May 6, 2025 • 34 mins
Today on “Happy Hour,” we have Zac Clark from Clare and Tayshia’s season of “The Bachelorette.” We kick off our first-ever episode with Zac by discussing his journey to sobriety and his friendship with Joe. From the how-tos of sobriety to the story behind Zac and Grant Ellis’s father connecting over being sober, Zac is telling it all. Then, we get into Zac’s foundations for substance abuse recovery and how he became interested in running marathons. Plus, Zac tells us all about his new podcast and reflects on his time on “The Bachelorette.” Tune in now and be sure to subscribe so you never miss an episode!
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Today's episode contains a discussion surrounding substance abuse and recovery.
Listener discretion is advised. Hey everyone, welcome back to Bachler
Happy Hour.
Speaker 2 (00:12):
I'm Joe and I'm Serena, and we are here today with.
Speaker 1 (00:15):
A good friend of mine. Our guest today, Zach Clark. Zach,
welcome to Batcher Happy Hour.
Speaker 3 (00:21):
I can thank I can finally cross it off the
resentment list. We only run together once a week, and
I've never been asked to come on your damn podcast.
So here, I am.
Speaker 1 (00:30):
Well. I mean, I don't do the casting.
Speaker 2 (00:35):
We're gonna blame that one on producers.
Speaker 1 (00:38):
It's weird.
Speaker 3 (00:38):
I mean, I'm joking.
Speaker 1 (00:40):
I mean, to interview you is a little strange because
we are we are good friends, but we also talk
all the time. So I feel like I know I
know a lot, but maybe our audience doesn't.
Speaker 2 (00:55):
Or maybe you'll learn more today, Maybe.
Speaker 1 (00:57):
I will learn more today.
Speaker 3 (01:00):
I'm here. You can ask about the thing. I'm grateful
to be here and I'm grateful to have you guys
my life as friends. So all good, Okay, Zach?
Speaker 1 (01:09):
What have you been up to lately? What's new?
Speaker 3 (01:11):
What's new? Leaving Sunday I don't know when this will air,
but I'm leaving Sunday to around the London Marathon as
part of the nonprofit Release Foundation, which will be fun.
And then shortly after that we have our gala in
New York City every year, which you guys came to
last year. That's all in the name of, you know,
(01:32):
helping people who can't afford to get behavioral health care services,
so substance abuse and mental health, which is a huge
passion of mine. Other than that, man, you know, there's
a whole other side of that, which is which is
my livelihood, the business Release Recovery, which we operate in
New York City and up in Westchester County, and we've
just been growing. It's been amazing to see we're helping
a lot of people. Like I always whenever I'm on
(01:53):
one of these podcasts, I always just say, you know,
if you're feeling alone and you don't have anyone to
talk to, you, please reach out to me. Will respond
and will get you the help that that you need
as it relates to substance abuse and mental health. And
outside of that, man, like, I'm trying to actually just
slow down a little bit. I just run too hard
so well.
Speaker 1 (02:11):
You brought all the time. Actually, I okay, a few
things to what you said. Serena is not going to
be able to make the galup, but I will just
why I.
Speaker 4 (02:26):
In spirit, I'm actually bummed I'm missing it, which for
those listing, it's like a really fun party. Maybe isn't
what people would expect when they hear about a charity gala.
Speaker 1 (02:36):
But I will be there.
Speaker 3 (02:37):
Yeah, I mean like that's the good thing though, Serena,
that you said that means a lot to me because
like when you think about charity galas, you think of
you know a lot of them. I've been to her
kind of boring, to a.
Speaker 2 (02:46):
Certain a white tablecloth banquet hall.
Speaker 3 (02:48):
You know, we have a party, and that's by design
because I feel like when people get sober they have
to stop drinking, which I did thirteen years ago. They're
convinced that their life is over. And then you walk
into a room like that and you're like, people are partying.
Speaker 1 (03:02):
Here, and you do have for our listeners at this gala,
you do have alcohol, so if you do drink, it's
an option.
Speaker 3 (03:11):
Yeah, and that's by design.
Speaker 1 (03:13):
Why they Yeah, I was just going to ask you what, Yeah,
why make that choice.
Speaker 3 (03:19):
Well, I just I think there's a lot of energy
that goes into when someone gets sober. Other people have
to change their behaviors, and I think that's actually the opposite.
For me. When I got sober, I wanted the people
around me to feel like they could continue to live
their life however they were living it. And actually I've
been able to do all the things in sobriety that
(03:40):
I was able to do when I was drinking. Go
to games, go to events, go to concerts, all that stuff.
And so we want to show people who are asking
for help or who are getting sober that they can
go to an event like that where other people are drinking,
they can get through the night sober and they can
have a good time.
Speaker 1 (03:57):
Yeah, I love that. I think that's I think that's
an important message because even like when you and I
first like we had met, but then like when we
started hanging out and I saw you running on the
West Side Highway, you said to me like, yo, if
you guys like go to a bar and do something like,
let me know. And I think, like I think in
my head I probably thought, like you would feel uncomfortable
(04:18):
going to a bar not knowing you know, just being
ignorant to the entire space. So I found it interesting.
Speaker 3 (04:26):
I mean we've talked a lot about I mean, that
was awesome, the way that we ran into each other.
I feel like it was meant to happen when it
was meant to happen, Like I was at a point
in my life when I was like looking for guy friends.
I can say that honestly, And it's been, you know,
nice to build a relationship with you the last couple
of years. And that's true. Like I think people who
don't understand this thing would assume that I don't want
(04:47):
to go to a bar and watch a game, or
I don't want to be around alcohol, and it's actually,
you know, for me, my whole life is recovery, my work,
my my personally. So I actually enjoy going to places
where there's alcohol because I get a little bit of
this secondhand smoke and that energy you know, yeah.
Speaker 2 (05:02):
Yeah, the second hand smoke.
Speaker 3 (05:05):
Yeah. No.
Speaker 2 (05:05):
I feel like I've had friends.
Speaker 4 (05:07):
One of my one of my best friend's sisters, I remember,
was dating someone.
Speaker 2 (05:10):
She started dating someone who.
Speaker 4 (05:11):
Was sober just by choice, just decided to remove alcohol
from their life. And she was like, I don't know
if I can do this, Like I don't know if
I can date someone who's sober, Like I like to
go out, I like to have fun, I like to party,
and like her experience was really positive, and I think
that that's like on a small scale, like a way
(05:33):
that someone broke the stigma in her life around what
it means to be sober. And I feel like your
you know, foundation and the party that you throw is
kind of on a bigger scale, a way to be like, hey,
like we you know, life isn't over when you stop drinking.
I feel like it actually even inspired U Joe to
drink less, like you will now go out and order
on mocktail when we first got together, like you would
never have done that.
Speaker 1 (05:54):
Yeah, No, I drink way less, and I feel I
actually feel so much better. Like I had a non
alcohol bear for dinner last night, and it was I
enjoy them more than I enjoyed beer with alcohol, because
I don't get as full or feel as like my
head doesn't get as cloudy. I have a question for you, Zach,
(06:15):
when it comes to non alcoholic drinks, if you're somebody
that struggles with substance abuse when it comes to alcohol.
Do you feel like that's still somewhat of a temptation
or it could trigger some people.
Speaker 3 (06:29):
I go two ways with this thing. I think there's
some beauty and the healthy alternative and giving people an
option and to feel like they can fit in by
having a non alcoholic beer or a mocktail that maybe
people think is a cocktail, right, I don't. I know
of cases where that, yes, has triggered people to go
out and get drunk because it's so close to that
(06:50):
taste that they remember and something goes off in their brain.
So for me, anytime someone's newly in recovery, I kind
of encourage them to shy away from the mocktails early
on and then kind of maybe you graduate to that.
I don't drink them personally, just because I just like
the taste of a club soda with some granberry juice
and a line better. That's just me. But at the
(07:14):
same time, I think there's a whole movement happening which
you're seeing, which is people aren't getting sober, they're just
understanding that alcohol is not the best for you, so
they're looking for healthier alternatives. And I think that's fantastic.
Speaker 1 (07:28):
Yeah, well, there is, and I know there's like a
big trend right now. I think it's more of a
West Coast thing, but a lot of like bodybuilder gyms
are now carrying like non alcoholic beer because like the cars,
the carbs and the beer are actually like I guess
your body's craving that after.
Speaker 4 (07:46):
Ethox have it when we went in la Or was
that just when we were talking about it?
Speaker 1 (07:50):
No, I think I was talking. I think I was talking.
