The Moment I Knew I Had to Quit Drinking
How Dry January 2022 became the spark that lit the path to Bodhi Bubbles
I was on a high—at least from the outside looking in.
I had just won a silver medal for my amber ale. People were asking me when I was going to open a brewery. I had the market research, the branding ideas, the core recipes had been crafted.
Behind the scenes, I was about two-thirds of the way through writing a business plan for my own craft beer company. It felt like momentum was building, like I was right on the edge of something big.
I knew that soon the next step would open up.
So when Dry January came around again, I didn’t think much of it.
I’d done it before… sort of. A week here, a weekend there. Never seriously. Always, with the mind - “See if I take a few days off, I don’t need it.”
This time, though, I committed. I told myself I’d give it a real shot. Just a month off. A reset.
But something happened on Day 10 that I’ll never forget.
The Silence That Said Everything
Ten days in, NA beers in hand (Thanks Athletic), no booze. I started to notice a strange stillness.
Not physical withdrawal. Not cravings, per se.
Something was missing.
And in that stillness, a truth rose to the surface that I couldn’t push down:
I was addicted.
Not the dramatic kind. I wasn’t blacking out. I rarely had a drink before 5 p.m. I wasn’t slurring through dinners or forgetting conversations.
My life, for all intents and purposes was functioning, I wasn’t thriving.
I was drinking. Every day.
Without fail.
And I was drinking because I needed to.
That’s addiction.
A quiet kind of dependence. It doesn’t need to look like “rock bottom”
The Inner Debate (and Self-Experiments)
I didn’t want to admit it.
So for a while, I tried to rationalize it:
“It’s just part of the culture.”
“It’s how I relax.”
“Everyone drinks. This isn’t a problem.”
But every time I wasn’t drinking, I was thinking about drinking.
Each dinner felt off.
Each evening dragged.
So I began to wonder, “what is it I’m really craving?”
It wasn’t the alcohol itself.
It was the effect. The decompression. The drop in tension.
Relief.
That realization flipped a switch.
And I decided: if I could understand what my body and mind were actually asking for… maybe I could give it to myself in a better way.
So I started experimenting.
I bought supplements.
I mixed herbs.
I tried magnesium supplements, mushroom powders in the mornings, adaptogen tea in the afternoon, kanna in the evenings.
I journaled.
I meditated.
I tracked my moods, my sleep, my stress.
I became my own test subject.
And slowly, I started to get glimpses. Glimmers of bliss.
Little moments where I’d think:
“Oh. I don’t feel stressed right now. I feel… okay.”
From Experimentation to Creation
I had found somethings that really helped, but could I combine these ancient herbal allies, plant medicine alchemy into something approachable?
Tinctures, powders, supplements?
I wanted simplicity.
Ease.
A ritual.
Something cold and bubbly.
Something I could crack open with friends.
Something that tasted amazing, and did something.
That’s when I looked, and I knew I had seen my next path open up.
The Garage Alchemist
I’ve always been curious. A builder. A researcher.
So I leaned into that energy.
I dove deep into the world of adaptogens, nootropics, and nervines.
Reishi, ashwagandha, L-theanine, 5-HTP, kava, lion’s mane, kanna, passionflower.
Botanicals, fruit acids, functional stacks.
But research wasn’t enough.
I had to know how it actually felt.
So I kept experimenting—on myself.
Every night, I’d test a new blend and ask:
-
Did I sleep better?
-
Was my anxiety lower?
-
Did I feel grounded or jittery?
-
Focused or foggy?
Some felt incredible, uplifted, present bliss.
Other nights I woke up in the early hours, and stared at the ceiling or woke up groggy.
I logged everything. I tweaked the formulas. I studied the data. I listened to my body.
My lab wasn’t shiny.
It was my garage—formerly filled with fermentation tanks, now transformed into a personal apothecary, of herbs, fruits, and powders.
The Sip That Changed Everything
Then one day.
A blend I had been dialing in for weeks, herbs, fruit flavor, botanicals.
I poured a glass, took a sip, and…
Everything shifted.
It was subtle.
But it felt like a cool wave washed down my spine.
My shoulders dropped.
The background noise in my brain just… faded.
And I said out loud:
“I feel good.”
Not drunk.
Not buzzed.
Just good.
That was the moment I knew I had something real.
Because I had tested it not just for taste, but for transformation.
Taplist in my garage
From Survival to Ritual
That one blend became the seed of something much bigger.
At first, I made it just for myself.
A way to survive Dry January.
A tool for navigating stress and social moments without falling back into old habits.
But over time, it became something more.
It became a ritual.
A grounding practice.
A new kind of celebration.
And eventually…
it became Bodhi Bubbles.
Bodhi Was Born from the Space Between
Bodhi didn’t start as a business.
It started as a question:
How can I feel whole, without hurting myself?
It was born in that space between addiction and awakening.
Between numbing and nourishing.
Between chaos and calm.
Now it’s a brand. A beverage. and I hope I can create a movement.
But at its core, it’s still that same question.
Answered, one sip at a time.
Have You Had a Wake-Up Moment?
If any part of this story feels familiar…
If you’ve ever looked at your habits and thought:
“There has to be a better way…”
I want you to know, you’re not alone.
There is a better way.
And it doesn’t begin with shame or punishment.
It starts with curiosity.
With compassion.
And maybe… with a cold can of something new.
Thanks for reading.
We’re just getting started.
