Welcome to the Jospeh Bonner Show's "Inspiration News" with your host, Joseph Bonner. In this highly anticipated episode, Joseph sits down for a compelling interview with none other than Todd Crandell, a powerful force in the field of addiction recovery. In this thought-provoking conversation, Todd sheds light on his groundbreaking outreach efforts to rehabilitate addicts in 2024.
As the year 2024 ushers in a new wave of challenges in the fight against addiction, Todd Crandell stands at the forefront as an unwavering advocate for those struggling with substance abuse. With his remarkable personal journey of triumph over addiction, Todd has dedicated his life to helping individuals reclaim their lives and find lasting recovery.
In this riveting podcast episode, Joseph Bonner delves deep into Todd Crandell's extraordinary work, exploring how he has formed innovative initiatives to combat addiction's pervasive grip on society. With an unwavering commitment to making a genuine difference, Todd has developed an outreach program like none other, combining cutting-edge techniques and a profound understanding of addiction's complexities.
Listen in as Joseph and Todd discuss the transformative power of community support and how it has become the cornerstone of Todd's efforts. Discover how Todd has brought together individuals from all walks of life, creating an inclusive environment that fosters healing, growth, and a renewed sense of purpose.
Throughout this candid interview, Todd also reveals the unique challenges our society faces in the year 2024, discussing emerging trends in addiction and the importance of adapting strategies to address these ever-evolving issues. Gain valuable insights as Todd shares his vision for a future where addiction is met with empathy, and evidence-based approaches guide the way toward lasting recovery.
Whether you're struggling with addiction, have a loved one facing this battle, or simply have a deep interest in the field of addiction recovery, this episode of "Inspiration News" brings you an eye-opening conversation that will leave you inspired and hopeful. Join Joseph Bonner and Todd Crandell as they dive headfirst into the world of rehabilitation outreach, shedding light on the immense power of compassion, resilience, and the immense potential for personal transformation even in the face of addiction's grip.
Learn more about Todd Crandell's work at Racing For Recovery! https://racingforrecovery.org/
Watch this full episode on TV at www.josephbonner.com/television
See what Legend Magazine had to say about Todd Crandell at https://www.legendmgz.com/post/unbreakable-bonds-todd-crandell-s-inspiring-outreach-to-rehabilitate-addicts
As the year 2024 ushers in a new wave of challenges in the fight against addiction, Todd Crandell stands at the forefront as an unwavering advocate for those struggling with substance abuse. With his remarkable personal journey of triumph over addiction, Todd has dedicated his life to helping individuals reclaim their lives and find lasting recovery.
In this riveting podcast episode, Joseph Bonner delves deep into Todd Crandell's extraordinary work, exploring how he has formed innovative initiatives to combat addiction's pervasive grip on society. With an unwavering commitment to making a genuine difference, Todd has developed an outreach program like none other, combining cutting-edge techniques and a profound understanding of addiction's complexities.
Listen in as Joseph and Todd discuss the transformative power of community support and how it has become the cornerstone of Todd's efforts. Discover how Todd has brought together individuals from all walks of life, creating an inclusive environment that fosters healing, growth, and a renewed sense of purpose.
Throughout this candid interview, Todd also reveals the unique challenges our society faces in the year 2024, discussing emerging trends in addiction and the importance of adapting strategies to address these ever-evolving issues. Gain valuable insights as Todd shares his vision for a future where addiction is met with empathy, and evidence-based approaches guide the way toward lasting recovery.
Whether you're struggling with addiction, have a loved one facing this battle, or simply have a deep interest in the field of addiction recovery, this episode of "Inspiration News" brings you an eye-opening conversation that will leave you inspired and hopeful. Join Joseph Bonner and Todd Crandell as they dive headfirst into the world of rehabilitation outreach, shedding light on the immense power of compassion, resilience, and the immense potential for personal transformation even in the face of addiction's grip.
Learn more about Todd Crandell's work at Racing For Recovery! https://racingforrecovery.org/
Watch this full episode on TV at www.josephbonner.com/television
See what Legend Magazine had to say about Todd Crandell at https://www.legendmgz.com/post/unbreakable-bonds-todd-crandell-s-inspiring-outreach-to-rehabilitate-addicts
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
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(00:00):
Hey, what's going on you guys. This is Joseph Vonner and welcome to
Inspiration News. Now, you guysknow that as we bring so many amazing
guests on this show, you geta chance to not only learn about their
inspiring journey, but of course mybiggest objective for us on the show is
to take the lessons that we learnfrom their journey and use it to facilitate
(00:20):
our own, create our path thatwe desire in this world, and make
things happen. And that's why itis a great pleasure that I have the
honor to introduce to you Todd Krando. He is not only a founder and
CEO, he is a man ona mission for others who are recovering addicts,
and he has a great story toshare. Todd, Welcome to the
(00:41):
show, and thank you so muchfor joining us. I'm honored to be
on with you, sir. Thisis going to be great, but we
appreciate that you're taking some time outfor us today, Todd, and I
think before we jump into some ofthe deep diving into your personal story,
I think people want to know alittle bit more about like, well,
who's out of CRANDELL and why shouldI care, tell us little about yourself.
(01:04):
Well, why should people care aboutwhat I'm doing as a human being?
