Ladies and gentlemen, welcome back to another episode of Cup O' Nukes. As always, I'm your host, Mr. Whiskey, and I just got back from running seven miles. Why, you may ask? One, I do that pretty much a few times a week, but also just an hour and a half ago, I got done recording last week's episode with Stephen Hochman, who we talked about fitness and it got me pumped up.
I was like, I listened, you know, I was there recording. I was like, I got to go. And so we are here today still on the adrenaline rush to talk about fitness again, but in a different aspect. Today, we're going to focus more on fitness as a tool for recovery. In the previous episodes, we talked about using fitness to improve your health, boost your energy, and just all the different concepts around why you should work out.
But this week we're going to address alcoholism, addiction and recovery through fitness. So it's an amazing way to apply fitness in your life if you're someone who is struggling with that. And it's a great option for those of you who aren't feeling the traditional methods such as rehab, you know, if AA groups aren't working for you or you need an outlet and you just haven't found one yet.
And we're here with a man who did that. And I'm sure many of you are skeptical saying, how can fitness help me recover? But we are here with someone who is proof of that. Mr. Nathan, would you please go ahead and introduce yourself for us? Yeah, man, uh nathan buttergig from victoria australia That's it, dude.
I didn't use any outside programs or anything like that. I've struggled with alcohol and cocaine and um, Yeah, it really just put all my energy into Being a better individual and to me that includes um being fit being strong And the workouts kind of gave me an outlet Instead of suppressing all the, the, the feelings I was feeling inside with alcohol, drugs, partying, escapism.
I was, um, able to put all that into my, into my workouts and, and, uh, be a better man because of it. I actually just went to gym at 7am here. I woke up at 3 o'clock in the morning and then, Went to gym as well. So, Yeah, actually I uh For some reason I thought you were in uh Canada and uh, I guess that is because I don't if if uh Place is not in the united states.
I go to the next place. I know canada. So glad we got that away So there's the times on the other side of the world australia. Oh, yeah I guess it's kind of like canada But not not quite, you know, I will say it's um You It's evening here. So I appreciate, you know, waking up at 3 a. m. is not something everyone can do and then to go work out and then it records.
I appreciate that. But I want to start with what led to your addiction. You talk about using cocaine and alcohol. You talk about feelings. What kind of feelings were you dealing with that turned you in that direction. Yes. So, um, 2020 2020. We got lockdowns pretty hard because of COVID here in Victoria, Australia.
So we had lockdowns where you couldn't, um, pretty much leave your house. Most businesses closed down for a period of time. And at the time I was working at a gym and I was super dialed in. I was doing really well. I was eating, training all the time. Um, had a girlfriend at the time, a house. I lived in another part of Victoria and, um, because of lockdowns, the gym closed down and, um, I guess, uh, financial pressure got the best of my relationship that I was in as well.
And, uh, I was forced to move back in with my mom and dad here in South Gippsland. And, yeah, I love the job. I love the place I live. I love the girl I was with at the time. So, after losing it all, friends, friend groups, all that kind of stuff, I, um, instead of just trying to be better straight away, I sat in a long time, um, with drinking and drugs.
Feeling like a failure and feeling like a loser and yeah, it was mainly that it was mainly just like I'd done all this Well, I felt all this work to get to where I was in life And then had it kind of stripped away from me and I felt like that was my fault and the way I coped with it was Drinking and escaping from it.
Yeah, I think that's something a lot of people can relate to which is drinking and using drugs to escape to suppress those feelings and At what point did you? You Realized that it was kind of ruining your life. Like what was the progression with that? It was very sudden. I kind of I don't really know what made me realize it, but it was just one night boxing day 2021 I um was just sitting as I do drinking on my own getting blackout drunk and I just Things weren't going well, I could still couldn't hold down a relationship.
I still wasn't progressing in life I had a job and stuff like that. I wasn't a complete um stuff up but Things just weren't going as well. And as an individual, I felt like I was going backwards rather than going forwards, I was very, Unconfident in the way of social situations. I couldn't talk to people.