Speaker 4 (07:52):
About Okay, the last thing I want after a workout
is to crush an ipa.
Speaker 2 (08:00):
God's insane.
Speaker 1 (08:01):
I agree, I agree, Zach. Let's talk a little bit
about Grant's father. How did you? How did that relationship
again between you and him?
Speaker 3 (08:12):
Yeah? Rob Man? So, I mean, these are the stories
that you just can't make up. And I you know,
I I'll say this, and you guys kind of know this.
I have not stayed really well connected in the Bachelor universe,
which is not by design. I don't. I actually have
zero bad things to say about my experience and my time,
(08:35):
and I met so many beautiful people. I just I
kind of got back to my life and here I am.
But the thing that I still know from that experience
is I mean, I had it. This morning. A guy
called me to go speak at his company's event and
he just said, my daughter saw you. She's sober. She says,
you have a great story and I'd love you, know
(08:55):
so like to this day, that is still the thing
that people know about me. I think from that experience
or know is a big part of my life, which
is why I try to be loud and proud about
the work that we do. And so this world, I mean,
there has been, you know, multiple cases of people that
are in this bachelor world that have reached out to
(09:17):
me confidentially and have asked me how I got sober,
what I was doing to stay sober, how my journey started.
And I feel like I've been able to be a
resource for a lot of people that I that I
haven't and won't share publicly because that's not my place.
It's their story to tell. But with Rob, it was
really interesting. So Rob ended up in a treatment center
that we have a really good relationship with out in
(09:39):
New Jersey called Alina Lodge. He was basically at the
end of his time using and asked for help. And
those folks who know me know that I'm kind of
connected to the show, and so he ended up going
to a little kind of sober living program in New
Jersey after going to We Have And it was at
(10:01):
that time that someone connected us and said, you need
to know Zach because he's you know, affiliated with the
show world. Yeah, and and and he reached out to
me man, and he was in a lot of pain,
Like he was in a lot of pain. He was
at a point in his life where he was having
to move on from his the environment he was in.
(10:21):
He was well behind payments on his sober living, and
so he filled out for a scholarship through the Release
Foundation and we were able to get him the ability
to access some funds to pay for his sober living
and get up to date with the payments. So the
money you raise Joe and you run the marathon for
(10:42):
us and Serena when you always support Joe and come
to our galley like that, those funds went towards helping him.
And it didn't matter that it was Grant's dad, Like
I didn't give I didn't give a crap about that,
Like it was just someone that needed to help, right,
Like that's that's the moral of the story. And then
we got to talking and I started to talk to
some of the people that were in his care and
I just said, does this guy need a job, And
(11:03):
turns out he needed a job and a place to live.
And so we have at Release Recovery, which is where
it gets a little confusing. We have the nonprofit and
then we have the you know, the more for profit
entity where we're doing treatment and we're getting people the
services they need in house. And so he you know,
he interviewed and he showed up in a suit and
tie and he makes I mean, this guy's he's a
(11:24):
character and everyone loves him. So, you know, we ended
up giving him a job and now we're kind of
on this journey together, shoulder to shoulder. It's been an amazing,
amazing transformation to watch him kind of become the man
that he is today.
Speaker 1 (11:45):
How many years have you been sober?
Speaker 3 (11:49):
August will be fourteen?
Speaker 1 (11:51):
Fourteen years.
Speaker 4 (11:52):
Do you celebrate, like, do you do something to commemorate it?
Speaker 3 (11:56):
It's different, It's different every year year. Sometimes I like
to kind of look inward and kind of just not
I mean, here's the thing. I put something out on
social media, and typically people engage with that and and
it becomes a bigger thing than probably you know, the
(12:17):
reason we celebrate in sobriety is to show the next
person that it's possible, right, Like, that's really the reason
you celebrate. For me. I just I know that I've
been given a life beyond my wildest dreams. And you know,
this bizarre experience of going on this show has helped
kind of enhance my ability to help people.
Speaker 1 (12:37):
I was going to ask, when did so fourteen years
ago you turn sober? When do you start? When did
you start release? From that point?
Speaker 3 (12:47):
So we started late like late twenty sixteen, you know,
late twenty sixteen. So we've been at this thing for
I guess like eight or nine years now. It's crazy. Wow.
I mean it's going to five years as I went
on the show, which is wild. I mean, like time
is what were you guy? You guys were on? I mean,
Joe you were on like six times, but.
Speaker 1 (13:08):
I was on before you, and then I've been on
after you, and I don't think I'm going on again.
But yeah, no time.
Speaker 2 (13:14):
But year was the first year you went on? When
you went on twenty eighteen, that's wild? I was on
why was the season after you?
Speaker 3 (13:23):
Zac?
Speaker 2 (13:23):
So it's been four.
Speaker 1 (13:25):
Years you know, were matched five years five is.
Speaker 4 (13:28):
I was Matt James, I was Nema Collon. So you're
we had just finished filming when the season you were
on was like wrapping up. Yeah, like in terms of airing,
but it feels like not that long ago and also
like a million years ago. I feel like my life
has changed so much in that four year time. Oh yeah,
from like when I first went on to now.
Speaker 1 (13:48):
Well we're in Montreal right now, Srina's going for her
green card.
Speaker 3 (13:51):
So my interview for you guys, I mean, like, look,
I think you guys are kind of like the gold standard.
I mean I know you personally right, like I know
you somewhat intimately, Like you were at my birthday dinner
and you we hang out and we share meals, and
it's like for everyone else, like what you see with
them here is what you get in real life. I mean,
you guys are just two of the best. It's a fact.
Speaker 2 (14:13):
So thank you.
Speaker 4 (14:17):
Can you for our listeners break down the difference between
because you have the foundation and then you have release recovery? Yeah,
can you just break down like the difference between the
two and if someone's looking for help, like why they
might go to one versus why they might go to
the other.
Speaker 3 (14:37):
So nice that you're asking me this, I always feel bad.
I don't know why I have this weird thing promoting myself.
I mean, some people are so good at it and
so comfortable with it, and I just, I mean, we.
Speaker 1 (14:49):
Could we could pivot and talk about your experience on
The Bachelor. You want to go to Night one? Do
you want to talk about your Night one?
Speaker 3 (14:56):
I will tell you about Night one. Night one. I
don't know who it was, but like, they're like, what
do you want to do when you get out in
the limo? I was like, I'm gonna get out and
say hello, that was the guys. I think I think
your time is probably going to be better spent, you know,
convincing someone else to jump out of a plane or
some shit, because I'm just gonna.
Speaker 2 (15:12):
Say, hi, is that what you did?
Speaker 3 (15:15):
Yeah? I just it was Claire and Claire and Claire
is you know she's I'm so happy that she's happy.
It's amazing. I literally got out, I said, I said hello,
I forget who I know? Dale was in my limo.
I think Moye no, yeah, but I don't know. It's
crazy though, to think about yeah, I.
Speaker 1 (15:35):
Had the same exp I did the same thing. I
said like I'm just gonna I'm gonna just say hi.
And I remember the producer that I was speaking to
at the times like okay you sure. I'm like yeah,
He's like, okay, just have something to say. Like I
got it, And of course I fucked it up. But
I kind of wish I because I'm like you, I'm like,
I'm not doing no nothing, no gimmick out of the
(15:56):
out of limo, but like I kinda I kind of.
Speaker 2 (15:58):
Wish I did a bit of a crutch when you
have get me well you know you all right?
Speaker 4 (16:06):
I I did like a baby gimmick. I did a
step stool because Matt James is like six five and
I'm five to one, so I was I did like
a I brought something to like get on your level
so we can see eye to eye, and like made
him like help me on the step stool and then
I stepped down and yeah, it was it was.
Speaker 2 (16:28):
I was glad.
Speaker 4 (16:29):
I'm like not a I mean, I can chat, but
like I was like, I'm not. I don't want to
come out and like have a speech.
Speaker 2 (16:36):
I don't know.
Speaker 4 (16:37):
I was like I'm gonna get nervous if I'm just gabbing.
So I wanted like a little prop or something to rely.
Speaker 2 (16:44):
On, and it worked out. I thought it was. It
went well, yeah, but all right, let's pivot back.
Speaker 3 (16:49):
We gave yourself promotion love, right, we did our.
Speaker 2 (16:53):
We showed bachelors some love. We could always circle back later.
Speaker 4 (16:57):
Let's promote your business first and just people more incident.
