From Trauma to Momentum: One Small Rep at a Time | This Week's Sh!t Creek

What if getting your life back on track worked a lot like getting stronger in the gym?Each rep can be painful. Each rep can be uncomfortable. But each rep can also make you stronger.In this episode of Sh!t Creek Survivors, Cam sits down with musician, author, entrepreneur, and lifelong fitness enthusiast Ben Barbic to talk about childhood trauma, anxiety, panic attacks, addiction, recovery, resilience, and rebuilding your life through small, consistent actions.Ben shares how losing his family's business and home as a child shaped his life, how buried emotions followed him into adulthood, and how anxiety, panic, drinking, legal trouble, and destructive habits eventually left him searching for a way forward.A turning point came on Ben's 28th birthday, when he came home from jail and heard a message from his son and girlfriend on a teddy bear. That moment forced him to confront the life he was living and begin rebuilding it.Therapy, meditation, fitness, running, school, music, writing, and fatherhood became part of that rebuild.But Ben discovered something important: you don't change your life in one giant moment.You put in the reps.One conversation. One workout. One page. One meditation. One decision to try again.Each rep starts to create momentum.Cam and Ben discuss trauma recovery, anxiety, self-criticism, personal responsibility, overcoming adversity, resilience, and why setbacks don't have to define the rest of your story.If you're stuck or struggling to get your life moving in the right direction, this conversation offers a simple place to start:Find your next rep. And do it.ABOUT BEN BARBICBen Barbic is a musician, recording artist, author, entrepreneur, and lifelong fitness enthusiast.His memoir, Rise & Climb: Finding Purpose Through Pain, tells the story of rebuilding a life through music, discipline, and fatherhood after years of loss, panic, and personal collapse.Ben narrates the audiobook himself and weaves original music throughout the story. The Rise & Climb soundtrack album is scheduled for release October 15, 2026.CONNECT WITH BENWebsite: www.risenclimb.comX: www.x.com/benbarbicInstagram: www.instagram.com/benbarbicSpotify: Ben BarbicBook: Rise & Climb: Finding Purpose Through PainCHAPTERS00:00 Introduction00:57 Who Ben Is Today01:53 Finding the Origin of His Sh!t Creek02:23 Losing the Family Business and Home03:07 Discovering Music as an Escape03:37 Earthquake, Panic, and Anxiety04:36 Learning Not to Trust Safety05:43 When Trauma Feels Normal06:58 Burying Emotions09:00 From Surviving to Wanting More10:27 Shame and Legal Trouble12:16 Therapy13:44 Meditation14:43 Building Small Habits15:34 Creating Momentum17:35 Training the Mind Like a Muscle18:50 The Power of Small Reps21:02 Writing the Book One Paragraph at a Time23:46 Losing His Way in His Twenties24:24 Jail on His 28th Birthday25:27 The Teddy Bear Message26:22 Rebuilding His Life27:21 School, Therapy, Fitness, and Music28:15 Why Setbacks Don't Define You29:15 Building Multiple Pillars32:47 Learning Self-Love34:14 Breaking the Self-Criticism Loop37:36 His Last Panic Attack39:44 Talking About Pain41:25 Turning Hard Years Into Education45:25 Advice for Someone Still in the Mud48:04 Taking Initiative49:29 Finding Rise & ClimbABOUT SH!T CREEK SURVIVORSWe believe one thing: everyone has a Sh!t Creek story.The good news is, no one has to stay there.Every week, we share real stories, real paddles, and real hope for finding your way through.Listen, follow, and join us as we figure out how to keep paddling.