March 6, 2025 • 16 mins
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Welcome to the Stop Drinking Podcast, where we help
you make stopping drinking asimple, logical and easy
decision.
We help you with tips, toolsand strategies to start living
your best life when alcohol-free.
If you want to learn more aboutstop drinking coaching, then
head over to wwwsoberclearcom.
(00:21):
Six and a half years ago,everything in my life changed
after I quit drinking alcohol,and today, in this video, I'm
going to show you how alcohol isthe one thing standing in the
way of the life of your dreams.
I spent 10 years struggling tostop drinking.
I tried going to AA meetings.
I tried begging God to help me.
I was using willpower, stoppingand starting all the time.
(00:43):
Sometimes I'd go a day,sometimes a month, sometimes six
months, but something wouldalways lead me back to the drink
.
But six and a half years ago,everything shifted, and today I
want to talk to you about theamazing things that have
happened in my own life sincestopping.
I'm not trying to boast, I'mnot trying to show off.
What I'm trying to do is showyou proof that stopping drinking
will give you everything thatyou want, because the
(01:04):
transformation that's happenedin my own life is exactly what I
dreamed about.
My name is Leon Sylvester, I'mthe founder of SoberClearcom,
and this is my story.
Now I'm going to keep it brieffor my backstory because I want
this video to really focus onthe benefits and the good things
that have happened in my life.
But I spent about 10 yearsdrinking.
I had periods of my life whereI drink every single day.
I had periods of my life whereI'd drink every single day.
I had periods of my life whereI'd binge drink, but the common
(01:26):
theme was alcohol was the onething that was holding me back
and I was motivated to stop.
It was just that nothing workedfor me.
None of the conventional waysworked, but basically what
happened was six and a halfyears ago.
Everything just shifted in myworldview.
I stopped seeing alcohol assomething that enhanced my life,
that made it better.
I stopped looking at otherdrinkers and wanted to be like
them, be a normal drinker.
(01:47):
I stopped this idea of havingjust one drink and I basically
fixed my understanding and myworldview of alcohol.
Now, how I did this was I usedsomething called first
principles thinking, and if youwant to understand how that
works and how I did it, and howI've been helping hundreds of
people to do it as well, you canclick the link in the
description to access a freevideo training that will tell
you more about how I actuallystopped and the method and how
(02:08):
it works.
So if you want to learn moreabout that, definitely click the
link down below.
A new page will open up.
You'll put your name and emailaddress in and then a new video
training will start playing.
So with that out the way, letme bring it back to day zero.
Now for me.
Day zero I basically hit thisrock bottom.
Now, not everybody gets there,not everybody needs to hit a
(02:31):
rock bottom, but I pretty muchdid, and it was an emotional
rock bottom.
What had basically happened isI had a period of about six,
seven or eight months where Istopped drinking alcohol.
I was crushing it.
I had my own business, you know.
Just, things were going so well.
I ended up drinking again andthen, slowly over the next six
months, I just destroyed anddismantled everything.
All the progress and all thesuccess I had built as a
non-drinker just slipped awayand I felt like I was at ground
(02:51):
zero.
And one day I woke up with oneof the worst hangovers I'd ever
had.
It was like 5pmm.
When I woke up and I just feltlike if I continue doing this,
I'm dead.
Now to cut a long story shortover the next few days I fixed
my worldview and then just madea decision Again.
If you want to learn more aboutthat, there's the video
training in the description.
But for me, day zero sucked.
I felt so bad.
(03:12):
I felt defeated Now because mysleep was all over the place.
The next few days were kind oflame as well, but within a
couple of days, for me thingsjust turned a corner because I
knew I wasn't going to drinkagain.
I just knew I had to change andI knew that this was it.
I made a commitment to myselflike never before.
It wasn't an attempt, it wasn'ta trial, I wasn't trying this
(03:34):
anymore.
I was done.
I was moving on with my lifeand it was so liberating.
Now, during that first week, Iwas working in a restaurant,
trying to rebuild my finances,just rebuild my life.
And I remember, within thefirst couple of days, I remember
going to one of the members ofstaff and I said his name.
I won't say his name, but Isaid dude, I'm done, I'm not
coming out tonight, I've stoppeddrinking.
And he looked at me and he justsaid again but you know what I
(03:54):
did.
I stopped myself.
I said you know what?
I don't need your validation oryour affirmation that I'm going
to do this.
I know in my heart I'm doing it.
