The Alcohol Free Revolution Podcast

This week we welcome the wonderful Tabbin Almond — coach, speaker, podcaster and author of Bottling Up Trouble. Tabbin grew up in a home where alcohol was just part of the furniture, spent her career in 80s advertising where the office bar was literally called The Gym, and never once thought she had a problem. Until a breast cancer diagnosis changed everything — and her oncologist never once mentioned alcohol. In this conversation we get into the link between alcohol and cancer risk, why the medical world stays silent on it, and the hidden cost of drinking culture in the workplace. Tabbin has spent years working with organisations on exactly this, and she doesn't pull her punches. A brilliant conversation. We think you'll love it. Find Tabbin: Website: www.wine2watercoaching.com Podcast: The Alcohol Debate — Spotify, Apple and all major platforms Corporate work: The Wellbeing Blind Spot (launching soon) Join our free community: Every Monday at noon. Email the word Community to: info@thealcoholfreerevolution.co.uk Coach with Steve: Web: www.soberilliant.com | Insta: @sober.illiant LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/stevesmith-soberilliant Coach with James: Web: http://alcoholfreecoach.com  Insta: @alcoholfreecoach_ LinkedIn: http://linkedin.com/in/james-lloyd-48313032

This week we are joined by the fantastic Lisa, a founding member of the Alcohol Free Revolution community, who is celebrating one year alcohol free. Lisa's story will resonate with so many of you. A grey area drinker who decided to do Sober October on a whim in a Marbella airport, and that set the seed But more than her story, this episode is a brilliant reminder of what is possible when you stop trying to do it alone. Lisa talks openly about the harder months, the identity questions, the moments she nearly wobbled, and how having a community of like minded people around her every Monday made all the difference. If you have been thinking about making a change, or you are somewhere in the middle of one and finding it tough, come and join us. It is free, it is every Monday at noon, and you do not even have to put your camera on. Just drop us an email and we will send you the link. Join our community: Email the word Community to: info@thealcoholfreerevolution.co.uk Coach with Steve: Web: www.soberilliant.com  Insta: @sober.illiant LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/stevesmith-soberilliant Coach with James: Web: http://alcoholfreecoach.com LinkedIn: http://linkedin.com/in/james-lloyd-48313032 Insta: @alcoholfreecoach_

This week we're joined by Anna Donaghey — author, alcohol-free mindset coach, and host of the Big Drink Rethink podcast. Anna's podcast is, in James's words, the gold standard of podcasting in this space — nominated for ITV's Best Creator Podcast of the Year and the show he has been pointing his own coaching clients toward for years. Her book, What Are You Thirsty For? Rethinking Alcohol and the Life You Want, is something rarer than a quit-lit memoir — an awareness book written upstream of the crisis, for the enormous middle ground of drinkers who quietly sense that life could be more than it currently is. What makes Anna's perspective unique is the 25 years she spent as a strategist in the advertising industry, helping build the stories and persuasion behind some of the biggest brands in the world — including alcohol brands. She lived inside those narratives. And then she quit drinking, trained as a coach, and spent the last few years dismantling them. This is a big episode for us and we are delighted to have her on. We think you are going to love this one. Find Anna: Web: www.thebigdrinkrethink.com Podcast: The Big Drink Rethink Book: What Are You Thirsty For? — available on Amazon Join our community: Email the word 'Interested' to: info@thealcoholfreerevolution.co.uk Coach with Steve: Web: www.soberilliant.com Insta: @sober.illiant LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/stevesmith-soberilliant Coach with James: Web: http://alcoholfreecoach.com LinkedIn: http://linkedin.com/in/james-lloyd-48313032 Insta: @alcoholfreecoach_

