Episode 18 - SETH

This week on Sober Champs, Pete and Aiden welcome Seth, a true legend in Seattle's recovery community celebrating over 16 years sober since February 13th, 2009. Pete opens with heartfelt gratitude, sharing how Seth was the person he looked up to during his own early struggles with addiction, representing hope that sobriety was possible.

Seth takes listeners through his journey starting at Nathan Hale High School, where he went from saying no to drugs on a school tour to daily use within weeks of freshman year. What began with marijuana quickly escalated, derailing his sports participation and academic performance. After multiple treatment attempts and six-month stretches of sobriety, Seth accumulated four DUIs in five years, culminating in a near-fatal crash with a semi-truck on I-90 that became his rock bottom.

The conversation dives deep into the challenges of early recovery - from severe depression and dark thoughts to the crucial moment when Seth realized his own thinking couldn't be trusted. He found salvation in 12-step meetings, discovering a thriving underground community where people were genuinely happy about their sobriety, not just surviving it.

Seth's story takes an inspiring turn as he returned to school, became a substance abuse counselor, and eventually helped create Seattle's Interagency Recovery Academy - Washington state's only public recovery high school. Along with co-host Aiden, who's a graduate of the school, Seth explains how they've built a community where abstinence-based recovery is the cool thing, not the exception.

The episode highlights their work with Bridges, an after-school program providing structure and adventure for teens in recovery. From camping trips to pottery classes, they're creating the peer groups and experiences these young people need to thrive. What makes their approach powerful is watching students transform from newcomers to leaders, creating a culture where sobriety becomes attractive to incoming students.

Seth's message is clear: solutions can't be secrets. These resources only work when people know they exist and can access them without shame or stigma.