099 - Two Years Sober - Six Weeks to Train. He'd Never Ridden a Road Bike.

[00:00:04] Welcome everybody to another episode of the The Health Movement. I have a very amazing guest with us today, but before I introduce him, I just want to reiterate that we are not doctors, so before you go changing any programming or anything like that, please consult with your physician.

[00:00:21] All right, without any further ado, I have today with me Ty Butler, who is an Ironman, a man in long-term recovery, founder of the Canyon Recovery Services, and I'm assuming most importantly, a father of four. Ty, thank you so much for joining us today. Ty Butler, It's my pleasure. Very blessed. Grateful to be here.

[00:00:42] Ty Butler, Thank you. So, there's a lot going on here, and I didn't know if there's a specific spot you wanted to start in terms of what got you on the path you're on right now.

[00:00:55] Ty Butler, Yeah, it's fairly simple. As a man, you know, in society, we're taught really to not have very, very many feelings, pull our bootstraps up and just go with the flow and deal with it. And that's certainly not everyone, but I know my upbringing, it was that way.

[00:01:13] And my folks were fantastic, very loving, very kind, but they were quite a bit older. So, I was raised from a generation that most people today weren't, and that had its goods and its bads. I was taught a lot of things about how to be a gentleman, how to iron a shirt, how to cook a decent meal, keep my home clean. But at the same time, I was also taught not to feel. So, from a very young age, we just swept things under the rug, which has its own implications and led to some behavioral things that I'm constantly working on.

[00:01:43] But as a kid, I didn't know how to handle things. I didn't know how to cope. So, I found alcohol. So, from the time I was 13, I was a very heavy drinker, very high functioning. And I was always that guy that had to have one more. I was always the guy that took it a little too far. And I was also very quick to react. I got in a lot of fistfights as a kid. That carried on to high school, college, where I was a rodeo cowboy. I rode bucking horses. Wow.

[00:02:09] And I wore being an alcoholic with a badge of honor. You know, I could out drink you. So, all those years where I should have been coping and learning how to develop as a mature man, I wasn't. I was just numb in any kind of discomfort that came my way. So, it looked good on the surface. Alcoholism usually starts that way. Got married, Scottsdale, Arizona. Had, you know, one kid, two kids, three kids. And then things were looking pretty good.

[00:02:37] We bought a second home in central Idaho, a little ranching community, and lived a good life. We were homeschooling. It was like a Hallmark movie. We had goats, chickens, pigs running around and had a fourth child. And then my alcoholism started creeping in a little harder than I would have liked it. It crept in harder than I thought it was going to. And it started consuming me. Every single thing, either I was drinking or thinking about drinking,

[00:03:07] and my marriage started slipping away. My ex-wife, you know, clearly unhappy. She has her own trauma issues. So, neither of us were very perfect. But what happened after COVID was that I hit bottom in a really, really bad way. I have four beautiful children. You think that that would make someone want to stop drinking, but that's not the way alcoholism works. It's a disease, and it tricks you into thinking that you don't have the disease. So, I was passed out every night. I wasn't a bar drinker, but I would say on the couch.

[00:03:36] And just pass out. And that was the norm. My kids would tiptoe over my feet to not wake up dad. And then I'd stumble into the bedroom, wake up, regretting the whole night before, and do it all over again. And eventually it caught up with me, and I became suicidal in a very bad way. And July 1st, 2021, so just over five years ago, I decided that I was going to kill myself. And I sat my four children down. My son was 11, and my youngest daughter was five.

[00:04:06] I sat them down in front of our fireplace, and I told them they were never going to see their dad again, that they were better off without me, and that this was for their own good. And I still have those, I still have their faces in my mind. I'll have that forever. Or wiping tears from their faces, telling them, hey, it's okay, it's okay. But that was my disease. That was, you know, it was telling me what to do. And I honestly thought that they were better off without me.

