers. Danny is a much loved and very active member of our community. He's found a home here with us at OTI and as you'll hear on the episode, that's not something he always...
53m Feb 26, 2024
53m
S3 Ep152: Grace Cowley: An AF Anniversary Surprise!
Shaz and Ben recently received the best e-mail ever to the OTI inbox. It's author was the guest on this episode, the fantastic Grace Cowley. Grace is a dedicated listener to Over The Influence and she got in touch to let us know how listening to the pod had changed her life forever. When the e-mail arrived, Shaz immediately called Ben to say that Grace had to come on to the show. Get a brew, ...
50m Feb 19, 2024
50m
S3 Ep151: Todd Kinney: I Didn't Believe It Either
This week we welcome the fantastic Todd Kinney on to the podcast all the way from Omaha, Nebraska in the US of A! Todd is an attorney by trade but since going AF has become a QuitLit author too with his book that may be already familiar to you, 'I Didn't Believe It Either'. For those of you who have come through Dry Jan and you're thinking "is that it?!" - take a listen to what Todd has to say...
48m Feb 12, 2024
48m
S3 Ep150: Dr Helen: Ten Years AF!
In this episode we welcome our OTI Community's very own medical professional to the podcast, the fantastic Dr Helen! Now a decade into her sobriety, Helen is an AF veteran and is absolutely smashing life without alcohol. She joined the OTI Community in our earliest days as she says she finally found a group of people that didn't look at quitting alcohol as something to be ashamed of but instea...
56m Feb 05, 2024
56m
S3 Ep149: Aran: Our OTI Community
In this episode we welcome back the wonderful Aran to the pod! Aran is one of our lovely OTI Community members and he joined us just over a year ago when he went AF last Dry January. Since then, it's safe to say he has bedded himself into the community and has got everything he can out of alcohol free life. If you think you might benefit from joining the community and would like to find out m...
59m Jan 29, 2024
59m
S3 Ep148: Professor David Nutt: Alcohol and the Brain
To those of you doing Dry January, we salute you! Keep up the great work. We are delighted to be joined this week by Professor David Nutt (Imperial College London), a Psychiatrist who researches the affects of drugs on the brain. The drug in question this week is of course alcohol. David has spent much of his career researching how alcohol impacts brain function and the dangers of drinking to...
50m Jan 22, 2024
50m
S3 Ep147: Craig Beck: Dry January and Beyond
Our old mate Craig Beck is back on the pod! He's back this Dry January to discuss with us why we shouldn't put a time frame on sobriety and if you're enjoying it, push on and enjoy each sober moment as it comes! Craig's book "Alcohol Lied To Me" and it's sequel "Alcohol Lied To Me... Again!", are essential quit lit reading. A lot of you out there will have already read them; anyone that hasn't...
49m Jan 15, 2024
49m
S3 Ep146: William Porter: Making the Most of Dry January
In this episode we catch up with friend of the podcast William Porter, the author of Alcohol Explained! William talks us through what happens to your body and brain when you decide to remove alcohol... And the reasons why it doesn't feel very good at first. He talks us through the science (both physiological and psychological) to give us an understanding of why we feel rubbish at first, but th...
51m Jan 08, 2024
51m
S3 Ep145: The Dry January Special
Happy New Year! It's the most wonderful time of the year - Dry Jan! To celebrate, we've invited on some members from our community here at Over The Influence to share their alcohol free tales after getting started on their journeys during January. Sobriety isn't a pipe dream - it's an achievable life choice and this lovely lot, are the proof in the pudding (or the podcast). Whether you're e...
48m Jan 01, 2024
48m
S3 Ep144: Ruth Jones: The Christmas Special!
Ho-ho-ho, Merry Christmas!! As an extra special gift for you lovely lot today, we've got the one and only Ruth Jones on the podcast! She's a much-loved actress, writer, producer, novelist and you guessed it - she's one of the alcohol free gang. We're delighted that Ruth has joined us on the pod to spread some AF festive cheer and appreciate her taking the time to share her sobriety story wit...
57m Dec 25, 2023
57m
S3 Ep143: Dupe Witherick: Thrive Alcohol Free
This week we have the fantastic Dupe Witherick on the pod! Dupe is an accredited alcohol free & wellbeing coach and the author of "A Cocktail of Clarity". She is also a fellow AF podcaster so make sure you check out Thrive Alcohol Free! In this episode we chat to Dupe about what life was like before giving up alcohol and the remarkable improvement that she has felt since she removed it. With ...
51m Dec 18, 2023
51m
S3 Ep142: Karl Considine: Love From
In this episode we welcome Karl Considine onto the pod, founder of the AF bar Love From in Manchester! Karl is also the host of sobriety pod (big up the sobriety pods!) What Next. After kicking the booze himself, Karl saw that there was a massive gap in the market for somewhere that non-drinkers could go out and have a nice drink without being surrounded by alcohol. We had a wonderful time ch...
48m Dec 11, 2023
48m
S3 Ep141: Chris & Aran: Transatlantic Mates
In this episode we chat to two of our fantastic community members, Chris and Aran. One of our favourite things about the pod and the community is that you, our wonderful listeners, not only connect with us but with each other as well. Chris and Aran are a great example of that and we wanted to get them on the pod to discuss how removing alcohol hasn't diminished their social life as they suspe...
56m Dec 04, 2023
56m
S3 Ep140: Marcus Jones: Kitchen Talker to Mountain Walker
This week we welcome Transformation Coach Marcus Jones onto the podcast, who shares his own sobriety story with us in the hope of helping other men who are currently in a similar situation to where he was pre-pandemic. Following the breakdown of his marriage, Marcus found that he turned to alcohol and substance abuse to help him cope. Far from giving him comfort though, he found that in the lo...