Speaker 3 (17:01):
So the longest short of it isn't like I started
Release Recovery, which is we started as kind of high end,
highly structured transitional living for people coming out of rehabs
that they go away for drug and alcohol or mental
health treatment. They come back to New York City or
Westchester County, which is just north of the city, and
they lived with us for three to six months, and
(17:23):
we helped them, you know, get back to living a
purposeful life. And so that's obviously evolved, right. The first
thing we did was in late twenty nineteen, so really
like right before I went on the show, we we
kind of looked at what we were doing and said,
we want to help more people, right, we want to
(17:44):
broaden our ability to help more people, and that was
going to be through some nonprofit work. So we started
the Release Foundation, which is today we raise a couple
million dollars a year and that money goes towards scholarshiping
individual from communities that otherwise could not afford treatment to
(18:05):
call us or you know, write us, and we run
like a very brief kind of financial check on them,
and they do an application, but as long as they
can prove to us that they require this funding, we
will write the check and help them go away and
get and get the help they deserve. So that's been awesome, right, Like,
that's been really cool. And that's a lot of the
(18:28):
stuff you see me doing on social media with the
marathon running and the the gala and some of the
other stuff that you guys have been to and participated in.
And then the the other side, which is and we
don't really send money from the nonprofit to the for profit.
There's a pretty pretty firm line there. But the for profit,
(18:48):
you know, the recovery services business. Today, we have about
one hundred employees right until. We're operating in New York
City and Westchester still and we still have our I'm
sitting in my office here in Flat Iron, which is
a couple of blocks from where you guys live, and
you know, we really specialize in helping our clients and
(19:10):
our patients and our families, you know, heal from mental
health and substance abuse challenges, which you know today are
just ravaging our country right. People are alone, people are
not doing well, and so they come into our care.
And in Westchester is where kind of my chief medical
(19:31):
officer and our clinicians and a lot of the therapy
has done. But we still have sixty some odd residential
beds throughout New York City and Westchester. And so what
I tell people like, no matter who you are and
where you are in this process, if you want help,
or if you have someone in your life that wants help,
you can you can call us or dm ME, which
(19:53):
I try to get back to, and I guarantee that
we will. If it's not with us, find you a
safe place where you can start to heal. And so
it's been a wild ride. I mean, watching the growth
over the last year, we've kind of hit another level.
It's been It's been really cool. And so I'm the
CEO and founder. I mean, I'm not working as hard
as I was probably a year ago, but I'm working
(20:13):
differently and just trying to help help this thing push forward.
Speaker 1 (20:19):
What if you struggle from not substance abuse, like let's say,
like a gambling addiction, could they come to you guys
as well, or is it just solely like struggling with
substance abuse.
Speaker 3 (20:33):
So we see a lot of what they call co
occurring disorders, right, So someone might come in with a
substance use disorder, which is a kind of a nicer
and softer way to say drug addiction or alcoholism, right,
a substance use disorder, and they might have like a
secondary which is a you know, a process addiction, which
gambling falls into that category. So we see a lot
of that. There's there's sex addiction, there's you know, food addiction.
(20:56):
So a lot of times it's kind of like whack
a mole, Right, someone might have the substitute disorder under control,
but then all of a sudden you'll see them gambling
a lot or whatever it might be. And so we
do see a lot of that. My sense or my
my bet or my gamble for lack of a better word,
is that gambling. In five years, we're going to look
(21:18):
back on this conversation and you're gonna say, Zach was right,
because I think that's kind of the next thing that
you're going to start to see really impacting our country
in a negative way. I mean, I I think, like
I'll hold up my cell phone, like I always laugh
because parents work so hard to get their kids into
the nicest schools and keep them safe and all that stuff,
(21:39):
and then they pay for them to go like hang
out in the most dangerous you know, neighborhoods in the world,
which is the which is the cell phone TikTok and
all that stuff. I mean, there's just so much tend
you can gamble on your phone, So I think it's
gonna get worse before it gets better.
Speaker 1 (21:56):
Yeah, Unfortunately, we have to answer.
Speaker 3 (21:59):
Your question directly. I mean, if like someone calls us
with a gambling issue, we will we will see if
we're the right fit, and if we're not, we'll get
them into the right program.
Speaker 1 (22:08):
And you have those connections to you know, send them
somewhere else.
Speaker 5 (22:13):
Yeah, let's pivot up a little bit too, because I
was lucky enough you invited me to run the New
York Marathon with you two years ago and in last
year as well, and I got I got sick, motherfucker.
Speaker 1 (22:32):
I was so pissed. I'm still I was like, everyone's
kind of think I'm faking it, But you have run. Now,
how many marathons? Fifteen fifty.
Speaker 3 (22:46):
Is this weekend? Or sixteen is this weekend? Ten New
York to London's in Nashville and Grandma's. I think this
is fifteen this weekend.
Speaker 1 (22:57):
If in this weekend is doing loved Yeah, this.
Speaker 3 (23:00):
Is sixteen, This is sixteen.
Speaker 1 (23:02):
You're doing London this weekend.
Speaker 2 (23:04):
Yeah, Sunday, that's so exciting.
Speaker 1 (23:07):
What is the London marathon?
Speaker 3 (23:08):
Like the best flat, great crowd points, the point you
drive like way out of the city and then you
kind of just run back in. But I mean all
of these marathons, if you're listening and forget all my
spiel on behavioral healthcare, like running is all those community
mean you felt that when you ran the New York
City marathon, Mean this crowds are insane.
Speaker 1 (23:31):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (23:32):
Yeah, the energy in the city was amazing.
Speaker 3 (23:34):
So that you're running.
Speaker 4 (23:38):
Yeah, I started running and I've been on three runs.
All three were horrible. Every second was suffering. But my
one of my best friends is starting a run club
in Toronto and their first run is this coming Friday.
It's her and her boyfriend. They're both in incredible shape.
They're both like work in instructors and personal trainers. And
(23:59):
she's actually not really a runner, but he is. He
just did hydrocks actually, which I don't know if you
know what that is, but it's like, yeah, anyway, I
really wanted to go support her. And that doesn't mean
like I'm gonna be running at the front of the pack,
but I was like, I just want to be able
to get through like four or five kilometers, even if
it's like a walk run.
Speaker 1 (24:17):
So Joe, oh.
Speaker 4 (24:19):
Miles, and and Joe was like, I'll take you for
a little bit of a run, and he's just helping me,
like pace and stuff. I mean, Joe's thing was like,
let's run seven miles to no. But on the first
run he was like, let's keep going.
Speaker 2 (24:33):
I'm like I have to get home. I have to
run back.
Speaker 1 (24:35):
No, no, no, I just you you're doing You're doing
really good. But like we we ran like a mile
and then I was like, Okay, let's see if you
could and stopping and going and breaking up, but let's
try to get two miles. Let's try to get three miles.
And then yeah, you know, slowly, slowly, let's build the
three mile.
Speaker 4 (24:52):
My last run, I did like a pretty good two
miles up to Central Park.
Speaker 1 (24:56):
And we did Yeah, we ran uphill, you know, running
up to Central Parks, running up, running up a steep
somewhat of a steep hill.
Speaker 4 (25:03):
So well, yeah, I don't think I'm going to be
a marathon runner, but I'm happy to be a part
of the running community for a little bit, right.
Speaker 3 (25:10):
I love beginner runners because you'll look back on this
conversation you will run a marathon, or you will run
a distance that you never thought you could run. It's
just the way that these things always go.
Speaker 1 (25:21):
I mean, that's what happened to me when you saw
me running on the West Side Highway, like my my
max run at the time. I don't think I ever
did over five miles, and I would say I was
probably running an average of like three. And You're like,
are you going to run the race? I was like,
what race? The marathon? I was like, I doubt it.
And then you know, six months later, I ran the marathon.
(25:41):
So but I want to ask you, so I just gotta.
Speaker 3 (25:45):
Tell me college, hold on on you, Joe. This is
this guy for people that are this guy's is sick, oh,
because he acts like he just ran the mess. So
he tells me he's gonna run the marathon. He trains
a little bit right here and there.
Speaker 2 (26:01):
Truly a little bit. Well, because it was the year
of our wedding, wasn't it. Yeah wedding, Yeah, And.
Speaker 3 (26:06):
He showed you had a wedding like that Saturday or something.
You flew in like late Saturday night.
Speaker 1 (26:11):
You're like, I think you had TIA's Tia Booth's wedding.
Speaker 2 (26:14):
Yeah.
