Laughs without Lager

Ashton; From Below Deck to Top of the World!

• Ali and Meg

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What if the worst moment of your life played back to you on global TV—and it became the exact catalyst you needed to change? That’s the turning point Ashton shares with us, tracing his jump from a Johannesburg cubicle to Below Deck’s spotlight, the night that spiraled in a van, and the sober rebuild that followed. Join us for a clear-eyed look at how alcohol masks deeper problems, why logic can break its spell, and how presence, purpose, and real connection return when the noise drops.

We get specific about the work. Ashton explains how he paired mindset with physiology to heal faster: advanced blood work, gut testing, and genetics to target the right nutrition, training, and supplements. He opens up about discovering stress vulnerabilities in his genes, the active B vitamins that lifted a “depression” misdiagnosis, and the post-alcohol blood sugar swings that fuel sugar cravings. When chemistry aligns, identity shifts stick. The result isn’t stricter, it’s smarter—less punishment, more precision, and a life that no longer needs anesthesia.

We also dive into a vital segment of our audience: women 45-plus navigating perimenopause and menopause. Ashton shares why generic lab ranges miss dysfunction, how HRT needs careful retesting, and why too many are told they’re “fine” when they know they’re not. This is a conversation about agency, empathy, and data—about taking ownership of your health and building a life that feels good without the crutch of alcohol.

If this resonates, follow and share the show with someone who needs a nudge toward clarity. Subscribe, leave a review, and tell us: what’s the one change you’re ready to make today?


Ashton Insta:

https://www.instagram.com/ashtonpienaar/


Contact Us: 

https://www.meganwebb.com.au/podcast-1

meganwebbcoaching@gmail.com



Ali

insta:  https://www.instagram.com/idontdrinkfullstop/


Meg

website:  https://www.meganwebb.com.au/

insta: https://www.instagram.com/meganwebbcoaching/

Connect AF: https://www.elizaparkinson.com/groupcoaching

SPEAKER_02

Hey guys, and welcome to Laughs Without Lager. Today, Ali and I have a very special guest, Ashton Pina, who is a TV personality who you might know from below deck and a health coach. Welcome to our show, Ashton.

SPEAKER_00

Thank you, Meg. Appreciate uh you and Ali having me here.

SPEAKER_02

So good to have you here. Um, can we just start with you telling us a bit about your story and how you got to where you are today?

