Life After Pawning My Wife’s Wedding Ring To Buy Coke and Running My Multimillion Dollar Company Into the Ground

Growing up in Spring, Texas, Jordan was a standout student and star athlete. Raised in a supportive, yet strict household, he excelled in sports and academics, graduated near the top of his class, and was inducted into his high school’s Hall of Fame for football.While attending Cornell University on a football scholarship, sports injuries shifted his focus from athletics to cocaine, ketamine, and marijuana. After graduation, he moved to Miami for law school and a master’s in sports administration. Cocaine addiction became a daily reality, even as he finished near the top of his class. Moving back home to Texas, he clerked at a law firm but failed the bar exam after hiding out in a hotel room for 3 months to “study,” only to write his name on the test and walk out. Rather than try it again, he went to work in real estate, homebuilding, and briefly for the Houston Texans, but his addiction led to repeated firings.After he got married in 2015 and had a daughter in 2017, his substance use continued. Within a year, Jordan ran a multimillion-dollar homebuilding company into the ground, overdosed multiple times, and pawned his family’s most valuable possessions including his wife’s wedding ring.  In a last ditch effort to start over he moved to a new city, but the cycle of job loss and relapse persisted.In 2020, Jordan entered detox and rehab, relapsed one more time while on campus, then finally achieved lasting sobriety in March. Two years later, he was hired as alumni director at the same facility where he completed treatment and now works in addiction recovery to help others rebuild their lives.GUESTJordan HaseSenior Clinical Liaison - Business Development at Sunshine Behavioral HealthJordan grew up in Spring, Texas, and attended Cornell on a football scholarship before addiction derailed his career. After entering treatment in 2020, he found lasting recovery and purpose. He now serves as Senior Clinical Liaison – Business Development at Sunshine Behavioral Health, helping others access life-changing care.Connect with Jordan on LinkedInLearn more about Sunshine Behavioral HealthMatt Handy is the founder of Harmony Grove Behavioral Health in Houston, Texas, where their mission is to provide compassionate, evidence-based care for anyone facing addiction, mental health challenges, and co-occurring disorders.Find out more at harmonygrovebh.com  My Last Relapse explores what everyone is thinking but no one is saying about addiction and recovery through conversations with those whose lives have changed.For anyone disillusioned with traditional recovery and feeling left out, misunderstood, or weighed down by unrealistic expectations, this podcast looks ahead—rejecting the lies and dogma that keep people from imagining life without using.Got a question for us? Leave us a message or voicemail at mylastrelapse.comFind us on YouTube @MyLastRelapse and follow Matt on Instagram @matthew.handy.17About Harmony Grove Behavioral Health Harmony Grove delivers outpatient addiction and mental health treatment focused on wellness, creativity, and authentic human connection—providing a supportive space for healing that extends beyond traditional clinical care.Harmony Grove’s IOP in Houston, Texas, is more than a program; it’s a lifeline for those ready to take the next step in their recovery. We are ready to meet you where you are and find your unique path to change. If you’re feeling overwhelmed or struggling, you don’t have to face it alone. Reaching out for support is a sign of strength, and help is always available. If you or anyone you know needs help, give us a call 24 hours a day at 844-430-3060.Host: Matthew HandyProducer: Eva SheieAssistant Producers: Mary Ellen Clarkson & Hannah BurkhartEngineering: Voltage FM, Spencer ClarksonTheme music: Survive The Tide, Machina AeonCover Art:  DMARKMy Last Relapse is a production of Kind Creative: kindcreative.comQuestions this episode answers:How does a high school Wall of Fame athlete with a 4.41 forty end up with an addiction story?Why does getting married at 35 sometimes mark the beginning of a spiral rather than stability?What does addiction look like when the exterior — the accolades, the athletic history — stays intact?How do you walk back into your high school to be honored while carrying a recovery story most people don't know?What does it take to rebuild identity when the thing you were known for — speed, sport, performance — is behind you?