I couldn't look people in the eye Unless I was drinking unless I was um high or drunk So I was very like awkward and what I've seen and still do as like super weak Just a very like weak individual. But um, I realized like A lot of the reasons why I was drinking and doing drugs and all that kind of stuff was to, to kind of bring me up to a level where I could, um, be a life for the party and be someone like everyone loves.
So I wanted to be that sober as well. Yeah, for sure. Now a quick pivot, you said Boxing Day, which is, now I remember why I thought you were in Canada. That is not really celebrated in the U. S., but it is celebrated in Canada, it's a federal holiday there. So that's why I thought, I thought Boxing Day was a Canadian thing, and it did say in your bio, uh, I didn't realize that was celebrated, um, in, in other countries, cause it's, it's not really an American thing, like some states celebrate it.
But I just wanted everyone to know that so I didn't seem like a complete idiot on my own show. I thought, that's what I Australia almost celebrates Boxing Day more than Christmas. We do. All our family comes over on Boxing Day and it's a big, that's when we do our dinner and stock our lunch and stuff like that, so.
I don't even know what Boxing Day is. I'm thinking of two things, either fighting or like cardboard boxes, so. I don't know why it's called it, but the day after Christmas is Boxing Day. December you're getting rid of all the boxes from Christmas. Maybe, maybe that's why they call it that. Yeah. Little, little caveat, but yeah.
Sorry about that, everyone. I just. As soon as you said it, I was like, that's, that's what it was. Cause I was like, why did I think Canada? And then, um, yeah, but you talked about something that is really relatable. Uh, something that, you know, my dad struggles with that a lot of people who turn to alcohol and drugs, which is not being able to function in society in terms of maybe it's social awkwardness, maybe it's social anxiety or being the life of the party without drinking or doing drugs.
And, um, yeah, I know I, even I have friends who, if we go out, they have to have drinks and I'm talking, we're just going to lunch during the day and they're getting two or three margaritas. It's like, whoa, whoa, whoa. What do you mean? You know, it's, it's, it's day drinking now. Um, or even people who just won't participate in certain activities if they're not drinking and it really becomes a crutch.
And so when it gets to that point and a lot of people don't realize it, uh, you know, because. Even my father, you know, he couldn't go to the movie theaters or the water park. And he's at a point in his alcoholism recovery now, which he still is an alcoholic and still drinks all the time. But when he is trying to be sober and maintain that, he actually has the recognition now that he wants to go to the movie theaters, but he goes, I can't son, it's a trigger for me.
Uh, and once you realize that, I think it is great. We talk about getting to that point in your life where it's like, Hey, I don't want to have to use alcohol or drugs to be able to talk to people to be able to go to work or go to social function. And so you start working on on, you know, not using those kinds of things.
So how does that look and how did it play out in your life where You've made a decision now, but obviously it's not like you can just quit and throw everything away. So how did that progression look like from there? I kind of just like had faith that if I removed alcohol, if I removed the bad things that I was using as like a, like a, like a quick level up, if I remove those things, I would force myself to do it.
I'm going to put myself in social situations without it. So the first thing was a decision to remove it. And then I just started small, man. I just started, you know, I would just go, when I was drinking, I would go to my friend's house and drink, but I couldn't even, I wouldn't even talk to my friends. So it would just be like trying to get drunk.
So, um, yeah, it was just like removing it. And then, just little steps, man, little steps. And then there was one point where I made like a decision for 30 days. I'd go and talk to a random person every day and have conversations and like force myself. And I was like literally shaking as I was doing it, but, um, Right.
Yeah, just removal of the bad thing. And then you just put yourself in a position where you have to do it. Otherwise, what, are you just gonna stay in the house all day? Well, so it sounds like the hard part wasn't removing the alcohol and drugs. It was actually Uh, living and working towards, you know, completing those things, uh, w without them.
Uh, which is very interesting, because I think a lot of people, the hardest part is getting rid of the alcohol and drugs. And that's what we focus on so much in terms of recovery and support. But we don't focus enough on helping these individuals deal with life without the drugs and alcohol. We just worry so much about keeping them away from it and making sure they're not drinking.
Alright, they can be not drinking. Uh, but that doesn't mean that they're living, right? And so we have to make sure that they're not drinking and they're living, that they're thriving, right? So I think Well, if you focus on if you focus on not drinking and still focusing on drinking, like it's still the fo the focus is staying away from the thing, right?