Leaving Corporate For Yachting

Below Deck And Sudden Fame

Near-Death At Sea

Leadership Pressure In Season Two

Drinking Patterns And Consequences

The Van Incident And Aftermath

Public Backlash And Mental Health

Choosing Sobriety As A Tool For Healing

Rebuilding With Fitness And Nutrition

SPEAKER_00

Um, well, you know, I I guess the part that people most know me for is the TV show. Um, so I basically when I was 27, I realized that I was just not built for the normal nine to five job in in the corporate world. I was based in South Africa back then. Um and I just I sold everything back home and decided to join the exciting life of yachting. Um I basically went to the south of France with a little carry-on size luggage bag, which was all I owned, sold everything else, and I was just like, I need adventure, I need change in my life, I just need something, something needs to change, and I I just thought I was built for more. And I felt very sort of like boxed in and restricted where I was in Johannesburg in South Africa. And I was also like at the peak of just partying and drinking and drug use and and everything back home because I felt like I was just looking for some sort of stimulation or some sort of like um excitement to life that I wasn't getting out of my day-to-day life. And I feel like that's what I was just trying to find going out and drinking. It was I was trying to find some sort of happiness or some sort of just stimulation in the moment because my my standard life was just not giving me that fulfillment. Um, and I realized I needed to change and I needed something different in my life. And a friend of mine was um working in the yachting industry already, and he kind of just told me how I need to go about everything, and it was a very simple stream, not a simple, but it was a very fluid transition in my life. And I always at that time I was working a lot on my personal development, and I took on this mantra from Deepak Chopra of having security in the unknown and just being okay with whatever happened. Um, you know, we'll go through life and we'll feel resistance or things don't go our way and we want to sort of like throw a tantrum or we get unhappy and frustrated, but we don't really know what lies ahead for us and what the best thing for us in our life is. So if we can just surrender to like being the best version of ourselves and doing what we can and just being open to receiving what will what will be and what will come, it always works itself out. And you always look back five or ten years and you're like, damn, like thank goodness that worked out the way that it did, because things are actually, you know, there's a lot of positive that's come from that. Um, so to go back to my point, like everything just felt very fluid. The quitting my job with no backup plan, selling everything back home, going straight into the courses to qualify to work on yachts, to getting to the south of France, uh, to landing my first job on the most insane like expedition type yachts was just unheard of in the yachting industry. So it was just a sign to me that I was on the right track and just moving through the right sort of um stepping stones and transitions into my life. Um, and it from my first season that I did on a boat, um, very soon after that I was contacted by below deck and I was like, oh my gosh, this was just the next natural progression. It was like how amazing. I went from a standard desk job to working out on yachts in the most beautiful places in the world, and now I've got a TV opportunity. So, you know, everything was just like very exciting and moving at this fast pace. Um, and you know, the next thing I knew, I was on the on the TV show filming in Tahiti and um cameras in my face 24-7 for like seven or eight weeks straight. Um, and then there was sort of like this dip where you kind of go back to your normal life after filming. Um, you'll go back to record sort of pick-up interviews once a month, and then things really kicked off when you know the the first season teaser went out. Um, and that's sort of like when the whole fame and attention thing just like really escalated. Um, and it was it was pretty amazing. Like I went from just a nobody based in Johannesburg to South Africa to now being a person in the public eye, like a lot of people were reaching out, and your Instagram following starts climbing. And the first season was probably my most fun season. Um, you know, in a lot of aspects, I was just like happy girl lucky, party boy, didn't really have any um leadership responsibilities or anything like that. And I really enjoyed the season, apart from the the part where I almost lost my life, um, got wrapped in a tow line during a tow maneuver, got pulled into the water. Um, and that also was just like a huge, huge thing that got a lot of public attention. Obviously, it was a massive thing. Somebody was losing their life on on live on not live but on uh global television. So um that was sort of the first season and great experience. And it, you know, it sort of also put me into this category of of um, you know, this mini celebrity, if you will, getting a lot of attention, being put on a pedestal, like and and I say that because it's kind of painting this picture for this rise of my personality in the public eye. Um, and then again, after all of that sort of calms down back to normal life of working, I get called back to a second season, and I was like, hell yeah, I want to do this a second time around. Like it's been so good for um for my social media presence, for like my career. And it was just like, cool, how do we keep this momentum going? Um, and then the second season rolled around, got really thrown into this leadership role of bosun on the on the TV show. This was only my second real season working out on yachts, and I don't know if many people know this story, but I was told the day before filming went live that hey, I was gonna be the bosun of the season. And my first season, like the bosun, he he basically got let go. There was this massive like thing around his leadership, and I was like, oh my gosh, am I ready for this this sort of role? And I actually told them that I'm not and I don't want to do it, and and they kind of like encouraged me to just you know step into my own and go for it. Like I'll be okay. They they kind of had this confidence in me. Um, I had led teams in the corporate world, but never really like um and I'd led teams in the rugby field and and sort of and that sort of thing, but working out at sea and on a yacht was still very new to me, so I guess that's where a little bit of my discomfort and intrepidation came from. Um and the season as it went on, it started pretty well, their crew were getting along. Um, Abby then left, and return comes Riley into the picture, and things just got very dramatic from there on. Um, and it just was a very challenging season for me on on the boat, but I was also my drinking habits had just got sort of like more and more unhealthy as well. Apart from the pressure of the job, apart from the pressure of like the new crew coming in, I wasn't managing or handling my own self very well. I was still partying way too hard, drinking way too much. Um, and I kind of didn't know any different, really. You know, like growing up and going from from sort of like high school to college to early career, making your own money and you can sustain yourself. Like I never ever questioned my partying, I never ever questioned my drinking habits. It was just something that that I that you kind of did. It was always just this massive part of life and just this very accepted thing. Like that's how people went out and celebrated. Although I knew that I never had this like half-hearted approach to anything, and I applied the same to drinking. Like when we drank, I went balls to the wall. It was like now we're parting, and sometimes that went into a couple days of parting. So um I did know that there was that sort of part of my drinking which wasn't necessarily healthy. Um, and there was always this pattern that I also did pick up on that nine nights out of ten would be absolutely great. Ashton's the life of the party, um, fun, happy go lucky. But there was always just this one night out of ten where something would trigger me, something would throw me off, I'd lose my temper, I'd get into a fight, someone would say something that triggered me, and and it was it just led to to this thing of now I had to apologize for things. I ruined some, I said something to someone, or got into a physical altercation, like whatever it was, um, there was this pattern, and it just so happens that on the TV show, this one night out of ten, like actually was was recorded. Um and it was a pity for me in many ways that it that it