Take It From Us with Kent Johns
If you're navigating mental health struggles, addiction or recovery — your own or someone else's — you'll hear what actually worked, what didn't and what people wish they'd known sooner.
Take It From Us features real people sharing their own journeys, unscripted and unfiltered. No theory, no talking points — just the honest, specific version of what recovery actually looks like.
Host Kent Johns is a broadcaster and health coach who believes everyone has a story worth hearing if someone takes the time to really listen. Each episode is that time.
Press play — you might hear your own story in someone else's.
If you need support, click here for helpful links, phone numbers and resources: https://ember.org.nz/resources/in-a-crisis/
Take It From Us with Kent Johns
Freddie Bennett: 'I had the Porsche, the Rolex.. and was falling apart inside'
Use Left/Right to seek, Home/End to jump to start or end. Hold shift to jump forward or backward.
Freddie Bennett co-founded Bay Paediatrics in Tauranga, and in his words, is leading the neurodiversity revolution.
Less than 10 years ago, Freddie had the Porsche, the Rolex, the corporate life in the UK. From the outside, it looked like success. Inside, he was falling apart - stressed, depressed, seeking escape.
When his dad died suddenly, Freddie spent six months drinking away his sorrows. Then one morning, he looked in the mirror and didn't recognise the person staring back at him.
What happened next changed everything. After years of trying to 'fix' himself, transformation came when he stopped fighting his darkness and started loving who he really was.
These days, Freddie runs extreme endurance challenges - deserts, the Arctic, and next year, the Amazon jungle. He's also a Guinness World Record holder (for the fastest marathon dressed as a fisherman). At Bay Paediatrics he helps families support neurodivergent children and hosts the Epic Families podcast.
We'd love to hear from you. Send us a text or a voicemail by clicking here.
If you need support, here are helpful links, phone numbers and resources: https://ember.org.nz/resources/in-a-crisis/