So I didn't tell anybody else,I didn't tell my family, I
didn't tell any of my friends.
I told one friend, actually,but only because he was also
stopping drinking, because Iknew in my heart it was done.
So what happened after thefirst week?
(04:15):
Well, day seven to 90, myconfidence started coming back.
I started to feel like the oldme again.
My energy came back, my claritycame back.
I started thinking, okay, I'vegot this big win under my belt.
Now I've actually stoppeddrinking.
And because I knew I trulystopped and I knew it wasn't a
trial, it was like I've done it.
So I felt like I'd already won.
A lot of people they like tocount the days and they feel
(04:36):
like on day 90, day you know,year one, that's when they're a
non-drinker.
But I didn't feel that way.
I knew on day zero it was adone deal.
So I started thinking like,okay, I'm back, what can I do?
And at the time I'd alreadybuilt a personal training
business.
It went really well.
I was making good money gym.
I got a couple of clients.
(04:57):
Then I quit my job in therestaurant and went all in on my
own business and I just wentinto this psycho mode.
I felt like I was making up forlost time.
I felt like finally I've gotthe energy back, I've got the
confidence back, the clarity'sback, I'm making the most of
this.
I'm just going to attack.
So I remember waking up at likesix in the morning going to the
gym and up at like six in themorning going to the gym, and I
think I used to annoy the otherpersonal trainers because a lot
(05:18):
of them would like to talk andsit around in the staff room.
Hey, it is what it is.
They already had a successfulbusiness and I was just on the
gym floor talking to everybody,feeling good about myself and
just trying to help as manypeople as I can to build my
business.
I got back to lifting again.
The bloating went down, the fatwent down.
I was working with an onlinefitness coach and pretty much
all my free time was spenttaking courses, leveling up my
(05:39):
skills, learning about healthand fitness, marketing business.
I joined some online communityand everything was just going in
the right direction.
I was feeling awesome.
Anyway, it was around three orfour months into things, but
winter was arriving in Englandand I don't know if you have
ever been in an English winter,but it sucks.
You know, the sky is white.
I'll put a picture of what itlooks like now.
(06:00):
But everything feels so grayand dull and it's freezing and
there's this cold wind.
And me and my girlfriend justcame back from Japan this winter
.
We went skiing I'll talk aboutthat later on but there there
wasn't much wind and the sky wasblue and I'm like I thought I
hated the cold.
I actually quite like the cold.
What I hate is an Englishwinter.
So I'm sat there and then myfriend gives me a call.
He's like oh, leon, I'm inBangkok.
He had an online business.
(06:21):
And I'm like how is it?
He's like I mean, I'm walkingaround in t-shirts and shorts in
December and I'm like thatsounds pretty good right now.
But because I'd got the win ofstopping drinking under my belt
and because I had the momentumwith personal training, I said
do you know what Screw this?
I looked at my life and Iplayed it out.
I said, okay, let's say I staywith personal training.
Where is this going?
And I was living in Oxford.
I didn't really like Oxford.
(06:41):
I had a lot of bad memoriesfrom my drinking days and I
played it out.
I said, well, you know, I'mgoing to get more clients and
then I probably need to open myown gym and have a a gym.
It just wasn't what I wanted.
I wanted to be able to choosewhere I lived and not be
restricted.
So I YOLOed it right.
(07:03):
I booked a one-way flight toChiang Mai.
My buddy that was in Bangkokalso came to Chiang Mai and,
funnily enough, while I wasdoing the personal training
business, I met a man onlinecalled Dan, who was doing an
online business and he alsolived in Chiang Mai.
And I thought do you know what?
This is it?
I'm doing it.
And Dan was very encouraging.
He was like just book a flight.
I don't think he thought I'd doit.
But then, a couple of weekslater, we're meeting for a
coffee in Chiang Mai and I'mlike I'm here and what I did at
(07:24):
the beginning was I just spentbasically a full year
freelancing, because when I gotto Chiang Mai, I had a vision.
I knew that I wanted to dobusinesses, websites, youtube,
whatever and I just made myselfas useful as I could.
So that first year I was justbasically working for people who
were where I wanted to be.
I didn't care about the money,I cared about the skills and the
(07:47):
experience.
All I was there to do wasfigure out how this game worked.
So I just worked like crazythat first year.
It was just nonstop.
Also, I got into a relationshipthis year as well with my
current partner today, or and Iwas feeling great that first
year.
