How I Went From Fighting in Afghanistan to Fighting a 7OH Addiction | Ep 204

In this episode of Get a Grip Podcast, Louis Essig and Aaron Garnes sit down with Nick Newman for an incredible story that spans childhood addiction, the U.S. Army, combat deployments, prescription drugs, kratom, 7OH, and the long road toward recovery.

Nick opens up about a childhood that quickly went off the rails. By third grade, he had already been suspended twice, and by the age of 10 he was smoking weed regularly. At just 12 years old, he tried crack for the first time. What followed was a teenage life filled with schemes, getting expelled from high school, breaking into cars, and stealing.

Eventually, Nick joined the U.S. Army, but even basic training couldn't completely separate him from his addiction. He talks about getting high during basic training, deploying overseas, and what it was like arriving in Afghanistan and driving through Iraq as a young soldier.

Nick spent eight years in the Army, including working around IEDs in Afghanistan. He shares the terrifying reality of his job, finding an IED and being ordered to leave it behind, witnessing drugs overseas, and dealing with the death of a fellow soldier.

After returning home, Nick became a drill sergeant and eventually ran into serious trouble over allegations involving training abuse. Later, the VA prescribed him medications including Ambien, and his life began taking another unexpected turn.

Nick eventually discovered kratom. What began as something he believed could help quickly became another addiction. He describes how much he was using, the financial cost, quitting cold turkey, and experiencing withdrawal that he describes as being "dopesick".

Then he discovered 7OH.

Nick explains how 7OH completely changed the game for him, how much he began using, and why quitting became so difficult. He even describes traveling to Canada and experiencing severe withdrawal in an airport and on a plane.After multiple attempts to quit—including relapsing on cat's claw and kratom extract—Nick finally began finding his way out.

This is a fascinating and brutally honest conversation about how addiction can evolve, even for someone who has served his country, built a career, and achieved financial success.

🔥 Expect emotion. Expect truth. Expect hope.

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