This week we're joined by someone who is quite literally part of the origin story of this podcast — Ollie Coe, a long-time friend of James who, without really trying to, set the whole thing in motion. Ollie started drinking at 15, the way most of us did — Friday nights, a mate who looked old enough to buy the booze, getting absolutely obliterated because there was no off switch. That pattern carried all the way through college, university, and into adult life, until 2019 when a string of messy nights, some serious relationship strain, and one very bad birthday party's worth of Old Fashioneds finally made something click. He did Sober October that year. Then just kept going. Seven years on, Ollie has travelled the world with clear eyes, launched ten games on an indie gaming console, organised a sober stag do in Munich, and discovered that sober karaoke is, apparently, elite. He's also quietly become the kind of person who opens doors for others — including James, who credits Ollie with recommending the book that changed everything, introducing him to alcohol-free beer, and referring his very first coaching client. This one is warm, funny, and full of the kind of lived-in wisdom that only comes from someone who changed their life on their own terms, without any fuss. We think you're going to love this one. Join our community: Email the word 'Interested' to: info@thealcoholfreerevolution.co.uk Coach with Steve: Web: www.soberilliant.com Insta: @sober.illiant LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/stevesmith-soberilliant Coach with James: Web: http://alcoholfreecoach.com LinkedIn: http://linkedin.com/in/james-lloyd-48313032 Insta: @alcoholfreecoach_

This week we're joined by a very good friend of ours, Jo Hands — someone we've been meaning to get on the show for a long time and, frankly, we should have done it sooner. Jo grew up in the 70s in a home where alcohol was a completely normalised, ever-present friend. By the time she hit boarding school in the Lake District, gin was being smuggled back in jam jars. By the time she landed in London in the 90s, working in corporate financial communications, Thursday night office drinks weren't optional — they were part of the job description. For years she was in and out of medical waiting rooms working through a long list of unexplained symptoms, and not once was she asked how much she drank. Alcohol, as she puts it, was the one thing in the room that nobody was looking at. Jo went alcohol-free at 54 and in this conversation she talks about the perimenopause connection that nobody discusses enough, the moment she started viewing alcohol through the lens of coercive control, and the morning she looked in the mirror and said — clearly, finally — never again. Honest, warm, and at times genuinely funny. We think you're going to love this one. Connect with Jo: Insta: @johands_coaching Linkedin: linkedin.com/in/jo-hands-coaching Join our community: Email the word 'Interested' to: info@thealcoholfreerevolution.co.uk Coach with Steve: Web: www.soberilliant.com Insta: @sober.illiant LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/stevesmith-soberilliant   Coach with James: Web: http://alcoholfreecoach.com LinkedIn: http://linkedin.com/in/james-lloyd-48313032 Insta: @alcoholfreecoach_

Last week we heard from Jo — Steve's wife — and the response has been incredible. So this week we're back with part two. This time Steve sits down with Kristen, James' wife, for an equally honest conversation about what she saw, what worried her, and what actually changed when James stopped drinking. If last week felt familiar, we think this one will too. Two women, two stories, one very consistent picture of what going alcohol-free really looks like from the inside. If you haven't listened to part one yet, go back and start there first. Join our community: Email the word 'Interested' to: info@thealcoholfreerevolution.co.uk Coach with Steve: Web: www.soberilliant.com Insta: @sober.illiant LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/stevesmith-soberilliant Coach with James: Web: http://alcoholfreecoach.com LinkedIn: http://linkedin.com/in/james-lloyd-48313032 Insta: @alcoholfreecoach_

In this special two-part series, we hand the mic to the people who've had the best — and most honest — view of what going alcohol-free really looks like: our wives. This week, James sits down with Jo, Steve's wife, for a candid conversation about what life looked like when alcohol was central to everything, the moments that made her think things needed to change, and what actually shifted when Steve stopped drinking. She talks about her initial worries, the surprises, and what she'd say to anyone whose partner is considering going alcohol-free. Next week, Steve turns the tables and interviews James' wife Kristen — and we have a feeling the stories are going to sound very familiar. If you've ever wondered what the people closest to us really think, this one's for you. Join our community:  Email the word ‘Interested’ to : info@thealcoholfreerevolution.co.uk Coach with Steve: Web: www.soberilliant.com Insta: @sober.illiant Linkedin: www.linkedin.com/in/stevesmith-soberilliant   Coach with James: Web: http://alcoholfreecoach.com  Linkedin http://linkedin.com/in/james-lloyd-48313032 Insta: ⁨@alcoholfreecoach⁩ _

