Mocktails Or Messy
Mocktails Or Messy
#62: I Got Sober While Building a Wine Company
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A blackout, a parked car, and the sentence that rewired everything with Jason B. Grant of Medici Importers Global.
“You’re never going to be alone again.” That line broke through the static in Jason B. Grant’s head and marked the final day he wanted to drink. From there, everything changed, his purpose, his business, and his peace.
We sit with Jason, a five-plus-year sober entrepreneur who runs Medici Importers Global, to unpack what it really takes to rewire a life. He explains why he never had “just a drinking problem,” but a thinking problem, and how metacognition—stepping outside your thought to ask why it’s there—became his everyday tool. We dig into the food-and-beverage grind, the spiritual experience that ended cravings, and the surprising edge sobriety gave him curating wines by aroma and story. He talks boundaries in dating, recognizing the moment people “switch,” and how to leave without apology.
You’ll also hear a clear, practical meditation routine that delivers a better high than any buzz: harmony between thoughts and actions. We explore culture shifts, Gen Z cutting back, mocktails rising while being honest about triggers, sugar bombs, and why some non-alcoholic spirits can pull you toward old patterns. Jason shares a cautionary tale about a “virgin” drink that wasn’t and why venues must protect newcomers. Through it all runs a throughline of service, presence, and language used precisely to tell the truth.
If you’re sober, sober curious, or simply ready to stop letting your thoughts run you, this conversation offers tools you can use today: pause in the moment, ask the harder question, and choose again. Subscribe, share with a friend who needs hope, and leave a review with the one mindset shift you’re taking into your week.
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To analyze why you're thinking something is called metacaudition. So it's stepping out of the thought and analyzing the thought. I don't work out at all. I play tennis a lot and I get a high from this conversation with self-destructive, hated my self-loathing, you know. I shouldn't laugh. Bad self-image. Yeah. It it's a nervous chuckle. It's fine. Yeah. Um, but it's similar to that one. Did you miss the joke?
SPEAKER_00:Well, you were supposed to laugh.
SPEAKER_01:What the frick, dude? That's like an awesome joke.
SPEAKER_05:I have heard so many people say that joke.
SPEAKER_01:Oh, really? Yeah.
SPEAKER_05:I never heard that joke.
SPEAKER_01:So I didn't have a drinking problem. I had a thinking problem. I interpreted the world incorrectly because it was supposed to serve me. If it wasn't fitting the box that I wanted it to fit, I was unhappy.
SPEAKER_06:She still wants to have it with dinner. And right now we're going through that phase of my sobriety that I'm just so disgusted by it.
SPEAKER_01:Like you could be disgusted by it. So the lingering reservation is I wish I could still drink.
SPEAKER_06:Me too. Yeah. Not me.
SPEAKER_01:And I didn't have that. Because I knew I was living in contradiction to what my purpose was.
SPEAKER_06:There is no safe amount of alcohol to consume.
SPEAKER_01:I mean, safe in the terms that like it's damaging your body and the poison. Yeah. People aren't honest with themselves based on what? Fear. Fear of change. Fear of being exposed. Fear of being honest.
SPEAKER_02:When I'm drinking like margaritas, though, then I go crazy.
SPEAKER_01:No, it's like why he cocked his body to look at me. And I'm like, what the hell is this guy doing? So I cock my body to look at him. And he says, son, I'm going to tell you three things.
SPEAKER_06:Guys. This is Mocktails or Messi. And you are listening to Ryan Frankowski.
SPEAKER_02:And guess who's back? It's me.
SPEAKER_06:Kelly's back in the studio. And we have Jason B. Grant. Hi, Jason. Hi. Nice to meet you guys. We are so grateful to have Jason B. Grant in the studio. He is a man of many titles. Can you give us a little rundown?
SPEAKER_01:Sure. Um, so first and foremost, I am a uh sober individual, um, five plus years, and uh uh currently I own a company called Medici Importers Global, which is a boutique fine wine and food import company and distribution company, uh, primarily focused on Italian products.
SPEAKER_04:Nice.
SPEAKER_01:And it's based here in Pittsburgh.
SPEAKER_04:That's wild.
SPEAKER_01:Um, and none of it would have been possible unless I uh put down a bottle.
SPEAKER_06:Thank God. Amen to that. I am two years sober, Jason. So we have that in common. When I first saw your interview on KDKA. Yeah, Rob Pratt. Have an interview with Rob Pratt.
SPEAKER_01:We did that two Saturdays ago.
SPEAKER_06:Yeah, and it's a conflicting argument because in the, you know, Kelly's sober curious, I'm sober, and you know, we really have this like duality, like where she loves her like Vino at night. So we thought that it was the perfect fit, you know, the wine connoisseur distribution guy from Italy, and you're also sober. So that's very contradicting. Can you explain that?
SPEAKER_01:Um, yeah, I can explain it uh pretty simply. A matter of fact, that Rob Pratt interview initially it was supposed to be um about my company. Yeah, Medici. And I was you know, a little bit of promo. Um but it quickly turned into um a conversation about sobriety. And for me, uh that was an easy, like, let's just forget about the company. If we can affect one person's life in a positive way, that is the ultimate kind of responsibility and contract with the universe that I signed when I became sober. So if there's somebody that can be helped, then uh then I'm here for it. Um, so how does that work? Um, I was in food and beverage for a very long time. And as most people know, the food and beverage industry is wrought with um uh addiction problems and other things, and uh just because of the lifestyle, you know. Yeah. Um we both were in it.
SPEAKER_06:We've been bartenders, servers, okay after work, like you know, so you shot in the beer before before the last guest leaves, you know.
SPEAKER_01:So I was a uh director of operations for a small group here in Pittsburgh, and um I was get I was we're talking 2020, early 2020, and um things got really ugly um for me. Um and we can get into that in a little bit, but um I had reached the end of my drinking career. I'm at the max fill limit. This body can take no more. Um, but uh so afterwards, um, it was COVID, right? So the world shut down.
SPEAKER_03:Yeah.
SPEAKER_01:And my interpretation was uh the universe shut the world down so that I could get sober. And that was the clue I took. That's the attitude I took. So it was like a beautiful thing. It was like all stars aligning for me to change my life. So some time passed. We reopened one of the stores. I focused on um selling wine uh only. Um I was I wanted to quit. My owner, I'm very loyal to him. He gave me the opportunity to get sober. And uh he said, just focus on selling wine. And I excelled. We we sold um uh out of one store, one restaurant, one million dollars in bottles of wine. And that was in how many years? One year, 2022. So it was so infathomable. We were number, so the Rivers Casino bought the most in Allegheny County, then the Duquesne Club, then I think Capitol Grill, and then us, which was uh mind blowing. So I wanted to quit, I wanted to quit, and I and I saw a window of opportunity um in the market uh to do something different than the big guys. The big guys were kind of just like um looking at me like a sale and no personal genuine care and concern for me as a business operator. And so I I flipped it. You know, I was like, I'm gonna do everything I can for the cut the business and think of myself last and uh put you know a gen like I can't we can repeat it, genuine care and concern for somebody else's um uh business. And the money is um is a byproduct of doing the right thing. So the synergy, so I'm sober, right? And I am spiritually connected, so there's no temptation for me, and I can get into that a little bit later. But people who are tempted should not be doing what I'm doing. Right. Um that's what it is. So I interact, so the I started the company because first my sobriety was stable based on being a spiritually connected person. Then I saw a window of opportunity for a new business and I knew the product intimately. So I drank for 36 years straight. I powered it. Yeah, right. And um, I have the ability to uh characterize and profile wine far better than I ever did uh drinking it by just smelling it.