[00:04:32] I was 150 pounds. I'm six foot two, so you can imagine how thin I was. I was literally about a month away from dying, drinking myself to death. So the last time the kids were going to see their dad was this skin and bones, very, very pale, very sick man. That was the last time they saw me. Yeah, it was pretty raw. And by the grace of God, the police picked me up shortly after that, and I spent a few hours in a hospital room on a suicidal evaluation,

[00:05:00] and they let me go for some reason. And that was five years ago, July 1st. Sure. And, uh... Oh, sorry. That's, uh... Well, obviously, you know, something changed. Who called the cops? Was it one of the kids? Or what transpired? My ex-wife. Wow. My ex-wife did. Yeah, there was a lot of bad things going on between us and our marriage, and she was not...

[00:05:30] She wasn't very happy with me, to say the least. And I wasn't very happy with some of her decisions. So a lot of poor decisions made on both parts. But she called the police. She still was worried about me. They picked me up. I live in a very small town, about 3,000 people. And the cops knew what was going on. There had been some drama. I'd been in police custody a couple of times the previous month. DUI, you know, another suicide attempt. Just bad. Bad, bad, bad. The disease, it got a hold of me, and it wanted me dead. Because that's not me.

[00:06:00] I'm not that guy. No, you don't... But I was that guy. You seem full of life now. And somebody with a lot of gratitude and appreciation. Just from the small interactions we've had and what I've been able to see on your page and to follow you. So what changed it? What was the moment where... Was that it, where you got picked up by the cops?

[00:06:27] Or was there something else that helped you out there? Yeah, you know, it got to the point where my life was gray. There was no color in anything. And the disease of alcoholism, that's what it does. It's textbook. I didn't find joy in anything. I didn't find anger in anything. I was just numb. Yeah. You know, there was just there existing. And I was tired of that. And I knew that either I quit drinking and found a new identity, or I was either going to end up in prison, or I was going to kill myself.

[00:06:57] Really, there was three options. And so a good friend of mine, 18 months before that, I ran into her and she just looked different. She had a light in her eyes and she looked fresh. And I said, how you been? I haven't seen her in a while. And she's like, I got sober. I found a 12-step group, Alcoholics Anonymous. And that's all she said to me. And so she planted that seed a year and a half before that day. So once I got out of the hospital, I knew that something had to change. And I knew drinking was the problem. So I called her.

[00:07:27] And that night, I went to a 12-step meeting. And the first step is surrendering and finding a higher power. And so I did. I knew that something had to change. And I fully committed to myself that life had to change. And the urge to drink was uplifted immediately. It's insane. They say it in the big book, which is the book from Alcoholics Anonymous, that if you truly surrender, that urge will be lifted.

[00:07:52] And then you get to really work on the hard parts, which is the things I mentioned from my parenting from when I was a young man, the trauma, the coping skills. So alcohol out of the picture. And then it was time to start doing the real work of becoming a healthy dad, mature, a good member of society, really. Yeah. Yeah. So from that, I imagine that's where Canyon Recovery Services came from? Oh, I wish. That was five years ago.

[00:08:21] Canyon had been in the works for about the last two and a half, three years. What happened initially was I really enjoyed public speaking just ever since I was a little guy. And the church that I started going to asked me to speak at their service about addiction because it's not really spoken about in church. You know, people like to be squeaky clean Sunday. And I was pretty raw. I looked pretty rough and I wasn't afraid to tell my story.

[00:08:48] So I just started sharing my trials and the things that I had overcome. And one thing led to another. And I thought that I was going to be helping other men in sobriety, helping them, you know, regain their identity and just salvage their marriage maybe. But that's not the case. What happened was the wives of the men, the mothers of the men, the children of the men started reaching out to me saying, hey, my dad, my son, my husband, they're throwing their life away. Why? What's he doing? Can we help?

[00:09:16] And so I really found out early that people just aren't educated about alcoholism. It's a stigma. If you're an alcoholic, it's bad. You know, get away from me. But the reality is, is that it's a disease. We don't choose this. Sure, we chose to drink. No one forced us to put the bottle to our mouth. I get all that. I used to say the same thing. But it's actually the brain science behind it is we have a different brain than people that aren't addicted. It's a simple fact of science.