Which means the focus is the thing. I just made a decision, I'm not gonna do this anymore, and then just focused on being a better individual. So being better socially, being more fit, um, you know, overcoming all the fears I had around everything, because Alcohol and drugs whenever you kind of feel fear or feel anxious or feel like pretty much anything Your first arm instinct is to go to the thing that you've always gone through since right since so awesome And so when you were doing this you're improving, you know your life and you're saying to yourself I also want to be a strong healthy individual.
I want to be good at all things I do. And so you start incorporating fitness into your life. What did that look like? Was it running? Was it swimming? Was it going to the gym? What kind of, you know, activities were you participating in and how did you merge that into your life? Well, I started going to the gym super young, right?
Like I said, I lived, I worked at a gym before all this, before this big decline, but I was mixing the two, you know what I mean? I wasn't fully in like the fitness scene and I was, wasn't fully in the drinking scene. So when my life went to shit, I was fully in the drinking scene. So I got rid of all that and then all my energy had to go somewhere.
I'm an extremist with everything, meaning If I drink, I want to be the best drinker. If I do cocaine, I want to do the most cocaine out of everyone. If we're having a good night, I want to have the best night ever. So when I went into the fitness and put all my energy into that, it was, um, just I wanted to be the best at what I did.
With fitness, it was, Lifting weights, hypertrophy training. Um, if you see my Instagram, I'm not small, but, um, uh, it was just that eating, eating, eating, eating the right food, macro nutrients, learning how to train properly. Um, I don't do much cardio. I don't run. I'm not a good runner, but I do do cardio at the start of my workouts all the time, just as a way to warm up.
Like I wake up at 3am every day and then go to gym. So I'm, I make an effort to sweat before I train and then I try. Yeah, no, I agree. Even on my non cardio days, what I do is I'll do the elliptical for like five minutes just to warm up, kind of stretch everything out. And then go lift. I just, I hate a cold start.
You know, you just get to the gym and start lifting weights. Like, let me, let me, especially at 3 a. m. It's like, I got to wake up. It's not even a bad, um, like injuries or anything like that. I feel better once my heart rates up once I'm sweating a little bit, once I'm warm. And then I feel like the weights are really like, they really hit.
If I just go straight into weights, it just feels weird. Yeah, for sure. And so what does your routine for fitness look like right now? You talk about waking up at 3am and going to the gym. How many times a week are you going and for how long are you staying? I go every day. The time doesn't really matter.
It's just like, I just run the program that I've set. So I'll go, I went in today. I just, I did a push day. So chest, um, like front delts and yeah, sorry. Fuck. No, I did. I did back and bicep today. Chest was yesterday. Back and bicep. I did a lat pulldowns. And, um, some rows and some bicep curls. I doing like a new way of training right now.
That's like super difficult. So you pick a weight where you fail like 10 reps and then you're just going to keep failing until you get to 50 reps. So after you, you know, you're 10, 11 reps, you'll get like seven and then you'll get like six, then you'll get five. And you're just going to keep doing that until you get to 50.
So, yeah. And my question for you as well, which is. Did God or faith play a role at all in any of this in your life? 100 percent afterwards. Once I was sober. Yeah, the craziest thing with um, It's the first time someone's asked me about that by the way. I've done a couple of podcasts, but yeah. It's always a good conversation man.
The best conversation. Yeah, so After I got sober off, um, drinking and cocaine, because I struggled with cocaine after I stopped drinking for a little while. I used that instead of drinking to do the same things, except like still still suppress what I was feeling and all that kind of stuff. So. After I stopped drinking, I remember I was watching some like documentary.
And at the end of the documentary, I obviously have, I grew up Catholic as a kid, but you know, when you grow up in religion, it never really hits until it's like, yeah, till you're picked to see it, you know, till you're getting them. And then I remember I'd been sober for a while and then I was just kind of in this lonely stage where I wasn't had no friends that I used to have.
Because they're all out drinking, and they're allowed to do what they want. So I was kind of in this in between phase, and I was watching this documentary, um, and then at the end of the documentary, the guy said, like, I never even, like, started being successful in any way until, like, I believed in God. And then, like, I was like, this is, I never even, like, kind of thought of, like, I never, people say God, but you don't really hear it until you see it.