Speaker 4 (26:14):
So our wedding for those listening was that September. So
we had our wedding and our honeymoon. So September you
like barely ran, yeah, and then October was whatever. And
then I remember the weekend of the marathon was Tia
Booth's wedding. We flew to Nashville, we went to her
welcome party that Friday, flew back Saturday, and then you
ran the marathon on Sunday. And I remember my dad
(26:35):
calling being like I'm a little worried about him, like
is he gonna be okay? Like he has not trained
that much, and I was like, well, we're gonna find out.
Speaker 3 (26:43):
So this dude goes I'm gonna run a sub forest
and in my head, I will be honest with you, now,
I was like, there's no way, Like, there's no way,
and you bit down on the mouthpiece and would you
like three fifty eight like you got you got it done?
Which was I just just.
Speaker 1 (26:58):
Got it by the skin of my teeth.
Speaker 2 (27:02):
Yeah. No, I was very impressed. You have great endurance,
but I did.
Speaker 1 (27:06):
That's that's the point, and that's Zax's point too, Like
I didn't have great endurance like all. It just it's
just like just running.
Speaker 4 (27:13):
No, I know, But I mean I would say there
would be people that have trained a lot more. Most
people trained a lot more than you and ran it
not as fast as you, not saying that there's people.
Speaker 1 (27:24):
That really go for like I mean, Zach runs it
close to three hours.
Speaker 2 (27:28):
Yeah. Well, Zach's an animal. He's running all the time.
Speaker 1 (27:31):
How so question, so when you go out to somewhere
like London, right and you guys are doing the marathon,
how how does that relate to like how is release recover,
recovery incorporated in that race? Like, are you guys part
of that at all?
Speaker 3 (27:45):
Yeah? So we're really lucky. So we have twenty five
bibs to the London Marathon, which means we have a
team of twenty five people. I am one of them
going over to London or are in London, which is
a hard race to get into from a charity perspective,
and each one of their runners will raise a minimum
of five thousand dollars. So if we do the quick math,
that's like one hundred and twenty five some odds thousand
(28:06):
dollars that's being raised for the nonprofit through these efforts,
and then a lot of those folks will go above
and beyond that. So these events are key for us.
And I'll say, like, you know, the donations, whether it
be a dollar or five dollars, ten dollars, one hundred dollars,
like they all matter and they all make a difference
(28:28):
towards our ultimate goal, which is to help as many
people as possible. Like I'm not going to go on
my like insurance industry and all the issues they are rant,
but there's not enough good healthcare available for people like me.
Speaker 2 (28:42):
If people want to donate, where can they go?
Speaker 3 (28:47):
So it's Release Recovery Foundation anyway, It's Joeansarena dot com
and Happy Hour No, It's released for Refoundation dot org.
You can also, I always say, like, d M the
Instagram which is just released Recovery Foundation, you can DM me.
(29:11):
You know, like we're pretty good at we got people
watching kind of all the channels to get back the
folks that want to support us. I'll actually probably be
posting something this week about my efforts this weekend, and
and like it's just you know, we we we broke
some stones on this call, but it is really meaningful
for you guys to have me on here and to
talk about this stuff because you know, I don't know
(29:33):
why people will listen. I'm sure just because they love
you and and and the show, but uh, it's it's
an important thing to be talking about right now.
Speaker 1 (29:43):
And you you recently well I think at least it's
been about a year. You started a podcast, right.
Speaker 3 (29:49):
Yes, I did.
Speaker 2 (29:50):
Yeah, this Clark Show.
Speaker 3 (29:52):
I mean, like, let me tell you how about that name.
We went to try and like find some names. So
like people in the office have been pushing me to
do it for a while and I finally kind of
caved and we put it together. But we went to
name like every there are no names left. I mean,
everyone's got a podcast as we know, and so it's
like we're not going to try and get creative here,
(30:12):
let's just throw my name on it. And uh. And
the purpose of that or the goal there is like,
you know, we have real conversations with real people that
have either you know, have been in my shoes and
come through it, or have a powerful you know story
or testimony and or you know, our resources to people
(30:33):
that listen. So my my demo, I always say, is
like I get a lot of mothers that listen, and
then we'll write in and then we help them, you know,
try to navigate whatever it is or going through with
their children or husband or whatever it is. But it's
been really powerful and we've had some cool, cool moments
from that.
Speaker 4 (30:52):
What is one of your favorite episodes that you've done
so far?
Speaker 3 (30:57):
I just recorded with my dad yesterday.
Speaker 2 (31:00):
No way, Wow, how is that?
Speaker 3 (31:03):
Joe's met my dad. Joe's had cheese steaks with my dad.
Speaker 2 (31:06):
I met your dad too. He was at the Galiles Yeah.
Speaker 3 (31:09):
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, at our table.
Speaker 2 (31:12):
It's not cheese steaks, but you know we had sushi.
Speaker 5 (31:15):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (31:16):
My dad's the best. I mean, he's just got so
much knowledge and wisdom and you know, everyone's really scared
about what's going on in the world. And I think
to have someone that's been on this planet for eighty
some odd years to tell us that everything's going to
be okay is powerful and that. And he's just my
dad and he's seen me, you know, with a needle
in my arm, and he's seen me today, and so
(31:37):
he's probably just grateful to be able to kind of
talk about it.
Speaker 4 (31:40):
Does it feel weird having like that kind of intimate
conversation with a family member and then like putting it
out there at all? Yeah, I guess it's an ironic
thing to say, considering I did like hometowns on The Bachelor.
But it's a little bit.
Speaker 2 (31:52):
You know, we are we are.
Speaker 1 (31:54):
We are a husband and wife and we have but
I guess we don't really have. No, we don't have
intimate conversation.
Speaker 4 (31:58):
It's a one you know, it's a what thirty minutes
to an hour, unfiltered kind of conversation with your dad.
Speaker 3 (32:06):
I mean, I think that's part of my place in
this world for whatever reason. I mean, I'll tell Joe
to go to therapy. We'll get them Sriena, you know, like
we'll push one day, you know, like I but I
believe that and like, look, I don't know how you
guys approached it. And I think that was like to
bring it back to kind of some of the stuff
(32:26):
with the show, because like you got you guys, know,
like the question you always get is like was it real?
You know, like was it a real thing? I'm like
pretty sure it was real. Like for me, it was real.
I just showed up and it's kind of who I am.
Speaker 2 (32:37):
And that's kind of it can be as real as
you want it to be, right.
Speaker 3 (32:40):
Right, you know, and that's not as well as you are.
Speaker 2 (32:42):
Really as real as you are.
Speaker 3 (32:44):
Yeah, And that's my point all these conversations, I mean,
even this one here, like I feel like I'm just
hanging out talking to you guys, right and so with
my dad, Yeah, I mean like we got there a
couple of moments of you know, some gusto. You'll have
to do it.
Speaker 2 (32:58):
There I go it the tune in, Tune into the
Zach Clark Show.
Speaker 1 (33:03):
Anything you want to talk about, personal life, anything else.
You're busy, you're working, you're running marathons, what else? Anything
golf you're a golfer.
Speaker 3 (33:16):
Two, Yeah, well we're doing that Joe and I are going.
Who Who's it's wells, it's Ben Higgins, I think, Joe.
Speaker 1 (33:25):
I think so yeah, yeah, I don't know the exact
uh the exact crew going, but yeah, it's Ben Higgins.
We're roommates, so I know you're going.
Speaker 3 (33:33):
I don't snore.
Speaker 1 (33:34):
And Dean too, Dean, Dean he does.
Speaker 3 (33:37):
I don't know, Dean. I'm excited. It's gonna be a good,
good hang what else is going on? I mean, look, man,
like I said at the beginning, I'm trying to slow
down a little bit and make some more time for
for me. I definitely travel too much, but my life
is is like I'm happy, you know, I'm a happy guy.
Like all is well right now. Life is good. Life
is good. We're gonna play a lot of golf this
(33:57):
sum We're gonna get better at golf. We're gonna take
three and out for some nice dinners, and we're going
to enjoy life a little bit nice.
Speaker 1 (34:04):
Thank you, Thank you so much for doaking the time
coming on our podcast. Wish you well in London. Are
you what are you trying to do some record score?
Are you just running? Are you chill?
Speaker 3 (34:15):
I mean you always go for the record, don't you
it's not always, doesn't always happen.
Speaker 1 (34:19):
I mean my best because we're sick people.
Speaker 3 (34:22):
Yeah, my best is at three twelve. If I end
up under that, I'll be happy far nice.
Speaker 1 (34:28):
Cool to see you and to all our listeners, Thank
you so much for tuning in the Betch or Happy Hour.