happened on like global television, but it was also the best thing that could have ever happened to me. Um, because when I actually watched that scene back, it made me immensely uncomfortable. Like I was beside myself. Um, I was embarrassed, I was ashamed, I was also very confused and also like very I was in a very dark place. And and I'll tell you the main thing that annoyed me, not annoyed me, that but that affected me about that scenario that I had created, and specifically talking about the van incident where I lost my temper, hit the window, and I'm trying to turn around to address um Kate because you know she's now triggered me, um, which wasn't her fault. I was triggered by what she said. But that environment that I created, like that was part of my upbringing. Like my dad, that's how he dealt with his emotions. Like when he got he when he felt shame, when he felt um challenged, when he felt any which way, like that's that's how he expressed how he felt. Is he lost his temper, he hit something, he smashed stuff, and like that was my upbringing. And it was very, very, very uncomfortable for me to to go through those situations. So that for me was more triggering than what actually happened in the moment was actually seeing myself recreate that environment for other people around me. And and that's when I realized something had to change. And I and that was that was a hugely pivotal moment in in my life and in my um relationship with alcohol, but as well as like me and my deeper psychology and personal development. Uh, from seeing that, I knew something had to change. Um, the hardest part about that whole situation is that it did happen on a on global television, and I wasn't, I couldn't just deal with it on my own and go back to the drawing board and say, okay, Ash, and what do we need to work on? Like, let's figure this out. I had the pressure of the world like come down on me, and it made it very, very difficult for me to like actually just do what I needed to do because I just had all this this additional pressure. Um, and it's it's the first time ever in my life that I could ever that I could relate to the way people think leading up to suicide. Um, like that was a very real thing for me. And and I, you know, the the time leading up to me leaving South Africa when I was 27, I had started this very deep personal development journey, and I felt like I had made so much progress on like this person I was and my psychology and all these things. And for my world to just kind of crumble in such a hard way, and and I was kind of presented with this thing of like, buddy, you thought you had figured so much stuff out, like there you're not even scratching the surface, like there is still so much in you that needs attention and that that needs to be fixed, and it was a very daunting thing for me. Um, and to not be able to deal with that alone and deal with it on this huge platform made it very, very difficult. Um, thank goodness I had a couple of close people around me that could sort of bring me back to like back in touch with my essence. You know, like I was being labeled with with things, and uh like obviously the world gave me their interpretation of everything that they saw, but it was important for me to be able to tune back into just like, well, Ashton, who are you? Like, you know you're not those things. Like, yes, it was a very um, it was a bad, it looked super like the whole situation was bad, right? But I I couldn't label myself and fall into owning an identity that wasn't mine. If I had, it would have been done for me. I would have just been like, you're a piece of crap, everybody is right, you don't deserve to be here, like cheers, buddy. But you know, through through people just reminding me who I really was, gave me that confidence to just like draw that energy from my essence and be like, I know I'm not those things, I know there's a good person in here, and I'm not, yes, there's a lot of stuff we need to work through and get down to the bottom of, and we're gonna do that and it's gonna be okay. And you know, I slowly started rebuilding, asking the right questions, and obviously sobriety was a huge part of that. I knew that if I was to get down to the depths of the parts of me that needed attention, I needed to do it through through through a clear mind because alcohol was just the distraction, right? Everybody thinks, oh, he's got a drinking problem, alcohol's the problem. It's never really the problem, it's the tool that we use to distract ourselves from the things that really need attention. And and I knew that from my earlier personal development work, I knew the alcohol wasn't the problem. And even when I stopped drinking, I never said, Hey, I'm never gonna drink ever again. I said, I'm quitting drinking because I got work to do. Um, and it just so happens that through that whole process of sobriety, that like wanting to drink alcohol has become not even a temptation for me anymore. Because as you, as you know, as you go through sobriety and you start reaping the benefits of this whole process, you start questioning everything about the reason you drink in the first place. And it's funny how even the taste of alcohol just changes to you once you're going through this entire process. Um, so so that's sort of like um I know it's a long-winded uh telling of my story, but that's very, you know, the relevant part um leading up to and and how I became sober. Um, and it's just been it's been hugely beneficial. And you know, I said I said that that was an unfortunate but very fortunate thing that happened that I went through on the TV show. Had I not seen myself in third person view, I probably still would have been that hooligan smashing half a bottle to a bottle of tequila going out and making some trouble and probably being arrested or getting into some other other trouble. Um, so I needed that. I really needed that. And I probably needed it on the big scale to like see it myself, whilst I probably believed it if somebody said to me, like, hey Ashton, you acted like an asshole. Like, I had to see it with my own eyes. So I'm hugely grateful for the experience. And you know, now my mission is like, don't let that all happen in vain. Like, how do you teach people, how do you mentor people, and how do you help people not get to the point where their life needs to crumble on global television for them to like choose to be better? Do you know what I mean? So you don't have to go through what I did to actually change your life, and it's it's part of my purpose now is how do I impact, how do I support, how do I mentor, how do I help people realize their best versions of themselves through quitting alcohol, but also through the whole health, longevity, fitness part of this as well, because that's also a huge part of my story. Um, when I was in the depths of all of this, you know, growing up in a very dynamic household with my parents um being divorced when I was very young, I didn't have much control over the environment, where we stayed, who came in and out of our lives. My parents were 17 and 18 when they had me. So, like just you know, you picture what you go through in in from 17 or 18 and in 10 plus years from there, you know, that that was the my early life. So very ever-changing, dynamic, people coming in and out. I never had control. Um, the one thing I did have control of was sports in school. So I played semi-professional rugby, I played cricket at a high level. Um, those were the things that got me through life, really. So when things got really tough through the showing of the second season, I went back to the disciplines of like, what do you have control of? What do you know where you put something in, you get something out? And it was through my nutrition, it was through training. It was just like it was almost like I needed the somatic experience of looking after my body physically with the psychological input. And the way that those two met was just like where the synergy happened because you're supporting from both sides. Um, and and you know, that's that's why what I do now is is you know, I don't just help people through sobriety or help them be the best versions of themselves, we really focus on that physical part as well, like eating right, training right, but getting also down into your blood work, into deep functional testing, understanding how your body has been affected from years and years of drinking or neglect, what needs to be changed, like what needs to be optimized, what needs to be fixed, so that you're not only looking good, but you're feeling good, you're healthy, and you're working on the psychology side of it as well. So that's um yeah, that's kind of how how it's led me to where I where I'm at right now with with what I do with people.