And my work with Racing for Recoveryis because it matters. I live
my life under the three words ofempathy, humility, and gratitude. I'm
grateful that I survived my mom's suicidefrom her drug addiction when I was three
and a half years old. I'mextremely grateful I survived my own thirteen years
(01:29):
of drugs and alcohol. And Iam extremely again grateful that I've have over
three decades of consistent sobriety in additionto my physical fitness, my spirituality,
my education, my friends, myfamily, and my work as a licensed
professional clinical counselor. And again,people should care about this interview today because
(01:53):
everybody has been affected by addiction.And when we can help people to heal
from trauma that in most cases areleading to people choosing to use drugs and
alcohol as a coping mechanism and wehelp them implement a balanced, holistic lifestyle,
good things are going to happen forour world. I appreciate that,
(02:15):
and you know, I think you'reabsolutely right. Whether we struggled or we're
struggling with addiction right now, Alot of us know someone from our lives
who has struggled with it or waspresently struggling with it. And to be
able to learn a little bit moreabout your own personal coping mechanisms and what
you're doing now to help out,I think is very very interesting, and
(02:38):
so I do want us to delvea little bit more into that toime,
So I know that you're aiming tobe a force of positivity and change for
those suffering with addiction and who areon the path to recovery. How are
you doing that well? From amarketing standpoint, I'm one hundred and thirteen
time Ironman event finisher. The ironMan for folks that don't know, it's
(03:00):
a two point four mile swim,a one hundred and twelve mile bike ride,
and a twenty six point two milemarathon run. I've done, like
I said, one hundred and thirteeneither full distance or a half distance of
those, and I've used my godgiving abilities physically to then market my doing
(03:23):
these crazy iron Mans as a wayto say, well, I'm not telling
people you have to do Ironman tobe sober. It's a hook to get
people to listen to really the impactof what trauma does to people. Again,
as a licensed counselor at my workat Racing for Recovery, I hear
these horrific stories of sexual abuse,physical abuse, emotional abuse that people have
(03:47):
enduring their entire lives. They don'tunderstand the impact of that trauma. They
have self destructed with either drugs andalcohol or gambling or food addictions. People
are just punishing themselves because they can'tget help to help them understand that they
(04:08):
are of value, they are worthsaving, and they just need to be
shown how to implement this beautiful,sober, healing lifestyle that's out there.
And that's what Racing for Recovery does. We help people improve physically, spiritually,
emotionally, intellectually, socially and thengive it back in service to help
(04:28):
other people do the same. Well, no, that's that's pretty powerful and
I'm very impactful. You know.It's not oftentimes that I think about this,
but you know, I had abrother who passed away when I was
about fourteen years old. He wasseventeen, and part of his struggle was
addiction, and part of what ledto his premature death was also addiction.
(04:50):
And I tend to not I mean, I think about my brother constantly.
You know, I still dream abouthim though it's been over twenty years since
he died, but I remember whenhe was going through the struggle of addiction
and how that impacted me as hisyounger brother, and how just his personal
stories still impacts me today emotionally,mentally, it's still it's still as part
(05:13):
of my journey and the decision andeven even the decisions I've made today as
a man because of the things thatI saw my brother go through and the
impact that it had on him emotionallyas well as myself. And so I
really think this, this road ofrecovery that you're helping people to rediscover through
your own work, is not onlyto benefit those who are on that path,
(05:36):
but also those who are in theirlives who unfortunately are impacted by the
struggle as well. Well. Youknow, I have I have deep empathy
for the loss of your brother,just like I can say my you know,
my mom, my uncle, andmy aunt who all committed they all
killed themselves over there either drugs oralcohol or food. So with respect to
(05:57):
what Racing for Recovery does in thefamily, we're the first program that actually
implemented a support group meeting that isnot just for people battling addiction, but
it's for their friends and families andthe community at large. So everybody can
understand really what the problem is andthen come together for a solution. And
I can look at the success thatyou've had. I mean, obviously your
(06:19):
brother's loss has affected you, butyou've used it in a productive manner to
be the successful man that you are. It took me a long time to
do that with my own trauma,with my mom's suicide as a thirteen year
addiction was developing. When I quitdoing drugs, it gave me an opportunity
(06:40):
to take that trauma from her lossand turn it into service through racing for
recovery. So again, people needto understand that trauma isn't a lifelong death
sentence. It's a big thing tocope with, but when we can cope
with it effectively, it turns outto be a really good asset in service
(07:01):
to ourselves and other people. Absolutely, thank you so much for sharing that.
Now, before we ask this nextquestion, I do want people to
know how they can, you know, get in contact with you, How
they can how would they do that? Racingfourrecovery dot Org, Todd crandall dot
com and on all the social mediastuff, I am the sober Aultarman on
(07:27):
Instagram and TikTok and all that goodstuff. And for those of you guys
I'm listening watching wherever you're listening towatching this podcast at just go to the
description of this show. You willsee links to Todd's websites as well as
to how to access not only isthe information but also his program. So
I'm definitely make sure that you're checkingthe links in this description of the shows
(07:47):
that you guys can connect directly withhim. But let's go ahead and move
on to our next question Todd withthe pandemic, because we know that you
know, when the world shut down, everybody shut down, and unfortunately that
proved to be not always a greatthing for those who are on the road
to recovery. So that being thecase, you know, you have a
(08:07):
lot of adeds who are now comingout of the whole COVID scenario and now
having to reintegrate back into society.What advice our suggestions do you have for
them? You know, it's interestingwhen the topic of what we all have
endured with COVID and everything. Forus, it just gave us an opportunity
(08:28):
to be more creative in our deliveryand with you know, Skype and Zoom.
Thank god that technology was still ableto connect people as we were,
you know, healing from all thisstuff and getting back into the real world,
if you will. The suggestion orthe concept I want people to have
is go out there and just enjoyyour life and go get what you want.