SPEAKER_04:Yeah.
SPEAKER_01:So when I can when somebody when I test wine to see if it's gonna be fit for my portfolio, I smell it.
SPEAKER_02:You do, okay.
SPEAKER_01:And I don't sip it. Okay, I can tell you more specifically what it tastes like by smelling it now than I ever did. That's impressive.
SPEAKER_02:That's like a superpower.
SPEAKER_01:Are you like a dog to canine? Right, right. Well, I mean, a lot of things happen when you get sober. Like uh, there are a lot of things that are dog like uh like libido goes up to the body. Oh my god.
SPEAKER_06:I mean, I feel like addictions just shift. Yeah, you know.
SPEAKER_01:No, no, no, no. But like I was 232 pounds. I was a big, fat, bloated mess.
SPEAKER_06:You know what? I saw that it I didn't even recognize you. You look like you were like 10 years older with the weight.
SPEAKER_01:It's it's profound what the transition to somebody can take. There is nothing that is impossible in this life.
SPEAKER_06:Well, you definitely are like my new idol mentor, truthfully, because I am struggling the first year sober. I was totally fine with it. I could be around it. I wanted her to drink, I wanted people to drink and be fine with it. I was just so like kind of away from it. And then the second year, I feel like it was harder for me, like which I'm now two years, and I'm like, I don't want to like dip back into it, but I feel like I just kind of have to remove myself from it. So I give you a lot of kudos that you have a business and you're like involved with everyone who's drinking around you. Now, is it hard to be around alcoholic drunks?
SPEAKER_01:Yeah, yeah. So that very specific, like, well, yeah. So um it doesn't bother me when everybody is drinking. The moment um they get semi-sloppy or switch, then I'm like, okay, I'm about out. You're gonna like dip out. And then the worst result is dating and who is my partner. Yeah, and I learned the hard way. Um, and that so I had been single for 13 years, 10 of which I was undateable because I was a big fat bloated mess, self-destructive, hated my self-loathing, you know. I shouldn't laugh. Bad self-image. Yeah, it's it's a nervous chuckle, it's fine. Yeah, um, but it's similar to that one. Um but uh Kelly's being like very understanding and no, no, so and then I you get involved because you're lonely, right? But you feel like you're ready and you overlook red flags, and you overlook things because part of you is still needy in the sense that like I need affection, I need um uh adoration, or not adoration, but um acceptance. And so I got involved with the wrong person. And initially I would recognize I was like, okay, I cannot date you anymore if you're gonna smell like wine every day. Yeah, because it's on your breath, right? And I knew myself well enough to know that that's not gonna work. Right. So she abridged her, uh abbreviated her drinking and adjusted, but it was always an issue. Like, we go out. Uh can I have another glass of wine? I'm like, oh shit, why is she asking me? This is uncomfortable. Like, and then two years pass, and um even though I couldn't, so it's a very interesting concept. The universe gives you signals and signs of when to proceed and when not to proceed. So I ignored the signs to not proceed. Then the universe said, you know what, you couldn't do it, so we're gonna clean this up for you, and it's not gonna be pretty. So the result was it ended very badly. Um, so interesting. But uh to your point about like uh being around people who drink, again, it doesn't bother me as long as they don't switch. Right get weird, like extra laughy, extra, extra laffy, like a little bit of light, you know, they're buzzed, right? Which is totally cool. But there is something about like, oh, that's not you anymore.
SPEAKER_02:That switch bothers me too.
SPEAKER_06:Well, and you know what? I feel like me and her used to push the limit when we would drink, we would get super provocative, inappropriate, flirty, and she's married to my best friend. Yeah, and it was just like he didn't care, he was like, Oh, they're just whatever. But now that I'm sober, I like respect that boundary, even though he was very fine with us being like touchy touchy, you know, like just being inappropriate. And it was like, I now see like I made the switch, and I could see when you did have the switch, then I was like, we're going into these weird waters of like, you know what, we gotta respect our partners, we have to like get it together. But I think a lot of people now don't like us, Jason, because we are very judgy in their eyes. So because they want to switch and they want to have fun.
SPEAKER_01:Um, it's a fine line. So you just um for me, I can only speak for me, I choose very um uh uh strictly who I want to be with. So I don't navigate where I know that I might be in a situation where I'm gonna somebody might feel judged. So the other person, like very good example, is this person I was seeing. She felt judged all the time.
SPEAKER_06:Right.
SPEAKER_01:And I it's unfair to her because I'm the one with the drinking problem. How many years sober were you when you started dating?
SPEAKER_06:Okay, so that's a long enough time.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah, it was. It was so, but it wasn't long enough for me to learn another, like we're gonna go like really down a stretch here. Like you people repeat patterns. Yes, and so this relationship was another repetition, but it was new because it was the sober version. Yes, so now I took away from that relationship what I've been waiting to learn for the year for my life, in my entire life. Like it was a very similar situation where I ended up getting uh founder with another man, so I got my heart broken, but this time I didn't wallow, I replaced it with a lear with a with the learning experience. So I'm sober enough, clear enough, aware, self-aware enough to say why did I stay? And so, you know, it it's the the growth happened versus regression or repetition.
SPEAKER_02:I love that. Yeah, we're all about that. And I am curious though, what was your final breaking point where you were like, okay, I'm I have to be sober now?
SPEAKER_06:Yeah, you got a messy story if you're comfortable.
SPEAKER_01:It was dark, so there are lots of messages I can go into some messy situations, but um in 2010 I got a divorce. And um, because um, well, I didn't have a coke problem, I just really liked the way it smelled, and my girl thought that I had a coke problem. And this is an Austin. Uh, did you miss the joke? I didn't have a cocaine problem, I just really liked the way it smelled.
SPEAKER_00:Well, you were supposed to laugh.
SPEAKER_01:What the frick, dude? That's like an awesome joke. Nobody reached it.
SPEAKER_06:You know what it's funny, Jason. Is I have heard so many people say that joke. Oh, really? Yeah, I never heard anybody say that joke.
SPEAKER_05:Oh my god.
SPEAKER_06:My my my uncle says it all the time. Shout out to Uncle Lloyd. He's like, I don't like cocaine, I just like the way it smells. Oh, yeah, okay, cool. Oh no, wont wamp. It's a dad joke.
SPEAKER_05:I like it. Okay.
SPEAKER_01:I am 54.
SPEAKER_05:Okay, but you but you're not a dad yet.
SPEAKER_01:No, no, no. I've never I've never had a child. Um okay, so it did, it got really dark. Um leading in that's typical, right, to the point where I was so I was always working, but I was a functional um like a uh a fifth of day in the early part of 2020.
SPEAKER_05:What kind of fifth?
SPEAKER_01:Uh fifth of crown.
SPEAKER_05:All things. Oh, he was fancy.
SPEAKER_01:No, no, no. I reduced to crown. I was I was at bullet, and then I was at Eagle Rare, and then I was, and then I'm like, oh fuck it. I'm just gonna get like a$30 bottle, and I was at Crown. We would make Washington apples all the time. And and it was so I was drinking like a fifth a day, and then toward the latter part or early part of March, I was like in a permanent blackout. Um, and then on and you were still working, yeah. I was still going to work every day, and I was sending emails and I was like in front of people, and people were aware, but nobody was saying anything.
