Ryan didn’t just stop drinking. He and his mum made a pact, and it stuck. It became an anchor that kept him grounded when life threw him curveballs—grief, stress, pressure. And rather than slide back into old habits, he leaned into something new. Actually, many things new.

“As soon as I closed that door, every opportunity just fell at my feet.”

His first year of sobriety looked nothing like what you might expect. It began with a love story—he met his girlfriend at a sober-friendly community festival. She opened the door to a world of conscious living: breathwork, ice baths, and music-fueled self-exploration.

“It was like, okay, here’s everything you’re going to do: this, this, and this. And you’ve just got to have the balls to do it.”

What followed was a summer of sober festivals, including Medicine Festival and Boom in Portugal—seven days of breathwork, dancing, Kung Fu, and sound healing in the mountains. He wasn’t just attending these gatherings. He was performing, drumming with his girlfriend’s band, and even leading guided meditations at immersive sound healing events. At Hackney Round Chapel, he took the stage after a 20-year hiatus and led a meditation through the chakra system, paired with a cup of Blue Lotus tea and sacred geometry visuals on the ceiling.

“It was the first time I was holding space in that kind of way.”

Then came the deepening. He enrolled in an eight-month breathwork facilitator course, digging into trauma, PTSD, and shadow work. He’s now running free sessions as part of his training and sees this as part of his longer-term path: helping others—especially men—through sobriety and healing.

But his creativity doesn’t stop there.

“I used to drink quite a fair bit of coffee, but now I’ve had it with Reishi mushrooms… I’ve always had a passion for mushrooms.”

So he’s building “Holy Mush,” a tree-slab-cart-powered mushroom coffee business with a side of kindness and storytelling. Think Lion’s Mane espresso served with a dose of human connection. He’s also cooking up plans to document his journey on social media using first-person glasses.

And all of this is without the hangover.

“I don’t even get triggered anymore. I’ve found so many different ways to release stress, I don’t look at alcohol as something that would help.”

Ryan is quick to admit it’s not all been smooth sailing. His partner lost her mum to cancer. They moved house. Life piled on. But not once did he turn to alcohol. The pact with his mum stayed strong—and so did he.

“No matter what circumstance comes up – I’ve had them all in the last two years – I will not break that pact.”

Perhaps most powerful of all is how he’s sharing this path with his mum. Their podcast, “Mum, Me and Sobriety,” gives a rare glimpse into a mother-son bond forged through mutual healing. From awkward Zooms to emotional revelations, it’s become part therapy, part storytelling, and wholly authentic.

“There isn’t that conversation between a mother and son about how much they’re drinking… but we had it.”

Looking ahead, Ryan is focusing on gigging with the band, continuing his healing work, and expanding the coffee business with his dad. And through it all, he’s proving that sobriety isn’t an end -it’s a beginning.

“You can’t stop drinking without knowing why you’re drinking… take it as a journey where you get to know yourself more.”

For anyone wondering what’s on the other side of giving up drinking, Ryan is living proof: it’s connection, creativity, and a life more fully felt. His energy is contagious. His story? Just beginning.

You can find Ryan’s podcast ‘In the Shed with Ryan‘ and ‘Mum Me and Sobriety‘ and and he is on instagram here