What does recovery really look like when it’s rooted in connection, service, and meeting people exactly where they are?

In this episode of Broken-ish, we sit down with Angie, Executive Director of Peer 180, the largest recovery community organization on Colorado’s Western Slope, to talk about the long road from survival to service.

Angie’s story starts far from where she is today. At 19 years old, newly sober and running from guns, gangs, and chaos in Detroit, she believed staying clean was enough. What she learned instead was that recovery is about far more than abstinence. It’s about relationships, purpose, and belonging.

Through gang involvement, cross-country moves, near-misses, and relentless internal battles, Angie never picked up a drink or a drug. What carried her through was service. Showing up for others when her own life felt unsteady became the foundation of her recovery and eventually her life’s work.

In this conversation, we explore:

• Why sobriety alone isn’t always enough
• The power and limits of traditional 12-step recovery
• What “meeting people where they’re at” actually looks like in real life
• Peer-led recovery and why hierarchy can get in the way of healing
• How Peer 180 grew from a volunteer effort into a thriving community hub
• Why dignity, choice, and inclusion save lives
• And how connection, not correction, creates lasting change

This episode is honest, nuanced, and deeply human. It challenges rigid ideas about recovery while honoring what works. It’s about walking with people instead of telling them where they should be.

Whether you’re in recovery, love someone who is, or work in mental health or addiction treatment, this conversation will change the way you think about healing, community, and hope

In this episode of Broken-ish, we move out of the heaviness and into the hope. Not the fake, motivational quote kind. The real kind that comes from doing hard things, telling the truth, and staying in the work long enough to see something take shape.

Using Tupac’s The Rose That Grew from Concrete as a backdrop, we get into what happens when passion and purpose finally line up, and why most people don’t “find” their passion at all. They build it through service, skill, relationships, and repetition.

We talk about:

• Why living only in self-reflection can keep you stuck
• How helping one person can turn into helping thousands
• The role ambition plays without turning into ego
• Why relationships matter more than credentials or modalities
• What it really means to build trust, culture, and impact
• And how meaningful work often grows out of uncomfortable seasons

This is a raw conversation about leadership, growth, helping others, and building something that actually matters. In life, in business, and in recovery.

If you have ever felt stuck in the concrete If you are questioning your purpose If you want to help people but also want more for your life If you are building something and feeling the weight of it

This episode is for you.

We are not broken. We are broken-ish. And something real is growing.

What happens when an idea turns into something real? When comfort disappears and growth takes its place?

In this end-of-year episode of Broken-ish, we sit down to reflect on everything 2025 brought, both personally and professionally.

We start light with a surprisingly passionate debate about The Nightmare Before Christmas, then move into deeper conversations about fantasy vs realism, creativity, and how those same themes show up in real life.

From there, we unpack what it actually looked like to build Ava Health from the ground up in one year. The wins, the chaos, the late nights, the lessons, and the moments where everything felt uncertain.

In this episode, we talk about: • Going from an idea to a fully functioning organization • Building culture, trust, and alignment without traditional recruiting • Leadership, identity, and learning to stay present • Fatherhood, relationships, sobriety, and personal growth • Letting go of routine and learning how to adapt in real time

This isn’t a highlight reel or a motivational speech. It’s an honest reflection on building while becoming, and what growth actually costs when you’re in it.

If you’re building something, navigating change, or trying to figure out your next chapter, this conversation will resonate.

Drop a comment and tell us if you’re more Tim Burton or Christopher Nolan. Like, subscribe, and share if this episode hit for you.