Make sure you download and subscribe to the podcast.
Speaker 4 (34:36):
Yeah, go listen to the Zach Clark Show, donate to
his foundation, release and be sure to continue to tune in.
Thanks for listening.
Speaker 2 (34:43):
Bye,
Today's episode contains a discussion surrounding substance abuse and recovery.
Listener discretion is advised. Hey everyone, welcome back to Bachler
Happy Hour.
Speaker 2 (00:12):
I'm Joe and I'm Serena, and we are here today with.
Speaker 1 (00:15):
A good friend of mine. Our guest today, Zach Clark. Zach,
welcome to Batcher Happy Hour.
Speaker 3 (00:21):
I can thank I can finally cross it off the
resentment list. We only run together once a week, and
I've never been asked to come on your damn podcast.
So here, I am.
Speaker 1 (00:30):
Well. I mean, I don't do the casting.
Speaker 2 (00:35):
We're gonna blame that one on producers.
Speaker 1 (00:38):
It's weird.
Speaker 3 (00:38):
I mean, I'm joking.
Speaker 1 (00:40):
I mean, to interview you is a little strange because
we are we are good friends, but we also talk
all the time. So I feel like I know I
know a lot, but maybe our audience doesn't.
Speaker 2 (00:55):
Or maybe you'll learn more today, Maybe.
Speaker 1 (00:57):
I will learn more today.
Speaker 3 (01:00):
I'm here. You can ask about the thing. I'm grateful
to be here and I'm grateful to have you guys
my life as friends. So all good, Okay, Zach?
Speaker 1 (01:09):
What have you been up to lately? What's new?
Speaker 3 (01:11):
What's new? Leaving Sunday I don't know when this will air,
but I'm leaving Sunday to around the London Marathon as
part of the nonprofit Release Foundation, which will be fun.
And then shortly after that we have our gala in
New York City every year, which you guys came to
last year. That's all in the name of, you know,
(01:32):
helping people who can't afford to get behavioral health care services,
so substance abuse and mental health, which is a huge
passion of mine. Other than that, man, you know, there's
a whole other side of that, which is which is
my livelihood, the business Release Recovery, which we operate in
New York City and up in Westchester County, and we've
just been growing. It's been amazing to see we're helping
a lot of people. Like I always whenever I'm on
(01:53):
one of these podcasts, I always just say, you know,
if you're feeling alone and you don't have anyone to
talk to, you, please reach out to me. Will respond
and will get you the help that that you need
as it relates to substance abuse and mental health. And
outside of that, man, like, I'm trying to actually just
slow down a little bit. I just run too hard
so well.
Speaker 1 (02:11):
You brought all the time. Actually, I okay, a few
things to what you said. Serena is not going to
be able to make the galup, but I will just
why I.
Speaker 4 (02:26):
In spirit, I'm actually bummed I'm missing it, which for
those listing, it's like a really fun party. Maybe isn't
what people would expect when they hear about a charity gala.
Speaker 1 (02:36):
But I will be there.
Speaker 3 (02:37):
Yeah, I mean like that's the good thing though, Serena,
that you said that means a lot to me because
like when you think about charity galas, you think of
you know a lot of them. I've been to her
kind of boring, to a.
Speaker 2 (02:46):
Certain a white tablecloth banquet hall.
Speaker 3 (02:48):
You know, we have a party, and that's by design
because I feel like when people get sober they have
to stop drinking, which I did thirteen years ago. They're
convinced that their life is over. And then you walk
into a room like that and you're like, people are partying.
Speaker 1 (03:02):
Here, and you do have for our listeners at this gala,
you do have alcohol, so if you do drink, it's
an option.
Speaker 3 (03:11):
Yeah, and that's by design.
Speaker 1 (03:13):
Why they Yeah, I was just going to ask you what, Yeah,
why make that choice.
Speaker 3 (03:19):
Well, I just I think there's a lot of energy
that goes into when someone gets sober. Other people have
to change their behaviors, and I think that's actually the opposite.
For me. When I got sober, I wanted the people
around me to feel like they could continue to live
their life however they were living it. And actually I've
been able to do all the things in sobriety that
(03:40):
I was able to do when I was drinking. Go
to games, go to events, go to concerts, all that stuff.
And so we want to show people who are asking
for help or who are getting sober that they can
go to an event like that where other people are drinking,
they can get through the night sober and they can
have a good time.
Speaker 1 (03:57):
Yeah, I love that. I think that's I think that's
an important message because even like when you and I
first like we had met, but then like when we
started hanging out and I saw you running on the
West Side Highway, you said to me like, yo, if
you guys like go to a bar and do something like,
let me know. And I think, like I think in
my head I probably thought, like you would feel uncomfortable
(04:18):
going to a bar not knowing you know, just being
ignorant to the entire space. So I found it interesting.
Speaker 3 (04:26):
I mean we've talked a lot about I mean, that
was awesome, the way that we ran into each other.
I feel like it was meant to happen when it
was meant to happen, Like I was at a point
in my life when I was like looking for guy friends.
I can say that honestly, And it's been, you know,
nice to build a relationship with you the last couple
of years. And that's true. Like I think people who
don't understand this thing would assume that I don't want
(04:47):
to go to a bar and watch a game, or
I don't want to be around alcohol, and it's actually,
you know, for me, my whole life is recovery, my work,
my my personally. So I actually enjoy going to places
where there's alcohol because I get a little bit of
this secondhand smoke and that energy you know, yeah.
Speaker 2 (05:02):
Yeah, the second hand smoke.
Speaker 3 (05:05):
Yeah. No.
Speaker 2 (05:05):
I feel like I've had friends.
Speaker 4 (05:07):
One of my one of my best friend's sisters, I remember,
was dating someone.
Speaker 2 (05:10):
She started dating someone who.
Speaker 4 (05:11):
Was sober just by choice, just decided to remove alcohol
from their life. And she was like, I don't know
if I can do this, Like I don't know if
I can date someone who's sober, Like I like to
go out, I like to have fun, I like to party,
and like her experience was really positive, and I think
that that's like on a small scale, like a way
(05:33):
that someone broke the stigma in her life around what
it means to be sober. And I feel like your
you know, foundation and the party that you throw is
kind of on a bigger scale, a way to be like, hey,
like we you know, life isn't over when you stop drinking.
I feel like it actually even inspired U Joe to
drink less, like you will now go out and order
on mocktail when we first got together, like you would
never have done that.
Speaker 1 (05:54):
Yeah, No, I drink way less, and I feel I
actually feel so much better. Like I had a non
alcohol bear for dinner last night, and it was I
enjoy them more than I enjoyed beer with alcohol, because
I don't get as full or feel as like my
head doesn't get as cloudy. I have a question for you, Zach,
(06:15):
when it comes to non alcoholic drinks, if you're somebody
that struggles with substance abuse when it comes to alcohol.
Do you feel like that's still somewhat of a temptation
or it could trigger some people.
Speaker 3 (06:29):
I go two ways with this thing. I think there's
some beauty and the healthy alternative and giving people an
option and to feel like they can fit in by
having a non alcoholic beer or a mocktail that maybe
people think is a cocktail, right, I don't. I know
of cases where that, yes, has triggered people to go
out and get drunk because it's so close to that
(06:50):
taste that they remember and something goes off in their brain.
So for me, anytime someone's newly in recovery, I kind
of encourage them to shy away from the mocktails early
on and then kind of maybe you graduate to that.
I don't drink them personally, just because I just like
the taste of a club soda with some granberry juice
and a line better. That's just me. But at the
(07:14):
same time, I think there's a whole movement happening which
you're seeing, which is people aren't getting sober, they're just
understanding that alcohol is not the best for you, so
they're looking for healthier alternatives. And I think that's fantastic.
Speaker 1 (07:28):
Yeah, well, there is, and I know there's like a
big trend right now. I think it's more of a
West Coast thing, but a lot of like bodybuilder gyms
are now carrying like non alcoholic beer because like the cars,
the carbs and the beer are actually like I guess
your body's craving that after.
Speaker 4 (07:46):
Ethox have it when we went in la Or was
that just when we were talking about it?
Speaker 1 (07:50):
No, I think I was talking. I think I was talking.
Speaker 4 (07:52):
About Okay, the last thing I want after a workout
is to crush an ipa.
Speaker 2 (08:00):
God's insane.
Speaker 1 (08:01):
I agree, I agree, Zach. Let's talk a little bit
about Grant's father. How did you? How did that relationship
again between you and him?