I just felt like I'm finallygetting momentum again.
My life is going in thedirection that I've always
wanted it to go and for thefirst time in years, there was
(08:10):
no more two steps forward, onestep back, three steps forward,
five steps back.
Now, don't get me wrong, notevery day was perfect, but it
just felt like every day wasbuilding upon every other day.
So I've been living in ChiangMai for about a year at this
point, and there was atransitional moment.
I was in some YouTube orFacebook groups and in the
Facebook group there was a guycalled Nick Nimmin and Nick
(08:30):
Nimmin had like at the time Ithink he had like 800,000
subscribers and I saw he was inChiang Mai.
So I said do you know whatScrew it?
I'm going to message him.
And he was so kind.
He was just like, yeah, I'llmeet to you about YouTube, I'll
help you out, just like a guywith a good heart.
And he gave me some work.
He was like I was writingscripts for him.
You know he's paid me a hundreddollars here and there because,
(08:50):
again, I was learning, I wasgetting around the people who
were where I wanted to be.
Anyway, every time I'd meetNick, he'd be like you know, you
should be doing your own thing.
You can't keep doing freelancework for all these other people.
And he was very encouragingbecause he knew what I wanted,
but I was afraid to take theleap to do my own thing.
And he kept saying it andeventually he owed me $300.
And I said do you know what?
Man, don't give me that moneyuntil I've made some YouTube
(09:10):
videos on my own channel.
He's like all right deal.
So I made three videos.
I made one about not drinking.
I made one about somepowerlifting I was doing at the
time and I made another one, andI can't even remember what the
other one was, but it doesn'tmatter because the video I made
about not drinking alcohol,because it had been one year at
this point.
It got like 5,000 views.
It got hundreds of upvotes onReddit and I was just like whoa,
(09:32):
wait a minute.
Like this is crazy.
People were leaving commentslike this is just like me.
Well done.
I resonate with your story somuch and if I hadn't made that
video, I definitely wouldn't bein this position today.
But I was vulnerable.
I just shared my experience.
It was raw.
I think I even cried in thatvideo because it was a moment of
like I've done it.
It's been a year.
Anyway, over the next few monthsI still wasn't quite sure what
to do and I remember I was doinga border run.
(09:54):
So you're not supposed to do itlike this, but everybody does
it.
You know the immigration don'tcare in Thailand, but what
people do is they'll get a caror they'll do some tour and
they'll cross the border,they'll get a stamp on their
passport, they might stay anight in another country and
then they'll come back in andthen you get like another 60
days or something.
Anyway, I remember doing it andI had a motorbike at the time.
I had this Kawasaki, this Z650.
(10:15):
I'll put a picture of it on thescreen now and I remember
riding it like probably like 400miles to the border and then
400 miles back.
It was a savage, savage journey, but it was so much fun because
you're riding a bike throughThailand.
It feels so freeing, and Iremember I used to ride my bike
and then that's where I'd getthese moments of calm and these
ideas would just flash into myhead and because I was so kind
of scattered and not sure whatto do, this epiphany just popped
(10:36):
into my mind and it was justactually help people, talk to
them, see what's going on.
So I came back home and I saidyou know what?
That's what I'll do.
So I made another video aboutnot drinking, and then I started
joining some Facebook groups.
I started connecting withpeople, I started talking to
them, asking them what are youstruggling with?
What's going on?
And then I decided to puteverything that I knew about
stopping drinking into somelittle video course and I think
(10:56):
at the time I had like 50 peoplein a Facebook group that I was
trying to help and I gave all ofthem this course for free.
I don't think a single persontook the course and I was just
like man, what am I going to dowith my life.
I'm not sure what path to godown.
And in the course I spoke aboutfirst principles, thinking,
reframing alcohol.
This is how I've done it.
(11:19):
Here's how you can do it.
And I remember after maybe amonth or so, one guy just
emailed me bit of the video nowbut it's like pouring these
expensive bottles of like brandyor whiskey down the drain, just
like Leon.
That was the best thing ever Iam done.
And I remember showing mygirlfriend and I got full body
goosebumps.
I was like no way, this is it.
So I knew my message worked, ithad changed somebody's life and
(11:39):
that was like the turning pointwhere I was like right, this is
serious, this can help a lot ofpeople.
There is serious value here.
So from years one to three, thatwas it.
I just went all in.
I started working with morepeople and then COVID hit.