Off the back of their Catherine Gray episode, Steve and James dive into the books that have shaped their alcohol-free adventures — and the ones that came downstream of removing alcohol. From the core quitlit that first cracked things open — The Unexpected Joy of Being Sober, This Naked Mind, Alcohol Explained, and Alcohol Lied To Me — to the mindset and habit books that helped rebuild life on the other side: Atomic Habits, The Chimp Paradox, Dopamine Nation, Why We Sleep, and more. Whether you're at day one or year five, this is your reading list. Join our community:  Email the word ‘Interested’ to : info@thealcoholfreerevolution.co.uk Coach with Steve: Web: www.soberilliant.com   Insta: @sober.illiant   Coach with James: Web: http://alcoholfreecoach.com    Linkedin http://linkedin.com/in/james-lloyd-48313032   Insta: ⁨@alcoholfreecoach⁩

Regular listeners will know that Catherine Gray has come up more than once on the show — and for good reason. Her book The Unexpected Joy of Being Sober is one of those rare reads that genuinely shifts something, and it's been on both Steve and James's recommended lists since day one. So when the opportunity came to sit down with her properly, we jumped at it. Catherine joins us to talk about her latest book, Little Addictions: Freedom From Our Tiny But Mighty Compulsions — a brilliant exploration of all the habits and behaviours we don't necessarily need to quit, but probably need to look at a little more honestly. The conversation naturally spills into alcohol, identity, dopamine, the state of the industry, and quite a bit more besides. Twelve years alcohol-free, seven books deep, and as sharp and honest as ever Catherine was everything we hoped she'd be as a guest. Connect with Catherine: @unexpectedjoyof Join our community:  Email the word ‘Interested’ to : info@thealcoholfreerevolution.co.uk Coach with Steve: Web: www.soberilliant.com Insta: http://soberilliant.com/all-my-links Coach with James: Web: http://alcoholfreecoach.com  Linkedin :http://linkedin.com/in/james-lloyd-48313032      

This week we sit down with the one and only David Wilson AKA 'Sober Dave' We've been wanting to get Dave on for a while, and he didn't disappoint. In a conversation that covers childhood, identity, rock bottoms and real recovery, Sober Dave reminds us that it's never too late — and that stopping drinking is just the beginning. David Wilson is a trauma-informed sobriety coach, No.1 bestselling author, and host of the Top 10 Apple podcast One For The Road — one of the UK's most recognisable voices in modern sobriety, with nearly 200,000 followers and a belief that lasting change comes from understanding why we drink, not just trying to stop. In this episode he opens up about where it all started, the slow escalation that crept up over decades, and the moment he finally decided enough was enough. But what makes this conversation stand out is what comes after — the grief of letting go, the uncomfortable question of who you are without alcohol, and the real work involved in building a life you actually want to live. At 62, he's never felt better. But the road to get there was anything but straightforward — and he's refreshingly honest about that. Connect with Dave: 📖 One For The Road — the book 🎙️ One For The Road — the podcast 📱 @soberdave 🌐 soberdave.co.uk Connect with Dave: 📖 One For The Road — the book 🎙️ One For The Road — the podcast 📱 @soberdave 🌐 soberdave.co.uk Join our community:  Email the word ‘Interested’ to : info@thealcoholfreerevolution.co.uk Coach with Steve: Web: www.soberilliant.com Insta: http://soberilliant.com/all-my-links Coach with James: Web: http://alcoholfreecoach.com  Linkedin :http://linkedin.com/in/james-lloyd-48313032