[00:09:42] So my passion was to start getting educated and help other family members learn why their loved one is destroying their life and behaving a certain way. And that led me into becoming an interventionist. And what an interventionist does is if a family's in crisis, they call me. I go and I talk to the loved one that's suffering with substance use, mental health, anything. And we try to get that person to treatment. And that treatment can look different for everyone. It can be a 90-day rehab. It can be therapy.

[00:10:11] It can be going to a sober living program. It looks different for everyone. So we just work on that. We get that person where they need to be. And then the fun part starts where I get to start working with the family and teaching them why he behaved this way. And then why you behave that way. Because the family members are often just as sick as the person that has the substance problem. Yeah. So I found that was a really strong passion of mine. And in the same time, in the background, I was learning how to rebuild with my kids. So I have four of them.

[00:10:39] And that relationship was the most important thing to me. So I got to work on myself while helping other families. And at the same time, I found triathlon. I was essentially dared to do a full Ironman. And I did it. I borrowed a bike from a friend. I signed up for the Tempe, Arizona Full Ironman 2019. I'm sorry, 2023. Not 2019. 2023. 2023.

[00:11:07] And for those of you who don't know, an Ironman, it's a 2.4-mile swim. And then it's a 112-mile bike ride. And then it's a full marathon. 26.2-mile run. All back-to-back. Yeah. So prior to that, I'd never even rode a street bike or a road bike. I'd never ran more than a mile or two in my life. Wow. And so, yeah. How much time did you have leading up to this to train for it? Like three months. Wow.

[00:11:36] And can you imagine? I'm in recovery. I've got four kids. I'm trying to make a living. Where I live, it's a resort town. So it's not the cheapest place to live. So when I say three months, the reality was I had about a month and a half of actual training time. Wow. So that first race, that was just grit. That was every step was just like, okay, this is one step further than I've ever been in my life. This is one mile farther than I've ever been, you know? And my kids, that was why I made it through that race. Every step, it was just like, I'm doing this. I can't quit.

[00:12:06] I can't quit. And yeah, that was three years ago. Since then, I've done three full Ironmans and I've done more than a handful of half Ironmans. And I love it. It's just a really fun sport. That's crazy. That's crazy. Yeah. Can I ask you a question about, you had mentioned the brain chemistry and how that leads to alcoholism.

[00:12:26] Is that what leads to any sort of addictive behavior, whether it be gambling or different drug or anything like that? And it just happens to be that alcohol was the thing that got introduced at whatever time that is? Or are there different kind of setups there? Yeah. Without getting too scientific on you, it is. We're different.

[00:12:55] And the reason I say that is because we're all craving a dopamine hit. And so right now, if someone is not an addict, their dopamine level is right here. They feel normal most of the time. And then you get that Instagram like. You get this and your dopamine level kind of goes up a little bit. You feel good. And then you come back to normal, right? Yeah. Because my brain, my dopamine level is down here. I'm constantly wanting to get up to this level, right? Yeah.

[00:13:21] And so my mind is constantly seeking that dopamine, that comfort to get up here. Some people find it in porn. Some people find it in gambling. Some people find it in sex, drugs, whatever. Mine was alcohol because I saw things as a child, you know, that just alcohol looked fun. Yeah. And so I was always striving to get up here. So I took that first drink and it brought me up here, but it also brought me up here. And I mean, I felt really good. But the problem is, is that you come back down. And every time you come back down, you come back down a little farther, a little farther.

[00:13:51] And you're constantly trying to get back to that normal level. Whereas someone that has one drink, they can have it and be normal. And then they go about their day. Addicts, alcoholics, anyone that has that addictive personality, that different brain makeup, we're always chasing it. And it gets lower and lower and lower until eventually you can't get to that normal level. And then that's when rock bottom comes in. That's when that mediocrity, that's when things start really struggling.

[00:14:16] So the best example I've been told is that if you have people, two people in a room, they both smoke some marijuana. And a lot of people get paranoid on marijuana. They just don't like it. You take that same marijuana and the other person loves it. They have a great experience. They're perfectly high. They're laughy. They're giggly. So you have two people, same substance, completely different reactions. The only difference is the mind. And so one is addictive, one is not. It just reacts differently to substances. All right.