Now, covid was a blessing indisguise, because I ended up
getting this amazing villa inKoh Samui, which is an island in
(12:01):
Thailand, and this villa isjust.
It was unreal and I'm notjoking.
It was like 20% of the originalprice and I was like, oh my
days.
Wow, I can live in a place likethis.
You know, really locked in onmaking videos.
We started getting more traffic.
I started working with morepeople, more results started
coming in.
And then I built a program.
So I built the Sober Clearprogram and what it is today
this system of first principles,thinking, reframing of alcohol,
(12:24):
support, coaching, communityand I just locked in.
I said no to everything.
Every weekend, my best friendwas like Leon, are you coming to
the beach?
And I'm like no, bro, I've gotto work, I've got to get this
stuff done.
At this point I startedinvesting in more coaching.
I probably spent like $30,000on coaching and getting help and
finding mentors.
At this point I got featured inMen's Health, which was just
surreal.
I couldn't believe it.
(12:44):
The relationship was goingamazing.
We were doing all sorts of funthings together and also I was
powerlifting.
So I was training with somebodywho I'd actually followed
online for years.
We became friends, which wasalso super surreal, and I really
started realizing, in that year, one to three mark, that I was
becoming the person who I'dalways wanted to be.
I was finally working on my ownthing, I was creating content,
(13:06):
I was helping people.
I was the strongest I'd everbeen.
I was in a relationship.
I was like, oh my days, it'shappening.
Anyway, fast forward to aroundyears three to five and the
momentum just carried onbuilding.
I ended up bringing my wholefamily three to five and the
momentum just carried onbuilding.
I ended up bringing my wholefamily out to Thailand.
I had my mum, my brother, mynana, my cousin, my auntie.
One of my cousins couldn't makeit, but I paid for the whole
(13:28):
trip and I was like this is adream come true.
I can't believe I'm doing thisAt this point.
I started CrossFit.
I started getting better atcardio, I started losing a bit
of fat, I was getting in bettershape and I just felt more
focused than ever.
Another big thing I did at thistime was me and my girlfriend.
We paid off my mom-in-law'smortgage.
It wasn't a large amount ofmoney, but it was just like oh
my days, like wow, I'm able todo this for other people now,
(13:51):
when I'd spent 10 years being soselfish, so self-centered, it
was so good to finally be ableto do things for other people.
I helped my grandparent withretirement so she didn't need to
worry about money.
And again, I'm not saying allof this stuff to boast.
I'm just showing you theamazing things that happened
after stopping drinking, and Ijust spent so much time just
locked in going as hard as I can.
(14:11):
So now let's bring it back toyear five, to the present day.
So now I actually live in Dubai.
So I moved to Dubai, wherethere's no income tax to pay
here, which is pretty good,especially with an online
business why not?
It's remote.
That's what I wanted.
And then also, there's a lot ofamazing people that I've met
here.
I've built an amazing networkof good friends, other
entrepreneurs, and now I've gota small team of people who are
(14:33):
helping me with the mission ofjust building the best programme
and giving the best supportthat we can.
And 2024 was a year ofexperience.
I'd spent so long just lockedin grinding building things that
this year we lived a little.
So we've done a bunch of travelthis year.
I took my girlfriend skiing inJapan.
We've been to Seoul, we did sixweeks in America.
I met up with the coach in theprogram, so I have a coach
(14:54):
called Joe who helps run theprogram.
You can see a picture of ushere on the screen.
We went to Vegas together.
We've now got almost 500clients.
Also, in this time, I'vegenerated 20 million views
online on this YouTube channel,which is the most viewed YouTube
channel in the world forstopping drinking.
Jordan Peterson tweeted my stuffand it's just crazy.
The life of my dreams became areality after stopping drinking,
(15:16):
and I wanted to share the winswith you, because I know some of
you have been following mesince that first video I'm sure
there's a couple of you but thisis what happens Once you get
momentum after stopping drinking, everything just starts
building upon the thing you didlast, so there's no more roller
coaster.
So I didn't want to make this aboastful video, because I want
my story to be your story.
Yours is going to be different,right, but I want you to see
(15:37):
what is possible in your life aswell.
I promise you the life of yourdreams is right around the
corner.
Stick on this path, you won'tregret it.
Thanks for checking out theStop Drinking Podcast by Sober
Clear.
If you want to learn more abouthow we work with people to help
them stop drinking effortlessly, then make sure to visit
wwwsoberclearcom.