(08:50):
Now, when I say that,I understand that's an easy concept to
say, and this is what separatesa lot of people from those that do
and those that don't. It's theconsistent effort. We don't get a free
pass because we made an effort inself betterment yesterday, but you do get
yourself another opportunity to do it againtoday. So when people, you know,
(09:13):
they'll look at me and they'll seeeverything that I've been fortunate enough to
do, and I tell them,well, let's keep in mind, this
has been thirty years of consistent work. It doesn't happen overnight. But I
want people to understand that they areof value, They are worth saving.
When they invest in themselves, otherpeople will invest in them and they will
(09:35):
be able to through that effort achieveanything they want. That's our slogan with
sobriety, anything is possible. Thankyou. I appreciate that, tot.
Now I would like to kind ofchange gears a little bit because I want
us to get a little bit deeper. If that's okay, and it did.
(09:58):
Question is uncomfortable, obviously you canpass on. Don't worry about that.
But what was it in your lifeTodd that proved to be your turning
point with addction? So when youwere like, enough is enough, I'm
ready to do something about this.The greatest thing that happened to me and
my life occurred on April fifteenth ofnineteen ninety three, and that's when I
(10:24):
was arrested for my third drunk drivingcharge. I blew a point three to
six on a breathalyzer at noon,was in a complete blackout driving my car
could have killed numerous people. Thatmoment was the catalyst for me. And
I don't know if it was Godor Buddha, or my deceased mom or
(10:48):
myself. It really doesn't matter.I think them all. You know,
however, spiritually or inclined, Ithank your spiritual higher being. I just
got the message of I'm done selfdestructing. I'm going to take the same
tenacity I put into destroying myself andI'm gonna use it for self betterment.
And I've done it, like Isaid, for over three decades now,
(11:09):
so again, having a mindset oftaking what some people could perceive as a
negative thing, I chose to viewthat as an opportunity to get my life
together. And I have like asecond chance. Yes, and it's a
second chance that I gave myself.This is a cliche thing and recovery that
(11:33):
the notion we have to hit rockbottom. I prefer to say we can
give ourselves a new beginning anytime wechoose to do that. So I didn't
hit a rock bottom. I chosea new beginning. Wow, that's something
to think about. I appreciate thatbecause I do believe that the power of
(11:58):
choice these volumes and that it doesn'talways have to be a tragedy that inspires
us to move forward and like yousaid, start a new beginning. We
can make that decision a lot sooner, even after the interview like this,
I'm hearing someone else's story. Wecan make that decision like you know what,
(12:18):
this is my day, this ismy opportunity to start something new.
And if I may, I'd liketo add to that. And I don't
want to ruffle some feathers here onyour show, but I probably will,
don't. I don't believe that addictionis a disease. It's a choice,
but we have to understand why arewe making that choice. Now. I
(12:41):
am educated enough in this field.I understand there's a genetic predisposition to drugs
and alcohol. I'll give you that, but you also have to make a
choice to have the problems occur.So if we can choose addiction, we
certainly can choose sobriety. And thoseare choices. Like I said, and
I use this same verbage a lot. We get a daily opportunity to make
(13:03):
these better choices that we can getthe life that we're trying to find an
addiction that we never will it actuallybecomes reality in sobriety. So my next
question is this then, because Ithink a lot of people who are suffering,
are who are in that process ofrecovery or even maybe facing relapses right
(13:26):
now, A lot of them dofeel like that they're in a situation that
if they feel stuck, they feellike they're trying but they feel like they
just can't move forward. I remembermy brother, he made a comment and
again I think I had to belike twelve when he made this comment,
and yet it's stuck with me forthe rest of, you know, forever.
(13:48):
He said. He said, thisaddiction has me by the balls,
That's what he said. And hewas like fifteen at the time when he
made that comment. So what aboutthose individuals who feel similar. We just
feel like I can't, I can'tdo this. What do you say to
that? I again, hearing youdescribe what your brother said, I've been
(14:11):
there. So this is what Iwant the viewer to understand, and I
want them to really embrace what I'mabout to say. Someone and I hear
it. Someone can look at meand say, well look at you.
You know you have what you have, and I'm like, yes, I
do, But how do I getHow did I get here? It's not
like I quit smoking crack one dayand poof, everything got handed to me.
(14:35):
Everything your brother said, I said, in some capacity, I definitely
felt that way. I thought Iwas going to end up dead the way
my mom did. I actually wastrying to do it subconsciously with drugs and
alcohol I didn't feel of value.I just felt destined to not make it
in life. So I can empathizewith the thought, but we can change
(15:00):
our thoughts that then give us anopportunity to change our actions, and then
over time we're going to see thebenefits of those decisions. So I'm not
sitting here not accepting or empathizing withsomeone that says they can't. But I
need you to start saying you can. You may not know how to,
(15:22):
but if you contact me and Racingfor Recovery or somebody else who has the
clinical knowledge that I'm talking about heretoday, they will help you to continuously
say yes to yourself. So say, if somebody says you can't, I'm
like, you're right, But ifyou say you can, you're right as
(15:43):
well. And like I said,you may be afraid, you may have
anxiety, you may not know whatto do. That's okay. I will
show you how to do it.But as long as you don't use drugs,
and you put anything in the placeof drugs and alcohol, your life
will get better. I guarantee itabsolutely, And that actually makes a lot
(16:07):
of sense, you know, andespecially when you think about trying to do
something on your own, even inbusiness, right in anything, you know,
if you're unsure or if you're ina situation where you just don't have
that experience, you typically will eitheryou know, call an expert, you'll
outsource something, you'll hire somebody togive you some extra support. Companies do
(16:30):
it all the time. Professionals doit all the time. When they can't
do something or they can't do iton their own, they'll hire to help
while get the support that they needsomehow. And it's the same thing with
addiction. If you feel that you'rein a situation where you just can't make
you're right, maybe you can't dothis on your own, and so you
just need that little extra support,that extra push, as we all do
in life in any given situation.And I really appreciate you mentioning that,
(16:52):
Todd. And that's just why aprogram like yours, I think is so
important to have around in twenty twentyfour, is because a lot of people
are in that situation now where wedo need a little bit extra support,
We do need a little extra help. And for those who are recovering addeds,
this program is an opportunity for themto be able to make that decision
to move forward with the support thatthey absolutely need. So appreciate that.