[00:14:46] That makes sense. And it's that constant, constant struggle to reach that level of dopamine. Like you said, it takes more every time to get back to that baseline that you're looking for. I imagine explaining it like that to families makes it, it can't ever be easy to understand, but at least shed some light on the reason behind the behavior.

[00:15:12] What's that experience been like for you, helping families kind of get through what you're working through or got through? I don't know the right terminology there. No, you're doing great. So that's the thing that is a struggle with the interventions and working with families is they feel shame and they feel guilt. It's like they could have done more or it's their fault or they caused it. Because as people, you know, as a family, as human beings, we want to nurture. We want to care to some extent. We want to help.

[00:15:41] And so people, they see this person just throwing their life away and they feel inadequate. They feel like they haven't done enough. So the first thing I do is I say, this isn't your fault. You didn't cause this. You can't cure it. All we can do is get educated and love and be supportive. And so by explaining the dopamine, the brain science of it, people seem to understand like, oh, okay. One, it's not his fault. And two, it's not my fault.

[00:16:05] And so, excuse me, that opens the door to learning because they get out of that panic mode. They get out of that enabling mode. And then we start showing them why people behave a certain way, what it does to the brain and how we can overcome it. So with that dopamine example, me personally, I filled that hit with little acts of accomplishment. And then in the case of Iron Man's, big acts of accomplishment. I was going to say that. I get these massive hits. Yeah. Yeah. So I do things.

[00:16:32] I just replaced those bad hits with good hits. And the thing that people don't understand is that a big part of recovery, a big part of 12 steps is service. So an act of service, simply holding a door open for someone, that gets you a little spike of dopamine hit. And so fitness, eating a healthy meal, doing something nice, putting on a nice shirt, those are all things that fill that dopamine void. And so I created Canyon Recovery Services as a place to teach young men how to fill that in a healthy way.

[00:17:01] And so we're not a sober living house by any means. What we are is we're an adulting program for young men with addiction issues. And so they've already either been to treatment, they've worked with therapists, with counselors, they know the things that they need to work on. And we carry that torch into our program. So we have fly fishing, wake surfing, golfing, all these things that as guys learn to do, they're getting a dopamine hit and they're learning how to live in sobriety. They're filling things without that negativity.

[00:17:31] And then at the same token, we teach them how to do the things that my parents taught me, which I mentioned earlier, iron a shirt. When you're on a date, guys, take your date and move her to the non-busy side of the sidewalk. Get her away from traffic. Hold her hand. They notice those things. And so, yeah, is that going to land you a second date? Maybe, maybe not. But it gives you that flex. It lets you know that you're the elite in that dating world. In the competition, you blow the guys away just for those little things because girls notice that.

[00:18:00] And that's kind of a joking thing. But we teach guys those things so that they feel like they've accomplished something. And they don't have to go, you know, buy a bottle of Jack or go, you know, all the negative things that we used to do. We teach them a new way to live, create a new identity. I like that. And it's stacking those little, everyone thinks like, oh, to be, to have a successful day or whatever it is, I have to accomplish this grand thing or this incredible thing.

[00:18:28] And a lot of them, starting your day, making your bed is an accomplishment, you know, and it doesn't happen every day. I'm not going to lie. But, you know, when you do those little tiny things, those little wins definitely add up to being more productive. And I wish I remember who said it when they were on here. But it was, if you can do something in two minutes or less, you do it right that second. And then when you get in the habit of those things, those add up.

[00:18:56] And that's, I think, an important thing for people to understand. So I love that you're teaching people then how to, how to fill that void that, that is left when, I guess, you remove the alcohol piece of things with much more productive things that make you feel good. As opposed to, like you said, waking up the next morning, you know, regretting the night before. Now it's, you're filling that void with a lot of good things.

[00:19:25] Well, the thing that we like to do is, one, keep it simple. Everything is so overcomplicated these days. We're bombarded with the latest and greatest. Do this, do this to get better. Let's break it down. Let's keep things simple. And there's something that I like to use. It's called HALT, the HALT method. And that's H-A-L-T.