Welcome to the Stop Drinking Podcast, where we help
you make stopping drinking asimple, logical and easy
decision.
We help you with tips, toolsand strategies to start living
your best life when alcohol-free.
If you want to learn more aboutstop drinking coaching, then
head over to wwwsoberclearcom.
(00:21):
Six and a half years ago,everything in my life changed
after I quit drinking alcohol,and today, in this video, I'm
going to show you how alcohol isthe one thing standing in the
way of the life of your dreams.
I spent 10 years struggling tostop drinking.
I tried going to AA meetings.
I tried begging God to help me.
I was using willpower, stoppingand starting all the time.
(00:43):
Sometimes I'd go a day,sometimes a month, sometimes six
months, but something wouldalways lead me back to the drink
.
But six and a half years ago,everything shifted, and today I
want to talk to you about theamazing things that have
happened in my own life sincestopping.
I'm not trying to boast, I'mnot trying to show off.
What I'm trying to do is showyou proof that stopping drinking
will give you everything thatyou want, because the
(01:04):
transformation that's happenedin my own life is exactly what I
dreamed about.
My name is Leon Sylvester, I'mthe founder of SoberClearcom,
and this is my story.
Now I'm going to keep it brieffor my backstory because I want
this video to really focus onthe benefits and the good things
that have happened in my life.
But I spent about 10 yearsdrinking.
I had periods of my life whereI drink every single day.
I had periods of my life whereI'd drink every single day.
I had periods of my life whereI'd binge drink, but the common
(01:26):
theme was alcohol was the onething that was holding me back
and I was motivated to stop.
It was just that nothing workedfor me.
None of the conventional waysworked, but basically what
happened was six and a halfyears ago.
Everything just shifted in myworldview.
I stopped seeing alcohol assomething that enhanced my life,
that made it better.
I stopped looking at otherdrinkers and wanted to be like
them, be a normal drinker.
(01:47):
I stopped this idea of havingjust one drink and I basically
fixed my understanding and myworldview of alcohol.
Now, how I did this was I usedsomething called first
principles thinking, and if youwant to understand how that
works and how I did it, and howI've been helping hundreds of
people to do it as well, you canclick the link in the
description to access a freevideo training that will tell
you more about how I actuallystopped and the method and how
(02:08):
it works.
So if you want to learn moreabout that, definitely click the
link down below.
A new page will open up.
You'll put your name and emailaddress in and then a new video
training will start playing.
So with that out the way, letme bring it back to day zero.
Now for me.
Day zero I basically hit thisrock bottom.
Now, not everybody gets there,not everybody needs to hit a
(02:31):
rock bottom, but I pretty muchdid, and it was an emotional
rock bottom.
What had basically happened isI had a period of about six,
seven or eight months where Istopped drinking alcohol.
I was crushing it.
I had my own business, you know.
Just, things were going so well.
I ended up drinking again andthen, slowly over the next six
months, I just destroyed anddismantled everything.
All the progress and all thesuccess I had built as a
non-drinker just slipped awayand I felt like I was at ground
(02:51):
zero.
And one day I woke up with oneof the worst hangovers I'd ever
had.
It was like 5pmm.
When I woke up and I just feltlike if I continue doing this,
I'm dead.
Now to cut a long story shortover the next few days I fixed
my worldview and then just madea decision Again.
If you want to learn more aboutthat, there's the video
training in the description.
But for me, day zero sucked.
I felt so bad.
(03:12):
I felt defeated Now because mysleep was all over the place.
The next few days were kind oflame as well, but within a
couple of days, for me thingsjust turned a corner because I
knew I wasn't going to drinkagain.
I just knew I had to change andI knew that this was it.
I made a commitment to myselflike never before.
It wasn't an attempt, it wasn'ta trial, I wasn't trying this
(03:34):
anymore.
I was done.
I was moving on with my lifeand it was so liberating.
Now, during that first week, Iwas working in a restaurant,
trying to rebuild my finances,just rebuild my life.
And I remember, within thefirst couple of days, I remember
going to one of the members ofstaff and I said his name.
I won't say his name, but Isaid dude, I'm done, I'm not
coming out tonight, I've stoppeddrinking.
And he looked at me and he justsaid again but you know what I
(03:54):
did.
I stopped myself.
I said you know what?
I don't need your validation oryour affirmation that I'm going
to do this.
I know in my heart I'm doing it.