SPEAKER_06:Well, because you're a charismatic guy, you're probably entertaining, you're not causing drama.
SPEAKER_01:Well, I'll tell you what, when you're drinking that much, there comes and so I would wait till after work so that the work hours became shorter and shorter. Because so a 10-hour shift, uh no, I can't wait 10 hours, I can wait eight, maybe, but no, now I'm waiting six. So there is a moment while you're working that you break a sweat and you start like it's time hanging on by a fingernail grip. To grab that to read out just because you are it's it's beyond uh a mental craving. It's now a complete physical craving.
SPEAKER_02:Oh, that gives me the chills.
SPEAKER_01:Like that's and I will be we know I will be as graphic as humanly possible because somebody in earshot may have this experience and not tell not be telling anybody, but I would wait till the liquor store opened, being so sick in the car that I would vomit bile out the door, then run into the liquor store, knowing I had to get liquor in me, take a huge chug, it wouldn't sit well, throw that up, and then down more just to get get back home. It was dark. That's really dark. Really dark.
SPEAKER_02:I thank you for sharing that. And yeah, I mean that could definitely help somebody.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah, so so but that's the kind of alcoholic I was.
SPEAKER_05:Right.
SPEAKER_01:So there now there's many versions, right?
SPEAKER_02:And so to I'm sorry, so you'd be like throwing up because your body needed it.
SPEAKER_01:No, I I could it was a it was an involuntary r re response. Like I was I was hospitalized. Well, I went to the hospital once because I couldn't stop dry heaving. It was like a muscle spasm that I was going through. Okay. Um it it's it can be it became intense. Intense. So the the um the next part is the uh inexplicable part. So I'd like to tell you um in the last week of me getting of drinking and what happened next, because that's the real interesting part. So um I'll just back up one to say one thing. I was a very uh spiritual person. I am a very deeply spiritual person. Always always fundamentally happened when I was 17, and I had a unique uh spiritual experience, um, a love experience where it was as if God, the universe, let's call it the universe, God very simply can be used, not the God on a cloud, but let's just say anything you believe in is God. Gave me an eyedropper full, like he's like, okay, Jason is turning 17, there's this moment in time, let me drop an eye full uh eyedropper full of what life's purpose of, his meaning, and let him go. And I was unable to live it because I had none of the tools necessary to actualize what was given to me. So I lived a life for 30 plus years that resulted in a tremendous amount of suffering, deep, profound suffering, guilt, um, self-um uh loathing, because I knew I was living in contradiction to what my purpose was.
SPEAKER_04:Right.
SPEAKER_01:So here I am inside, knowing there's something beautiful waiting to bloom, waiting to be shared, to share. That's the whole point. And it worked, it was it was alive for about three months, four months after this event, but then life just started piling up, and I had no idea how to navigate life. So all these years passed, and here I am in the last week of drinking, and I'm drinking a handle a day, plus a pint. The pint was just to get from the liquor store back home.
SPEAKER_06:A pint like of uh Yingling a pint of crown.
SPEAKER_01:Oh my god. And then a handle of crown just to get to the next end.
SPEAKER_06:Were you diluting it or were you just drinking it at knee? From the bottle.
SPEAKER_01:Um I was killing, I was drinking suicidally without being suicidal. And I was on my knees talking to what I believe this universal consciousness is that I'm a part of and begging for help.
SPEAKER_04:Yeah.
SPEAKER_01:And so um that week was a complete and utter blackout. I had been introduced to somebody via phone uh that could help me by somebody else, by a friend, who won't mind me mentioning his name. His name is Clint Hurdle, he's the former manager of the Pirates, he's my friend, he's like, I'm not in Pittsburgh, I can't help you, but this guy can.
SPEAKER_06:This friend of yours was sober?
SPEAKER_01:Clint Hurdle is the ex-manager of the pirates, is uh famously sober for 20 plus years.
SPEAKER_04:Nice.
SPEAKER_01:Um and he's like, uh, this guy in Pittsburgh can help you. I would call this guy at 10 a.m. for to meet him at 4. This is starting on Monday, I'd be drunk by 11, cancel the meeting, tell him I made up something about my grandmother. But on that following Sunday, after a week straight of drinking, I said, I must have said, but I was in a blackout, you have to come get me. And he comes to get me. I'm told I was resistant. He drops me off at Mercy Detox. I wake up from Mercy Detox right up there. I wake up unhappy in every way. Why am I here? This guy starts calling me. All right, I'm on the floor phone. Hey, don't worry about it. You're gonna be happier than you've ever been in your life. Don't worry about it, don't worry about it. And I'm like, what the fuck is this? I'm not picking up with this guy's laying down. I ordered booze from the park. It was COVID time, so I had my credit card number memorized, memorized the cell phone number of the GM at the liquor store. I already ordered booze from the detox floor.
SPEAKER_04:Oh my god.
SPEAKER_01:Five days later, he picks me up. Now, here's the interesting part.
SPEAKER_04:And who's picked you up?
SPEAKER_01:So his name is Tony. Uh-huh. Tony Barco. He won't mind me mentioning his name. He is a member of Alcoholics Anonymous, and so am I.
SPEAKER_04:Nice.
SPEAKER_01:Um he picks me up, and and I'm like, I don't, he had a smiley face, pins, he's like, Don't worry, you look great. You look great. And he gets me in his car, and I was still resistant in every way, and then the next two minutes changed my life forever. He cocked his body from his driver's seat to look at me, and I'm like, What the hell is this guy doing? You know, so I cocked my body to look at him, and he says, Son, I'm gonna tell you three things the first is You're never gonna be alone another day in your life. And for some reason, that was exactly what I needed to hear. It froze and arrested the chaotic white noise of static that was going in on my war war zone of a brain and allowed me to be receptive and to actually listen to somebody else. Because I'm a compulsive talker. Not so much.
SPEAKER_02:I like it.
SPEAKER_06:But we can understand.
SPEAKER_01:We we relate. And so I was able to listen. And I cried and I just locked in to whatever he was saying. And he said, the second thing is that there's nothing you could ever say to impress me or repulse me.
SPEAKER_02:That's cool.
SPEAKER_01:So what does that what is the interpretation of that? For me, it was I can be honest. Right. It's a window for for one of the first times in my life. Because for so long I was a liar. I would lie to impress you, uh, to feel better about myself.
SPEAKER_02:Sounds like him.
SPEAKER_01:Um yeah. So these things, these are like things, and it's not I'm no shame.
SPEAKER_06:Yeah, these are common traits for alcoholics. And and even just like non-alcoholics, but like even people that abuse like drugs or booze or or or I'm I'm sorry, like even THC is now the new drinking. So I used to be a huge pothead. And um after alcohol?
SPEAKER_01:No, no, no, no. During uh before. Like I drank so I grew up in Miami, so we partied.
SPEAKER_06:I was gonna say, you're not you don't seem like a Pittsburger.