Blackout, Confusion, And Production Gaps

SPEAKER_02

Oh, I've got so many questions. I'll let Ali ask a question, but I just want to thank you for sharing everything. Um, and oh my gosh, I relate to so much of it. And I think you kind of hit on um my motto alcohol is the problem. It's alcohol, it's not us, like you said, it's a tool we use, but also it is our responsibility, though. So we take the responsibility, but it's not us who's flawed. Um, and I love everything you've said, how you went back to you know, your core and what what lit you up and what helped you through. And I think that's just so helpful to hear. But um thank you so much, and I'll let Ali ask a question because I know she she has written a list.

SPEAKER_01

So when that scene in the van happened, and it you know, how long how many more episodes was there that you had to be like, oh god, I've still got a camera in my face type of thing.

SPEAKER_00

See, here's the thing about that situation is I was so blackout drunk that I I I remember that there was something that happened, I remember that there was an incident. I didn't know the extent of what of what happened. Um, and there's still like I don't I can't remember if they showed parts of this or you know, the next morning I was kind of like asking questions of like, damn, like what happened? Like, I know something happened, I know that there was a fight. Kate had left the boat. We had a good three or four charters left after that that conversation. Um, nobody had pulled me aside and said, dude, this is what happened. Like she said this, you did this, that, this, this, that, is for me to actually be like, holy crap, like, okay, let me let's kind of get down to the bottom of this. And so I I did the best I could with what I knew of of what had happened, and it led me to apologizing to Kate, and like you know, when she came back to the boat, and I was just like, you know, I tried to express and apologize for what I could recollect and what I had what I knew happened from from that scenario, and um yeah, so you know, part of me just wishes somebody would have said to me, dude, like just clearly said to me what had happened, and I could have tried to take you know full responsibility in that moment. Because honestly, like the first time I saw what actually happened was when the second teaser came out, which was like mid midway through the season of airing. So that's like months after things happen actually in person. And and I'm this not somebody putting any blame on, but it was just it added to that confusion, right? Like, if you can see and understand and know what you did in the moment, you know, you go to people and you're like, you know, I I'm flipping sorry, like I'm I'm sorry that happened, or you have a discussion and like you get to the bottom of it, but it's also Like the pace at which things continue on the show and with the charters, you kind of have a few moments to deal with some of this drama, and then it's like it's like, hey, on to the next. You gotta kind of like the show goes on, you got to get your next charter. So um, I kind of continued on with the season, not really understanding the depth of what had happened.

SPEAKER_01

That's strange, isn't it? How um production would let you be in that confused state of like, bro, or even just one of your the deck and it's like, money, what are you doing with us? Like, oh, you shouldn't drink it ever again, dude. Like, I don't know, something to like, you know, if that was your partner, you'd be you'd freaking wake up in the morning and know that you'd done something wrong because they would tell you straight away, like, you did this to me and you did that, and then you're like, oh But you know what?

SPEAKER_02

To me, that reflects the drinking world. I think a lot of the time people don't say anything, and there were times I'd wake up and and not know what happened, but also and no one would tell me. Like I didn't I didn't get told, and then in the future I heard little inklings of well that you know, that night, and it's like well, no one ever told me. And I was quite happy to be in oblivion, I have to admit. I wasn't on TV, but um, but it's a a sort of a two-way thing. Do people want to rock the boat? Yeah, rock the boat, literally, and maybe that was part of it for you, Ashton. It was good TV, you know. Why would they tell you? I mean, let's let it play out.

Culture Of Excusing Drunken Behavior

SPEAKER_00

I will say one of the producers did come to me, and I think it was before the next night out, and he did sort of he did say to me, He's like, He's like, Hey Ashton, I how do you feel about not drinking so much when you go out tonight? And I was like, I was confused, I was like, Oh, like why? It's like uh you know, like kind of what's happened. Like again, I would just wish I knew the depths of what happened because everything would have made sense. And looking back, everything now now makes sense. But I think that's a very good point, Megan. Again, it's part of my story, right? Is it's like had I not seen everything for myself, I probably wouldn't have just wanted to change everything and and better myself. And so many people go through life not seeing that version of themselves, yeah, not understanding the depths of like how they act and the things that happen when they are in that state. And you you know, you're right. Like some people are we don't want to like go and confront our friend and like tell our friend what an ass he was, or like um just go and paint that that picture because it could be taken the wrong way, but it's also like sort of give people grace in the moment, you know. So it's very hard to like be like, Yeah, you this is how you acted, like here's the receipts. What are you gonna do about it? Like that very seldomly happens, and I think that's again part of the problem in the culture. It's like people have this thing of like, oh well, he was drunk, and you know, oh well, you know, he was intoxicated, and you kind of just get let off a little bit because it is this accepted thing that people get drunk, they do stupid things, and like, oh well, you know, he was drunk kind of thing.

SPEAKER_01

Yeah, you get credit if you can't remember or you have a fight with your mates, it's like you know, you haven't had a good night unless there's a there's some sort of drama or whatnot. Yeah, definitely.

