Shattered Darkness

Aaron Nelson and Mitch Benner
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We are here to Shatter the stigma around Sobriety from addiction, with a focus on alcohol and drugs. We have both, once in our life been extremely addicted to alcohol. We have been through the process of getting sober, and we want to share experiences. Not just our experiences, but the experiences of others as well. This podcast is a compilation of stories of people from our community. People, just like you, who have struggled with addiction, but through ownership and vulnerability have overcome their addiction and are prospering today. Mitch and Aaron are nothing more than recovering addicts who have found a deeper purpose and love for their community and peers that are still struggling. You are not alone, we are here as a group of people who want to do better, and live free of the disease of alcoholism. Join us, listen to our podcast, tell your truth, and start living a better life. Thank you for your support, and your likes, all of it helps us get the word out!

  1. VOR 3 TAGEN

    056 | Tristan Cuddon - I Drove Off a Cliff at 100 MPH… and Lived to Tell the Story

    This episode of Shattered Darkness features one of the most unbelievable recovery stories we've ever heard. Tristan’s life spiraled through addiction, bipolar disorder, and repeated suicide attempts. One night, while fleeing police at over 100 mph, he drove off a cliff in a desperate attempt to find peace. He survived. With 18 broken bones, brain trauma, and doctors believing he’d never walk again, Tristan began a long journey toward recovery. In this raw and honest conversation we talk about: -Addiction and trauma -Mental illness and bipolar disorder -Surviving attempts -Rehab and relapse -The reality of recovery -Why vulnerability saves lives This episode is a reminder that even the darkest stories can lead to redemption. Links Instagram https://www.instagram.com/shattereddarknessnoco?igsh=YWl3eXEwemJrajVi Facebook https://www.facebook.com/share/1E2cmh8YAf/ Email shattereddarkness5@gmail.com Tiktok https://www.tiktok.com/@shattered.darknes Spotify https://open.spotify.com/show/1yu39F8u4WvPVwUmNeimh4 Love Shack Sponsor Love Shack is the only mocktail bar in Northern Colorado, located at 120 E 4th St, Downtown Loveland, CO. Website: https://loveshackmocktails.com/ #ShatteredDarkness #Sobriety #Recovery #SoberLife #AddictionRecovery #RecoveryJourney #MentalHealth #BipolarRecovery #HealingJourney #CodependencyRecovery #SoberCommunity #FaithAndRecovery

    1 Std. 30 Min.

  2. 8. MÄRZ

    055 | Aaron Nelson - Stop Negotiating With Your Addiction, Recovery Starts With Brutal Honesty

    There’s a moment in recovery when the conversation changes. Not the moment someone learns about addiction. Not the moment they promise they’ll quit. The moment when the excuses finally run out. In this episode of Shattered Darkness, Aaron Nelson returns to talk about the shift that happens when someone stops negotiating with their addiction and starts taking responsibility for their life. The conversation dives into something a lot of people struggle with: we tend to overcomplicate change. We search for the perfect system, the perfect explanation, the perfect emotional breakthrough. But sometimes the truth is simpler than we want it to be. You either choose the work… or you stay stuck. Aaron shares how discipline, faith, and community reshaped his life after addiction. From running a 100-mile race to raise money for a friend battling cancer, to leading sobriety groups and helping others find their own path forward. The conversation explores: • Why accountability is uncomfortable but necessary • The difference between understanding addiction and choosing change • Why community and service can transform recovery • How simple decisions compound into a completely different life • And why doing hard things is often the clearest path to freedom Recovery doesn’t happen all at once. It happens one honest decision at a time. For those who are wanting to support Laura and her journey, Laura has been bravely fighting breast cancer since 2020, and now it has returned in a more aggressive form. Every donation can help ease her medical bills and support her family during this tough time. Please consider clicking the link below to donate or share it with others who might want to help. Thank you for your kindness. https://gofund.me/42ce58763 "I am just asking to pledge $100 for my race." -Aaron Nelson Instagram https://www.instagram.com/shattereddarknessnoco?igsh=YWl3eXEwemJrajVi Facebook https://www.facebook.com/share/1E2cmh8YAf/ Email shattereddarkness5@gmail.com Tiktok https://www.tiktok.com/@shattered.darknes Spotify https://open.spotify.com/show/1yu39F8u4WvPVwUmNeimh4 Love Shack Sponsor: Love Shack is the only mocktail bar in Northern Colorado, located at 120 E 4th St, Downtown Loveland, CO. Website: https://loveshackmocktails.com/ #ShatteredDarkness #Sobriety #Recovery #SoberLife #AddictionRecovery #RecoveryJourney #Accountability #PersonalGrowth #MentalStrength #ChooseYourHard #SelfDiscipline #SoberCommunity #LifeChange

    1 Std. 30 Min.

  3. 28. FEB.