SPEAKER_01:No, um I grew up on the beach. Everything you did in the woods, I did in the on the beach. So alcohol, coke, and pot were like mainstays. Um, and so you know, one fell away before the other. So coke fell away first, then pot. Then the one thing I never thought that would stick around was booze. Because I never because my body was never, I'm not like built to be a heavy, a big drinker. That's why I gained 90 pounds, you know. My body's not you know built for drinking, and and that's why when I stopped, it went back to like normal, you know. Um but let me finish the the thought. That moment in time in the car was the last urge I had to drink. Wow. Prior to getting in the car, I wanted to drink. When I got out of the car, it never returned. So what happened? It is it here's the thing. That God that I was that's this part of the universe that I'm a that I believe I'm this this universal consciousness that I'm a part of, I believe my obligation that I knew back when I was 17 is to be somewhat of a uh a representation of, a human corporeal uh instrument of. And so when the suffering, I had done enough suffering that God said, I think you're done suffering. Now go help people.
SPEAKER_02:So incredible.
SPEAKER_01:So it gives me the chills. I know I have the chills.
SPEAKER_02:You're a great storyteller.
SPEAKER_01:So the point is it's inexplicable. So why put a question mark where the universe puts a period? There's no reason for me to kind of try and figure it out.
SPEAKER_04:Yeah.
SPEAKER_01:Why do some people struggle and relapse? I don't know. I I know that I'm here for my purpose is to be kind, generous, compassionate, empathic, genuine, honest, as honest as I human as I possibly can be. I still am vain. I can't seem to shed that one.
SPEAKER_06:And I still, and I still I mean we're all humans are, right?
SPEAKER_02:I mean, is this a hair commercial? I feel like in a hair commercial right now.
SPEAKER_01:Here's the cool thing though. If we are endeavor to evolve for the rest of our lives a little bit at a time, right? So a little bit, we can do no wrong, really. You know, their only bad decision is no decision at all. So I don't regret anything. I needed every nanosecond of pain that I inflicted on others, as well as myself, to get to who I am today. So there's no other, and it could have been no other way. Life, or your entire life, every nanosecond of it, brought us to this conversation. Domino's fell just exactly to here we are. I agree. And it could have been no other way. So to think, oh, I shoulda, coulda, woulda, it's insanity.
SPEAKER_03:Yeah.
SPEAKER_01:It's stupid, it's ridiculous thinking. Oh, I should have done this, I should've. You didn't. So why second guess it?
SPEAKER_06:Yeah, we have to go through these things to really kind of appreciate, you know, the foundation to where we are today. I know that Kelly is sober curious. I'm sober, and I definitely am inspired by that story because you know, I'm definitely just tempted a little bit here and there because I was like, oh, well, I've only had like maybe five problems in my life. Like, oh, I woke up in jail, or oh, I, you know, I might have, you know, had a fight with somebody, or oh, maybe I was 40 pounds overweight. But then you kind of get to this point where you hear your story and you're like, you need to get it in check now because you never know. So, like, thank you for opening up and sharing something that is very, you know. I where did you kind of I mean, Kelly, I'm sure you have a couple questions regarding his story.
SPEAKER_02:I mean, absolutely. I have so many questions. You go ahead.
SPEAKER_06:Well, I just think where did you get to the comfort level to be open about it? Were you always so immediate?
SPEAKER_01:Immediate. You want you because here's the here's the uh pro I I think of things in a very global way, like the um to the nth degree. Yeah. So um, I needed help because I was on a death path, and somebody said yes to me. So my immediate impulse is to help somebody else.
SPEAKER_04:Absolutely.
SPEAKER_01:So you only get to keep what you give away.
SPEAKER_04:Yeah.
SPEAKER_01:So um and I will say that when you say, okay, people have like um they're overweight, or they had a few bad run-ins, and there's like, you know, some warning signs, you know, alcohol's been involved with some problems. For me, I was bankrupt spiritually. And so and emotionally, uh mentally, you know, so there was any sign, warning signs of that those things might be ahead or coming or happening a little bit in your life, you something you I would say address. And the best thing I could tell people is that if they think they have an alcohol problem and they're trying to control their alcohol intake, isn't it already out of control if you're trying to control it?
SPEAKER_04:Exactly. Amen.
SPEAKER_02:So that's you have to be honest with yourself though. People aren't honest with themselves.
SPEAKER_01:And this is the key. Why though? Right? So here's the request of the biscuit. So, like that question, right? People aren't honest with themselves. Based on what? Fear.
SPEAKER_04:Yeah.
SPEAKER_01:Fear of change, fear of being exposed, fear of being honest.
SPEAKER_06:So because you can't hide behind the numbing effect. Correct. Correct. And I think too, like, I used to be like, oh, if I heard your story like five years ago, I would have been like, oh, well, you know, I'm not like that. That bad.
SPEAKER_01:I'm not that bad. Right, right, right. But then guess what?
SPEAKER_06:That is a problem in itself. And I think a lot of people that will be listening, there are so many variations to it.
SPEAKER_01:So you said, I'm not that bad. What does that do? That's a comparison rather than a relate relatability. You're trying to compare versus relate.
SPEAKER_04:Yes.
SPEAKER_01:So what instead of saying, Oh, I'm not that bad, and I'm just saying this for the listener, yeah.
SPEAKER_06:What is similar? If anything, well, I could tell you right now, the similar fact is something happened with me, and I had a similar conversation. Called somebody, they reached out, it was at a bar, and he just said, You will never be alone anymore. Yeah, and let me tell you.
SPEAKER_01:So you're very extroverted. Yeah. So am I. I it is uh galactic loneliness that I had, even though I was in always surrounded by people, always engaged, always enigmatic or um, you know, well loved alive, charismatic. And right, but so lonely. And for somebody to for some reason, that that's a that's a big uh uh uh that's a spot where if you feel that that's removed and you have uh companionship or fellowship or um understanding by another human like when somebody judges you without judgment. Yes, that's freeing. Absolutely. I wanted to see what's on that paper.
SPEAKER_02:Oh, I know. I mean, that was a lot. Thank you for sharing all that.
SPEAKER_05:Sorry, but it makes sense. We love it. It was hard that I go off. No, this makes us even more interesting. We I was getting a little teary-eyed, to be honest. I didn't see one, I didn't see it well up. I was like, I believe you.
SPEAKER_02:I so I do find it interesting that you started Medici. Am I saying that right? And you're selling wine. Do you feel any guilt when you're selling wine?
SPEAKER_01:Like, no, not at whatsoever. Here's a I'll give you an example why. Um so I guess I don't bring it to the same extreme as like if I was a heroin dealer.
SPEAKER_02:Right.
SPEAKER_01:But I could understand where they're coming from.
SPEAKER_06:Um because it is ethanol alcohol.
SPEAKER_01:No, I'm saying it is a your choice.
SPEAKER_03:Right.
SPEAKER_01:You know, so I sell okay, of the people who imbibe in my products that I import, I would say a very small percentage are alcoholics. And as was I, it's my personal path. You know, if I wanted to drink, there's nothing that could stop me. And if I wanted to stop drinking, there's nothing that could stop me. So I don't feel guilt at all.
SPEAKER_03:No.
SPEAKER_01:That is on that side of the table, if you're you know, it's everywhere. It's you know, it's a com other people treat it as a commodity, other companies. I don't, I'm a storyteller and I represent families, but it's still something that I can choose to pick up or choose not to pick up, and that is the choice that everybody makes on their own.
SPEAKER_06:So no, I don't feel I think knowing the statistics and even like there is no safe amount of alcohol to consume.