Speaker 3 (08:12):
Yeah? Rob Man? So, I mean, these are the stories
that you just can't make up. And I you know,
I I'll say this, and you guys kind of know this.
I have not stayed really well connected in the Bachelor universe,
which is not by design. I don't. I actually have
zero bad things to say about my experience and my time,
(08:35):
and I met so many beautiful people. I just I
kind of got back to my life and here I am.
But the thing that I still know from that experience
is I mean, I had it. This morning. A guy
called me to go speak at his company's event and
he just said, my daughter saw you. She's sober. She says,
you have a great story and I'd love you, know
(08:55):
so like to this day, that is still the thing
that people know about me. I think from that experience
or know is a big part of my life, which
is why I try to be loud and proud about
the work that we do. And so this world, I mean,
there has been, you know, multiple cases of people that
are in this bachelor world that have reached out to
(09:17):
me confidentially and have asked me how I got sober,
what I was doing to stay sober, how my journey started.
And I feel like I've been able to be a
resource for a lot of people that I that I
haven't and won't share publicly because that's not my place.
It's their story to tell. But with Rob, it was
really interesting. So Rob ended up in a treatment center
that we have a really good relationship with out in
(09:39):
New Jersey called Alina Lodge. He was basically at the
end of his time using and asked for help. And
those folks who know me know that I'm kind of
connected to the show, and so he ended up going
to a little kind of sober living program in New
Jersey after going to We Have And it was at
(10:01):
that time that someone connected us and said, you need
to know Zach because he's you know, affiliated with the
show world. Yeah, and and and he reached out to
me man, and he was in a lot of pain,
Like he was in a lot of pain. He was
at a point in his life where he was having
to move on from his the environment he was in.
(10:21):
He was well behind payments on his sober living, and
so he filled out for a scholarship through the Release
Foundation and we were able to get him the ability
to access some funds to pay for his sober living
and get up to date with the payments. So the
money you raise Joe and you run the marathon for
(10:42):
us and Serena when you always support Joe and come
to our galley like that, those funds went towards helping him.
And it didn't matter that it was Grant's dad, Like
I didn't give I didn't give a crap about that,
Like it was just someone that needed to help, right,
Like that's that's the moral of the story. And then
we got to talking and I started to talk to
some of the people that were in his care and
I just said, does this guy need a job, And
(11:03):
turns out he needed a job and a place to live.
And so we have at Release Recovery, which is where
it gets a little confusing. We have the nonprofit and
then we have the you know, the more for profit
entity where we're doing treatment and we're getting people the
services they need in house. And so he you know,
he interviewed and he showed up in a suit and
tie and he makes I mean, this guy's he's a
(11:24):
character and everyone loves him. So, you know, we ended
up giving him a job and now we're kind of
on this journey together, shoulder to shoulder. It's been an amazing,
amazing transformation to watch him kind of become the man
that he is today.
Speaker 1 (11:45):
How many years have you been sober?
Speaker 3 (11:49):
August will be fourteen?
Speaker 1 (11:51):
Fourteen years.
Speaker 4 (11:52):
Do you celebrate, like, do you do something to commemorate it?
Speaker 3 (11:56):
It's different, It's different every year year. Sometimes I like
to kind of look inward and kind of just not
I mean, here's the thing. I put something out on
social media, and typically people engage with that and and
it becomes a bigger thing than probably you know, the
(12:17):
reason we celebrate in sobriety is to show the next
person that it's possible, right, Like, that's really the reason
you celebrate. For me. I just I know that I've
been given a life beyond my wildest dreams. And you know,
this bizarre experience of going on this show has helped
kind of enhance my ability to help people.
Speaker 1 (12:37):
I was going to ask, when did so fourteen years
ago you turn sober? When do you start? When did
you start release? From that point?
Speaker 3 (12:47):
So we started late like late twenty sixteen, you know,
late twenty sixteen. So we've been at this thing for
I guess like eight or nine years now. It's crazy. Wow.
I mean it's going to five years as I went
on the show, which is wild. I mean, like time
is what were you guy? You guys were on? I mean,
Joe you were on like six times, but.
Speaker 1 (13:08):
I was on before you, and then I've been on
after you, and I don't think I'm going on again.
But yeah, no time.
Speaker 2 (13:14):
But year was the first year you went on? When
you went on twenty eighteen, that's wild? I was on
why was the season after you?
Speaker 3 (13:23):
Zac?
Speaker 2 (13:23):
So it's been four.
Speaker 1 (13:25):
Years you know, were matched five years five is.
Speaker 4 (13:28):
I was Matt James, I was Nema Collon. So you're
we had just finished filming when the season you were
on was like wrapping up. Yeah, like in terms of airing,
but it feels like not that long ago and also
like a million years ago. I feel like my life
has changed so much in that four year time. Oh yeah,
from like when I first went on to now.
Speaker 1 (13:48):
Well we're in Montreal right now, Srina's going for her
green card.
Speaker 3 (13:51):
So my interview for you guys, I mean, like, look,
I think you guys are kind of like the gold standard.
I mean I know you personally right, like I know
you somewhat intimately, Like you were at my birthday dinner
and you we hang out and we share meals, and
it's like for everyone else, like what you see with
them here is what you get in real life. I mean,
you guys are just two of the best. It's a fact.
Speaker 2 (14:13):
So thank you.
Speaker 4 (14:17):
Can you for our listeners break down the difference between
because you have the foundation and then you have release recovery? Yeah,
can you just break down like the difference between the
two and if someone's looking for help, like why they
might go to one versus why they might go to
the other.
Speaker 3 (14:37):
So nice that you're asking me this, I always feel bad.
I don't know why I have this weird thing promoting myself.
I mean, some people are so good at it and
so comfortable with it, and I just, I mean, we.
Speaker 1 (14:49):
Could we could pivot and talk about your experience on
The Bachelor. You want to go to Night one? Do
you want to talk about your Night one?
Speaker 3 (14:56):
I will tell you about Night one. Night one. I
don't know who it was, but like, they're like, what
do you want to do when you get out in
the limo? I was like, I'm gonna get out and
say hello, that was the guys. I think I think
your time is probably going to be better spent, you know,
convincing someone else to jump out of a plane or
some shit, because I'm just gonna.
Speaker 2 (15:12):
Say, hi, is that what you did?
Speaker 3 (15:15):
Yeah? I just it was Claire and Claire and Claire
is you know she's I'm so happy that she's happy.
It's amazing. I literally got out, I said, I said hello,
I forget who I know? Dale was in my limo.
I think Moye no, yeah, but I don't know. It's
crazy though, to think about yeah, I.
Speaker 1 (15:35):
Had the same exp I did the same thing. I
said like I'm just gonna I'm gonna just say hi.
And I remember the producer that I was speaking to
at the times like okay you sure. I'm like yeah,
He's like, okay, just have something to say. Like I
got it, And of course I fucked it up. But
I kind of wish I because I'm like you, I'm like,
I'm not doing no nothing, no gimmick out of the
(15:56):
out of limo, but like I kinda I kind of.
Speaker 2 (15:58):
Wish I did a bit of a crutch when you
have get me well you know you all right?
Speaker 4 (16:06):
I I did like a baby gimmick. I did a
step stool because Matt James is like six five and
I'm five to one, so I was I did like
a I brought something to like get on your level
so we can see eye to eye, and like made
him like help me on the step stool and then
I stepped down and yeah, it was it was.
Speaker 2 (16:28):
I was glad.
Speaker 4 (16:29):
I'm like not a I mean, I can chat, but
like I was like, I'm not. I don't want to
come out and like have a speech.
Speaker 2 (16:36):
I don't know.
Speaker 4 (16:37):
I was like I'm gonna get nervous if I'm just gabbing.
So I wanted like a little prop or something to rely.
Speaker 2 (16:44):
On, and it worked out. I thought it was. It
went well, yeah, but all right, let's pivot back.
Speaker 3 (16:49):
We gave yourself promotion love, right, we did our.
Speaker 2 (16:53):
We showed bachelors some love. We could always circle back later.
Speaker 4 (16:57):
Let's promote your business first and just people more incident.
