June 13, 2024 • 21 mins
In this compelling episode of the No So Black and White Real Estate Podcast, hosts Sir Colin Campbell and Gary McGowan sit down with Adam Pope, a remarkable individual who shares his extraordinary journey from the depths of drug and alcohol addiction to achieving success in the real estate industry.
Adam opens up about his decade-long struggle with addiction, which led him through jails, hospitals, homeless shelters, and detox centres. He recounts how the Canadian healthcare system provided the multiple chances he needed to find his path to recovery. With raw honesty, Adam discusses the turning point that inspired him to pursue a career in real estate while living in a homeless shelter and how he persevered through each challenge.
This episode dives into the creation of "Clarity," a Keller Williams community initiative aimed at supporting those affected by substance addiction. Adam explains the importance of providing a broad support network and the vital role of empathy and understanding in recovery.
Whether you've been personally touched by addiction or know someone who has, Adam’s story is a powerful reminder of the resilience of the human spirit and the transformative power of second chances.
Tune in to learn about:
- The impact of addiction on Adam’s life and his inspiring recovery journey
- The role of community and healthcare support in overcoming addiction
- How "Clarity" provides a supportive network for those affected by substance addiction
- Insights on offering grace and support to individuals in recovery
🔔 Subscribe now and leave a rating and review to help us reach more listeners with these impactful stories.
👉 Connect with Adam Pope:
- https://apoprealestate.com
- https://facebook.com/apoprealestate
- https://instagram.com/apoprealestate
Join us for an episode filled with hope, inspiration, and the unwavering belief that it’s never too late to change your life. 💪✨
#AddictionRecovery #RealEstateSuccess #InspiringJourney #HomelessToHero #OvercomingAddiction #SecondChances #SupportCommunities #PersonalTransformation #NeverGiveUp #PodcastInterview #AddictionAwareness #RecoveryStories #RealEstatePodcast #LifeAfterAddiction #SuccessAgainstOdds #InspiringStories #HopeAndHealing #CommunitySupport #BattlingAddiction #ResilienceAndRecovery #EmpowermentThroughRecovery #SoberLiving #TransformativeJourney #MentalHealthAwareness #AddictionHelp
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
That's been
Speaker 2 (00:00):
my life for almost 10 years, you know. It's a it's a
steady pattern of waking up in ajail or waking up in a hospital,
dealing with the consequences ofthat, ending up in a shelter,
ending up in a detox center, andthen going to treatment, and
then ending up in a posttreatment facility, or a rooming
house, or, you know, and thatthat that was my life for so
(00:22):
long. I was so reliant on thesystem, and thank God,
Speaker 1 (00:24):
in Canada, we have the health care system we have.
You're listening to the not soblack and white real estate
podcast with your host, sirColin Campbell
Speaker 3 (00:46):
McGowan, and you're tuned into the Not So Black and
White Real Estate podcast. We'reon-site today at For the Love of
Real Estate conference, andwe've been hunting this person
down for some time now. The lasttime I saw him speak was at a
KWYP event, and he just sharedhis story and his journey. And
we wanna share that with you,and it's none other than Adam
(01:09):
Poop.
Speaker 2 (01:11):
Thank you.
Speaker 3 (01:12):
Thank you
Speaker 2 (01:12):
for having me.
Speaker 1 (01:13):
K. First of all, first shout out is we gotta tell
everybody what your shirt saysbecause I'm reading it now, and
I'm loving it.
Speaker 2 (01:19):
Oh, it says clean, serene, lean gen machine. I like
it. Machine. Sorry.
Speaker 3 (01:23):
No. Yeah.
Speaker 2 (01:24):
I just realized what it said to a panel.
Speaker 3 (01:27):
So, Adam, tell us, who are you? Yes. Why are you
here?
Speaker 2 (01:31):
So I'm here. So I'm here on behalf of, Clarity,
which is a new Keller Williamscommunity. It was, started by
Shelley Seidman out in thestates. And we're a community
that is just a support networkfor anybody under the Keller
Williams umbrella that's beenaffected by substance addiction
in any way. We do notdiscriminate.
So everybody knows somebody, myman. Where is somebody?
Speaker 3 (01:51):
So what does that really mean? It's a community
for people who've been affectedby substance addiction. Is that,
like, AA? Or, like, what are wetalking about? No.
No. No.
Speaker 2 (02:02):
No. I I mean, if you if you know my story as well, I
mean, AA has been a large partof my journey in the past. My
journey this time throughsobriety, it hasn't been a part
of my journey. And we, you know,we want to we wanna connect with
anybody. It doesn't matter.
Somebody knows somebody.Somebody is somebody. You know,
I don't care. I always tellpeople, you know,
Speaker 1 (02:21):
I don't care what's getting you better.
Speaker 2 (02:23):
I don't care if it's AA. I don't care if it's praying
to the tree. Just keep doing it.Right? If it's working, keep
doing it.
So, no, we we don't we're notspecific to, you know, any one
thing. It's we wanna we wanna bebroad, and we wanna help anybody
that needs it.
Speaker 3 (02:38):
So you're looking to help anyone who's been affected
by substance abuse or drugs inany way. What what qualifies you
to lead this? Oh, man. So tellus your story.
Speaker 2 (02:52):
That that's a long one. I'll try to I'll try to
keep it, I'll try to keep itshort. So I'm I'm real I'll
start by saying relatively newin real estate. I've
Speaker 1 (03:01):
are we good?
Speaker 2 (03:01):
Closer to the mic. Me?
Speaker 1 (03:03):
Yeah. Oh. Oh. Oh.
Speaker 2 (03:06):
Good? Yep. Alright. So I'm, yeah. I'm relatively new
in real estate.
I've been, doing this for myyear was up in September. And
when I started getting mylicense, I was living in a
homeless shelter, here inToronto. And prior to that, I I
was I'm a recovering alcoholic.And, prior to that, I was in and
(03:28):
out of the system, which is, youknow, jails, institutions, for
10 years. You know, and I I'veI've been this way for as long
as I can remember.