SPEAKER_01:I don't, I mean, I'm safe in the terms that like it's it damaging your body and the poison, yeah. But like safe as far as like um, so I have a a friend, you could say he drinks alcoholically, but he's not. Okay, like this guy's 84, in front of him at dinner is a white wine glass, a red wine glass, and a martini all at the same time. Right. And he's like fine, and he has a beautiful outlook on life, you know, yeah, and and and it's just different strokes for different folks. It's so personal, right? You know, so you know whoever is with that you know if you've got an issue.
SPEAKER_06:Oh, for sure. I mean, I don't even want to be around it right now, and I feel like that's my issue right now. Well, then don't be. Yeah, I mean, that's kind of why we wanted to open up about it because she still wants to have it with dinner. And right now we're going through that phase of my sobriety that I'm just so disgusted by it.
SPEAKER_01:Like you could be disgusted by it yourself, but yeah, are you disgusted by it when other people we talked about this?
SPEAKER_06:Maybe I'm a little envious.
SPEAKER_01:So that's right now, so that may be a lingering reservation. Yeah, so you're not so the lingering reservation is I wish I could still drink.
SPEAKER_06:Me too. Yeah, not me. I know, I know. I guess I'm like, I'm I'm listening and I'm like, yeah, I wish I could, but then I didn't have that the first year. That's a process, right?
SPEAKER_01:Yeah, I would do so, I would be rigorously self-aware to and to think, why am I feeling this now? So there's a thing called metacognition. I don't know if you've ever heard of it. So it's I didn't hear it till recently. When you're thinking something, so the genesis of a thought, right? So all of a sudden, like you're feeling, all of a sudden you're like this, you have this small angst when you see uh your friend have a glass of wine. You're like, hmm, that's making me feel a little weird. Yeah. Kind of like, I want, I wish I could have one. What then stepping outside of that thought and saying, why am I thinking that? What is happening in me that I'm thinking about? Yeah, like am I uncomfortable? Comfortable. Just to analyze why you're thinking something is called metacognition. So it's stepping out of the thought and analyzing the thought.
SPEAKER_04:Mm-hmm. So this is a good way to put it.
SPEAKER_01:Well, so this is the this is the difference between somebody who's self-aware to a to a degree where they can effect change in their thinking. So I didn't have a drinking problem, I had a thinking problem. I interpreted the world incorrectly because it was supposed to serve me. So if it wasn't fitting the box that I wanted it to fit, I was unhappy. But knowing that I only can control this small circle that surrounds my body and the way I think, and nobody else, or nothing else, that realization has uh quelled um my anxiety, um, my um overworking brain. I don't project into the future because it's not here. I don't try and rewrite the past because it's an exercise in futility. I try to live this exact moment in time, just like I said uh before, because this now with you is comfortable and perfect. So if we collect and link the now's together, it's always good. When I walk to my car, I'll be positive thinking positively, I'll reflect on this conversation. When I get in my car, I won't be angry at the driver in front of me because there's no point in that.
SPEAKER_04:Right.
SPEAKER_01:So every now can be good and comfortable if you make it one.
SPEAKER_02:I feel like I need to listen to that every day. Because like that just made my anxiety levels go down, just hearing you say that. Like, because it makes so much sense.
SPEAKER_01:Right.
SPEAKER_02:But I never thought that myself.
SPEAKER_01:Like what we're saying next, like the conversation is gonna go where it goes. Right. I was a little nervous coming in, right? A little, but a lot less than I ever was in my past. And now that the conversation is going, we just fly.
SPEAKER_02:Yeah.
SPEAKER_01:Because this is all it's about is flying.
SPEAKER_04:Yeah.
SPEAKER_01:Untethered by uh anxieties, fears, um, self-doubt. All that's for the birds.
SPEAKER_02:Yeah.
SPEAKER_06:I'm done. I love what you said. Like, just kind of get out of the thought, like remove yourself, zoom out. Like, I'm almost thinking about like a like a movie, like you're watching your own movie.
SPEAKER_01:What are they? Yeah, yes, yes, yes. Zoom out. I think of it that bubble.
SPEAKER_06:I think of that that you're like the little person, yes, Ryan or Jason or Kelly. Why are you feeling the need to drink now? Right. That you didn't have that right, like a year ago.
SPEAKER_01:Exactly. It's called self-awareness. Yes. In the moment, right? So, this is the what happens to people, they don't arrest their thinking in the moment. It just like kind of happens, it happens, and happens. And you're like, then angst arises and you're like, Well, what's going on with me lately? Well, arrest it as it's happening.
SPEAKER_04:Yeah.
SPEAKER_01:And collect yourself and pause and analyze. And say, you know, it it's something will most likely be from an old pattern of thinking that was before you stopped drinking. Like an old anxiety, an old like um insecurity or old self-consciousness, you know, like, oh, I'm self-conscious about this. Maybe I'm not fitting in anymore. Or something just silly. Yeah. You can get you can you can get to that point if you think about it.
SPEAKER_04:Amen.
SPEAKER_02:Yeah, you are so wise.
SPEAKER_01:No, I know that. None of this happens overnight. No, no, I mean, I 90% of what I'm saying, maybe 75%, was handed to me by somebody else. But the difference between being handed information and using it is like shoe polish, right? It only works when you apply it. I can give we can somebody can give me this most profound, like enlightened um uh concept, and I'm like, yeah, cool. I love that. Yeah, but if I don't feel it to the core of me and it's part of the sinew of my thinking, then it means nothing. Yeah, it falls short. Only when it's applied, like shoe college, can it work?
SPEAKER_06:Well, I want to know what school you went to because you definitely are sounding very intelligent.
SPEAKER_05:I never went, I didn't go past high school.
SPEAKER_06:Oh my gosh.
SPEAKER_01:I went to a Catholic All-Boys School in Miami and I paid a lot of attention and I used to read. I watch a shit ton of movies, and I grew up on movies, and I think I absorbed most of my language, my vocabulary from movies. That's the honest truth.
SPEAKER_06:That's awesome. You don't have to read books to do that. I like words.
SPEAKER_01:I like words because it's all we have. So as specify so the more specific and descriptive the word is, yeah, the better we can express ourselves. So if I, you know what I'm saying? Does that make sense to you? Like I can relay an idea and a sentiment to you better if I use the right word.
unknown:Right.
SPEAKER_01:Right. Yeah.
SPEAKER_02:And if you have a limited. We struggle with our words.
SPEAKER_06:Yeah, we do. Yeah. I mean, we have like a limited vocabulary, but we're honest about it. You know, we we do like to talk about like, you know, learning from somebody that like has gone through certain parts of their life, like yourself, and like kind of also apply it to our own life, like you're saying about the shoe polish. And I know like myself, I want to learn more about how you are kind of dealing with this whole like transformation of people like talking about like, oh, alcohol is bad for you, like the site sales are down, Gen Zs are like taking out the equation, bars and restaurants aren't selling as much. Yeah, I think uh it's it's ebb and flow of uh lifestyles, right?
SPEAKER_01:So, like I guess look at the 60s, everybody started dropping out and drinking acid and and smoking weed. Yeah. It's just a it's it's a it's a cultural trend. And I'm I mean, I'm okay with that. I think people don't want to be like they're the generation before them, you know. So they're like, oh, it's not cool to smoke cigarettes anymore, but I'll vape, you know, speaking of which, yeah, I'll take a vape break in a second. Yeah, but um, I think it's natural. Like I don't have an opinion that it's like bad, bad or good. I think it's if anybody's making a healthy choice, then it's a good choice. Right. Um, but it may change, you know. That's for sure. You make a good point. Yeah, I think it's just a cultural shift. It's not like anything specific. I think it's yeah, people don't want to be like their forefather, you know, their father's parents' generation. And if they see them drink sitting around a table drinking multiple bottles of wine, they're like, oh, we're gonna do something different, you know?