Speaker 3 (17:01):
So the longest short of it isn't like I started
Release Recovery, which is we started as kind of high end,
highly structured transitional living for people coming out of rehabs
that they go away for drug and alcohol or mental
health treatment. They come back to New York City or
Westchester County, which is just north of the city, and
they lived with us for three to six months, and
(17:23):
we helped them, you know, get back to living a
purposeful life. And so that's obviously evolved, right. The first
thing we did was in late twenty nineteen, so really
like right before I went on the show, we we
kind of looked at what we were doing and said,
we want to help more people, right, we want to
(17:44):
broaden our ability to help more people, and that was
going to be through some nonprofit work. So we started
the Release Foundation, which is today we raise a couple
million dollars a year and that money goes towards scholarshiping
individual from communities that otherwise could not afford treatment to
(18:05):
call us or you know, write us, and we run
like a very brief kind of financial check on them,
and they do an application, but as long as they
can prove to us that they require this funding, we
will write the check and help them go away and
get and get the help they deserve. So that's been awesome, right, Like,
that's been really cool. And that's a lot of the
(18:28):
stuff you see me doing on social media with the
marathon running and the the gala and some of the
other stuff that you guys have been to and participated in.
And then the the other side, which is and we
don't really send money from the nonprofit to the for profit.
There's a pretty pretty firm line there. But the for profit,
(18:48):
you know, the recovery services business. Today, we have about
one hundred employees right until. We're operating in New York
City and Westchester still and we still have our I'm
sitting in my office here in Flat Iron, which is
a couple of blocks from where you guys live, and
you know, we really specialize in helping our clients and
(19:10):
our patients and our families, you know, heal from mental
health and substance abuse challenges, which you know today are
just ravaging our country right. People are alone, people are
not doing well, and so they come into our care.
And in Westchester is where kind of my chief medical
(19:31):
officer and our clinicians and a lot of the therapy
has done. But we still have sixty some odd residential
beds throughout New York City and Westchester. And so what
I tell people like, no matter who you are and
where you are in this process, if you want help,
or if you have someone in your life that wants help,
you can you can call us or dm ME, which
(19:53):
I try to get back to, and I guarantee that
we will. If it's not with us, find you a
safe place where you can start to heal. And so
it's been a wild ride. I mean, watching the growth
over the last year, we've kind of hit another level.
It's been It's been really cool. And so I'm the
CEO and founder. I mean, I'm not working as hard
as I was probably a year ago, but I'm working
(20:13):
differently and just trying to help help this thing push forward.
Speaker 1 (20:19):
What if you struggle from not substance abuse, like let's say,
like a gambling addiction, could they come to you guys
as well, or is it just solely like struggling with
substance abuse.
Speaker 3 (20:33):
So we see a lot of what they call co
occurring disorders, right, So someone might come in with a
substance use disorder, which is a kind of a nicer
and softer way to say drug addiction or alcoholism, right,
a substance use disorder, and they might have like a
secondary which is a you know, a process addiction, which
gambling falls into that category. So we see a lot
of that. There's there's sex addiction, there's you know, food addiction.
(20:56):
So a lot of times it's kind of like whack
a mole, Right, someone might have the substitute disorder under control,
but then all of a sudden you'll see them gambling
a lot or whatever it might be. And so we
do see a lot of that. My sense or my
my bet or my gamble for lack of a better word,
is that gambling. In five years, we're going to look
(21:18):
back on this conversation and you're gonna say, Zach was right,
because I think that's kind of the next thing that
you're going to start to see really impacting our country
in a negative way. I mean, I I think, like
I'll hold up my cell phone, like I always laugh
because parents work so hard to get their kids into
the nicest schools and keep them safe and all that stuff,
(21:39):
and then they pay for them to go like hang
out in the most dangerous you know, neighborhoods in the world,
which is the which is the cell phone TikTok and
all that stuff. I mean, there's just so much tend
you can gamble on your phone, So I think it's
gonna get worse before it gets better.
Speaker 1 (21:56):
Yeah, Unfortunately, we have to answer.
Speaker 3 (21:59):
Your question directly. I mean, if like someone calls us
with a gambling issue, we will we will see if
we're the right fit, and if we're not, we'll get
them into the right program.
Speaker 1 (22:08):
And you have those connections to you know, send them
somewhere else.
Speaker 5 (22:13):
Yeah, let's pivot up a little bit too, because I
was lucky enough you invited me to run the New
York Marathon with you two years ago and in last
year as well, and I got I got sick, motherfucker.
Speaker 1 (22:32):
I was so pissed. I'm still I was like, everyone's
kind of think I'm faking it, But you have run. Now,
how many marathons? Fifteen fifty.
Speaker 3 (22:46):
Is this weekend? Or sixteen is this weekend? Ten New
York to London's in Nashville and Grandma's. I think this
is fifteen this weekend.
Speaker 1 (22:57):
If in this weekend is doing loved Yeah, this.
Speaker 3 (23:00):
Is sixteen, This is sixteen.
Speaker 1 (23:02):
You're doing London this weekend.
Speaker 2 (23:04):
Yeah, Sunday, that's so exciting.
Speaker 1 (23:07):
What is the London marathon?
Speaker 3 (23:08):
Like the best flat, great crowd points, the point you
drive like way out of the city and then you
kind of just run back in. But I mean all
of these marathons, if you're listening and forget all my
spiel on behavioral healthcare, like running is all those community
mean you felt that when you ran the New York
City marathon, Mean this crowds are insane.
Speaker 1 (23:31):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (23:32):
Yeah, the energy in the city was amazing.
Speaker 3 (23:34):
So that you're running.
Speaker 4 (23:38):
Yeah, I started running and I've been on three runs.
All three were horrible. Every second was suffering. But my
one of my best friends is starting a run club
in Toronto and their first run is this coming Friday.
It's her and her boyfriend. They're both in incredible shape.
They're both like work in instructors and personal trainers. And
(23:59):
she's actually not really a runner, but he is. He
just did hydrocks actually, which I don't know if you
know what that is, but it's like, yeah, anyway, I
really wanted to go support her. And that doesn't mean
like I'm gonna be running at the front of the pack,
but I was like, I just want to be able
to get through like four or five kilometers, even if
it's like a walk run.
Speaker 1 (24:17):
So Joe, oh.
Speaker 4 (24:19):
Miles, and and Joe was like, I'll take you for
a little bit of a run, and he's just helping me,
like pace and stuff. I mean, Joe's thing was like,
let's run seven miles to no. But on the first
run he was like, let's keep going.
Speaker 2 (24:33):
I'm like I have to get home. I have to
run back.
Speaker 1 (24:35):
No, no, no, I just you you're doing You're doing
really good. But like we we ran like a mile
and then I was like, Okay, let's see if you
could and stopping and going and breaking up, but let's
try to get two miles. Let's try to get three miles.
And then yeah, you know, slowly, slowly, let's build the
three mile.
Speaker 4 (24:52):
My last run, I did like a pretty good two
miles up to Central Park.
Speaker 1 (24:56):
And we did Yeah, we ran uphill, you know, running
up to Central Parks, running up, running up a steep
somewhat of a steep hill.
Speaker 4 (25:03):
So well, yeah, I don't think I'm going to be
a marathon runner, but I'm happy to be a part
of the running community for a little bit, right.
Speaker 3 (25:10):
I love beginner runners because you'll look back on this
conversation you will run a marathon, or you will run
a distance that you never thought you could run. It's
just the way that these things always go.
Speaker 1 (25:21):
I mean, that's what happened to me when you saw
me running on the West Side Highway, like my my
max run at the time. I don't think I ever
did over five miles, and I would say I was
probably running an average of like three. And You're like,
are you going to run the race? I was like,
what race? The marathon? I was like, I doubt it.
And then you know, six months later, I ran the marathon.
(25:41):
So but I want to ask you, so I just gotta.
Speaker 3 (25:45):
Tell me college, hold on on you, Joe. This is
this guy for people that are this guy's is sick, oh,
because he acts like he just ran the mess. So
he tells me he's gonna run the marathon. He trains
a little bit right here and there.
Speaker 2 (26:01):
Truly a little bit. Well, because it was the year
of our wedding, wasn't it. Yeah wedding, Yeah, And.
Speaker 3 (26:06):
He showed you had a wedding like that Saturday or something.
You flew in like late Saturday night.
Speaker 1 (26:11):
You're like, I think you had TIA's Tia Booth's wedding.
Speaker 2 (26:14):
Yeah.
Speaker 4 (26:14):
So our wedding for those listening was that September. So
we had our wedding and our honeymoon. So September you
like barely ran, yeah, and then October was whatever. And
then I remember the weekend of the marathon was Tia
Booth's wedding. We flew to Nashville, we went to her
welcome party that Friday, flew back Saturday, and then you
ran the marathon on Sunday. And I remember my dad
(26:35):
calling being like I'm a little worried about him, like
is he gonna be okay? Like he has not trained
that much, and I was like, well, we're gonna find out.