People always, you know, whenwhen can you pinpoint when when
you start to realize that youyou didn't drink like normal
people, that something was off.I just never felt any different.
(03:48):
Right? It just my my my familywas going
Speaker 1 (03:53):
a certain way, every everybody was going a certain
way, and I just went totally offthe rails, and
Speaker 2 (03:57):
I had no control over it. And so, you know, that was
my that's been my life foralmost 10 years, you know. It's
a it's a steady pattern ofwaking up in a jail or waking up
in a hospital, dealing with theconsequences of that, ending up
in a shelter, ending up in adetox center, and then going to
treatment, and then ending up ina post treatment facility, or a
(04:21):
rooming house, or, you know, andthat that that was my life for
so long. I was so reliant on thesystem, and thank God, in
Canada, we have the
Speaker 1 (04:27):
health care system we have.
Speaker 2 (04:30):
Because for someone like me, who needed I needed
more chances. I just I neededanother chance. I need another
chance. I need another chance.And hopefully, one of those
times, it would stick, and Iwould make it out.
You know, thankfully, this timeit it has stuck, and I and I am
I'm here today. So it's a littlebit about of it about it.
Speaker 1 (04:50):
There's a lot there to unpack. A lot? Yeah. But
that's cool. I love it.
And every like you said,everybody is somebody, and and
and and, you know, everyone hasa story to tell, but I'd I'd
love to understand from yourperspective, you know,
thankfully you got that chance.But you needed more chances and
(05:11):
more chances and finally the oneat that moment in time for you
it aligned. Mhmm. Do we do asthere's so many so many ways I
can go with this. Do we, as agroup of people, population,
whatever you wanna call it, oryour community, do we stop
giving people enough chances?
Like, is that is that on us asas people as well?
Speaker 2 (05:30):
You know what? I I think that's that that goes back
to the stigma, not necessarilyof addiction. You know, it's a
stigma of asking for help. Sure.And people, you know, people
have let me put it this way.
People have had really, reallyhorrible experiences with people
with addiction issues. Right?And so me doing real estate and
(05:51):
putting my story out there theway that I am, you know, I'm
taking a risk of people notwanting to work with me. And and
I and I and I'm okay with thatbecause people have had horrible
experiences, people withaddiction. I'm the worst version
of myself when I'm when I'mactively drinking, when I'm out
there.
I'm the worst version of myself.And so, you know, people will
(06:11):
ask me, what what do you thinkwas it this time that that
Speaker 1 (06:13):
helped you stop? What was it
Speaker 2 (06:15):
this time that changed? And it there's nothing
really changed. It was I wasback in the cycle again, and,
you know, I I had completedtreatment again. I was back in
the shelter down here inToronto, trying to figure
Speaker 1 (06:27):
out what was next. And I just happened to, you
know, something in the back of
Speaker 2 (06:31):
my mind said, reminded me of real estate. And
I pulled up the courses andthankfully it was pay as you go.
And I had enough money just topay for that first course and
the first exam. And once Icompleted that first course and
I passed the first exam, I waslike,
Speaker 1 (06:46):
oh my god, maybe I can do this.
Speaker 2 (06:49):
And so then I just I stayed in I
Speaker 1 (06:50):
I took advantage of, what what
Speaker 2 (06:55):
our health care system offers people like me. I
took advantage of it, and Istayed in those facilities for
as long as I could while Iworked on on my program. And so,
no, we we should never stopgiving people chances. You know,
people are like, oh, my ourresources are being diverted
towards the wrong places. Right?
We're we're to to addicts andalcoholics and but, like, if I
(07:17):
didn't have as many chances of Ihad if I didn't have the
facilities that I had in this
Speaker 1 (07:21):
in this country, I would I'd
Speaker 2 (07:22):
be dead guaranteed. Wow. Guarantee.
Speaker 3 (07:24):
So now you mentioned that, we should never stop
giving people chances.
Speaker 1 (07:29):
Mhmm.
Speaker 3 (07:30):
And sometimes we are our own worst critic. Right? And
we don't give ourselves grace,you know, when we slip and fall.
How have you been exercisingthat since, you know, coming
into clarity and doing whatyou've been doing? Giving myself
grace?
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (07:52):
Yeah. It's it's difficult because I mean so I'm
I'm I I'm coming up on 3 yearssober, and, you know, I'm still
cleaning up my past. Yeah. I'mstill cleaning up the wreckage
from my past. And so having tostart in real estate, I'm
rebuilding relationships with mykids and family members and
friends.
And so I'm constantly having togive myself grace in all these
(08:15):
different areas, but then alsoquestioning myself, do I deserve
grace? Right? Because of becauseof what I've put people through,
you know. And that's that's,that's that's been hard, but I I
I tell myself to move the ballforward a little bit each day.
As long as I'm moving the ballforward a little bit each day,
then I'm making progress.
Right? And so that's kinda how Igive myself grace, is I try to
(08:36):
just make progress every day.And then it's it's time and it's
living what you put out. Right?If I if I continue to do what
I'm doing, live the way I'mliving, things are gonna come
back.
Now things don't always comeback the way I want them to.
Right? They don't come back inmy time and, I still have
relationships that that areafraid and may remain afraid for
(08:57):
the rest of my life,unfortunately, because of my
addiction. Right. So it's it'sit's a constant balance.
Right? It's a constant balance.
Speaker 1 (09:06):
Yeah. I'd love for you to provide some insights
because and and I I quitefrankly, I don't know how to ask
this. So I'm just gonna mumblethrough my words. So it's all
good. Story of
Speaker 2 (09:17):
my life. Right?
Speaker 3 (09:18):
Kind of mine
Speaker 2 (09:18):
too, actually. Till you meet
Speaker 1 (09:20):
you. Yeah. Is you know, from your perspective,
someone that that is arecovering alcoholic, what what
are great questions that perhapsmyself could ask you or support
you in a way that that wouldsupport you the best or support
someone in that situation thebest way? Because often I hear
they ask us people ask me, oh,it's the same question over and
(09:43):
over again, but it doesn'treally help me.