So I didn't tell anybody else,I didn't tell my family, I
didn't tell any of my friends.
I told one friend, actually,but only because he was also
stopping drinking, because Iknew in my heart it was done.
So what happened after thefirst week?
(04:15):
Well, day seven to 90, myconfidence started coming back.
I started to feel like the oldme again.
My energy came back, my claritycame back.
I started thinking, okay, I'vegot this big win under my belt.
Now I've actually stoppeddrinking.
And because I knew I trulystopped and I knew it wasn't a
trial, it was like I've done it.
So I felt like I'd already won.
A lot of people they like tocount the days and they feel
(04:36):
like on day 90, day you know,year one, that's when they're a
non-drinker.
But I didn't feel that way.
I knew on day zero it was adone deal.
So I started thinking like,okay, I'm back, what can I do?
And at the time I'd alreadybuilt a personal training
business.
It went really well.
I was making good money gym.
I got a couple of clients.
(04:57):
Then I quit my job in therestaurant and went all in on my
own business and I just wentinto this psycho mode.
I felt like I was making up forlost time.
I felt like finally I've gotthe energy back, I've got the
confidence back, the clarity'sback, I'm making the most of
this.
I'm just going to attack.
So I remember waking up at likesix in the morning going to the
gym and up at like six in themorning going to the gym, and I
think I used to annoy the otherpersonal trainers because a lot
(05:18):
of them would like to talk andsit around in the staff room.
Hey, it is what it is.
They already had a successfulbusiness and I was just on the
gym floor talking to everybody,feeling good about myself and
just trying to help as manypeople as I can to build my
business.
I got back to lifting again.
The bloating went down, the fatwent down.
I was working with an onlinefitness coach and pretty much
all my free time was spenttaking courses, leveling up my
(05:39):
skills, learning about healthand fitness, marketing business.
I joined some online communityand everything was just going in
the right direction.
I was feeling awesome.
Anyway, it was around three orfour months into things, but
winter was arriving in Englandand I don't know if you have
ever been in an English winter,but it sucks.
You know, the sky is white.
I'll put a picture of what itlooks like now.
(06:00):
But everything feels so grayand dull and it's freezing and
there's this cold wind.
And me and my girlfriend justcame back from Japan this winter
.
We went skiing I'll talk aboutthat later on but there there
wasn't much wind and the sky wasblue and I'm like I thought I
hated the cold.
I actually quite like the cold.
What I hate is an Englishwinter.
So I'm sat there and then myfriend gives me a call.
He's like oh, leon, I'm inBangkok.
He had an online business.
(06:21):
And I'm like how is it?
He's like I mean, I'm walkingaround in t-shirts and shorts in
December and I'm like thatsounds pretty good right now.
But because I'd got the win ofstopping drinking under my belt
and because I had the momentumwith personal training, I said
do you know what Screw this?
I looked at my life and Iplayed it out.
I said, okay, let's say I staywith personal training.
Where is this going?
And I was living in Oxford.
I didn't really like Oxford.
(06:41):
I had a lot of bad memoriesfrom my drinking days and I
played it out.
I said, well, you know, I'mgoing to get more clients and
then I probably need to open myown gym and have a a gym.
It just wasn't what I wanted.
I wanted to be able to choosewhere I lived and not be
restricted.
So I YOLOed it right.
(07:03):
I booked a one-way flight toChiang Mai.
My buddy that was in Bangkokalso came to Chiang Mai and,
funnily enough, while I wasdoing the personal training
business, I met a man onlinecalled Dan, who was doing an
online business and he alsolived in Chiang Mai.
And I thought do you know what?
This is it?
I'm doing it.
And Dan was very encouraging.
He was like just book a flight.
I don't think he thought I'd doit.
But then, a couple of weekslater, we're meeting for a
coffee in Chiang Mai and I'mlike I'm here and what I did at
(07:24):
the beginning was I just spentbasically a full year
freelancing, because when I gotto Chiang Mai, I had a vision.
I knew that I wanted to dobusinesses, websites, youtube,
whatever and I just made myselfas useful as I could.
So that first year I was justbasically working for people who
were where I wanted to be.
I didn't care about the money,I cared about the skills and the
(07:47):
experience.
All I was there to do wasfigure out how this game worked.
So I just worked like crazythat first year.
It was just nonstop.
Also, I got into a relationshipthis year as well with my
current partner today, or and Iwas feeling great that first
year.