Right. And then, um, yeah, that, that night I, I told myself, I'm like, if there's like, if there's a God, if there's a thing like, like a higher power, um, like kind of show me kind of thing. I'm like, I need like a kind of something. That night my Spotify got hacked, bro. And fucking some Jesus song was playing on my phone and that's all that played.
I woke up during the night, turned it off. And then I was like, um, I was like, that's weird. I went back to sleep and it wasn't until I woke up in the morning. I realized what was happening, what happened. Right. So I went on the. Spotify and realized it got hacked just to play one song from like the Netherlands or Norway or something like that It was just to play that one song and never got hacked again And I was like that's crazy and then I kind of opened me up, you know You start listening to people talking about God and stuff like that.
I'm not I'm not like Christian or Catholic or Muslim I'm not like with with a group. I love everyone that loves a higher power and like Um, you know, it kind of submits to they've got a purpose in life to help other people and to do, um, good, good for others and live a life like to serve. But, um, yeah, for me, it's just like a connection with a higher power, not just like, you know, what the Catholics believe or what the Christians believe or what the Muslims believe.
I did like a lot of reading and a lot of, I guess study and listening, but it's not, uh, it's not one, like one group for me. It's, it's all of it. They're all right to me. Yeah. And that's something I put forward as well, which is a individual relationship with God. And you talk about how as a child, it doesn't really hit you until later on in life when it's your time.
And I agree. And I think part of that is because the church, you know, they, and, and, or your family, you know, or school, whoever, Kind of brought you into the faith. It's they they tell it they don't teach it and a lot of these places a lot of people I talked to who grew up like Catholic or Christian. They didn't grow up Uh, being cultivated to ask questions.
Uh, I've always been intellectually curious, which is kind of what pushed me to read the whole Bible for myself. Because, you know, when you grow up, you hear all the clas it's like um, I guess I'll call it cookie cutter kind of religion, where they have all these stories, all nice and polished and picked out for you, right?
Oh, but there are so many stories in the Bible that You could go to any Catholic and Christian right now, and they've never heard of it. And it's like, so many people grow up just, whatever verses are being put out by the church, they don't have an individual desire to read. And, uh, you know, we actually talked in the last episode about how so many people see church as a chore, or a family tradition, rather than a relationship with God.
And I think something you said that really resonates with me is that you started listening to people's stories. And that is for me one of the greatest ways that my faith is maintained and boosted is hearing other people What they've gone through and the miracles in their life, you know, so many people say God isn't real because there's no miracles anymore miracles come in so many different forms and sizes and we all want the the big one like the earth being flooded or a You know a giant fiery ball from the sky, but there are miracles Every day of people's lives being saved people's lives being turned around So Uh, what I like to do is listen to podcasts like Refuge Freedom Stories hosted by Johnny T.
I've been on that show, check it out, shameless plug. But it's um, it's about real lives changed by the power of God. And I love listening to it, uh, because no one is out there on the show preaching at you or condemning you. They're just talking about what happened in their life and why they believe. And it's uh, it's such a great thing to hear those and be like, wow.
And then you really look at your life. Like you said, um, you had your incident with the Spotify, but you probably looked back after that at other moments in your life and were like, wow, that must have been something bigger than me. And I just didn't realize it at a time. You know, I've had so many of those.
Um, I love it. My faith grows. Exponentially with time because the more I live the more I look back at more stuff I'm like wow the chances of that happening or this happening Just like once your eyes are open to it You realize that it really does just all fall together But once you have the idea of faith and that things are going to work out because that's the thing people like lack when they don't have a belief in a higher power or like a A one universe kind of thing, but when you have an idea of faith and that you can pursue, pursue anything and it'll work out how it's supposed to, that, that changes everything.
You don't have that without that. But I like the individuals that critically think as well that like, um, you know, that ask questions and, and stuff like that in, you don't really need. It's not until you need, like, a higher power, not until you need help, that you kind of start looking at it. I think a lot of people that are, um, the, the classic religious person, um, they don't, they never needed it, you know?