Speaker 2 (09:46):
So what's that? How you doing?
Speaker 1 (09:48):
How you doing?
Speaker 2 (09:49):
Yeah. Yeah. So what what can you ask people like me?
Speaker 1 (09:52):
Yeah. Is that a fair question or is that a fair
conversation to have or is thereis it just listening or is it
Speaker 2 (10:00):
That right there. So I'm I'm glad you said that
because a lot of the time, I wasso desperate for someone to to
listen to me. Right. Right?Yeah.
Because I I had I isolatedmyself away from the world, away
from my family, and you know, Iwas I what would be described as
a bottom of the barrelalcoholic. Right. I mean, given
(10:20):
the opportunity and theresources, I would have drank
myself to death. Wow. The onlyreason I would ever stop was
because I ended up in, you know,in jail or or a hospital or and
I had or I was gonna be on thestreets, and I had no other
choice but to go to a detoxfacility.
Right? And stay sober in orderto stay in these facilities and
start again. Right?
Speaker 1 (10:42):
What was
Speaker 2 (10:42):
the word you said again? Listen?
Speaker 1 (10:45):
No. What? Oh,
Speaker 2 (10:47):
yeah. Yes. Listen. Yes. Okay.
There's my ADHD
Speaker 1 (10:50):
going. Right? No.
Speaker 3 (10:50):
That's okay.
Speaker 2 (10:52):
So when I would go to these places, I was I just
wanted I wanted people to talkto. I wanted people to listen to
me, and, you know, I I was insuch disarray. I was in such
panic. I was going throughwithdrawals. You know, my life I
just destroyed everything I hadrebuilt again for the millionth
time.
I disappointed everybody again.And so I'm just I'm I'm in the
(11:15):
worst place I could possibly beemotionally and mentally. Right.
And I'm just desperate to talkto people and to get maybe some
form of compassion, even thoughI may not deserve it. Get some
compassion, some empathy eventhough I may not I may not
deserve it.
And that was it. You know, Ijust wanted people to listen
Speaker 1 (11:33):
to me.
Speaker 2 (11:33):
So when people come, if somebody asks, what what
advice would you give somebodythat's, looking to start their
or doesn't know where to startto get sober? My first answer is
go to a meeting. Yeah. And youmay ask why if that's not part
of your journey, molds.
Speaker 1 (11:48):
Go to a
Speaker 2 (11:48):
meeting because there's an there's an entire
world of recovery that exists,and you just need to go see it.
And a lot of times, if you go toan AA meeting or an NA meeting,
you you'll see that world. Andthen there's people there that
will help you take the next stepand the next step and the next
step. Right? All you gotta do istake that first step, reach out
for help, and then there'speople there that will guide you
along the way as long as you'rewilling to put in the work and
(12:11):
take
Speaker 1 (12:11):
this over. Yeah.
Speaker 3 (12:12):
So you mentioned taking the the first step. So,
and you started off, like, we'reall affected by or know somebody
who is with substance abuse oralcohol. Mhmm. Tell us a little
bit more of how they can takethe first step with clarity.
Speaker 2 (12:31):
With clarity. So it's difficult for people. Right? We
want people to feel comfortable.And if people want their
anonymity protected, we wannaprotect that as well.
We understand that it's stillmaybe a little bit taboo, and
that's kind of the whole pointis to bring it out of the
shadows. And, you know, if Ihave to be stand there and make
(12:52):
people kinda go, I'll be thatguy. And the first step is just
reach out. That's it. Reach outto me.
Reach out to me. Reach out toanybody in the community. You
can pull it up on on on the onthe website. My I think our our
direct lines are on there. Youcan, we always we've been we
were directing people towardsthe Facebook group.
That's kinda how we weretracking membership at first,
(13:15):
and that's and we still do thattoday. And then it's just a
matter of reach out to somebody.That's like I said, all the all
you have to do is reach out thatfirst time, and if you're
willing, you know, we'll putwe'll put the resources in front
of you and and allow you to makethe decision and, you know, try
to help you as best we can.
Speaker 3 (13:34):
Why does this matter so much to you?
Speaker 2 (13:36):
Because it's all I know. You know what I mean? It's
if you put me in front of a roomand say talk about real estate
for an hour, I have a panicattack. You put me in front of a
room and say talk aboutaddiction for an hour, not a
problem. Getting me to shut upis the problem.
Right? And I like in this, I'mI'm all about progression, and I
I wanna get better, and I wannalearn. And that's why I love
(13:59):
real estate because you canthere's not enough, like,
there's just so much to know andso much to learn. And I want
there's an ability there withand the reason I wanted to go to
real estate as well becausethere was there was an there was
a chance to be on the other sideof the fence. I was always
looking over the fence, and mydad used to always say to me,
give yourself a chance.
(14:20):
Like, you've never givenyourself a chance to realize
your potential,
Speaker 1 (14:23):
and you're gonna you're gonna die, but I really
wish you would and that's why Ihave, you
Speaker 2 (14:28):
know, I have 8 of my 9 lives tattooed on here because
that's what he used to say.You're like a cat. So you'd be
like, give yourself a chance.Just give yourself a chance and
see what you can do. And that'swhy this is important to me
because I know I know whetherpeople wanna admit it or not, if
they're not comfortable thatthat they and and that's all I'm
saying is I know you exist.
Speaker 1 (14:49):
I know you're in this room. Right?
Speaker 2 (14:52):
And you just have to see me there and know that,
okay, he's there if I need him.Right? And that's all I want.
That's all
Speaker 1 (14:57):
I want. I love it. I love it. You you'd be amazed
Speaker 2 (15:01):
by the conversations I've had with the most unlikely
people
Speaker 1 (15:04):
in this industry. That that just because I I
Speaker 2 (15:09):
I obnoxiously insert my story into, like, most
conversations because it usuallyit usually takes it in a really,
genuine direction. Mhmm. Andthat's what I wanna build is
genuine connections. Right? Andso I've I've done that
obnoxiously with, like, lawyersand whatnot.