I just felt like I'm finallygetting momentum again.
My life is going in thedirection that I've always
wanted it to go and for thefirst time in years, there was
(08:10):
no more two steps forward, onestep back, three steps forward,
five steps back.
Now, don't get me wrong, notevery day was perfect, but it
just felt like every day wasbuilding upon every other day.
So I've been living in ChiangMai for about a year at this
point, and there was atransitional moment.
I was in some YouTube orFacebook groups and in the
Facebook group there was a guycalled Nick Nimmin and Nick
(08:30):
Nimmin had like at the time Ithink he had like 800,000
subscribers and I saw he was inChiang Mai.
So I said do you know whatScrew it?
I'm going to message him.
And he was so kind.
He was just like, yeah, I'llmeet to you about YouTube, I'll
help you out, just like a guywith a good heart.
And he gave me some work.
He was like I was writingscripts for him.
You know he's paid me a hundreddollars here and there because,
(08:50):
again, I was learning, I wasgetting around the people who
were where I wanted to be.
Anyway, every time I'd meetNick, he'd be like you know, you
should be doing your own thing.
You can't keep doing freelancework for all these other people.
And he was very encouragingbecause he knew what I wanted,
but I was afraid to take theleap to do my own thing.
And he kept saying it andeventually he owed me $300.
And I said do you know what?
Man, don't give me that moneyuntil I've made some YouTube
(09:10):
videos on my own channel.
He's like all right deal.
So I made three videos.
I made one about not drinking.
I made one about somepowerlifting I was doing at the
time and I made another one, andI can't even remember what the
other one was, but it doesn'tmatter because the video I made
about not drinking alcohol,because it had been one year at
this point.
It got like 5,000 views.
It got hundreds of upvotes onReddit and I was just like whoa,
(09:32):
wait a minute.
Like this is crazy.
People were leaving commentslike this is just like me.
Well done.
I resonate with your story somuch and if I hadn't made that
video, I definitely wouldn't bein this position today.
But I was vulnerable.
I just shared my experience.
It was raw.
I think I even cried in thatvideo because it was a moment of
like I've done it.
It's been a year.
Anyway, over the next few monthsI still wasn't quite sure what
to do and I remember I was doinga border run.
(09:54):
So you're not supposed to do itlike this, but everybody does
it.
You know the immigration don'tcare in Thailand, but what
people do is they'll get a caror they'll do some tour and
they'll cross the border,they'll get a stamp on their
passport, they might stay anight in another country and
then they'll come back in andthen you get like another 60
days or something.
Anyway, I remember doing it andI had a motorbike at the time.
I had this Kawasaki, this Z650.
(10:15):
I'll put a picture of it on thescreen now and I remember
riding it like probably like 400miles to the border and then
400 miles back.
It was a savage, savage journey, but it was so much fun because
you're riding a bike throughThailand.
It feels so freeing, and Iremember I used to ride my bike
and then that's where I'd getthese moments of calm and these
ideas would just flash into myhead and because I was so kind
of scattered and not sure whatto do, this epiphany just popped
(10:36):
into my mind and it was justactually help people, talk to
them, see what's going on.
So I came back home and I saidyou know what?
That's what I'll do.
So I made another video aboutnot drinking, and then I started
joining some Facebook groups.
I started connecting withpeople, I started talking to
them, asking them what are youstruggling with?
What's going on?
And then I decided to puteverything that I knew about
stopping drinking into somelittle video course and I think
(10:56):
at the time I had like 50 peoplein a Facebook group that I was
trying to help and I gave all ofthem this course for free.
I don't think a single persontook the course and I was just
like man, what am I going to dowith my life.
I'm not sure what path to godown.
And in the course I spoke aboutfirst principles, thinking,
reframing alcohol.
This is how I've done it.
(11:19):
Here's how you can do it.
And I remember after maybe amonth or so, one guy just
emailed me bit of the video nowbut it's like pouring these
expensive bottles of like brandyor whiskey down the drain, just
like Leon.
That was the best thing ever Iam done.
And I remember showing mygirlfriend and I got full body
goosebumps.
I was like no way, this is it.
So I knew my message worked, ithad changed somebody's life and
(11:39):
that was like the turning pointwhere I was like right, this is
serious, this can help a lot ofpeople.
There is serious value here.
So from years one to three, thatwas it.
I just went all in.
I started working with morepeople and then COVID hit.