Labels, Resilience, And Empathy

SPEAKER_02

So I wanted to also acknowledge like I have had labels thrown at me, um, and I've done my I don't like to call it recovery because I I don't relate to the term alcoholic. I similar to you um had a wake-up call and decided I wanted to get back to my authentic self, I had more to do in this world, that kind of thing. But occasionally I get labels thrown at me and I let them go. But what I want to acknowledge is how damn how much strength, how much damn strength it takes to do this. And I think more so or you know, maybe it's equal, but being in the public eye, I think to pull yourself out and to do this, like there's not enough credit for people on this journey, I don't think, because it's a really really brave thing to do is get rid of alcohol, which is so accepted in our societies. So I just wanted to acknowledge what you've done, and I just think it's it's really amazing that you took it and turned around to this and helping other people and showing people that labels don't have to uh win us over, you know, we don't have to lose lose out by succumbing to that, which you did speak about that could have been a possibility.

How He Ditched Alcohol Logically

SPEAKER_00

Yeah, I and I I appreciate that, and I think you know, people like you and people on this journey, I think, know and understand and can respect the process. Um, and you know, since I've been more vocal about my journey online, it's it's been amazing to see how many other people are on this journey and how many, you know, it's really this this community of people that get it and understand it and and support each other. And it's like it's really inspiring to me and for me, and it just shows that I'm I'm doing the right thing. Um, but again, to just speak to like you acknowledging the strength and what I'm doing, I appreciate that. And I I'm my biggest critic, like, and I think this is not what a lot of people didn't really understand. Going through this process from the TV show, from that reunion, from when I first said, like, hey, I I'm figuring this out, like, I'm stopping drinking and I'm taking this seriously. You know, the hardest part of that whole process was that how people still try to just discredit anything and everything that I did from that moment on, like, from saying that my apologies were fake to like not even acknowledging an effort that I'm trying to make. And and I get it, you know, like a lot of things had happened on the TV show and all that sort of stuff. And I just I just think of like how many other people who are not as strong as I am, who don't have that perseverance and that um resilience, resilience, that that's the word, to actually push past that and like and stay true to the journey and keep wanting to be better better for themselves. And like it it gets me angry because you know it it will push somebody in the wrong direction and it'll push somebody to doing the worst thing, like taking their life, you know, I was almost there. Um, you know, and if anybody's making any effort or trying to make any effort to just better themselves, like as a community, we need to get better at supporting them. And look, I'm also not oblivious to the fact that there are addicts and there are people that are stuck in addiction where they are making promises and going back on them and making promises and going back on them. I I get that they that there is that dynamic as well. But I think the more we can support people, the more we can support change, the more we can support growth, the more empathetic we can be as well, because we have a very judgmental society who just want to jump to canceling people and like just everyone wants to be the the judge and execution, right? Everyone throws their opinion and like you don't deserve this and that and whatever. And it's like it's like listen, have some empathy. You know, like you see a smidgen of somebody's life, like you don't really understand what's going on, you don't know what somebody's been through, you don't know what they're facing. Give some support, like be a little bit inquisitive, show some empathy, and I think you'll a lot of people will be surprised that at how much you can like sort of uncover and learn about yourself in that process of just trying to understand somebody else a little bit better. Um, but yeah, you know, I I was, you know, like I said, I was uncomfortable when I saw the way that I behave. Like I was not okay with that, and I am my hardest critic. Um I hold myself to a very high standard, which again is why I really struggled in those early times when I just felt like my world crumbled, because that's when I started second questioning who I really was. Um and that's a very dangerous place to be in when you do pull your character, you pull your identity into question. Um because, you know, again, that that's dangerous because that's that's when you you lose your center, you lose your direction, you you start questioning your values, your morals, your identity, and it can be healthy to a certain point, but it can be very, it can be a scary thing to go through and it can end in in the worst.

SPEAKER_01

Can I ask you, Ashton, how you did um ditch the booze?

Real Connection Without Substances

SPEAKER_00

So it started by me making nonsense of like alcohol. So when I f so I started with, okay, how do I get back to what I know, the disciplines, we're gonna start eating well, we're gonna start training well. So I was doing that for five days in the week, but then I was going out partying and getting hammered on the weekends, and it then I would have a four-day hangover. And I think this is where it really started, where I started questioning things, is I would be not productive for four days. Um, I would eat like rubbish, I wouldn't want to train during those four days, and then I would be like, okay, hold on, like what actually happened on this weekend? And then I'm like remembering little bits and pieces of this weekend, and I'm like, hold on, like I've I've spent like close to a thousand, two thousand dollars this weekend on on booze and and party and this and that. And I'm like, but hold on, I've paid all that money, can't remember what I've done, and I've paid all that money to like have a hangover for four for four days. Yeah, and I was like, this is not making sense. Like, let's just look at the logic of the situation right now. I'm paying to poison myself to not remember half my my experience anyway, and then I'm paying the price for it four days later. It just didn't make sense to me. And I think that was when I could really disengage from the whole habit when I actually pulled into question, when I brought awareness to what I was doing. So it's almost like you live in this society where things are so accepted, and this is just the norm, and everybody meets and socializes and connects over alcohol. So you don't really question it, right? You just go with the flow. That was the first time I could actually step outside and kind of look at this thing that we do and and scrutinize it for what it really was. And I think for me, I'm a very logical thinker. And the fact that I made non-logical sense of it, that was the first step for me that was the easiest thing because it just questioned every craving or every situation that popped up around alcohol. And then it was really just like the work that I was doing off the back of that, in terms of just getting down to the depths of my psychology, I was hugely curious. I was like, all right, we've got to find out. Like I was almost investigative in this whole thing, and it was just hugely rewarding. You know, I was waking up fresh, I had no regrets, I was super productive, I was focusing on different things. But you know, the the biggest thing is that, you know, you're using alcohol to do all these things in life, right? You're using alcohol to relax, to socialize, to connect with people. But how well are you actually doing those things while you're drunk and while you're drinking? And I only realized that later on again. When I was actually remembering conversations I had with people, when I wasn't small talking with people to get along, when I wasn't like speaking at people over the music at a bar, thinking that you're making sense when you're just shouting at each other. Like I started connecting with people on a deeper level. I started like having intellectual conversations, I started really connecting, I started really de-stressing, I really started relaxing. So it was like the depth of my existence just became this beautiful like exploration of like what life actually is through through a clear mind.