And we've gone down some someweird paths, but it's that's
it's been the best part. I loveit.
Speaker 1 (15:28):
Beauty. Beauty. I like it. I like it. Well, in
just a few moments that, youknow, where our boots are kind
of beside each other, we'rekinda having fun and that sort
of thing.
I know you have a sense of humoras well. And and, which leads me
to I'm gonna ask you some rapidfire questions for him. And and
this is, you know, this is this
Speaker 3 (15:46):
is the serious part
Speaker 1 (15:47):
of the Well, if you thought that was serious
Speaker 2 (15:49):
Dude, I could do this all day. This this is crazy to
me, this whole setting andeverything. This is crazy. I
could have never imagined myselfdoing something like this, so
I'm having a blast.
Speaker 1 (15:57):
Awesome. Awesome. So I'm gonna ask you, some rapid
fire questions. The the they'rethey're not skilled testing.
Thank god.
Right? It wasn't yeah. I'm theperson that wrote them, so
forget it. Awesome. Yeah.
Nice and easy. Yes. Say thefirst thing that comes to mind.
Oh. I'll play play a little bitof music, you know, get the get
the vibe going.
And, first first off, we'llstart off with an easy one.
(16:19):
Would you rather be talking ortexting on the phone? Talking.
Talking. Favorite season of theyear?
Summer. Summer.
Speaker 3 (16:28):
What's up with these summer people? Summer.
Speaker 1 (16:31):
Summer. I
Speaker 2 (16:32):
just got I went on vacation in Mexico for the first
time, and, like, it waseverything. And I came back to
the country, and I'm like, whyam I here?
Speaker 1 (16:38):
Yeah. Some summer and winter? This could happen. Yes.
Yeah.
Something a little bit moreserious here. Is it wrong for a
vegetarian to eat animalcrackers? Oh, he's going deep.
He's he's circling. He'sstruggling with this.
Speaker 2 (16:54):
I feel like there's a lot of layers to that. Right?
Right? And, like, my personalityis, like, you have to give a
really witty answer to it, man.It's it's on the line.
Speaker 1 (17:03):
Podcast either stops or keeps rolling on those.
Speaker 2 (17:07):
Yeah. I'm gonna say, yeah, just by principle.
Speaker 1 (17:10):
Yes. By principle. I like it. I like it. We're not
judging here.
I do. Well, we might on thisone. Our first celebrity crush.
Speaker 2 (17:18):
Jennifer Aniston. Jennifer Aniston.
Speaker 1 (17:20):
On the friends. On yeah. Okay. Yeah. Yeah.
Yeah. Oh, no.
Speaker 2 (17:24):
Saved by the Bell. What was her name?
Speaker 3 (17:26):
Oh, Kelly or Kelly. Or,
Speaker 2 (17:29):
No. It was Kelly.
Speaker 1 (17:30):
Tiffany Amber Thistle. Is that it?
Speaker 2 (17:32):
That one was for the scholars. Okay.
Speaker 1 (17:34):
Yeah. Yeah.
Speaker 3 (17:35):
We know She's saying Kelly. We know the name that she
goes by.
Speaker 2 (17:38):
Yeah. Yeah. You you maybe know too much.
Speaker 1 (17:40):
That's Did I just reveal my first celebrity crush?
I think I did. I think you did.
Speaker 2 (17:47):
Favorite junk food? Ice cream. Ice ice cream with
milk.
Speaker 1 (17:53):
Oh, that's a classic English move right there.
Speaker 3 (17:55):
Woah. Yeah.
Speaker 2 (17:56):
I put ice cream in a bowl with milk. Okay.
Speaker 1 (17:59):
Yeah. Speaking of food, is double dipping at a
party ever acceptable? If noone's looking.
Speaker 3 (18:06):
Oh, you're my guy.
Speaker 1 (18:07):
You are my guy. Yeah. I want a little more of that
hummus. Alright. Alright.
Name one of the 7 dwarfs.
Speaker 2 (18:15):
Dopey. How appropriate. Dopey.
Speaker 3 (18:18):
Interesting.
Speaker 1 (18:21):
I like it.
Speaker 3 (18:22):
Let's grab a movie.
Speaker 1 (18:24):
Yeah. Yeah. And, last last question. The God Father or
Star Wars? This is made orbroken, relationships on this
one here.
Speaker 3 (18:35):
So choose wisely.
Speaker 2 (18:36):
I'm probably gonna break some relationships here.
I've never seen The Godfather.
Speaker 3 (18:40):
What? Get off the show. This is it. Delete.
Speaker 2 (18:45):
I was I I may have I'm not even I may have in a
treatment center years yearsago, but I I don't remember.
Yeah. So I have to say StarWars.
Speaker 1 (18:54):
Alright. Awesome. Awesome. I love it, my man. It's
a lot love.
I'm sorry. In in classicCanadian format, I'm sorry. How
do people get a hold of you, myman?
Speaker 2 (19:07):
You can check out my website. It's,
apoperealestate.ca. You canhonestly text me or call me. I'm
I'm I'll put it out there. Andit's funny because I'm in
Toronto, but Niagara area code.
I still have to change that.It's 365-880-3501. Text me, call
me. Facebook, a pope realestate. Instagram at a pope real
(19:27):
estate.
Speaker 1 (19:28):
Love it. So pretty much anywhere is where people
get ahold of you.
Speaker 2 (19:31):
Anywhere at a pope real estate. Yeah.
Speaker 1 (19:34):
So that is a pope at whatever you like. This has been
awesome, my man. I wish youcontinued success on your
journey, and and you aredefinitely changing lives and
having positive impact. I I I Ihope so. I you know, in in 2
years and 5 years from now, thisstory is gonna be just amazing,
and I love it.
Speaker 2 (19:53):
I hope so. I I hope so. I just yeah. I wanna help.
Speaker 1 (19:56):
Yeah. Awesome.