(17:15):
I thank you. I just wantto say on this here's where I love
talking to you. Okay, we'lluse founder. You're awesome magazine that I'm
fortunate enough to be on the coverof this month. I started Racing for
Recovery with a mindset of this iswhat I want to do. I believe
that I was destined to do somethingin life, and I believe Racing for
(17:38):
Recovery and the concept of it foundme. The first thing I did was
contact a paralegal. It was agirl I went to high school with.
I contacted her because I'm like,can you help me start a nonprofit.
I didn't know anything about starting anonprofit, but I wanted to start a
nonprofit, so I reached out tosomebody who could help me do that.
(18:00):
And once I did that, thenI just started building on all these ideas
I had in my head. AndI have a new business book coming out
in a couple of months and I'mproofreading this and one of the things that
I want to convey here is Ioperated Racing for Recovery out of my closet
for probably three or four years beforeI got a little office and started going
(18:26):
up the ladder, if you will. But it took sixteen years of just
grinding away before racing for recovery.It got their own facility, and again
it started back with a choice toquit, using a choice to start a
nonprofit, getting help with starting thatnonprofit, and then just making these cognizant
(18:48):
decisions, getting the help to helpme achieve my dreams. And here I
am talking to you today, right, absolutely, absolutely, and you've consistently
made those decisions and put yourself inline for an opportunity in a platform to
help so many more individuals, andyour home Moti've been doing this is really
(19:11):
supporting those individuals on their path torecovery, which I think make your story
especially special. On Todd, andspeaking of your cover of Founder magazine,
you know that drops actually today,so congratulations on that. I'm so excited
to see this come out. Weactually the photograph that is on the front
(19:32):
of this is from a photo shootthat I did in Times Square on December
first. I believe it was promotingmy fifth book, my picture book called
one hundred, which encompassed all theIronman races that I've done across the Globe
for the past twenty five years.So we took a picture from that photo
shoot to use for the cover ofyour awesome magazine and I can't wait for
(19:56):
it to come out today. Well, super excited about that. Tell was
before we let you go to howwhat are some things that you share with
our readers in that particular magazine?Like what's some tiket? You don't have
to give us everything, but justwhat are the tipkets you share that we
can look forward to? You knowwhat. The main thing I just want
people to understand is you can Youcan do whatever you want. You know,
(20:18):
it starts with the mindset. Iwant to do whatever. I want
to start my own magazine. Iwant to be an iron man. I
want to go back and get aneducation. I want to rebuild a relationship
with my family, then go outand do it. You know, I'm
a big advocate when you think something, speak it into existence. Already live
in the notion that it's going tohappen. You know. Even our conversation
(20:41):
today we are talking about how toget my Racing for Recovery message out,
and you mentioned a couple of things, and in my mind, it's already
happened. It's just a matter ofwhen, because I know I'm going to
put the work into it. Soputting the work into what you want,
thanking the people that are supporting you, you and just going out there and
having a good time. That's myadvice to the listener today. Absolutely,
(21:07):
and that's some inspiring advice. AndI do I definitely want everyone who's on
their path, their personal journey torecovery and addiction, or even those family
members who are in friends who haveindividuals who are close to you who are
also on this path. I definitelywant you to look into Todd's own personal
(21:27):
journey reach out to his program becausethis is an opportunity for some intervention,
whether it be intervention that you yourselffacilitate, or maybe that you help your
friends, our families facilitate to helpthem reach newer heights. In twenty twenty
four, it's it's the beginning ofthe year, so the possibilities are endless.
(21:47):
And like Todd, like you mentioned, if you say that you can,
if you put in the work,you're definitely going to have success with
that. We really appreciate having youon, Todd. Before we let you
go, I do want to Ido want to ask this a final question
and then we're going to wrap itup, because on this path of recovery,
(22:07):
let's be honest, it's not easy. There are stepbacks, there are
roadblocks along the way. There aretimes when you feel like throwing in the
town. Did you have any ofthose times? And what did you do
to overcome them? I want tosay this real quickly before I answer your
awesome question. Racing for Recovery hasa live stream support group meeting every Thursday
(22:30):
night at six thirty on our YouTubepage or our Facebook page. Anybody can
tune in anywhere in the world andget free help, and that's a way
for the listener to tune into that. With respect to overcoming adversities, I
think the biggest obstacle that we havein life is ourselves. You know,
life happens. I understand that,but we have to find the power from
(22:53):
within to overcome our own thoughts sometimesof I can't or I don't know how
to, and simply finding a wayto get it done. I'll use drugs
for an example. Nothing stopped mefrom finding drugs, nothing or no one.
That same mindset has put me ina position today no matter what happens,
(23:15):
I find a way to overcome itto get to where I am.