SPEAKER_01

Well, and listening I found you're not drinking, I became a good listener.

SPEAKER_00

Sharp 100%.

SPEAKER_01

Because you're actually hearing, you're not just you know, filling in the gaps of you know, nobody likes social, you know, nobody likes small talk, let's face it. And but when you come out of that drinking stage, then you actually listen to people, and then you can actually have small talk because you're actually like, Oh, you're not I'm not prejudging you, but you actually got something interesting to say.

Chasing Presence With Party Drugs

Building A Fulfilling Sober Life

SPEAKER_00

A big again, a big part of my drinking journey was it was this escape, not even an escape. For for me, when I was drinking, so this was my drinking habit. I would quickly get to try and get to this tipsy drunk level, but then when I started feeling drunk, I was like, Whoa, now we need something to straighten up because I don't actually like feeling this like drunk feeling, and that's when the cocaine would happen, and it would just like it, it would level me out. I could stay at this nice high, I felt nice and confident, I was chatty. Um, so but in those moments, I really felt present, which was also like it feels like a contradiction to what we just said, but I was chasing just feeling fulfilled or feeling present or feeling good in my life, and this is where where a bigger sort of like discussion happens around career, your essence, what you should be doing, feeling fulfilled by by your life. Because I feel like a lot of people search for some form of happiness and fulfillment at the bottom of a bottle or at a bar or at these places where we're drinking, and we are either escaping or trying to feel something that we're not getting in our day-to-day life. And what kept solidifying sobriety for me was I started doing things that I felt good about. I started surrounding myself with people that added value to my life that that that built me up. And again, these connections, these environments, these experiences became so much more colourful, so much more in-depth, so much more rewarding. Um, and I just, you know, I've since then I've been moving closer and closer to understanding who I am, what I want to do, and how I want to live life. And and I think again, that's that's what solidifies it for me. So all the things I was chasing drinking, it was almost a superficial version of what I really wanted in my life. And through doing the work of asking the right questions, of not just drifting through life, of dealing with my past traumas, my past baggage, which ultimately drives your behaviors and your your outcomes in your day-to-day life. So putting all those things into question, doing the healing, um, peels all these layers off of you, and you kind of emerge as the person that you really meant to be. Life now takes on a different form for you because you're stepping in and stepping up as like a completely different version, and now you start pursuing different things. You are meeting the right people. Your circles become more fruitful and connected to like the right sorts of sorts of things. Um, so so yeah, that was a big thing for me is is that realization of like the artificial thing I was chasing versus the real thing I'm building now in a sober, sober life. Um, that that again just helped solidify this entire journey.

SPEAKER_02

Yeah, amazing. I I just so relate to everything you said. Um, so what you mentioned before that you help people now with their sobriety and um their health and everything. So, what what's that look like?