Which is kind of like what they always did, and they always just, you know, listened to who was speaking and kind of stuff like that. But, you know, there's a point that I just needed it, man. I was so alone. And, um, and yeah, it always comes to you like that. Yeah, so we've talked a lot about your recovery and where are you now in terms of, do you ever drink at social occasions or are you completely 100 percent dry and that is your plan for the rest of your life?
What is your relationship with alcohol looking like for the future and for the present? I don't, um, I don't drink, I don't smoke, I don't do drugs. I live a healthiest lifestyle, not to be healthy, just to operate in a better way. And um, cause people might like say, you know, Uh, one drink isn't too bad, three drinks isn't too bad.
And for some people that might be true, but there is people in the world, extremists like myself, that if we do something we have to fucking do it really well. So, you might not be affected by the bottle, by whatever you're doing, the cigarette. And you might be able to get away with it, but maybe your kid doesn't, you know, maybe your nephew doesn't, maybe your sister doesn't, maybe your parents don't.
Maybe the person like walking past you in the street that looks inside the pub and sees you drinking doesn't. So you've always got an impact, whether it's, um, whether it's yourself or, or, or externally. So no, I don't, I don't do anything. I, you can't, um, you can't be fully, you can't be healed and, and, and still go back.
You know, you can't be like, okay. You know, we use kilos here. You can't be 200 kilos and get down shredded abs, wide shoulders, and then still participate in like just stuffing your face full of food and using it as an escape. When you're really healed, you just look at that stuff as so bad that, um, yeah, there's no way I'd go back.
Uh, you couldn't, if someone gave me literally a million dollars in my account and said, I'll take it back. If you don't have a drink, I said, take it back. But I don't care. I like that. You just, You've grown to the point where you, you see it for, for how it affects your life, the, the negative side of it, and, and you're sick and by it, and like you said, uh, you see yourself as a weak person when you're using it, and you don't want to be a weak person.
So I think that's a great mindset to have, uh, because like you said, there's a lot of alcoholics or, or drug addicts who sober up for a period of time, thinking they'll reset their bodies and their minds, and then they'll be like, all right, I'll just have one drink from now on, or. You know, whatever it may be.
And, uh, Yeah, and then they end up relapsing 10 months later because you can't dabble. When you're, when you're an addict, when you've got this personality, you can't dabble and shit. It's like, we choose to be family, man. And then we're going to be the best fucking family, man. Or we choose to go to gym and now we're fucking like tracking all that food and weighing it.
And like trying to fucking like bodybuilder, you know? That you can't like, you can't dabble when you've got this kind of personality. People try to fight against that they're an addict. If you're an addict, then it's just what you're addicted to that's going to change. The stuff you're addicted to can build you, can make you better.
But people always just like, they just, it's just, they're just fighting against it. Yeah, you know what? It's a great point because we've talked about it before my show, especially when I had uh, Dr. Brian McQuinnon on. We talked about A. A. And how there are people who go to it every day. Some people go twice a day.
Some people go every few months. And my father has always complained for a couple reasons. One, he doesn't like a because he doesn't feed well off of negative energy. You know, he goes there and here's everyone's depressing stories. And instead of being inspired to stay sober or to, you know, not have that happen to him.
He's just like, you know, life sucks. This is awful. And, um, but the point is to be inspired and to, to get support for one another. But also some people go to be held accountable because they know there was a guy that Dr. Brian knew who, I mean, I think he was like in his seventies. He had been, you know, sober for decades and goes, I can't promise you, even after all this time, that if you put a line of Coke on the table in front of me, that I wouldn't do it, you know, even after all this time, because that's just who I am, you know?
So I explained to my dad, I've tried to explain to him. I said. They know that that's in them. And Dr. Brian put it like this. He goes, it is a demon in the corner of your room doing pushups every day, waiting for you to stumble. You know, it is always there waiting to take you down. It is a part of you. And so, some people think, like you said, that they can just go back, or they can just kind of dabble in it.
But that's not how it works, and all it takes is Nah, you go, you go from, you go from one thing, being obsessed with one thing, having one thing, like, run your mind, and run your thoughts, and run your actions, and then you move all that energy from that thing, and you gotta pick another thing. You gotta go straight, that's why so many addicts go into the fitness industry, and just fucking murder it.