I mentioned it took us sixteen yearsto get our own facility. I tried
for years to find a way toget our own place and it never worked.
But I kept going, kept going, and then it hit. I
can say the same with writing books. My first book, I was rejected
by thirty eight book publishers, butthe thirty ninth one said yes, so
(23:40):
again, we can overcome anything.When we can overcome ourselves, well,
that's powerful. That's powerful. It'sa matter of mindset and the matter of
determination and not giving them. Andwhen you feel like you're at that process,
where are that point in your lifewhen you feel that throwing in the
towel again? This is when yournetwork of support is so important and so
(24:04):
valuable. I love the fact thatyou have that online service where people can
come in and tap in for freepeed. Can you mention that again one more
time? We how do we access? We have podcasts. We have the
live stream support group meetings every Thursdaynight, six thirty pm Eastern on our
(24:25):
YouTube and Facebook page. They're alsoarchive versions on our YouTube page, so
check them out. The podcasts arefull of success Stories. The live stream
is free therapy for everybody Thursday night, six thirty pm Eastern. Wow,
I'm phenomenal. I love that.So Todd, can you send me a
link to that so that we canmake sure that we give that to our
(24:48):
readers here and viewers and listeners andall of the above. Absolutely all right,
and so Todd, before I letyou go, I want to just
thank you so much again for beingon today's show. We look forward to
your Founder magazine cover dropping today.Again. For those of you guys who
want to check out that interview,there will also be a link to that
in the description of this show soyou can check the interview. Are even
(25:10):
pick up the print issue, that'dbe super phenomenal. Continue to supporting the
booliavendors and their initiatives to fight humanrights violations internationally. But we appreciate you,
Tid's or anything I should like tomention before we let you go.
I'm inspired by you, young man. I can say that because you're younger
than me. I appreciate being onyour show and I look forward to the
(25:30):
goodness that's going to come from youhaving me on today. Thank you very
much, well, thank you somuch tid and for all of you out
there watching and listening, we appreciatehaving you guys support us and our initiatives
as well you have been listening orwatching, Inspiration is with Joseph Bonner.
Until next time, you guys,take care of each other.
Hey, what's going on you guys. This is Joseph Vonner and welcome to
Inspiration News. Now, you guysknow that as we bring so many amazing
guests on this show, you geta chance to not only learn about their
inspiring journey, but of course mybiggest objective for us on the show is
to take the lessons that we learnfrom their journey and use it to facilitate
(00:20):
our own, create our path thatwe desire in this world, and make
things happen. And that's why itis a great pleasure that I have the
honor to introduce to you Todd Krando. He is not only a founder and
CEO, he is a man ona mission for others who are recovering addicts,
and he has a great story toshare. Todd, Welcome to the
(00:41):
show, and thank you so muchfor joining us. I'm honored to be
on with you, sir. Thisis going to be great, but we
appreciate that you're taking some time outfor us today, Todd, and I
think before we jump into some ofthe deep diving into your personal story,
I think people want to know alittle bit more about like, well,
who's out of CRANDELL and why shouldI care, tell us little about yourself.
(01:04):
Well, why should people care aboutwhat I'm doing as a human being?
And my work with Racing for Recoveryis because it matters. I live
my life under the three words ofempathy, humility, and gratitude. I'm
grateful that I survived my mom's suicidefrom her drug addiction when I was three
and a half years old. I'mextremely grateful I survived my own thirteen years
(01:29):
of drugs and alcohol. And Iam extremely again grateful that I've have over
three decades of consistent sobriety in additionto my physical fitness, my spirituality,
my education, my friends, myfamily, and my work as a licensed
professional clinical counselor. And again,people should care about this interview today because
(01:53):
everybody has been affected by addiction.And when we can help people to heal
from trauma that in most cases areleading to people choosing to use drugs and
alcohol as a coping mechanism and wehelp them implement a balanced, holistic lifestyle,
good things are going to happen forour world. I appreciate that,
(02:15):
and you know, I think you'reabsolutely right. Whether we struggled or we're
struggling with addiction right now, Alot of us know someone from our lives
who has struggled with it or waspresently struggling with it. And to be
able to learn a little bit moreabout your own personal coping mechanisms and what
you're doing now to help out,I think is very very interesting, and
(02:38):
so I do want us to delvea little bit more into that toime,
So I know that you're aiming tobe a force of positivity and change for
those suffering with addiction and who areon the path to recovery. How are
you doing that well? From amarketing standpoint, I'm one hundred and thirteen
time Ironman event finisher. The ironMan for folks that don't know, it's
(03:00):
a two point four mile swim,a one hundred and twelve mile bike ride,
and a twenty six point two milemarathon run. I've done, like
I said, one hundred and thirteeneither full distance or a half distance of
those, and I've used my godgiving abilities physically to then market my doing
(03:23):
these crazy iron Mans as a wayto say, well, I'm not telling
people you have to do Ironman tobe sober. It's a hook to get
people to listen to really the impactof what trauma does to people. Again,
as a licensed counselor at my workat Racing for Recovery, I hear
these horrific stories of sexual abuse,physical abuse, emotional abuse that people have
(03:47):
enduring their entire lives. They don'tunderstand the impact of that trauma. They
have self destructed with either drugs andalcohol or gambling or food addictions. People
are just punishing themselves because they can'tget help to help them understand that they
(04:08):
are of value, they are worthsaving, and they just need to be
shown how to implement this beautiful,sober, healing lifestyle that's out there.