Now, covid was a blessing indisguise, because I ended up
getting this amazing villa inKoh Samui, which is an island in
(12:01):
Thailand, and this villa isjust.
It was unreal and I'm notjoking.
It was like 20% of the originalprice and I was like, oh my
days.
Wow, I can live in a place likethis.
You know, really locked in onmaking videos.
We started getting more traffic.
I started working with morepeople, more results started
coming in.
And then I built a program.
So I built the Sober Clearprogram and what it is today
this system of first principles,thinking, reframing of alcohol,
(12:24):
support, coaching, communityand I just locked in.
I said no to everything.
Every weekend, my best friendwas like Leon, are you coming to
the beach?
And I'm like no, bro, I've gotto work, I've got to get this
stuff done.
At this point I startedinvesting in more coaching.
I probably spent like $30,000on coaching and getting help and
finding mentors.
At this point I got featured inMen's Health, which was just
surreal.
I couldn't believe it.
(12:44):
The relationship was goingamazing.
We were doing all sorts of funthings together and also I was
powerlifting.
So I was training with somebodywho I'd actually followed
online for years.
We became friends, which wasalso super surreal, and I really
started realizing, in that year, one to three mark, that I was
becoming the person who I'dalways wanted to be.
I was finally working on my ownthing, I was creating content,
(13:06):
I was helping people.
I was the strongest I'd everbeen.
I was in a relationship.
I was like, oh my days, it'shappening.
Anyway, fast forward to aroundyears three to five and the
momentum just carried onbuilding.
I ended up bringing my wholefamily three to five and the
momentum just carried onbuilding.
I ended up bringing my wholefamily out to Thailand.
I had my mum, my brother, mynana, my cousin, my auntie.
One of my cousins couldn't makeit, but I paid for the whole
(13:28):
trip and I was like this is adream come true.
I can't believe I'm doing thisAt this point.
I started CrossFit.
I started getting better atcardio, I started losing a bit
of fat, I was getting in bettershape and I just felt more
focused than ever.
Another big thing I did at thistime was me and my girlfriend.
We paid off my mom-in-law'smortgage.
It wasn't a large amount ofmoney, but it was just like oh
my days, like wow, I'm able todo this for other people now,
(13:51):
when I'd spent 10 years being soselfish, so self-centered, it
was so good to finally be ableto do things for other people.
I helped my grandparent withretirement so she didn't need to
worry about money.
And again, I'm not saying allof this stuff to boast.
I'm just showing you theamazing things that happened
after stopping drinking, and Ijust spent so much time just
locked in going as hard as I can.
(14:11):
So now let's bring it back toyear five, to the present day.
So now I actually live in Dubai.
So I moved to Dubai, wherethere's no income tax to pay
here, which is pretty good,especially with an online
business why not?
It's remote.
That's what I wanted.
And then also, there's a lot ofamazing people that I've met
here.
I've built an amazing networkof good friends, other
entrepreneurs, and now I've gota small team of people who are
(14:33):
helping me with the mission ofjust building the best programme
and giving the best supportthat we can.
And 2024 was a year ofexperience.
I'd spent so long just lockedin grinding building things that
this year we lived a little.
So we've done a bunch of travelthis year.
I took my girlfriend skiing inJapan.
We've been to Seoul, we did sixweeks in America.
I met up with the coach in theprogram, so I have a coach
(14:54):
called Joe who helps run theprogram.
You can see a picture of ushere on the screen.
We went to Vegas together.
We've now got almost 500clients.
Also, in this time, I'vegenerated 20 million views
online on this YouTube channel,which is the most viewed YouTube
channel in the world forstopping drinking.
Jordan Peterson tweeted my stuffand it's just crazy.
The life of my dreams became areality after stopping drinking,
(15:16):
and I wanted to share the winswith you, because I know some of
you have been following mesince that first video I'm sure
there's a couple of you but thisis what happens Once you get
momentum after stopping drinking, everything just starts
building upon the thing you didlast, so there's no more roller
coaster.
So I didn't want to make this aboastful video, because I want
my story to be your story.
Yours is going to be different,right, but I want you to see
(15:37):
what is possible in your life aswell.
I promise you the life of yourdreams is right around the
corner.
Stick on this path, you won'tregret it.
Thanks for checking out theStop Drinking Podcast by Sober
Clear.
If you want to learn more abouthow we work with people to help
them stop drinking effortlessly, then make sure to visit
wwwsoberclearcom.
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