Speaker 3 (26:43):
So this dude goes I'm gonna run a sub forest
and in my head, I will be honest with you, now,
I was like, there's no way, Like, there's no way,
and you bit down on the mouthpiece and would you
like three fifty eight like you got you got it done?
Which was I just just.
Speaker 1 (26:58):
Got it by the skin of my teeth.
Speaker 2 (27:02):
Yeah. No, I was very impressed. You have great endurance,
but I did.
Speaker 1 (27:06):
That's that's the point, and that's Zax's point too, Like
I didn't have great endurance like all. It just it's
just like just running.
Speaker 4 (27:13):
No, I know, But I mean I would say there
would be people that have trained a lot more. Most
people trained a lot more than you and ran it
not as fast as you, not saying that there's people.
Speaker 1 (27:24):
That really go for like I mean, Zach runs it
close to three hours.
Speaker 2 (27:28):
Yeah. Well, Zach's an animal. He's running all the time.
Speaker 1 (27:31):
How so question, so when you go out to somewhere
like London, right and you guys are doing the marathon,
how how does that relate to like how is release recover,
recovery incorporated in that race? Like, are you guys part
of that at all?
Speaker 3 (27:45):
Yeah? So we're really lucky. So we have twenty five
bibs to the London Marathon, which means we have a
team of twenty five people. I am one of them
going over to London or are in London, which is
a hard race to get into from a charity perspective,
and each one of their runners will raise a minimum
of five thousand dollars. So if we do the quick math,
that's like one hundred and twenty five some odds thousand
(28:06):
dollars that's being raised for the nonprofit through these efforts,
and then a lot of those folks will go above
and beyond that. So these events are key for us.
And I'll say, like, you know, the donations, whether it
be a dollar or five dollars, ten dollars, one hundred dollars,
like they all matter and they all make a difference
(28:28):
towards our ultimate goal, which is to help as many
people as possible. Like I'm not going to go on
my like insurance industry and all the issues they are rant,
but there's not enough good healthcare available for people like me.
Speaker 2 (28:42):
If people want to donate, where can they go?
Speaker 3 (28:47):
So it's Release Recovery Foundation anyway, It's Joeansarena dot com
and Happy Hour No, It's released for Refoundation dot org.
You can also, I always say, like, d M the
Instagram which is just released Recovery Foundation, you can DM me.
(29:11):
You know, like we're pretty good at we got people
watching kind of all the channels to get back the
folks that want to support us. I'll actually probably be
posting something this week about my efforts this weekend, and
and like it's just you know, we we we broke
some stones on this call, but it is really meaningful
for you guys to have me on here and to
talk about this stuff because you know, I don't know
(29:33):
why people will listen. I'm sure just because they love
you and and and the show, but uh, it's it's
an important thing to be talking about right now.
Speaker 1 (29:43):
And you you recently well I think at least it's
been about a year. You started a podcast, right.
Speaker 3 (29:49):
Yes, I did.
Speaker 2 (29:50):
Yeah, this Clark Show.
Speaker 3 (29:52):
I mean, like, let me tell you how about that name.
We went to try and like find some names. So
like people in the office have been pushing me to
do it for a while and I finally kind of
caved and we put it together. But we went to
name like every there are no names left. I mean,
everyone's got a podcast as we know, and so it's
like we're not going to try and get creative here,
(30:12):
let's just throw my name on it. And uh. And
the purpose of that or the goal there is like,
you know, we have real conversations with real people that
have either you know, have been in my shoes and
come through it, or have a powerful you know story
or testimony and or you know, our resources to people
(30:33):
that listen. So my my demo, I always say, is
like I get a lot of mothers that listen, and
then we'll write in and then we help them, you know,
try to navigate whatever it is or going through with
their children or husband or whatever it is. But it's
been really powerful and we've had some cool, cool moments
from that.
Speaker 4 (30:52):
What is one of your favorite episodes that you've done
so far?
Speaker 3 (30:57):
I just recorded with my dad yesterday.
Speaker 2 (31:00):
No way, Wow, how is that?
Speaker 3 (31:03):
Joe's met my dad. Joe's had cheese steaks with my dad.
Speaker 2 (31:06):
I met your dad too. He was at the Galiles Yeah.
Speaker 3 (31:09):
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, at our table.
Speaker 2 (31:12):
It's not cheese steaks, but you know we had sushi.
Speaker 5 (31:15):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (31:16):
My dad's the best. I mean, he's just got so
much knowledge and wisdom and you know, everyone's really scared
about what's going on in the world. And I think
to have someone that's been on this planet for eighty
some odd years to tell us that everything's going to
be okay is powerful and that. And he's just my
dad and he's seen me, you know, with a needle
in my arm, and he's seen me today, and so
(31:37):
he's probably just grateful to be able to kind of
talk about it.
Speaker 4 (31:40):
Does it feel weird having like that kind of intimate
conversation with a family member and then like putting it
out there at all? Yeah, I guess it's an ironic
thing to say, considering I did like hometowns on The Bachelor.
But it's a little bit.
Speaker 2 (31:52):
You know, we are we are.
Speaker 1 (31:54):
We are a husband and wife and we have but
I guess we don't really have. No, we don't have
intimate conversation.
Speaker 4 (31:58):
It's a one you know, it's a what thirty minutes
to an hour, unfiltered kind of conversation with your dad.
Speaker 3 (32:06):
I mean, I think that's part of my place in
this world for whatever reason. I mean, I'll tell Joe
to go to therapy. We'll get them Sriena, you know, like
we'll push one day, you know, like I but I
believe that and like, look, I don't know how you
guys approached it. And I think that was like to
bring it back to kind of some of the stuff
(32:26):
with the show, because like you got you guys, know,
like the question you always get is like was it real?
You know, like was it a real thing? I'm like
pretty sure it was real. Like for me, it was real.
I just showed up and it's kind of who I am.
Speaker 2 (32:37):
And that's kind of it can be as real as
you want it to be, right.
Speaker 3 (32:40):
Right, you know, and that's not as well as you are.
Speaker 2 (32:42):
Really as real as you are.
Speaker 3 (32:44):
Yeah, And that's my point all these conversations, I mean,
even this one here, like I feel like I'm just
hanging out talking to you guys, right and so with
my dad, Yeah, I mean like we got there a
couple of moments of you know, some gusto. You'll have
to do it.
Speaker 2 (32:58):
There I go it the tune in, Tune into the
Zach Clark Show.
Speaker 1 (33:03):
Anything you want to talk about, personal life, anything else.
You're busy, you're working, you're running marathons, what else? Anything
golf you're a golfer.
Speaker 3 (33:16):
Two, Yeah, well we're doing that Joe and I are going.
Who Who's it's wells, it's Ben Higgins, I think, Joe.
Speaker 1 (33:25):
I think so yeah, yeah, I don't know the exact
uh the exact crew going, but yeah, it's Ben Higgins.
We're roommates, so I know you're going.
Speaker 3 (33:33):
I don't snore.
Speaker 1 (33:34):
And Dean too, Dean, Dean he does.
Speaker 3 (33:37):
I don't know, Dean. I'm excited. It's gonna be a good,
good hang what else is going on? I mean, look, man,
like I said at the beginning, I'm trying to slow
down a little bit and make some more time for
for me. I definitely travel too much, but my life
is is like I'm happy, you know, I'm a happy guy.
Like all is well right now. Life is good. Life
is good. We're gonna play a lot of golf this
(33:57):
sum We're gonna get better at golf. We're gonna take
three and out for some nice dinners, and we're going
to enjoy life a little bit nice.
Speaker 1 (34:04):
Thank you, Thank you so much for doaking the time
coming on our podcast. Wish you well in London. Are
you what are you trying to do some record score?
Are you just running? Are you chill?
Speaker 3 (34:15):
I mean you always go for the record, don't you
it's not always, doesn't always happen.
Speaker 1 (34:19):
I mean my best because we're sick people.
Speaker 3 (34:22):
Yeah, my best is at three twelve. If I end
up under that, I'll be happy far nice.
Speaker 1 (34:28):
Cool to see you and to all our listeners, Thank
you so much for tuning in the Betch or Happy Hour.
Make sure you download and subscribe to the podcast.
Speaker 4 (34:36):
Yeah, go listen to the Zach Clark Show, donate to
his foundation, release and be sure to continue to tune in.
Thanks for listening.
Speaker 2 (34:43):
Bye,
Hosts And Creators
Joe Amabile
Susan Noles
Serena Pitt
Kathy Swarts
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