And that's what Racing for Recovery does. We help people improve physically, spiritually,
emotionally, intellectually, socially and thengive it back in service to help
(04:28):
other people do the same. Well, no, that's that's pretty powerful and
I'm very impactful. You know.It's not oftentimes that I think about this,
but you know, I had abrother who passed away when I was
about fourteen years old. He wasseventeen, and part of his struggle was
addiction, and part of what ledto his premature death was also addiction.
(04:50):
And I tend to not I mean, I think about my brother constantly.
You know, I still dream abouthim though it's been over twenty years since
he died, but I remember whenhe was going through the struggle of addiction
and how that impacted me as hisyounger brother, and how just his personal
stories still impacts me today emotionally,mentally, it's still it's still as part
(05:13):
of my journey and the decision andeven even the decisions I've made today as
a man because of the things thatI saw my brother go through and the
impact that it had on him emotionallyas well as myself. And so I
really think this, this road ofrecovery that you're helping people to rediscover through
your own work, is not onlyto benefit those who are on that path,
(05:36):
but also those who are in theirlives who unfortunately are impacted by the
struggle as well. Well. Youknow, I have I have deep empathy
for the loss of your brother,just like I can say my you know,
my mom, my uncle, andmy aunt who all committed they all
killed themselves over there either drugs oralcohol or food. So with respect to
(05:57):
what Racing for Recovery does in thefamily, we're the first program that actually
implemented a support group meeting that isnot just for people battling addiction, but
it's for their friends and families andthe community at large. So everybody can
understand really what the problem is andthen come together for a solution. And
I can look at the success thatyou've had. I mean, obviously your
(06:19):
brother's loss has affected you, butyou've used it in a productive manner to
be the successful man that you are. It took me a long time to
do that with my own trauma,with my mom's suicide as a thirteen year
addiction was developing. When I quitdoing drugs, it gave me an opportunity
(06:40):
to take that trauma from her lossand turn it into service through racing for
recovery. So again, people needto understand that trauma isn't a lifelong death
sentence. It's a big thing tocope with, but when we can cope
with it effectively, it turns outto be a really good asset in service
(07:01):
to ourselves and other people. Absolutely, thank you so much for sharing that.
Now, before we ask this nextquestion, I do want people to
know how they can, you know, get in contact with you, How
they can how would they do that? Racingfourrecovery dot Org, Todd crandall dot
com and on all the social mediastuff, I am the sober Aultarman on
(07:27):
Instagram and TikTok and all that goodstuff. And for those of you guys
I'm listening watching wherever you're listening towatching this podcast at just go to the
description of this show. You willsee links to Todd's websites as well as
to how to access not only isthe information but also his program. So
I'm definitely make sure that you're checkingthe links in this description of the shows
(07:47):
that you guys can connect directly withhim. But let's go ahead and move
on to our next question Todd withthe pandemic, because we know that you
know, when the world shut down, everybody shut down, and unfortunately that
proved to be not always a greatthing for those who are on the road
to recovery. So that being thecase, you know, you have a
(08:07):
lot of adeds who are now comingout of the whole COVID scenario and now
having to reintegrate back into society.What advice our suggestions do you have for
them? You know, it's interestingwhen the topic of what we all have
endured with COVID and everything. Forus, it just gave us an opportunity
(08:28):
to be more creative in our deliveryand with you know, Skype and Zoom.
Thank god that technology was still ableto connect people as we were,
you know, healing from all thisstuff and getting back into the real world,
if you will. The suggestion orthe concept I want people to have
is go out there and just enjoyyour life and go get what you want.
(08:50):
Now, when I say that,I understand that's an easy concept to
say, and this is what separatesa lot of people from those that do
and those that don't. It's theconsistent effort. We don't get a free
pass because we made an effort inself betterment yesterday, but you do get
yourself another opportunity to do it againtoday. So when people, you know,
(09:13):
they'll look at me and they'll seeeverything that I've been fortunate enough to
do, and I tell them,well, let's keep in mind, this
has been thirty years of consistent work. It doesn't happen overnight. But I
want people to understand that they areof value, They are worth saving.
When they invest in themselves, otherpeople will invest in them and they will
(09:35):
be able to through that effort achieveanything they want. That's our slogan with
sobriety, anything is possible. Thankyou. I appreciate that, tot.
Now I would like to kind ofchange gears a little bit because I want
us to get a little bit deeper. If that's okay, and it did.
(09:58):
Question is uncomfortable, obviously you canpass on. Don't worry about that.
But what was it in your lifeTodd that proved to be your turning
point with addction? So when youwere like, enough is enough, I'm
ready to do something about this.The greatest thing that happened to me and
my life occurred on April fifteenth ofnineteen ninety three, and that's when I
(10:24):
was arrested for my third drunk drivingcharge. I blew a point three to
six on a breathalyzer at noon,was in a complete blackout driving my car
could have killed numerous people. Thatmoment was the catalyst for me. And
I don't know if it was Godor Buddha, or my deceased mom or
(10:48):
myself. It really doesn't matter.I think them all. You know,
however, spiritually or inclined, Ithank your spiritual higher being. I just
got the message of I'm done selfdestructing. I'm going to take the same
tenacity I put into destroying myself andI'm gonna use it for self betterment.