[00:19:47] And I learned this early on in sobriety by a mentor of mine, where I'm starting, if I'm starting to feel agitated, discontented, if I'm just, if I'm just off, I stop and I say HALT. Okay, H, am I hungry? Yes, usually I'm hungry. A, am I angry at something? Did someone wrong me? Eh, maybe not. L, am I lonely? Yeah, that could be. C, am I tired? Yes, I am exhausted.

[00:20:13] So, I found that I'm hungry and I'm tired, therefore I'm grouchy right now. It has nothing to do with the narrative that's going on in my mind or all the things that might or might not be going on. It's usually broken down into some pretty simple things. So, once I identify it, once I give it a name, I'm able to think about it and be like, oh, all right. And then my mind goes to thinking about something positive because I'm choosing that. So, we don't have to complicate things. If you're starting to feel a little sore, a little stoved up, have you gone running in a week? Have you been doing your strength training?

[00:20:44] Oh, no. But, okay, there's the solution. Yeah. Just lace your shoes up. That's the hardest thing. Lace your shoes up and you've already done the hard work. Now, go walk around the block. So, we try to keep things as simple as possible. You know, are you not sleeping at night? Well, how late did you have your cup of coffee? Oh, it was like 8.30. Well, okay. You're probably not helping yourself with all that caffeine. When did you put your phone down? When did you, you know? Put your phone down. Jeez, that's the biggest one. Yeah.

[00:21:12] So, we strip things down to their most simple form because that's all it really takes. We don't need to overcomplicate this. And if you just don't drink for 24 hours, you can start working on the HALT method. You can start kicking butt doing Ironmans and doing all the things that alcohol numbed you from. And I like you said using the HALT technique for yourself, but it also works when somebody else has done something that might bother you. And you're like, well, wait a minute. What are they dealing with right now?

[00:21:38] Because everybody tries to put on that, you know, the Sunday best where everything looks perfect, but nobody's feeling that every second of the day. Like, we all have the struggles that we hide from everybody else. So, if you're willing to look at it and think, all right, you know, the guy cut me off in traffic, like, that's annoying. But maybe they're late for a meeting or maybe they got to rush to the hospital or maybe just having a crappy day. And, you know, me laying on the horn and flipping them the bird isn't really going to make things better for anybody.

[00:22:08] You know? No. I had looked into oxytocin. Yes, that's the one it is. That's another – it's not dopamine, but it feels the same sort of way. And there were three ways to raise that level. One was, like, performing an act of kindness to somebody else. So, you know, buy a cup of coffee, something like that. Somebody does something nice for you.

[00:22:33] Or if you witness somebody doing something nice, all three of those things will raise the level. And then increase the likelihood of it happening again. So, it's – those little kindnesses have a profound effect for just everybody around. Have you found the people that you've surrounded yourself have changed over the last few years? Yeah.

[00:23:01] So, in sobriety, they say all you have to change is everything. And that includes your friends, your circles. And there's something that I like to tell my kids is really it's like if you want to see your future, show me your friends. Yep. I love that one. If you hang out with five smokers, you're going to be the sixth smoker. So, yeah. Have I had to change? Absolutely. And that's been a – it's been a hard point in this little town that I live in. And I've been outcasted a little bit because there are certain groups that maybe think I'm better than them because I found God.

[00:23:30] I started going to church. I'm not drinking anymore. And that's okay. That's on them. They have no bearing on my recovery and they have no bearing on the relationship I'm building with my kids. So, to answer your question, yes, I've had to change almost everyone I've hung out with. And even best friends – I have a pretty small circle to start out with – but even best friends that I've known since childhood have kind of gone away a little bit. And that's fine. It's all right. It just happens. So, in order to change your lifestyle, you have to change your identity.

[00:24:00] That means you can't be going to the bar anymore because you will get tempted. And if – I mean, the odds of you staying sober with still going and hanging out in the same circles you ran with are very, very slim. Sobriety is a very small percentage as it is. So, you might as well increase your odds as much as you can. And that means changing your identity. You have to change your friends. But one good thing – I know there probably have been some tough times with that too.