Speaker 2 (19:57):
I again, I'm doing stuff like this is is so fun to
me. I could have never imaginedmyself in this position, and I'm
I'm I'm so grateful, and I and Itruly mean that because my mom's
gonna watch us and go, oh mygod.
Speaker 3 (20:13):
It's a star. And and to me that
Speaker 2 (20:16):
that It's okay.
Speaker 1 (20:17):
Our moms watch too. Yeah. Yeah.
Speaker 3 (20:18):
It's a star.
Speaker 2 (20:20):
Yeah. So that makes my heart melt for her as well.
So this is amazing. Thank youguys for having me.
Speaker 1 (20:24):
That's awesome. That's Adam Wolf. That's sir
Colin Campbell. I'm GaryMcGowan. We'll see everybody in
the next episode.
Goodbye for now. We hope youenjoyed this episode. Make sure
to click the subscribe button sonew episodes will automatically
be downloaded to your device.Please help us reach more people
by leaving a rating and a reviewon your podcast player of
(20:45):
choice. Now go make it anamazing day for somebody.
That's been
Speaker 2 (00:00):
my life for almost 10 years, you know. It's a it's a
steady pattern of waking up in ajail or waking up in a hospital,
dealing with the consequences ofthat, ending up in a shelter,
ending up in a detox center, andthen going to treatment, and
then ending up in a posttreatment facility, or a rooming
house, or, you know, and thatthat that was my life for so
(00:22):
long. I was so reliant on thesystem, and thank God,
Speaker 1 (00:24):
in Canada, we have the health care system we have.
You're listening to the not soblack and white real estate
podcast with your host, sirColin Campbell
Speaker 3 (00:46):
McGowan, and you're tuned into the Not So Black and
White Real Estate podcast. We'reon-site today at For the Love of
Real Estate conference, andwe've been hunting this person
down for some time now. The lasttime I saw him speak was at a
KWYP event, and he just sharedhis story and his journey. And
we wanna share that with you,and it's none other than Adam
(01:09):
Poop.
Speaker 2 (01:11):
Thank you.
Speaker 3 (01:12):
Thank you
Speaker 2 (01:12):
for having me.
Speaker 1 (01:13):
K. First of all, first shout out is we gotta tell
everybody what your shirt saysbecause I'm reading it now, and
I'm loving it.
Speaker 2 (01:19):
Oh, it says clean, serene, lean gen machine. I like
it. Machine. Sorry.
Speaker 3 (01:23):
No. Yeah.
Speaker 2 (01:24):
I just realized what it said to a panel.
Speaker 3 (01:27):
So, Adam, tell us, who are you? Yes. Why are you
here?
Speaker 2 (01:31):
So I'm here. So I'm here on behalf of, Clarity,
which is a new Keller Williamscommunity. It was, started by
Shelley Seidman out in thestates. And we're a community
that is just a support networkfor anybody under the Keller
Williams umbrella that's beenaffected by substance addiction
in any way. We do notdiscriminate.
So everybody knows somebody, myman. Where is somebody?
Speaker 3 (01:51):
So what does that really mean? It's a community
for people who've been affectedby substance addiction. Is that,
like, AA? Or, like, what are wetalking about? No.
No. No.
Speaker 2 (02:02):
No. I I mean, if you if you know my story as well, I
mean, AA has been a large partof my journey in the past. My
journey this time throughsobriety, it hasn't been a part
of my journey. And we, you know,we want to we wanna connect with
anybody. It doesn't matter.
Somebody knows somebody.Somebody is somebody. You know,
I don't care. I always tellpeople, you know,
Speaker 1 (02:21):
I don't care what's getting you better.
Speaker 2 (02:23):
I don't care if it's AA. I don't care if it's praying
to the tree. Just keep doing it.Right? If it's working, keep
doing it.
So, no, we we don't we're notspecific to, you know, any one
thing. It's we wanna we wanna bebroad, and we wanna help anybody
that needs it.
Speaker 3 (02:38):
So you're looking to help anyone who's been affected
by substance abuse or drugs inany way. What what qualifies you
to lead this? Oh, man. So tellus your story.
Speaker 2 (02:52):
That that's a long one. I'll try to I'll try to
keep it, I'll try to keep itshort. So I'm I'm real I'll
start by saying relatively newin real estate. I've
Speaker 1 (03:01):
are we good?
Speaker 2 (03:01):
Closer to the mic. Me?
Speaker 1 (03:03):
Yeah. Oh. Oh. Oh.
Speaker 2 (03:06):
Good? Yep. Alright. So I'm, yeah. I'm relatively new
in real estate.
I've been, doing this for myyear was up in September. And
when I started getting mylicense, I was living in a
homeless shelter, here inToronto. And prior to that, I I
was I'm a recovering alcoholic.And, prior to that, I was in and
(03:28):
out of the system, which is, youknow, jails, institutions, for
10 years. You know, and I I'veI've been this way for as long
as I can remember.
People always, you know, whenwhen can you pinpoint when when
you start to realize that youyou didn't drink like normal
people, that something was off.I just never felt any different.
(03:48):
Right? It just my my my familywas going
Speaker 1 (03:53):
a certain way, every everybody was going a certain
way, and I just went totally offthe rails, and
Speaker 2 (03:57):
I had no control over it. And so, you know, that was
my that's been my life foralmost 10 years, you know. It's
a it's a steady pattern ofwaking up in a jail or waking up
in a hospital, dealing with theconsequences of that, ending up
in a shelter, ending up in adetox center, and then going to
treatment, and then ending up ina post treatment facility, or a
(04:21):
rooming house, or, you know, andthat that that was my life for
so long. I was so reliant on thesystem, and thank God, in
Canada, we have the
Speaker 1 (04:27):
health care system we have.
Speaker 2 (04:30):
Because for someone like me, who needed I needed
more chances. I just I neededanother chance. I need another
chance. I need another chance.And hopefully, one of those
times, it would stick, and Iwould make it out.