Coaching Method: Mindset And Labs

SPEAKER_00

So, yeah, I coach people one-on-one. Um, you know, I had a much bigger coaching business in the sense that I had all these support coaches. We were very more so focused on just like weight loss, body composition, eating training. Um I've again moving more into my purpose is I want to be a leader and a mentor and a coach and a guide to people who want more out of their life, not just out of their body. Sobriety is obviously a big part of that. Um, so I'm not a sobriety coach per se. So I don't really help people um quit alcohol or substance abuse, although a good couple of my clients have come to me saying, like, hey, I've been struggling to quit and I've and I've helped them. You know, they they haven't been drinking for the last couple months. But my process is that I do look at the psychology and the mindset and the physical side of things. And I've got a clinician on my team that that works very closely with me. So when I work with somebody, we do an intake, we do a symptom assessment with them so we can find these clues that are happening in their day-to-day life, which will direct us to what sort of deeper functional testing we want to do with people. So we do really in-depth blood work, gut testing, genetic testing is an absolute game changer that we do with our clients. Um, blood work will give us your current environment and the things that need to change in your health. Genetics shows us exactly how to do that and how your body works, but also how we can be preventative of any diseases. But also, like through understanding how your body works, we can find the ways of keeping it younger for longer as well. So, through those two tests, we get that data back, then we sit with my clinician and we basically put everything together and now we start building your game plan. What should your nutrition look like? How does that translate into a daily nutrition plan that you can actually follow? How should you be working out? Because there's not just one way to work out. There was like as an example, through my genetics, I found out that my body is not actually good at dealing with stress. So the way that I was training was actually counterproductive to my health and my longevity. So there's now a very specific way that I approach my training to not over-exert myself and push myself to these points of like being counterproductive. So basically, being armed with this really personal data of your own body, we can get very specific and dialed in and personalized with nutrition training, supplementation, and all these things. So when you're focusing on the physiological side of things, and now the chemistry in your body starts aligning, you're not feeling brain fog, fatigue, you've got energy, your hormones are balanced. Guess what? Now, like taking something on like sobriety feels a lot more doable because you've got a body that can support you through this process. And so now the mindsets and the psychology things that we work through to solidify, you know, you moving into that new identity and reinventing yourself as this new person that doesn't drink anymore, everything now starts clicking and making making a lot more sense. Um, and then you know, I work with with my clients closely. We're meeting once a week, they get unlimited access to me. So I'm really able to like mentor and coach and see blind spots in their life. Um, you know, I'm I'm consulting basically in their life and and helping people uncover the roadblocks that are preventing them from being the best version of themselves. And you know, I've found that people that have committed to sobriety or have pulled alcohol into question, they're not the drifters in life. They're not just gonna be okay with life happening to them. They want to optimize. You know, they they're not just gonna stay stay sober and now get fat and unhealthy kind of thing.

SPEAKER_01

You know, they the one yeah, yeah, that's right, Ashton. Hashtag sugar addiction.

SPEAKER_00

Well, that's the thing. So what that's why this gap happens post-sobriety, why people need a lot of help and support is it's very easy to go from one addiction to the other. But let me tell you what happens in your body chemically. One of the biggest um things that happen post-alcohol is blood sugar dysregulation because of the way that you've been drinking. So a lot of people quit drinking and struggle with sugar addiction. So if we can get down to the depths and understand like where is this sugar mechanism causing these cravings, now we can help you optimize that. And it's almost like a switch that'll go off or off or on inside of you. And all of a sudden, like my clients are like, dude, I don't crave sugar anymore. Like, I didn't even realize that I haven't craved sugar in the last three months. Because again, we're fixing the chemical balance in your body. So now you start trusting yourself again, you stop questioning yourself, and like people get stuck in this. There's a very big identity gap that happens. It's like post alcohol, you feel and wish, and hope that everything in your life and your body just automatically fixes itself. And it doesn't happen. And it can be very challenging because now you're questioning, you're like, Oh my gosh, I did this big thing of quitting alcohol, but it hasn't given me everything that I really wanted it to. And it it can almost Like push you towards like questioning, well, maybe I should just go back to the drinking version of myself because I was actually happy and having more fun and I felt like my life was more fulfilled. Um, so again, like that's why I'm I'm sort of working in this space because it takes a very specific person to stand up and be like, hey, I'm kicking this damn thing because I know it's not healthy, but people don't necessarily know how to convert that into full physiological health. How do we solidify that decision? How do we make that the best decision you've ever made in your life? How do we now give you the keys to your best body, to your best life, to your best mind? So it's like, come buddy, I'm gonna take you on this journey and we're gonna finish this thing properly because you deserve it. You know, you have made this freaking hard decision in in your life. Like, let's make you healthy. Um, you know, you people make this decision because they want to better their careers, they want to level themselves up, they want to be better moms, better wives, better business people, better husbands. So it's like helping people and giving them the tools to actually realize that version of the of themselves.

Sugar Cravings Post-Sobriety

SPEAKER_02

Awesome. Sign me up. We put down the alcohol and the work begins type thing. But um, I think it's a very important part of it, and it sounds like you cover it all, which is awesome and amazing. Uh, so where can our listeners find you?

SPEAKER_00

Instagram's probably the easiest, it's where I'm the most active. Um yeah, so my Instagram handle is just my full name. It's at Ashton Pinor. Um, yeah, so you drop me a DM there, and I'm yeah, I I get in there at least twice or three times a day. It's it's it is just the easiest.

SPEAKER_02

So I will we will also put that in the show notes for anyone that um wants the link.

SPEAKER_01

Sign me up, Ashton. This swapping vodka for cream puffs is um just getting a little bit um annoying because there's still that sort of um what am I what what am I missing or what am I feeling, what am I needing? And being a lady of menopause age, which a lot of our listeners are.