[00:24:28] But, you know, there's a chance those friends in a year or two, just like with you, remembering 18 months prior, that woman that, you know, the person you haven't seen, you know, maybe they hit that mark and they're like, oh, I got to call Ty. I got to figure out how he did this. And then, you know, that would be pretty amazing. Hopefully that comes back full circle for you with some of those guys. It has. It has every day. And I see a lot of my kids' friends, their parents, they ask little questions.

[00:24:58] Well, how'd you do it? Did you do 30 days? Or that Ironman, you know, how long were you training? They want little snippets of it. They want to know a little bit more about my world and what I've been doing. And I'll tell anyone anything. But it's – I don't like to just brag and I certainly don't like to offer advice to people that don't ask for it. So you can see people that are curious and it's a lot of fun being that guy. And right there, that's a dopamine hit. That's giving me that little flex of like, yeah. Like that wasn't me five years ago. I'll tell you that much.

[00:25:27] So, no, it's cool. And the acts of kindness, the people that I do surround myself with, that's just a normal thing. When I see people at the grocery store in recovery, it's a genuine smile. It's a genuine walk up and a hug and how are you? Whereas a lot of my relationships before, the friends that I, you know, had to leave behind, they're not my friends. It's gossip. It's this and that. In recovery, I found people that are like-minded and have a love of God, higher power, whatever you want to call it.

[00:25:56] And it's genuine. It's real. And opening the door for someone is just second nature. You know? Yeah. We understand what it takes. So it's been the biggest blessing of my life. And now I get to hand it off to my kids. That's awesome. I keep looking over there because my 16-year-old son's sleeping on the couch. It's summer break. So when I talk about my kids, I keep pointing that way. It's the best. The best life ever. That is awesome. That is awesome. I've seen this real. Probably because I shared it with people. I get the similar ones that keep popping up.

[00:26:24] But it's like, you know, you're my, like, it's something like you've got a few of those friends where you hang up the phone and you go, love you, bro. And then that's it. And it's like, all right, yeah, you got a few of those ones there, which is important to have, though. The social aspect, I don't think gets talked about enough. You said the L for halt, loneliness. That can get you. That can get you real good.

[00:26:49] So I think having those friends in that circle, even if it changes, even if it gets smaller, having those important people in your life is big. Yeah, I'll touch on that. The two biggest causes of relapse are resentment and isolation. And so what happens is, as alcoholics, and I'll just speak for alcoholics in particular because that's my background, is I like to isolate. I like to be my own guy. And in the old days, that was when I would drink. I wasn't a bar drinker. I wasn't going out throwing parties, whatever.

[00:27:19] I would just go home, get a bottle of tequila and pass out. Like, that was just what I liked to do. And so I had to change that habit. And so with my 12-step group, that's my new tribe. And I go hang out with them during meetings. Occasionally, we'll go get a meal. But I still enjoy my quiet time. But I have to strike that balance of like, okay, am I isolating too much? Because then you start falling into old habits. And then you start thinking about other people and things that have been done to you. You've been wrong, but then that leads to resentments.

[00:27:48] So yeah, so the social aspect is very big. I'm not saying you have to be a social butterfly because I certainly haven't been. I enjoy my training sessions. It's my alone time. I can think, but you can't actually, you have to find that circle of friends, like we discussed, that are like-minded and want the same thing out of life that you do. So very important, the social aspect. Are you familiar with Andrew Huberman from Stanford?

[00:28:11] He's a neuroscientist and has done a lot of studying the brain on the effects of different things. And one of the things he has said that having somebody that you could text in the morning like, hey, I hope you have a great day today. Just that initial connection does so much for you mentally with just starting your day off on the right foot.

[00:28:36] And that was one of the things he recommended if you're feeling that isolation and that loneliness is just send a message to a buddy or get somebody. It's like, hey, I'm going to text you in the morning every day. So just get ready for it. And having somebody to support you with something as simple as that can have a big effect. So what's next for you? Are you sticking with Ironmans? Are we going to see ultramarathons coming your way?