SPEAKER_06:Uh-huh. Um, and wine to me seems like the classiest of the alcohols. Right? Like it's paired with a nice meal, or you know, you feel like she's never been like into liquor or beer, but like when it comes to wine, like she's like, I like my wine. Kelly.
SPEAKER_02:I I think it is that feeling like oh, I'm sipping my wine, and like I do like the taste of it. I don't like the taste of beer.
SPEAKER_01:It's also a different buzz.
SPEAKER_02:Yeah, it probably vapor buzz. It's called the vapor buzzer. I feel pretty like in tr in control when I have wine. I mean, not when I'm drinking like margaritas, though, then I go crazy.
SPEAKER_01:No, it's like walk it's like walking in a warm vapor trail. Yeah, that's what I I remember um yeah my feeling about it. Yeah, okay. Yeah, like um yeah.
SPEAKER_06:Do you miss that feeling?
unknown:No.
SPEAKER_06:No, no, no.
SPEAKER_01:What I well, my uh you get a dopamine high from working out and going to the sauna. I don't work out at all. I play tennis a lot and I get a high from this conversation.
SPEAKER_06:That's amazing.
SPEAKER_01:So my ultimate purpose in life is to uh find happiness, peace of mind, and serenity. So I actively meditate every day to be in more aligned, conscious contact with my understanding of the universe. So there is no better high than feeling in harmony with your thoughts and actions.
unknown:Yeah.
SPEAKER_02:Can you how long is your meditation when you do it?
SPEAKER_01:Yeah, so when I so I I was introduced to it six months ago.
SPEAKER_02:Okay.
SPEAKER_01:When I went through like a hard, you know, hard time. First hard time since I was sober. What was that? When I found my girl at somebody else's house.
SPEAKER_06:Oh, so this was recent.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah, summer. Yeah. June, June, June, July, early July, almost our two year or our three-year anniversary. Or no, two-year anniversary. Um, and I said, Hold my friend, I need a hug. He's like, come on over. He owns a pizza shop. He's like, come over to my house tonight. And I went through a 45-minute guided meditation and was addicted. And then I've done it every night since. And it failed when I do it, uh Kelly, it's about 20 minutes to 40 minutes. Um, but I only do a certain amount of positions or uh techniques.
SPEAKER_03:Yeah.
SPEAKER_01:But when I go to his house every Sunday, it's that hour long. And um, so it's another way of getting closer to that self-awareness. It's another tool.
SPEAKER_02:I mean, I've always wanted to meditate, but I feel like I'm not patient enough.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah, yeah, yeah. Me, me neither. I do. I understand what you're saying.
SPEAKER_02:You couldn't take us through like a 30-second thing, or is that not enough time to like get um I could explain.
SPEAKER_01:Sure, I can I don't want to sit down on the floor to do it, but I will tell you. Um, I get in a I stretch uh quietly. I light a candle. Um, I stretch quietly for uh about as long as I need to. Um I sit in a cross-legged position. I rest my hands on my knees, and for the first like five to ten minutes, I'm just breathing. In through the nose, out through the nose, chin down, eyebrows slightly raised, trying to focus on a single single point of focus. Right here. You have your eyes closed, right? Eyes closed, eyebrows slightly raised, chin down, and trying to go on a single point of focus at the third eye level, which is right about here. And I just breathe in and breathe out. Thoughts will come, let them come, let them go. Another thought will come, let it come, let it go. Don't like harbor in it. And just breathe in, and slowly the breaths will become deeper, in through the nose, out through the nose. Don't hold it at the top of the breath, just let it go out naturally. And in time, this rhythm will just start to go a little bit easier. The thoughts will be less. Now, after six months of every night, I still have thoughts, but they are less frequent. There may be uh three minutes that will pass at a time where there's no thoughts, which is where I want to be.
SPEAKER_05:That's amazing.
SPEAKER_01:That sounds like it's amazing. So it's amazing. I would love to figure out a way to do that. You know how you do it? Start. Uh-huh. Stop making so everything is an excuse. The only reason you're not if you're at all interested in meditating, uh, just do it. And if you don't, that's on you.
SPEAKER_06:You know what I do? That's part of being honest with you. Like, I'm not gonna waste my time with that. Like, there's no workout, there's no yoga, there's no Pilates. And I was like, no, this sounds like it's forcing us to get centered in this environment that is serene, it smells like eucalyptus, whatever it may be. But that was the first time that I really got into it.
SPEAKER_01:So there's no point in time where you're closer to your God, whatever you believe in. I'm just saying, whatever believes.
SPEAKER_02:Whatever she's something spiritual, I don't really know what I am.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah, whatever your belief, what if you believe you're part of something bigger than you?
SPEAKER_06:Are you Catholic?
SPEAKER_01:No, I'm spiritual. Yeah, your law of attraction. I'll never be a box in a religion.
SPEAKER_06:Are you the secret? Do you follow the secret? I don't know what that is. Oh, okay. It's a lot of the vocabulary and the words that you're describing are affiliated through the secret. It's the book. Oh, I don't know. I would like that book. You would love it. The law of attraction. It's uh it's it's pretty life-changing. It was on Oprah's book list, and I know I sound like dating myself, but it was when she like was doing this show.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah, but so there's so many commonalities and parallels between all things, but if you look at the most common thread is love, it's a oneness, it's a oneness, right? So the uh act of so Rumi. Rumi, the philosopher Rumi. You ever heard of that? I've heard of Rumi. Okay, the Rumi's quotes are amazing. Yes. You are not a drop in the ocean, you are the ocean in a drop. So meaning I am I am as much the universe as the universe is me. So you understand, uh, you're not a drop in the ocean, you're the ocean in a drop. And so when when you find yourself alone, it means that God, the universe, has removed everyone so that you and him can be together. So when you meditate, you are as mon I meditate, I am as close to that uh universal consciousness as any other time in my life. So I want to keep coming back because that's home base. That's home base. Home base is grounded, centered, focused. Everything else is a distraction and a noise. The only purpose is really to just be as is in close harmony with your define your understanding of purpose. What your purpose is.
SPEAKER_04:Damn.
SPEAKER_06:That is a lot to digest in the best way possible. I'm sorry.
SPEAKER_05:No, we Jason, we are so happy.
SPEAKER_06:I'm sorry. I only know one direction, and it's oh my god, never apologize. You are barking up the right alley.
SPEAKER_01:Imagine like going on dates, right? Right. And people want to talk about bullshit. Yeah. Like, what's your favorite color? Do you like spicy food? I'm like, who the fuck are you? What do you like? What drives you? What's your passion? Do you believe in something bigger than yourself? Yeah. I can't do small talk. I can't get hot for you unless you have something going on, like deeper.
SPEAKER_06:That is impressive. That is a good way to put it. I feel like as a realtor, I have to like do small talk. Well, I did too. But I do too. I I mean, you're a sales guy, you know, you're in sales. I mean, you luckily don't have to do that. Well, yeah, that's true. Dating is a different ball game.