52m Nov 20, 2023
52m
S3 Ep139: Happy Birthday Sharon!
No guest this week because our Shaz is turning 50! Her and Ben are taking a moment to reflect on the last decade and how quitting the booze half way through her 40s changed the direction of travel for everything Sharon Hartley related. Enjoy your holiday Shaz, you flippin' deserve it! --- Get In Touch: Of course, you can always get in touch with us (publicly or privately) on our socials - ...
44m Nov 13, 2023
44m
S3 Ep138: Andy Delderfield: The Fire Runner
In this episode we welcome back Andy Delderfield, the founder of Alcohol Free Runners and a member of our AF community. Last time we had Andy on the pod, he was preparing to push himself to the brink by running a marathon in ice cold conditions. This time he's taking it easy, and will be running in the extreme heat instead. The reason he is doing this is to raise money for Prostate Cancer UK ...
44m Nov 06, 2023
44m
S3 Ep137: Gayle Macdonald: Sober Bliss
In this episode we welcome Gayle Macdonald onto the pod, who is a transformational sobriety coach and author who is here to give her insight into alcohol free life. Having had various periods of sobriety before falling back into old habits, Gayle called it a day once and for all so that she could bring more structure to her family life. Her message is simple and highly effective: quit drinking...
54m Oct 30, 2023
54m
S3 Ep136: Danielle Cooper: Flourish And Thrive
In this episode we chat to our fantastic community member Danielle, who joins Ben & Shaz on the pod fresh from the OTI Edale trip. It’s Danielle’s second outing on the OTI podcast and today she’s here to talk about the gut-brain connection and why it is so important to stay on top of your gut health. Of course, with this being an AF podcast, we had to ask about what alcohol does to the gut. It...
51m Oct 23, 2023
51m
S3 Ep135: Helen Brown: Effin Hormones
We are delighted to have the fantastic Helen Brown from the Effin Hormones podcast join us this week to discuss her reasons for ditching the booze. While she was suffering from a variety of symptoms of the menopause, Helen decided she wasn't going to give into it. Instead, she did whatever she had to do to give her body the best fighting chance she could. This included an all round health kick...
50m Oct 16, 2023
50m
S3 Ep134: Maz: Two Years AF!
In this episode we chat to our amazing community member Maz, who celebrated being two years alcohol free on the day we recorded! Maz has been an OTI Community member for a few years now and what an invaluable member she is. She is always active on the forum with a seemingly endless supply of wisdom and OTI is all the richer for having Maz as a part of it. During the episode, we discuss how he...
52m Oct 09, 2023
52m
S3 Ep133: Sara Britcliffe MP: The Daughter
Our guest on this episode is the MP for Hyndburn & Haslingden, Sara Britcliffe. She was elected to the UK Parliament at the age of 24, making her the youngest Conservative Member of Parliament elected in the 2019 general election. Sara has joined us on the podcast not in her role as a politician, but as the daughter of her mother who battled with an addiction to alcohol when Sara was a child. ...
55m Oct 02, 2023
55m
S3 Ep132: Austin Karr: Being Honest With Yourself
Our guest on this episode Austin Karr reached the end of his tether with drinking and decided that enough is enough. It wasn’t as simple as giving up the booze alone though - his issues with drinking were a symptom of something deeper. Before he could tackle drinking once and for all, he had to tackle his issues with himself head on. Thanks to Austin for coming on the pod, his cool-headedness ...
55m Sep 25, 2023
55m
S3 Ep131: Matt Evans: Finding Out Who You Are
In this episode we chat to Matt Evans from 'The Ultimate Birmingham Event' which is taking place at the ICC in May 2024. Matt talks to us about how he used to drink to mask his feelings of inadequacy about “who he wasn’t” - the guy with the expensive car, the six figure salary and how that led to him feeling like he wasn't enough for his family. Now, he’s flipped that on it’s head and he does...
54m Sep 18, 2023
54m
S3 Ep130: Graham Ashton: One Year AF!
In this episode we chat to our lovely community member Graham, who is just down the road from Ben in Liverpool. Graham has been an OTI Community member for a year now - in fact he was actually with us in person on his one year AF anniversary during our Ben Nevis expedition! He shares with us how much he’s loving riding the wave of sobriety and how removing alcohol was the key to solving the pu...
58m Sep 11, 2023
58m
S3 Ep129: Ella Hartley: The Daughter
This is a very special episode of Over The Influence... Because to celebrate Shaz's 5 years of sobriety, Ben secretly invited her daughter Ella on the podcast! Sharon has spoken about being an alcohol-free parent a lot on over the years... And has often reflected on how her drinking affected her relationships with her children. In this really honest episode, Ella talks about how she saw it fro...
43m Sep 04, 2023
43m
S3 Ep128: Clare Pooley: The Sequel
The guest who's so nice, we've had her on twice! Of course we are talking about one and only Clare Pooley. She's the author who penned the essential quit lit read 'The Sober Diaries' and she's back to share some more AF wisdom with you, our wonderful listeners. In this episode, Clare tells us how once she had shaken off the booze, writing became her new addiction. We talk about how AF life ca...
1hr Aug 28, 2023
1hr
S3 Ep127: Nicole Hacking: 2 Years AF!
In this episode we chat to the wonderful Nicole, who joins us from sunny Brisbane! Nicole has been an OTI Community member for a few years now, and despite the challenges that geography and time zones can present, she's an incredibly active member of it - even flying over from Brisbane to Yorkshire for our Yorkshire Three Peaks event last year! We love this chat with Nicole because removing a...
49m Aug 21, 2023
49m