[00:29:05] What sort of challenges are you doing for yourself here? Oh, boy. No, ultras actually look insane to me. Whoever can do a 100 miler, that's very impressive. I'm not a runner by nature. My knees just don't enjoy it. And they scream at me every step of the way. So the thought of doing an ultra is beyond anything. Yeah, I've got quite a few more Ironmans in me. And I'm excited as my kids get a little older and they demand a little less of my time.

[00:29:35] I can actually start training to compete. Because at this point, I just train to finish them and have fun with it. You know, cross the finish line with a smile. So as things get older, I'll progress and increase my training to where in my age group, I'll start hopefully placing a little bit. But what's next? I've got Canyon Recovery Services, which is our adulting program. We've got one house going in McCall, Idaho right now.

[00:29:58] And then I would really be surprised if you don't see me within a year hosting family retreats. So what we're going to do is we're in a beautiful location here in the mountains, the lake, all that. And like I said earlier, the families, that's my real passion. So as it sits, there really aren't retreats for people of people in recovery, family members of people in recovery. So what we do is we get them up.

[00:30:24] We do an intensive with therapists and explain all the things I said is that the dopamine, why they're behaving this way. It's not your fault. Here's how you deal with it in the future. Ideally, your loved ones stay sober. Sometimes they relapse. It's just a fact of this addiction. So what do you do when that happens? What do you do moving forward? Because you have to stay healthy regardless of whether or not your son, your husband, your husband, whatever. Whatever their path is, that's their path. You need to start taking care of you.

[00:30:53] So within a year, I would love to have had at least one retreat held up here and continue in the business of recovery. Public speaking is a big passion of mine. I'd love to get on some podiums and express and share my experiences and the things that I've done in my own recovery and continue being a dad. I love Rockstar in this thing. My kids love me. I love them. We have a ton of fun. In fact, in two hours, we're loading up in a rental minivan. We're driving to California, going to do a Disneyland weekend.

[00:31:23] So it's going to be a lot of fun. How long is that trip for you guys? It's a 15-hour drive. Wow. Wow. But we drive. We're road warriors. We love that. I love that windshield time with my kids. We goof off. And just in 15 hours of that car, I'll learn more than I have in the last year. Oh, yeah. When they're in the car, they can't get away, and they're stuck talking to you. That's awesome. Yeah. That's awesome. So that's my life in a nutshell. Kids, work, and recovery. And God.

[00:31:53] I can't say it enough. I'm not a preachy guy. I'm not a Bible thumper. But I will say that none of this was possible without a higher power. And that's premise number one in recovery. And it's worked for me. Here's five years later. That's considered long-term recovery. And I have my moments. I certainly stumble. But my overall trajectory is pretty positive. And it's eons better than anything I could have ever dreamed. Well, Ty, I think that's awesome. That's awesome.

[00:32:22] The story you told, seeing where you are now. I know this is the first time we've spoken, but it's awesome to see. It really, it's inspirational. And I'm glad people will get a chance to listen to this. And everybody has people in their lives that need a little help. And how can people get in touch with you? What would be the best way to go about that? Yeah, so you can call me directly.

[00:32:51] I'm assuming we can put my phone number somewhere. Yeah, yeah, I'll put everything in the show notes. Yeah, so post my phone number, my email address. Our website is canyonrecoveryservices.com. My contact info is on there. And I answer the phone. I'm in missions. I speak directly to the families. I speak directly to the person that might be interested in recovery. And I love talking. I love sharing my experiences and hopefully coming up with a solution for whatever you have. So phone, email, text, you got me. Awesome. Awesome.

[00:33:20] Well, Ty, thank you so much. I know you probably got, you have to pack and get ready to go and maybe wake your son up off the couch. I don't want to keep you too long. Yeah, good luck with that. Yeah. But thank you. I really, really appreciate you taking the time. And I'll put everything in the show notes. And thank you. Thank you, everybody, for listening. Ty, thank you. My pleasure. My pleasure.