And I've done it, like Isaid, for over three decades now,
(11:09):
so again, having a mindset oftaking what some people could perceive as a
negative thing, I chose to viewthat as an opportunity to get my life
together. And I have like asecond chance. Yes, and it's a
second chance that I gave myself.This is a cliche thing and recovery that
(11:33):
the notion we have to hit rockbottom. I prefer to say we can
give ourselves a new beginning anytime wechoose to do that. So I didn't
hit a rock bottom. I chosea new beginning. Wow, that's something
to think about. I appreciate thatbecause I do believe that the power of
(11:58):
choice these volumes and that it doesn'talways have to be a tragedy that inspires
us to move forward and like yousaid, start a new beginning. We
can make that decision a lot sooner, even after the interview like this,
I'm hearing someone else's story. Wecan make that decision like you know what,
(12:18):
this is my day, this ismy opportunity to start something new.
And if I may, I'd liketo add to that. And I don't
want to ruffle some feathers here onyour show, but I probably will,
don't. I don't believe that addictionis a disease. It's a choice,
but we have to understand why arewe making that choice. Now. I
(12:41):
am educated enough in this field.I understand there's a genetic predisposition to drugs
and alcohol. I'll give you that, but you also have to make a
choice to have the problems occur.So if we can choose addiction, we
certainly can choose sobriety. And thoseare choices. Like I said, and
I use this same verbage a lot. We get a daily opportunity to make
(13:03):
these better choices that we can getthe life that we're trying to find an
addiction that we never will it actuallybecomes reality in sobriety. So my next
question is this then, because Ithink a lot of people who are suffering,
are who are in that process ofrecovery or even maybe facing relapses right
(13:26):
now, A lot of them dofeel like that they're in a situation that
if they feel stuck, they feellike they're trying but they feel like they
just can't move forward. I remembermy brother, he made a comment and
again I think I had to belike twelve when he made this comment,
and yet it's stuck with me forthe rest of, you know, forever.
(13:48):
He said. He said, thisaddiction has me by the balls,
That's what he said. And hewas like fifteen at the time when he
made that comment. So what aboutthose individuals who feel similar. We just
feel like I can't, I can'tdo this. What do you say to
that? I again, hearing youdescribe what your brother said, I've been
(14:11):
there. So this is what Iwant the viewer to understand, and I
want them to really embrace what I'mabout to say. Someone and I hear
it. Someone can look at meand say, well look at you.
You know you have what you have, and I'm like, yes, I
do, But how do I getHow did I get here? It's not
like I quit smoking crack one dayand poof, everything got handed to me.
(14:35):
Everything your brother said, I said, in some capacity, I definitely
felt that way. I thought Iwas going to end up dead the way
my mom did. I actually wastrying to do it subconsciously with drugs and
alcohol I didn't feel of value.I just felt destined to not make it
in life. So I can empathizewith the thought, but we can change
(15:00):
our thoughts that then give us anopportunity to change our actions, and then
over time we're going to see thebenefits of those decisions. So I'm not
sitting here not accepting or empathizing withsomeone that says they can't. But I
need you to start saying you can. You may not know how to,
(15:22):
but if you contact me and Racingfor Recovery or somebody else who has the
clinical knowledge that I'm talking about heretoday, they will help you to continuously
say yes to yourself. So say, if somebody says you can't, I'm
like, you're right, But ifyou say you can, you're right as
(15:43):
well. And like I said,you may be afraid, you may have
anxiety, you may not know whatto do. That's okay. I will
show you how to do it.But as long as you don't use drugs,
and you put anything in the placeof drugs and alcohol, your life
will get better. I guarantee itabsolutely, And that actually makes a lot
(16:07):
of sense, you know, andespecially when you think about trying to do
something on your own, even inbusiness, right in anything, you know,
if you're unsure or if you're ina situation where you just don't have
that experience, you typically will eitheryou know, call an expert, you'll
outsource something, you'll hire somebody togive you some extra support. Companies do
(16:30):
it all the time. Professionals doit all the time. When they can't
do something or they can't do iton their own, they'll hire to help
while get the support that they needsomehow. And it's the same thing with
addiction. If you feel that you'rein a situation where you just can't make
you're right, maybe you can't dothis on your own, and so you
just need that little extra support,that extra push, as we all do
in life in any given situation.And I really appreciate you mentioning that,
(16:52):
Todd. And that's just why aprogram like yours, I think is so
important to have around in twenty twentyfour, is because a lot of people
are in that situation now where wedo need a little bit extra support,
We do need a little extra help. And for those who are recovering addeds,
this program is an opportunity for themto be able to make that decision
to move forward with the support thatthey absolutely need. So appreciate that.
(17:15):
I thank you. I just wantto say on this here's where I love
talking to you. Okay, we'lluse founder. You're awesome magazine that I'm
fortunate enough to be on the coverof this month. I started Racing for
Recovery with a mindset of this iswhat I want to do. I believe
that I was destined to do somethingin life, and I believe Racing for
(17:38):
Recovery and the concept of it foundme. The first thing I did was
contact a paralegal. It was agirl I went to high school with.
I contacted her because I'm like,can you help me start a nonprofit.
I didn't know anything about starting anonprofit, but I wanted to start a
nonprofit, so I reached out tosomebody who could help me do that.
