We Recover Loudly - Serving Essential Hospitality Conversations
Welcome to We Recover Loudly the podcast.
In season one, the mission was to spark conversations about addiction, recovery, and drinking cultures within hospitality. What we found was that these topics are closely linked to much bigger issues that we face in the industry, which truly deserve our attention and a space to be discussed. The podcast has evolved to delve into important matters surrounding addiction and recovery, as well as significant themes like burnout, sexual harassment, gender imbalance, mental health, chronic illness, stress, and eating disorders—the list goes on! This podcast isn’t just for individuals in recovery from drugs and alcohol working in hospitality; it’s for anyone who has dealt with challenges, tough working conditions, or health issues related to their experiences in this industry, who want to hear inspiring stories of strength and recovery.
Each episode features a mix of personal stories from myself and other incredible individuals who are currently in the industry or connected to the industry via a mental health space. We engage in conversations with hospitality leaders who are paving the way in providing training and resources to cultivate healthy workplace environments for their teams. This podcast aims to be a welcoming platform for everyone to share the challenges they've faced while working in hospitality and how they’ve overcome them... loudly!
So, let's turn it up and get loud, because when we recover loudly we stop others dying quietly.
We Recover Loudly - Serving Essential Hospitality Conversations
S2 Episode 008 - Raj Markandoo - From Emotions Bubbling Over to Breath work and Bubala
On this week’s episode, we are joined by Raj Markandoo, an openly queer sober legend who currently works as Operations Manager at London based Bubala. Raj shares his personal journey of overcoming challenges growing up feeling disconnected from his community and how he finally found a sense of belonging when he started working in hospitality in Cumbria. We connected on how we both previously used drugs and alcohol to escape our thoughts and emotions, and how as the years went past that behaviour became more and more problematic. Raj describes finding sobriety during the COVID-19 lockdown, and emphasises the importance of breathwork and mindfulness in his recovery.
We also discussed
- How a personalised approach to recovery can be beneficial, and that finding what works best for the individual, whether it's meditation, support groups, or other forms of therapy is important.
- The value of gratitude and self-reflection in recovery.
- The importance of mindfulness practices and boundary-setting in your personal journeys and professional lives, emphasizing the need for ongoing conversations and resources to support mental health and well-being in the workplace
- The significance of honesty, resourcing oneself, and seeking help when managing team members struggling with addiction or mental health issues and how the best approach is always with compassion when addressing these challenges.
Raj is a great example of what we should be striving for in our managers. He is open and honest about where he has made mistakes, but he has owned up to them and now he works hard to provide a shining example to not just his team, but the whole industry. Raj proves that you can be in recovery and work not only at a high level in the industry, but work there with humility and abundance.
And if you live in London, get to Bubala now!
Connect with Raj:
@rajmarkandoo
@bubala_london
For more information on We Recover Loudly and to reach out for speaking engagements or support:
@werecoverloudly www.werecoverloudly.com
hello@werecoverloudly.com
This episode is brought to you by our proud sponsors:
The Burnt Chef Project @theburntchefproject
www.theburntchefproject.com
AND
No Low Drinker Magazine @lownodrinkermagazine
www.lownodrinkermagazine.com
For more information on We Recover Loudly and to reach out for speaking engagements or support email hello@werecoverloudly.com
@werecoverloudly
www.werecoverloudly.com
This episode is brought to you by our proud sponsors:
Low No Drinker Magazine @lownodrinkermagazine
www.lownodrinkermagazine.com