You know, thankfully, this timeit it has stuck, and I and I am
I'm here today. So it's a littlebit about of it about it.
Speaker 1 (04:50):
There's a lot there to unpack. A lot? Yeah. But
that's cool. I love it.
And every like you said,everybody is somebody, and and
and and, you know, everyone hasa story to tell, but I'd I'd
love to understand from yourperspective, you know,
thankfully you got that chance.But you needed more chances and
(05:11):
more chances and finally the oneat that moment in time for you
it aligned. Mhmm. Do we do asthere's so many so many ways I
can go with this. Do we, as agroup of people, population,
whatever you wanna call it, oryour community, do we stop
giving people enough chances?
Like, is that is that on us asas people as well?
Speaker 2 (05:30):
You know what? I I think that's that that goes back
to the stigma, not necessarilyof addiction. You know, it's a
stigma of asking for help. Sure.And people, you know, people
have let me put it this way.
People have had really, reallyhorrible experiences with people
with addiction issues. Right?And so me doing real estate and
(05:51):
putting my story out there theway that I am, you know, I'm
taking a risk of people notwanting to work with me. And and
I and I and I'm okay with thatbecause people have had horrible
experiences, people withaddiction. I'm the worst version
of myself when I'm when I'mactively drinking, when I'm out
there.
I'm the worst version of myself.And so, you know, people will
(06:11):
ask me, what what do you thinkwas it this time that that
Speaker 1 (06:13):
helped you stop? What was it
Speaker 2 (06:15):
this time that changed? And it there's nothing
really changed. It was I wasback in the cycle again, and,
you know, I I had completedtreatment again. I was back in
the shelter down here inToronto, trying to figure
Speaker 1 (06:27):
out what was next. And I just happened to, you
know, something in the back of
Speaker 2 (06:31):
my mind said, reminded me of real estate. And
I pulled up the courses andthankfully it was pay as you go.
And I had enough money just topay for that first course and
the first exam. And once Icompleted that first course and
I passed the first exam, I waslike,
Speaker 1 (06:46):
oh my god, maybe I can do this.
Speaker 2 (06:49):
And so then I just I stayed in I
Speaker 1 (06:50):
I took advantage of, what what
Speaker 2 (06:55):
our health care system offers people like me. I
took advantage of it, and Istayed in those facilities for
as long as I could while Iworked on on my program. And so,
no, we we should never stopgiving people chances. You know,
people are like, oh, my ourresources are being diverted
towards the wrong places. Right?
We're we're to to addicts andalcoholics and but, like, if I
(07:17):
didn't have as many chances of Ihad if I didn't have the
facilities that I had in this
Speaker 1 (07:21):
in this country, I would I'd
Speaker 2 (07:22):
be dead guaranteed. Wow. Guarantee.
Speaker 3 (07:24):
So now you mentioned that, we should never stop
giving people chances.
Speaker 1 (07:29):
Mhmm.
Speaker 3 (07:30):
And sometimes we are our own worst critic. Right? And
we don't give ourselves grace,you know, when we slip and fall.
How have you been exercisingthat since, you know, coming
into clarity and doing whatyou've been doing? Giving myself
grace?
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (07:52):
Yeah. It's it's difficult because I mean so I'm
I'm I I'm coming up on 3 yearssober, and, you know, I'm still
cleaning up my past. Yeah. I'mstill cleaning up the wreckage
from my past. And so having tostart in real estate, I'm
rebuilding relationships with mykids and family members and
friends.
And so I'm constantly having togive myself grace in all these
(08:15):
different areas, but then alsoquestioning myself, do I deserve
grace? Right? Because of becauseof what I've put people through,
you know. And that's that's,that's that's been hard, but I I
I tell myself to move the ballforward a little bit each day.
As long as I'm moving the ballforward a little bit each day,
then I'm making progress.
Right? And so that's kinda how Igive myself grace, is I try to
(08:36):
just make progress every day.And then it's it's time and it's
living what you put out. Right?If I if I continue to do what
I'm doing, live the way I'mliving, things are gonna come
back.
Now things don't always comeback the way I want them to.
Right? They don't come back inmy time and, I still have
relationships that that areafraid and may remain afraid for
(08:57):
the rest of my life,unfortunately, because of my
addiction. Right. So it's it'sit's a constant balance.
Right? It's a constant balance.
Speaker 1 (09:06):
Yeah. I'd love for you to provide some insights
because and and I I quitefrankly, I don't know how to ask
this. So I'm just gonna mumblethrough my words. So it's all
good. Story of
Speaker 2 (09:17):
my life. Right?
Speaker 3 (09:18):
Kind of mine
Speaker 2 (09:18):
too, actually. Till you meet
Speaker 1 (09:20):
you. Yeah. Is you know, from your perspective,
someone that that is arecovering alcoholic, what what
are great questions that perhapsmyself could ask you or support
you in a way that that wouldsupport you the best or support
someone in that situation thebest way? Because often I hear
they ask us people ask me, oh,it's the same question over and
(09:43):
over again, but it doesn'treally help me.
Speaker 2 (09:46):
So what's that? How you doing?
Speaker 1 (09:48):
How you doing?
Speaker 2 (09:49):
Yeah. Yeah. So what what can you ask people like me?
Speaker 1 (09:52):
Yeah. Is that a fair question or is that a fair
conversation to have or is thereis it just listening or is it
Speaker 2 (10:00):
That right there. So I'm I'm glad you said that
because a lot of the time, I wasso desperate for someone to to
listen to me. Right. Right?Yeah.
Because I I had I isolatedmyself away from the world, away
from my family, and you know, Iwas I what would be described as
a bottom of the barrelalcoholic. Right. I mean, given
(10:20):
the opportunity and theresources, I would have drank
myself to death. Wow. The onlyreason I would ever stop was
because I ended up in, you know,in jail or or a hospital or and
I had or I was gonna be on thestreets, and I had no other
choice but to go to a detoxfacility.
Right? And stay sober in orderto stay in these facilities and
start again. Right?