(18:00):
And once I did that, thenI just started building on all these ideas
I had in my head. AndI have a new business book coming out
in a couple of months and I'mproofreading this and one of the things that
I want to convey here is Ioperated Racing for Recovery out of my closet
for probably three or four years beforeI got a little office and started going
(18:26):
up the ladder, if you will. But it took sixteen years of just
grinding away before racing for recovery.It got their own facility, and again
it started back with a choice toquit, using a choice to start a
nonprofit, getting help with starting thatnonprofit, and then just making these cognizant
(18:48):
decisions, getting the help to helpme achieve my dreams. And here I
am talking to you today, right, absolutely, absolutely, and you've consistently
made those decisions and put yourself inline for an opportunity in a platform to
help so many more individuals, andyour home Moti've been doing this is really
(19:11):
supporting those individuals on their path torecovery, which I think make your story
especially special. On Todd, andspeaking of your cover of Founder magazine,
you know that drops actually today,so congratulations on that. I'm so excited
to see this come out. Weactually the photograph that is on the front
(19:32):
of this is from a photo shootthat I did in Times Square on December
first. I believe it was promotingmy fifth book, my picture book called
one hundred, which encompassed all theIronman races that I've done across the Globe
for the past twenty five years.So we took a picture from that photo
shoot to use for the cover ofyour awesome magazine and I can't wait for
(19:56):
it to come out today. Well, super excited about that. Tell was
before we let you go to howwhat are some things that you share with
our readers in that particular magazine?Like what's some tiket? You don't have
to give us everything, but justwhat are the tipkets you share that we
can look forward to? You knowwhat. The main thing I just want
people to understand is you can Youcan do whatever you want. You know,
(20:18):
it starts with the mindset. Iwant to do whatever. I want
to start my own magazine. Iwant to be an iron man. I
want to go back and get aneducation. I want to rebuild a relationship
with my family, then go outand do it. You know, I'm
a big advocate when you think something, speak it into existence. Already live
in the notion that it's going tohappen. You know. Even our conversation
(20:41):
today we are talking about how toget my Racing for Recovery message out,
and you mentioned a couple of things, and in my mind, it's already
happened. It's just a matter ofwhen, because I know I'm going to
put the work into it. Soputting the work into what you want,
thanking the people that are supporting you, you and just going out there and
having a good time. That's myadvice to the listener today. Absolutely,
(21:07):
and that's some inspiring advice. AndI do I definitely want everyone who's on
their path, their personal journey torecovery and addiction, or even those family
members who are in friends who haveindividuals who are close to you who are
also on this path. I definitelywant you to look into Todd's own personal
(21:27):
journey reach out to his program becausethis is an opportunity for some intervention,
whether it be intervention that you yourselffacilitate, or maybe that you help your
friends, our families facilitate to helpthem reach newer heights. In twenty twenty
four, it's it's the beginning ofthe year, so the possibilities are endless.
(21:47):
And like Todd, like you mentioned, if you say that you can,
if you put in the work,you're definitely going to have success with
that. We really appreciate having youon, Todd. Before we let you
go, I do want to Ido want to ask this a final question
and then we're going to wrap itup, because on this path of recovery,
(22:07):
let's be honest, it's not easy. There are stepbacks, there are
roadblocks along the way. There aretimes when you feel like throwing in the
town. Did you have any ofthose times? And what did you do
to overcome them? I want tosay this real quickly before I answer your
awesome question. Racing for Recovery hasa live stream support group meeting every Thursday
(22:30):
night at six thirty on our YouTubepage or our Facebook page. Anybody can
tune in anywhere in the world andget free help, and that's a way
for the listener to tune into that. With respect to overcoming adversities, I
think the biggest obstacle that we havein life is ourselves. You know,
life happens. I understand that,but we have to find the power from
(22:53):
within to overcome our own thoughts sometimesof I can't or I don't know how
to, and simply finding a wayto get it done. I'll use drugs
for an example. Nothing stopped mefrom finding drugs, nothing or no one.
That same mindset has put me ina position today no matter what happens,
(23:15):
I find a way to overcome itto get to where I am.
I mentioned it took us sixteen yearsto get our own facility. I tried
for years to find a way toget our own place and it never worked.
But I kept going, kept going, and then it hit. I
can say the same with writing books. My first book, I was rejected
by thirty eight book publishers, butthe thirty ninth one said yes, so
(23:40):
again, we can overcome anything.When we can overcome ourselves, well,
that's powerful. That's powerful. It'sa matter of mindset and the matter of
determination and not giving them. Andwhen you feel like you're at that process,
where are that point in your lifewhen you feel that throwing in the
towel again? This is when yournetwork of support is so important and so
(24:04):
valuable. I love the fact thatyou have that online service where people can
come in and tap in for freepeed. Can you mention that again one more
time? We how do we access? We have podcasts. We have the
live stream support group meetings every Thursdaynight, six thirty pm Eastern on our
(24:25):
YouTube and Facebook page. They're alsoarchive versions on our YouTube page, so
check them out. The podcasts arefull of success Stories. The live stream
is free therapy for everybody Thursday night, six thirty pm Eastern. Wow,
I'm phenomenal. I love that.So Todd, can you send me a
link to that so that we canmake sure that we give that to our
(24:48):
readers here and viewers and listeners andall of the above. Absolutely all right,
and so Todd, before I letyou go, I want to just
thank you so much again for beingon today's show. We look forward to
your Founder magazine cover dropping today.Again. For those of you guys who
want to check out that interview,there will also be a link to that
in the description of this show soyou can check the interview. Are even
(25:10):
pick up the print issue, that'dbe super phenomenal. Continue to supporting the
booliavendors and their initiatives to fight humanrights violations internationally. But we appreciate you,
Tid's or anything I should like tomention before we let you go.
I'm inspired by you, young man. I can say that because you're younger
than me. I appreciate being onyour show and I look forward to the
(25:30):
goodness that's going to come from youhaving me on today. Thank you very
much, well, thank you somuch tid and for all of you out
there watching and listening, we appreciatehaving you guys support us and our initiatives
as well you have been listening orwatching, Inspiration is with Joseph Bonner.
Until next time, you guys,take care of each other.
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