Identity Gap After Quitting

SPEAKER_00

I'm very, very passionate about the segment of of people, like 45 plus females, 95% of my clients are females, they're all about 45. So we are absolutely dealing with perimenopause, menopause, postmenopause. Um, I I could talk to you a whole nother episode on this topic. I will say it is great to see that there's a lot more attention and a lot more help for ladies out there to really understand what's happening in their bodies, how to manage these things. But we are still seeing a lot of doctors mistreating women during perimenopause and menopause. We're seeing clients that are coming to me, their OBGYN has put them on um hormone replacement therapy two years ago and have not done like follow-up bloods with them. So they've been spending two years on hormones but not getting the correct dose and not having any effect. So they've been spending all this money on hormone replacement therapy. They're not they felt felt mildly better in the beginning, they're not feeling their best, but they've spent thousands and thousands and thousands of dollars on this medication. Whereas when you come to us and we're helping you with hormone replacement therapy, if you need that, we're retesting every eight to 12 weeks to make sure that we got the right dose, to make sure that your levels are where they should be. Because guess what? That's where you're gonna feel your best. A lot of people will go to their doctor and say, Doc, like something's off. I don't feel well, I don't feel like myself. I know I'm not sick, but I don't feel well. And then you they run these surface level labs, they've got these generic, very average reference ranges, and then you get sent out of the door because your numbers are all within range, and you're left thinking, oh my gosh, like what is wrong with me? You know, I clearly feel like something's wrong, but I've gone to my doctor who I trust, and they've told me that I'm fine. 100% of my clients that I've worked with over the last four months, they've all had the same story. They've been to their primary care physician, they do their annual bloods, and they all get told that they're fine. We find at least seven to eight things that are off in their blood work that directly correlate to their symptoms. We start treating and we start like implementing the program to fix those things. Our clients are feeling better within weeks, and they're like, oh my gosh, like, where have you been in my life? Why didn't I find you like two years ago? And it just again it takes that inquisitive nature to be like, hey, let's get down to the depths of what's going on. But in defense, not really defense of the medical industry, but doctors and and medicine is there for treatment and cure. They're not there for prevention, right? So therefore, when they're running bloods and they're looking at numbers, they're not looking for, hey, is this combination of these four things that are on the lowest end of acceptable ranges, what sort of dysfunction is that going to cause in somebody's body? They're not asking those questions. They're looking for these major red flags so that they can diagnose something and then they can medicate it.

Where To Find Ashton

SPEAKER_01

A lot of people, I I know when I was a heavy, heavy, massive drinker, not one doctor said, What how much are you drinking? You know, you take that depressant out of your life and you know, I don't have those symptoms. But my ex-husband, like he was suicidal, went to the doctor, I gave him a script for um antidepressants, never once said, Hey mate, how much are you drinking? If you take that alcohol alcohol out, it it really can start the repair inflammation in your body straight away.

Menopause, HRT, And Proper Testing

SPEAKER_00

Yeah, I had the same. You know, I was post uh post-sobriety, I was struggling with brain fog, like depressive mood, low motivation. I thought it was testosterone levels, got those tested, it wasn't testosterone. And again, the doctor's recommendation was like, well, maybe you need an antidepressant. And I did not accept that. I was like, dude, I nobody in my family struggles with depression. Like, I'm not I'm not depressed, something's off inside of me. And that's when we ran my genetics test and find that I had the gene variant that prevents my body from converting inactive B vitamins to the active forms of B vitamins, and all the symptoms that I was experiencing was as a result of a vitamin B deficiency. We changed my supplementation to an active form of B vitamins. Guess what? My energy came back, my mood came back. I wasn't depressed anymore. And now I'm sitting there thinking like, if we've got access to things like genetic testing, gut testing, deeper blood work, why are we not doing these things up front? Why are we not giving people this information so that they can see and understand their bodies better and be that much more proactive in healthcare and like looking after their own health and their bodies? And again, that's the reason why I'm doing what I'm doing, and I'm so passionate about it, because I've got such a big connection to this whole process myself. I was that person who quit drinking and felt like crap. I was that person who had to figure out who I was post-alcohol. But you know what? Like I only figured my physiology out and got rid of my symptoms once I got the right testing done and got the data. That's step one. Step two is then getting in touch and having a team of clinicians and people that understand what the data means, understands how the body works, so that you can actually do something with that data and translate it into an actionable plan to actually fix these things. That's what healed my body physiologically was getting that data, learning how my body works and being precise with my supplements, being precise with my nutrition and being precise with my training. Not more strict. It wasn't that I had to eat like a bodybuilder or train like a bodybuilder. I was doing that way of eating and training before I'd figured all this stuff out. And I wasn't getting the outcomes that I was after. Now I don't eat nearly as strict or train nearly as hard as I used to, but I look 10 times better than I did back then. And again, it's just because I got the right data and I had somebody and and and got access to a team that understood this stuff and that could guide me on the process. Um, like health and well, uh health and wellness and longevity shouldn't be this the struggle. And it's only a big struggle because you're not getting access to the right data and you don't have the right person guiding you through the process of making it easy for yourself.

SPEAKER_02

Absolutely. I think you know, spot on, doctors look for the red flag and treat it. But what you're doing here is a holistic everything and not one size fits all. It's every person's different. And so I think what you're offering is not only brilliant, but it's also the way forward, like you just said. Let's prevent things, let's live to the optimum health for our individual self. We could talk for hours and maybe you'll come back on because it's been so interesting having you here. It's really been great to connect with you, Ashton. And I'm just so happy for what you're doing and for you. And I hope we can connect again.

SPEAKER_00

Yeah, I appreciate you um getting in touch and and you know, inviting me on and and talking and asking questions. I think we're all like I said, we're it's it's a beautiful community that I'm I'm getting more and more exposed to now of these people that just want more out of life, and it's it's amazing to be to be part of of something like that. So I I appreciate the opportunity.

SPEAKER_01

Thanks, Action.