Speaker 1 (10:42):
What was
Speaker 2 (10:42):
the word you said again? Listen?
Speaker 1 (10:45):
No. What? Oh,
Speaker 2 (10:47):
yeah. Yes. Listen. Yes. Okay.
There's my ADHD
Speaker 1 (10:50):
going. Right? No.
Speaker 3 (10:50):
That's okay.
Speaker 2 (10:52):
So when I would go to these places, I was I just
wanted I wanted people to talkto. I wanted people to listen to
me, and, you know, I I was insuch disarray. I was in such
panic. I was going throughwithdrawals. You know, my life I
just destroyed everything I hadrebuilt again for the millionth
time.
I disappointed everybody again.And so I'm just I'm I'm in the
(11:15):
worst place I could possibly beemotionally and mentally. Right.
And I'm just desperate to talkto people and to get maybe some
form of compassion, even thoughI may not deserve it. Get some
compassion, some empathy eventhough I may not I may not
deserve it.
And that was it. You know, Ijust wanted people to listen
Speaker 1 (11:33):
to me.
Speaker 2 (11:33):
So when people come, if somebody asks, what what
advice would you give somebodythat's, looking to start their
or doesn't know where to startto get sober? My first answer is
go to a meeting. Yeah. And youmay ask why if that's not part
of your journey, molds.
Speaker 1 (11:48):
Go to a
Speaker 2 (11:48):
meeting because there's an there's an entire
world of recovery that exists,and you just need to go see it.
And a lot of times, if you go toan AA meeting or an NA meeting,
you you'll see that world. Andthen there's people there that
will help you take the next stepand the next step and the next
step. Right? All you gotta do istake that first step, reach out
for help, and then there'speople there that will guide you
along the way as long as you'rewilling to put in the work and
(12:11):
take
Speaker 1 (12:11):
this over. Yeah.
Speaker 3 (12:12):
So you mentioned taking the the first step. So,
and you started off, like, we'reall affected by or know somebody
who is with substance abuse oralcohol. Mhmm. Tell us a little
bit more of how they can takethe first step with clarity.
Speaker 2 (12:31):
With clarity. So it's difficult for people. Right? We
want people to feel comfortable.And if people want their
anonymity protected, we wannaprotect that as well.
We understand that it's stillmaybe a little bit taboo, and
that's kind of the whole pointis to bring it out of the
shadows. And, you know, if Ihave to be stand there and make
(12:52):
people kinda go, I'll be thatguy. And the first step is just
reach out. That's it. Reach outto me.
Reach out to me. Reach out toanybody in the community. You
can pull it up on on on the onthe website. My I think our our
direct lines are on there. Youcan, we always we've been we
were directing people towardsthe Facebook group.
That's kinda how we weretracking membership at first,
(13:15):
and that's and we still do thattoday. And then it's just a
matter of reach out to somebody.That's like I said, all the all
you have to do is reach out thatfirst time, and if you're
willing, you know, we'll putwe'll put the resources in front
of you and and allow you to makethe decision and, you know, try
to help you as best we can.
Speaker 3 (13:34):
Why does this matter so much to you?
Speaker 2 (13:36):
Because it's all I know. You know what I mean? It's
if you put me in front of a roomand say talk about real estate
for an hour, I have a panicattack. You put me in front of a
room and say talk aboutaddiction for an hour, not a
problem. Getting me to shut upis the problem.
Right? And I like in this, I'mI'm all about progression, and I
I wanna get better, and I wannalearn. And that's why I love
(13:59):
real estate because you canthere's not enough, like,
there's just so much to know andso much to learn. And I want
there's an ability there withand the reason I wanted to go to
real estate as well becausethere was there was an there was
a chance to be on the other sideof the fence. I was always
looking over the fence, and mydad used to always say to me,
give yourself a chance.
(14:20):
Like, you've never givenyourself a chance to realize
your potential,
Speaker 1 (14:23):
and you're gonna you're gonna die, but I really
wish you would and that's why Ihave, you
Speaker 2 (14:28):
know, I have 8 of my 9 lives tattooed on here because
that's what he used to say.You're like a cat. So you'd be
like, give yourself a chance.Just give yourself a chance and
see what you can do. And that'swhy this is important to me
because I know I know whetherpeople wanna admit it or not, if
they're not comfortable thatthat they and and that's all I'm
saying is I know you exist.
Speaker 1 (14:49):
I know you're in this room. Right?
Speaker 2 (14:52):
And you just have to see me there and know that,
okay, he's there if I need him.Right? And that's all I want.
That's all
Speaker 1 (14:57):
I want. I love it. I love it. You you'd be amazed
Speaker 2 (15:01):
by the conversations I've had with the most unlikely
people
Speaker 1 (15:04):
in this industry. That that just because I I
Speaker 2 (15:09):
I obnoxiously insert my story into, like, most
conversations because it usuallyit usually takes it in a really,
genuine direction. Mhmm. Andthat's what I wanna build is
genuine connections. Right? Andso I've I've done that
obnoxiously with, like, lawyersand whatnot.
And we've gone down some someweird paths, but it's that's
it's been the best part. I loveit.
Speaker 1 (15:28):
Beauty. Beauty. I like it. I like it. Well, in
just a few moments that, youknow, where our boots are kind
of beside each other, we'rekinda having fun and that sort
of thing.
I know you have a sense of humoras well. And and, which leads me
to I'm gonna ask you some rapidfire questions for him. And and
this is, you know, this is this
Speaker 3 (15:46):
is the serious part
Speaker 1 (15:47):
of the Well, if you thought that was serious
Speaker 2 (15:49):
Dude, I could do this all day. This this is crazy to
me, this whole setting andeverything. This is crazy. I
could have never imagined myselfdoing something like this, so
I'm having a blast.
Speaker 1 (15:57):
Awesome. Awesome. So I'm gonna ask you, some rapid
fire questions. The the they'rethey're not skilled testing.
Thank god.