SPEAKER_01:So when I was drinking, my pool, my the market, the market was like this, like everybody. Oh, yeah. And now my options are becoming more and more and more and more narrow. Yeah. Because people who aren't like-minded. Uh so that was another I would have never grown spiritually with as with this person I was dating. And the universe is like, no, we need you to get moving. We need you to, we need you to kick you in overdrive.
SPEAKER_06:I remember I remember hearing about this. Now, two years ago, I met this person, and I knew I had like a connection making out at the bar sober. I was nearly sober. And um, but I was like very protective of my sobriety because it was so new. I'm like, they probably like to party. Yeah, I'm gonna get their number, but I'm not gonna entertain this. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. And then literally a year later, they're reaching out to me, watching Mock Tales are Messy and asking, what kind of mock tails or non-alcoholic beverages do you recommend? So the universe like literally listened to this. I wanted that person, but I didn't want to sacrifice, like you said, about the smelling the wine on their breath.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah, yeah, you don't know, you know your limits, right? Yeah, and it's really smart for somebody early on to protect themselves.
SPEAKER_06:To not date really anyone.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah, and I'll work just backtrack a second. Like, I didn't get sober on my own. You got sober with that guy in the car. Yeah. So um, I was introduced to Alcoholics Anonymous through this guy, but I am not a book thumper. Like, I'm not a guy who's like, this is the only way, the way, the way. The first line of You're not a teetotaler. No, I'm not. The first line, but but I was delivered the message that has been passed on since the 30s that have helped more people get sober than any other thing in the in the world. Um it's the most successful program in the world.
SPEAKER_06:And I really want to make it public when the people like me and you that really want to share this like life-changing like I think she even thinks to herself, she's like, gosh, like I'm sober curious. Like, I just like wish I didn't enjoy like a glass of wine on a Friday night because you say even after two, she feels like kind of shit the next day.
SPEAKER_02:Yeah.
SPEAKER_01:Well, so so sober curious, like this is a good and um, it's a question for you. It's more of a lifestyle choice than a life or death choice, like it was for me. Yeah, so being sober curious is fine. Just it's like when you say, Oh, I'm gonna drink less, it's not because it's out of control, it's because you're deciding to treat your body differently. Yeah, you know, is that right? Am I right? Yeah, it's more of a question.
SPEAKER_02:That that is my thought is like I want to treat my body as best as I can.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah, and having a drink every so often doesn't like you know, it's not gonna kill it or stint your uh emotional, spiritual, and mental growth. Yeah, like because that's what we aspire. I'm hoping we're all aspiring to become better.
SPEAKER_02:Yes, to grow. Absolutely. We're on a journey.
SPEAKER_06:Oh, for sure. And I think especially with the new year 2026, year of the horse. The year of the horse. Let's go. Let's go. I do agree. Like it's something that is just like you're very inspiring with your business, with your sobriety journey. I mean, just like the amount of like great little tidbits that you brought to us.
SPEAKER_01:Will you do me a solid? Yes. Will you ask people politely to follow us on Instagram? Absolutely. Okay, Jason, put it in. The company is Medici, M-E-D-I-C-I, Importers Global, and it's on Instagram. And what we do, and it's kind of fun, is that when we partner with a restaurant or a business, we do a collaboration where we'll go in and we'll show off their food and we'll show off our wine, and it's fun. And I have a great um social guy. He's him and his girlfriend, uh, he's got a cute name. It's called Jimmy Big Muscles, and he's uh he's like great, they're a great little team. And um, we I just I feel like if my ultimate goal is to share these creations that I um sell that are made by families on in Italy, I want to share it with as many people as possible. And the vehicle now is like, hey, what are those guys at Medici? Who are they selling their wine to? What kind of wine? Let me find them on Instagram. It's not, and we're typically a distributor is not forward-facing. We're like behind the scenes. But I do events and I want to be in the in front because not only of who I am and the message of you know my life, um, I want to help people. Yeah, I want to share everything. I want to share what I sell, what these people in Italy make, my sobriety. I want to share everything I have with as many people as possible. It's the it brings me the most joy.
SPEAKER_06:Yeah, you can connect with so many individuals with like the wine, the normies that can still have a class. And then even the sobriety people like myself, like you really spoke to me, and I'm like, okay, I need to, I need to learn from Jason how to be more comfortable with being around this because I can't be a hermit, I can't hide and be away from this, you know. And I want to spread my message message as well.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah, it's you no, you want to be on fire. Yeah, you want to be well, like there's a line from the movie Big Night, you have to take a bite out of the ass of life. I mean, this is like, let's go. You know.
SPEAKER_03:These are trash. These are trash.
SPEAKER_01:No, no, let me let me read it. Let me let me let me read the let me read. I'll go through it. Let me see. You can read it out loud. Oh, some people really believe, some people believe you really you can't really know wine unless you drink it. Does that ever get in your head? Okay, we talked about that. That's good. So you were no, that wasn't trash. We talked. Have you felt any kind of quiet shift in how people treat you? This is a good one.
SPEAKER_03:Yeah.
SPEAKER_01:Have you felt I love the phrasing? Have you ever felt any uh any kind of quiet shift in how people treat you in the industry since you stopped drinking? Well, I'd say no.
SPEAKER_05:That's awesome.
SPEAKER_01:Um, once your product is out in the world, how much responsibility do you feel? We talked about that. Have been moments when you've had to sit with sit with whether your work silly still fully aligns with who you are now. Uh no, we talked about that, so I agree with you. But there is, I'll tell you, there was a couple, I'll tell you something that happened recently, and this will blow your mind. So I was at um a private club in town, nameless, right?
SPEAKER_05:The Duke Kingdom.
SPEAKER_01:The Duke, yeah. And so I go there and I have dinner fairly often. It's in my profile that I'm a sober person. I order Virgin Bloody Mary, as I normally do, spicy. I take extra spicy. That's right. Did I tell you this or you need it? I take two big swigs because I drink enthusiastically. Because when I drank, I was a pounder. Me too. So like you'd be you'd turn around, you'd turn around and be like, Jason's done. You know, we need another. And I'm like, always drank fast. So I drank two big gulps and I raised the glass and I lean over to the bartender and I say, Is this virgin? She says, No.
SPEAKER_02:Oh my gosh.
SPEAKER_01:And I said, Well, it should be. And for you. So for a person that is three, and I went, I thought about it, I sat with it, and I had a long conversation with the people there because for me, it didn't affect me. No. Um, I think I actually felt a little something, but um, it didn't shake my sobriety. But somebody who was three months in might have interpreted that as an act of God and said, Oh, look at that. The universe wants me to drink. I'm supposed to drink. Oh, exactly, it could have fucked them up.
SPEAKER_03:Yeah.
SPEAKER_01:So I took it very seriously with the powers that be there and was very adamant that if I had a serious problem, I could really cause a stink for you guys.
SPEAKER_03:Yeah, yeah.
SPEAKER_01:Um, you know what?
SPEAKER_06:I reached out to somebody in AA and I was like, I had that happen too. And I was like, Oh my god, I was freaking out. I'm like, is this still like being sober? And they're like, Oh, you're fine.
SPEAKER_02:And we weren't sure if this was gonna get confrontational, so I was prepared in case it did, and it didn't.
SPEAKER_01:Well, I love this. It says Kelly Saver lines kind of said this is awesome. Um, I don't think there's a clean answer here, which which is kind of why I'm asking. Like, she's I'm so we are so on the same page. Like, I am a I am the most non-confrontational person, but I will stand up for myself. You know what I mean? Like we're gonna like we're gonna not let our um our solid foundation of based on principles and edicts that make sense kindness, empathy, generosity, um, genuine care and concern. If somebody's stepping on those toes, then we're gonna have a conversation.