Or so many addicts become coaches. You They're, they're obsessed with this thing, and they want, and they wanna share it with everyone else. It's like when you're drinking and you're trying to get everyone to drink. It's the same thing with when you, when you go into someone or something else, addicts that still struggle, they don't have another thing, they don't have another purpose.
Another thing to move into, to put their personnel personality of like obsessive impulsive, um, and super extreme that has to go into somewhere else. You can't just like stay in the middle and like. Cause yeah, that, you'll always go back. I don't look at like, that's the thing too, people look at, uh, like, oh, a life, if I like never could drink again, I could never eat like, you know, bad food again, I could never, you know, do drugs again, then that would be prison, right?
That would be like, well, then I've got nothing to do, it wouldn't just like, then I wouldn't be able to live life. My idea of all that kind of stuff is when I was doing that stuff, when I was engaging in like, um, drinking and drugs and, and overeating and all that kind of stuff, that was prison. That's what ran my mind.
And I was not intelligent. I was super weak. I was something else had a hold of me. Where like I I couldn't control my thoughts. I was like, oh i'm i'm all good And then it's like oh i'm gonna go get something. You know what I mean to me That's prison a life without it where you're free where you're free thinking free from everything and you're controlling your thoughts and mind That's the life that I want.
Yeah, and ladies and gentlemen, I know we've talked a lot about fitness in particular But like nathan said it doesn't have to be fitness, right? Your new thing could be Who knows it could be landscaping. It could be cleaning a house You As long as it's something you can do and focus on, if it is distracting you from, like I said, that demon in the corner ready for you, waiting for you, telling you to, to come back, that you can have one drink, you know, as long as you are distracted from that, focusing on something else, whether it's coaching other people, or maybe it's an artistic kind of expression, maybe it's painting or video gaming, whatever it is, Uh, you know, that's what can help you.
So don't just listen to this episode and think that fitness is your only option for recovery and distraction. That it's who you have to become. You can become someone else. And just, uh, just someone else who doesn't use alcohol and drugs. And so I just want to put that out there for everyone. The workout is always good.
Because it always brings you up in mood. See people get like super low. They get super sad. They get super depressed because life always goes that way, right? It's always ups and downs. You're always going to go through times of um, like tribulation and then times of success But the powerful thing about a workout is when you go and hit it hard as you're always brought up, you always walk out way better than you were before.
And then once you're brought up, then you can kind of overview your problems that you're having and assess them. You never want to assess the problems and who you are as an individual. When you're at that super low depressed state, you always want to come up. And then overview it because when it's super low depressed you're always overviewing it as the victim when you're you know Hit a hard ass workout.
You've got a pump you feel good as then you can kind of Overview it objectively and and really attack the the problem and then like act like act on solutions Yeah Now before we sign off here nathan I want to let everyone know that your instagram is going to be in the description for this episode Why should we go check out your Instagram?
What are you offering us? I mean, no one has to check out my Instagram if they don't want to. If you want to, if you like what I'm saying, if I'm connecting with you, come and shoot me a message, man. I love meeting new people. I'm not gonna, um, try to do anything else. We're just all people here. People on the internet.
People in, um, real life. So, uh, I've got tons of content on there. You'll have to come check it out and tell me if you like it or tell me if you don't like it. But, um, my main thing is, uh Our life doesn't get better until we, as an individual, get better, okay? I can come give you a house, I can come give you money, I can come give you, um, the hot girl that you want, but unless you as an individual change, you're not going to keep anything, and it's not going to feel right anyway, because you're not elevating as a person, so life doesn't get better until you get better.
Come and check out my Instagram if you want, you don't have to bro, no one asked you. Yeah, but I highly recommend it if you're one of those people who struggles with social anxiety or meeting new people Like nathan said he went on a challenge every 30 days meet someone new Uh, he can be your first person You've already got a bit of his personality still someone new and still a great stepping stone And he can give you some great advice that we didn't get to on this episode So be sure to check that out and send this to anyone struggling to recover and remember Help them not just stop drinking but to focus on something different to focus on recovery and living But nathan, thank you so much for coming on the show and I really appreciate what you do to help other people recover I think there is nothing more powerful than people who have done it themselves Leading the way