Right? It wasn't yeah. I'm theperson that wrote them, so
forget it. Awesome. Yeah.
Nice and easy. Yes. Say thefirst thing that comes to mind.
Oh. I'll play play a little bitof music, you know, get the get
the vibe going.
And, first first off, we'llstart off with an easy one.
(16:19):
Would you rather be talking ortexting on the phone? Talking.
Talking. Favorite season of theyear?
Summer. Summer.
Speaker 3 (16:28):
What's up with these summer people? Summer.
Speaker 1 (16:31):
Summer. I
Speaker 2 (16:32):
just got I went on vacation in Mexico for the first
time, and, like, it waseverything. And I came back to
the country, and I'm like, whyam I here?
Speaker 1 (16:38):
Yeah. Some summer and winter? This could happen. Yes.
Yeah.
Something a little bit moreserious here. Is it wrong for a
vegetarian to eat animalcrackers? Oh, he's going deep.
He's he's circling. He'sstruggling with this.
Speaker 2 (16:54):
I feel like there's a lot of layers to that. Right?
Right? And, like, my personalityis, like, you have to give a
really witty answer to it, man.It's it's on the line.
Speaker 1 (17:03):
Podcast either stops or keeps rolling on those.
Speaker 2 (17:07):
Yeah. I'm gonna say, yeah, just by principle.
Speaker 1 (17:10):
Yes. By principle. I like it. I like it. We're not
judging here.
I do. Well, we might on thisone. Our first celebrity crush.
Speaker 2 (17:18):
Jennifer Aniston. Jennifer Aniston.
Speaker 1 (17:20):
On the friends. On yeah. Okay. Yeah. Yeah.
Yeah. Oh, no.
Speaker 2 (17:24):
Saved by the Bell. What was her name?
Speaker 3 (17:26):
Oh, Kelly or Kelly. Or,
Speaker 2 (17:29):
No. It was Kelly.
Speaker 1 (17:30):
Tiffany Amber Thistle. Is that it?
Speaker 2 (17:32):
That one was for the scholars. Okay.
Speaker 1 (17:34):
Yeah. Yeah.
Speaker 3 (17:35):
We know She's saying Kelly. We know the name that she
goes by.
Speaker 2 (17:38):
Yeah. Yeah. You you maybe know too much.
Speaker 1 (17:40):
That's Did I just reveal my first celebrity crush?
I think I did. I think you did.
Speaker 2 (17:47):
Favorite junk food? Ice cream. Ice ice cream with
milk.
Speaker 1 (17:53):
Oh, that's a classic English move right there.
Speaker 3 (17:55):
Woah. Yeah.
Speaker 2 (17:56):
I put ice cream in a bowl with milk. Okay.
Speaker 1 (17:59):
Yeah. Speaking of food, is double dipping at a
party ever acceptable? If noone's looking.
Speaker 3 (18:06):
Oh, you're my guy.
Speaker 1 (18:07):
You are my guy. Yeah. I want a little more of that
hummus. Alright. Alright.
Name one of the 7 dwarfs.
Speaker 2 (18:15):
Dopey. How appropriate. Dopey.
Speaker 3 (18:18):
Interesting.
Speaker 1 (18:21):
I like it.
Speaker 3 (18:22):
Let's grab a movie.
Speaker 1 (18:24):
Yeah. Yeah. And, last last question. The God Father or
Star Wars? This is made orbroken, relationships on this
one here.
Speaker 3 (18:35):
So choose wisely.
Speaker 2 (18:36):
I'm probably gonna break some relationships here.
I've never seen The Godfather.
Speaker 3 (18:40):
What? Get off the show. This is it. Delete.
Speaker 2 (18:45):
I was I I may have I'm not even I may have in a
treatment center years yearsago, but I I don't remember.
Yeah. So I have to say StarWars.
Speaker 1 (18:54):
Alright. Awesome. Awesome. I love it, my man. It's
a lot love.
I'm sorry. In in classicCanadian format, I'm sorry. How
do people get a hold of you, myman?
Speaker 2 (19:07):
You can check out my website. It's,
apoperealestate.ca. You canhonestly text me or call me. I'm
I'm I'll put it out there. Andit's funny because I'm in
Toronto, but Niagara area code.
I still have to change that.It's 365-880-3501. Text me, call
me. Facebook, a pope realestate. Instagram at a pope real
(19:27):
estate.
Speaker 1 (19:28):
Love it. So pretty much anywhere is where people
get ahold of you.
Speaker 2 (19:31):
Anywhere at a pope real estate. Yeah.
Speaker 1 (19:34):
So that is a pope at whatever you like. This has been
awesome, my man. I wish youcontinued success on your
journey, and and you aredefinitely changing lives and
having positive impact. I I I Ihope so. I you know, in in 2
years and 5 years from now, thisstory is gonna be just amazing,
and I love it.
Speaker 2 (19:53):
I hope so. I I hope so. I just yeah. I wanna help.
Speaker 1 (19:56):
Yeah. Awesome.
Speaker 2 (19:57):
I again, I'm doing stuff like this is is so fun to
me. I could have never imaginedmyself in this position, and I'm
I'm I'm so grateful, and I and Itruly mean that because my mom's
gonna watch us and go, oh mygod.
Speaker 3 (20:13):
It's a star. And and to me that
Speaker 2 (20:16):
that It's okay.
Speaker 1 (20:17):
Our moms watch too. Yeah. Yeah.
Speaker 3 (20:18):
It's a star.
Speaker 2 (20:20):
Yeah. So that makes my heart melt for her as well.
So this is amazing. Thank youguys for having me.
Speaker 1 (20:24):
That's awesome. That's Adam Wolf. That's sir
Colin Campbell. I'm GaryMcGowan. We'll see everybody in
the next episode.
Goodbye for now. We hope youenjoyed this episode. Make sure
to click the subscribe button sonew episodes will automatically
be downloaded to your device.Please help us reach more people
by leaving a rating and a reviewon your podcast player of
(20:45):
choice. Now go make it anamazing day for somebody.
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