From Running Drugs To Teaching At USC 31 Years Sober w Gregg Champion | The Hopeaholics Podcast #351

Gregg Champion's father was killed in a head-on collision with another drunk driver when Gregg was 4. He grew up angry, filled that with alcohol and attention, and spent his 20s collecting DUIs, assaults, a marijuana trafficking operation out of a van, and two arrests in the same 24-hour stretch at Mardi Gras. He got sober at 25, went back and finished his ASU degree sober with a 4.0, sits on the Arizona State Alumni Leadership Council, taught entrepreneurship at USC, and is 30+ years sober.This episode covers the childhood trauma he carried alone for decades. The night at he woke up in a jail cell, found a Catholic church in the phone book, and sat down in front of a priest named Father Bill — who turned out to be his stepfather's sponsor — and who sent him to his first meeting. He built Startup Recovery and Wellness over nine years and three sober living homes in the Pacific Palisades. In that same stretch he also lost his mom to Alzheimer's, his sister to suicide, went bankrupt in 2008, and watched the January 7, 2025 fires burn all three houses to the ground. He's still standing.Follow the Hopeaholics on our Socials:https://www.instagram.com/thehopeaholics https://linktr.ee/thehopeaholicsGo to www.Wolfpak.com today and support our sponsors. Don't forget to use code: HOPEAHOLICSPODCAST for 10% off!Visit our Treatment Centers: https://www.hopebythesea.comIf you or a loved one needs help, please call or text 949-615-8588. We have the resources to treat mental health and addiction. Sponsored by the Infiniti Group LLC:https://www.infinitigroupllc.com Join our patreon to get access to an EXTRA EPISODE every week of ‘Off the Record’, exclusive content, a thriving recovery community, and opportunities to be featured on the podcast. https://patreon.com/TheHopeaholics Our Merch: https://thehopeaholics.myshopify.com#TheHopeaholics #redemption #recovery #AlcoholAddiction #AddictionRecovery #wedorecover #SobrietyJourney #MyStory #Hope #wedorecover #treatmentcenter #natalieevamarie0:00 Cold open0:38 Intro1:07 Gregg Champion7:14 31 years sober and still working on it10:26 The seven-year itch: three years without AA and no sponsor13:42 Being a girl dad in recovery — why he shares it out loud17:17 His father was killed in a drunk-on-drunk collision18:01 Becoming what killed his father18:49 Attention as the first substitute20:23 A secret he carried since he was eight22:33 Age 13 to 25: Arizona State, six credits short, and a rampage23:16 Going back to finish his degree sober now on the ASU Alumni Leadership Council24:15 Lost sister to suicide, mom to Alzheimer's, bankrupt in 2008, Palisades fires24:38 Getting sober at 25: DUIs, assaults, two Mardi Gras arrests29:13 Running weed out east32:20 Waking up in a jail cell and hearing a voice say his name33:17 He finds the nearest Catholic church in the phone book34:21 Father Bill36:20 Father Bill turned out to be his stepfather's sponsor41:36 His daughter asks: "Papa, have you ever been to jail?"47:25 Teaching entrepreneurship at USC57:48 The TED Talk he bombed59:11 Couples counseling: finding the therapist with 25 years in Al-Anon1:00:37 What year ten of sobriety demands: going a level deeper1:06:34 The Recovery Playbook: sober, now what?1:08:22 The thing he relapsed over but never fully faced1:15:35 Breaking the cycle: giving his daughters the life he didn't have