SPEAKER_02:Right.
SPEAKER_01:Right. But otherwise, I'm pretty good with the flow.
SPEAKER_02:Well, I think, you know, you're an interesting person. What is a typical day in your life? What's that look like for you?
SPEAKER_01:Yeah, yeah. Okay, so um, some days are very down days. Like, okay, so I run a business, right? I own a business and I have partners. And if I was to dedicate a hundred percent of my energy to the business, would it be doing 3x or three times more than it's doing now? 100%.
SPEAKER_03:Yeah.
SPEAKER_01:But I wouldn't be this guy sitting in front of you. So balance is a huge part of my life.
SPEAKER_02:You're still finding that.
SPEAKER_01:So some days I wake up and I I look at my can I do anything to affect positive change on my business? And if the answer is yes, I'll do it. If the answer is yeah, you can do that or this, do you want to right now? Maybe not. And I'll play tennis and I'll sauna steam and I'll meet a friend for a slice of pizza. So some days is a very little, but most days, 90% of the days are phone calls, Zoom calls, setting in-person meetings with uh future clients. So there's uh talking strategy with my um uh board. You know, we we have we're in expansion mode. Um, a private equity firm is buying a piece of my company, which is going to transform my portfolio overnight.
SPEAKER_06:Can we start a non-alcoholic wine brand?
SPEAKER_01:Yeah, you know, yeah, hit me with yeah.
SPEAKER_06:I mean, I would definitely dying to get involved. There are no good dry. There's nothing they are all taste sweet like grape juice.
SPEAKER_01:So yeah, the the non-alcoholic wine thing, it's like I don't like so I'm a mocktail drinker, but I want a mocktail that doesn't remind me of booze.
SPEAKER_06:Oh, see we well, you know what? So I don't know.
SPEAKER_01:I don't want a fake, I don't want a non-alcoholic gin.
SPEAKER_06:Ask me, well, let me let me ask you this like, is that my problem? Because I love that like spicy, skinny margarita with extra spice. I love the fake tequila. I think it's just maybe that's my problem.
SPEAKER_01:Okay, I'm gonna tell you something. Somebody, some guy, he knows I like mocktails, and he's like, Oh, you gotta try this canned thing, and it was like a mascal thing. And I'm like, I took a sip. I'm like, dude, that fucking tastes like tequila. Why the fuck would I want something that tastes like tequila?
SPEAKER_02:That's what I think too, yeah.
SPEAKER_01:And and so the that would if I wanted something that tasted like tequila, that means I still want tequila.
SPEAKER_06:Maybe that's my problem.
SPEAKER_01:So, like, I mean, I that's my thinking, though. Okay, if you loved the fucking flavor of bourbon, but don't didn't love the buzz, then I would say, okay, maybe you should drink alcoholist bourbon.
SPEAKER_06:But if you I didn't like the buzz because I felt tired.
SPEAKER_01:I felt like no, you must have loved the buzz because you drank for a long time.
SPEAKER_06:Oh, you're right. You definitely did.
SPEAKER_01:I loved the real by by me drinking something calling me out. By me drump drinking something that re that is so close to the alcohol to the alcoholic drinking, minus the alcohol, like makes no sense. Like, so for me, okay, for me, yeah, for me, because I have a friend, he's sober seven years. He likes this called this place in New York called Spirited Away. Okay, it's like gin that doesn't have alcohol. And he's a doctor and he's cool about it. So I can't judge anybody. I don't judge anybody. Yeah, but that's I'm just talking about me. Yeah, but I like mocktails that are like exciting and savory. Like um, what's that place? What's that place? Uh, oh, yeah. They have had a really good, I was like the first time I got turned onto a mocktail that I was like really enjoyed. And it was like coconut milk and camphor leaves, and like I was like, what the fuck? What it was I drank it so fast that I spent 40 bucks on four because it was like so fast. I drank them so fast. It was like uh, but I love uh is it a lot of sugar in there? No, see that's what I don't want. Um I don't when somebody's like, oh do you uh hey, can you make me a mocktail? 90% of the time you're gonna get fruit juice and sugar.
SPEAKER_02:Yeah, right.
SPEAKER_01:And that's a mess up. That's like that's a cop out. That's like that's I don't care that you were a non-drinker. I'm just gonna give you something to pacify you and shut you up. Uh something easy for the weld, yeah. I got simple syrup and for the cranberry.
SPEAKER_06:No, dude. Well, see, I'm a chugger like you back in the day when I was drinking. And you know, I just like wanted to down it. And so for me, if there's a mock tail that has like that bitter, like stiff, like almost kind of like alcoholic taste, I'm not gonna guzzle. I'm gonna sip.
SPEAKER_01:No, I don't know, can't sip anything.
SPEAKER_06:You can't sip even when it's water or even when it's strip uh or spicy or whatever.
SPEAKER_05:Spicy down again.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah, I like to, I like I like I'm an ingester. Do you bar do you burp? The only thing I sit uh uh no, it's a little bit sometimes, but um the only thing I do sip um because I I drink so many espresso. Oh, I love that. Are you a caffeine addict? Uh yeah, matter of fact, if I I was wondering why I got a headache two times last week, I was like had a blistering headache at three o'clock. I'm like, oh, I didn't have coffee today.
SPEAKER_06:Yeah, but um you know what I'm all about like trying to take it out of the equation for so many months because I do love caffeine. She knows this about me, and I feel like in some ways I'm like, oh my god, I'm nervous, I'm shifting my addiction. It's like, is it sex now? Is it coffee?
SPEAKER_01:So it'll always be so sex is very interesting, if we could just for a second. Um so if you had you've had sober sex, I'm imagining.
SPEAKER_06:Oh my god, so much better. Uh it's different. Well, I mean, I miss that like wildness in the beginning, but like actually in the in the middle of it.
SPEAKER_01:Was the other person sober too? Um yeah. Okay. Um, so I've had both. Yeah. And it's definitely better when both people are sober. Yes. Um, like a hundred percent. Right. Um, matter of fact, I get kind of like tripped out if they're like a l like a little over than just buzzed. But um yeah. Know thyself, right? So it's like a um a really powerful, uh incredible um connection when it's the right person. Yeah. First off. Which is sometimes worth the wait. You know, there's a difference between getting off and getting with somebody that's really interesting. The chemistry. Yeah.
SPEAKER_06:Um what do you think about sober sex? Uh my mom watches this, so we used to go into like so much more detail. Now she's like a regular. We're impressed with your business. We're impressed with your spiritualness and just like your wisdom with you can educate us. Like learning about how your business affects you and your sobriety and also like who you are as a person. If you had one piece of advice to give somebody from today and what Jason Grant is all about, what would it be?
SPEAKER_01:Take a leap of faith and be honest with yourself about all things. Honest with yourself about what you're doing for a living, how you're living, how you treat other people. Just take a moment to breathe and put down the bag of bricks that is your representative, your ego, and do a little self-analysis and say, am I doing what feels right deep down? Just be a little bit more honest. That leap of faith, but being honest with yourself.
SPEAKER_02:Amen. Thank you for coming. Amen.
SPEAKER_06:Thank you, Jason B. Grant. This is Ryan Frankovsky and Kelly Meskorski.
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