One for the Road: The Quit Drinking Podcast

What happens when the one thing you’ve dedicated your entire life to is suddenly taken away?
Shanaze Reade was a BMX world champion and Olympic athlete who spent most of her life avoiding alcohol. Growing up with an alcoholic father, she was determined to follow a different path. But when her sporting career came to an unexpected end, she found herself struggling with the loss of her identity, purpose, and direction.
Looking for an escape from the emotional pain, Shanaze turned to vodka. She remembers taking that first drink and thinking, “This is my new best friend.”
What followed was a rapid descent into alcohol addiction, eventually reaching a frightening moment when she feared for her life.
In this episode of One for the Road, Dave sits down with Shanaze to explore her remarkable journey from sporting success to rock bottom and ultimately finding freedom through sobriety.
Shanaze shares how Alcoholics Anonymous, sponsorship, and spirituality helped her rebuild her life, rediscover her purpose, and find strength beyond the world of professional sport.
Now approaching nine years sober, her story is a powerful reminder that addiction doesn’t discriminate, and no matter how far you’ve fallen, recovery is possible.
Follow Shanaze on Instagram:
https://www.instagram.com/shanazereade/
Looking for support with your drinking?
Dave offers one-to-one sobriety coaching for anyone questioning their relationship with alcohol or ready to make a change.
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More information about Sober Dave's 1:1 Coaching: https://www.soberdave.co.uk/
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For years, alcohol was part of Jason’s identity. From college parties to DJing in the rave scene, drinking seemed like a normal part of life. But over time, something changed.
The partying slowed down, but the drinking didn’t.
Eventually, Jason was relying on whiskey to fall asleep and adding it to his morning coffee before heading to work.
In this episode of One For The Road, Jason joins Sober Dave to share how his relationship with alcohol progressed, what led him to quit drinking in 2019, and how he found himself drinking again after two and a half years sober.
With his last drink on January 1, 2026, Jason is now navigating sobriety at 52 and discovering the importance of connection, honesty, and community in recovery.
This is a conversation about alcohol addiction, relapse, second chances, and finding the courage to start again.
Because no matter how many times you’ve tried to quit drinking, your story isn’t over.
Jason on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jasondlyman/
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More information about Sober Dave's 1:1 Coaching: https://www.soberdave.co.uk/
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Bianca desperately wanted to quit drinking. But when she tried, the alcohol withdrawal symptoms became so severe that she ended up in hospital.
After surviving cancer and chemotherapy, Bianca never imagined that alcohol dependence would become one of the most frightening experiences of her life.
Growing up surrounded by alcohol, she started drinking at 14 to cope with difficult emotions and feel accepted. Over the years, childhood trauma, an abusive relationship, and isolation contributed to her increasingly unhealthy relationship with alcohol.
Eventually, drinking was no longer about enjoyment. Her body had become physically dependent on it.
In this emotional conversation with Dave, Bianca opens up about her terrifying experience with severe alcohol withdrawal, why she filmed herself during her darkest moments, and what it really took to stop drinking.
Now more than a year sober, she shares how life without alcohol has helped her rediscover herself, rebuild her confidence, and experience genuine happiness.
This episode is a reminder that alcohol addiction is not simply a matter of willpower, and recovery is possible.
Bianca on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/biancacriaco/
Subscribe on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@soberdaveonefortheroad

More information about Sober Dave's 1:1 Coaching: https://www.soberdave.co.uk/
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Jessica Wilde started drinking around the age of 12, growing up in South London surrounded by music, creativity, and a street culture where alcohol and partying became part of life early on.
What began as drinking with friends eventually developed into years of binge drinking, destructive relationships, drug use, and a cycle of self-sabotage that followed her into adulthood.
Even as her music career began taking off and she landed a record deal with Sony, Jessica was struggling behind the scenes. She believed alcohol gave her confidence, especially when performing, but slowly began to realize that the very thing she thought was helping her was holding her back.
In this episode of One For The Road, Jessica joins Sober Dave to talk openly about her experiences with alcohol, addiction, and the long journey toward sobriety.
She shares how an abusive relationship affected her self-worth, why she kept returning to drinking even after long periods without alcohol, and how yoga, Muay Thai, meditation, and reconnecting with herself helped change the direction of her life.
One of the biggest challenges wasn’t simply giving up alcohol. It was wondering who she would be without it.
Would she still be confident? Would she still be creative? Could she still enjoy music, dancing, and going out without drinking?
Now six years sober, Jessica has discovered that the parts of herself she feared losing were never dependent on alcohol in the first place.
Her music has taken on new meaning, her relationships have changed, and she’s found a different kind of freedom in living authentically.
This is a conversation about breaking old patterns, rebuilding self-worth, and discovering that sobriety doesn’t mean losing who you are. Sometimes it’s how you finally find yourself.

Connect with Jessica: https://www.instagram.com/iamjessicawilde/
Subscribe on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@soberdaveonefortheroad

More information about Sober Dave's 1:1 Coaching: https://www.soberdave.co.uk/
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For years, Adrian appeared to be holding his life together. He was progressing in his career, running marathons, maintaining relationships and taking on physical challenges. Behind closed doors, alcohol had become something he structured his life around.
Two bottles of wine a night became normal. He hid how much he was drinking, crashed his car after drinking and even called AA the following day to admit that he needed help. But he never went to a meeting.
Then came acute pancreatitis.
Adrian was hospitalized because of his drinking, discharged himself once he began feeling better, and eventually started drinking again. When pancreatitis put him back in the hospital a second time, even that wasn’t the immediate end of his relationship with alcohol.
In this deeply honest conversation with Sober Dave, Adrian looks back at the years he spent trying to change everything around him without addressing what was happening inside. At one point, he becomes emotional reflecting on the younger version of himself: “I want to give that guy a hug… that person was very, very lost.”
Adrian also opens up about later discovering ADHD and autism, the role he believes alcohol played in quieting his mind, the shame and secrecy surrounding his drinking, and why connection with other sober people ultimately became such an important part of his recovery.
Today, Adrian is more than five years sober.
This is a conversation about the warning signs we can ignore, how easy it is to appear functional while struggling privately, and why sometimes even serious consequences aren’t what finally creates change.
Subscribe on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@soberdaveonefortheroad

More information about Sober Dave's 1:1 Coaching: https://www.soberdave.co.uk/
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.