    054 | Devanada Vargas - Healing Isn’t Linear: Addiction, Ego, and the Search for Truth

    Recovery isn’t just about quitting a substance — it’s about learning how to live inside yourself again. In Episode 54 of Shattered Darkness, we sit down with Devananda Vargas for one of the deepest conversations we’ve had on the podcast so far. This episode explores addiction through the lenses of awareness, spirituality, identity, trauma, and personal responsibility — without forcing answers or pretending there’s only one path forward. We talk about growing up in chaos, early coping mechanisms, how addiction subtly becomes identity, and what happens when you finally slow down enough to listen to yourself. This conversation moves beyond alcohol and drugs and into the deeper patterns that drive avoidance, overthinking, ego, control, and fear. A major theme of this episode is discernment — learning the difference between impulse and intuition, between avoidance and alignment, and between numbing out and actually healing. We also explore why recovery often leads people into spiritual questioning, and why discomfort is often the doorway to growth. This episode was recorded on location at Love Shack, the only mocktail bar in Northern Colorado — a space intentionally built for connection, creativity, and sober community. 🍹 FILMED AT LOVE SHACK Love Shack Mocktails 📍 120 E 4th St, Downtown Loveland, CO 🌿 The only mocktail bar in Northern Colorado ☕ Coffee • Craft Mocktails • Community Events • Creative Space 🔗 Website: https://loveshackmocktails.com/ 🔗 CONNECT WITH SHATTERED DARKNESS 📸 Instagram https://www.instagram.com/shattereddarknessnoco?igsh=YWl3eXEwemJrajVi 📘 Facebook https://www.facebook.com/share/1E2cmh8YAf/ 🎧 Spotify https://open.spotify.com/show/1yu39F8u4WvPVwUmNeimh4 📧 Email shattereddarkness5@gmail.com #ShatteredDarkness #SobrietyJourney #RecoveryPodcast #AddictionRecovery #SoberCommunity #HealingThroughConversation #SpiritualGrowth #SelfAwareness #InnerWork #BreakingPatterns #ConsciousLiving #LoveShackMocktails #NorthernColorado #BeyondTheBuzz

    1 Std. 17 Min.

  4. 22. FEB.

    053 | The Power of Perspective in the Hardest Season | Jeremy & Amy Holton (Part 2)

    Some moments don’t ask permission. They just arrive… and everything becomes “before” and “after.” Jeremy & Amy Holton join us for Part 2 of their story — a season that started with a stroke, but quickly became something deeper: how a family chooses hope, how a marriage adjusts when “normal” disappears, and what it looks like to guard the atmosphere around the people you love. They talk about faith without the checklist. Strength without pretending. Vulnerability with wisdom. And the reality of living in the “middle of the story” — where things don’t make sense yet, but you still have to wake up and keep going. If you’ve ever felt like life changed overnight… this one will stay with you. Love Shack (Sponsor + Filming Location) Love Shack is the only mocktail bar in Northern Colorado — and it’s an incredible community space. 📍 120 E 4th St, Downtown Loveland, CO 🌐 https://loveshackmocktails.com/ Listen on Spotify (Shattered Darkness) 🎧 https://open.spotify.com/show/1yu39F8u4WvPVwUmNeimh4 Connect with Shattered Darkness Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/shattereddarknessnoco?igsh=YWl3eXEwemJrajVi Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/share/1E2cmh8YAf/ Email: shattereddarkness5@gmail.com Guest Plug Amy’s project: Midlife Marvelous (health, wellness, nutrition, and strength for midlife women) — check her out on Instagram. Support Note Jeremy is currently unable to work — if you’d like to support them, add the GoFundMe link here: https://www.gofundme.com/f/help-jeremeys-family-through-his-healing-journey?utm_source=ig&utm_medium=social&utm_content=link_in_bio&fbclid=PAdGRleAP_OiJleHRuA2FlbQIxMQBzcnRjBmFwcF9pZA8xMjQwMjQ1NzQyODc0MTQAAady7glxOk27mX_v646FCFiwjqo8gZPSOTU9IumxjRpoPTQXxb0ir9esijnbpw_aem_YAIsKXItsfdiTrv_DMh6jQ 👇 Drop a comment: What’s one hard season that forced you to grow — and what helped you not lose yourself in it? #ShatteredDarkness #RecoveryCommunity #SoberLife #SoberCurious #AlcoholFree #AddictionRecovery #FaithJourney #Hope #MentalStrength #Marriage #Family #Healing #Neuroplasticity #Gratitude #PersonalGrowth #LovelandCO #NorthernColorado #LoveShack #Mocktails #Sobriety

    1 Std. 7 Min.

  5. 12. FEB.

    052 | Jeremy & Amy Houlton - Faith, Identity, and the Day Everything Changed (Part 1)

    Some stories don’t start with the disaster — they start with the origin. The quiet details that explain who someone is before the world shakes. In Episode 52, Elliot and Mitch sit down with Jeremy and Amy Holton at Love Shack in downtown Loveland for a conversation that moves from laughter and “how we met” into something much deeper: faith, identity, the long shadow of alcohol in the home, and what it means to chase perfection when life feels out of control. Amy shares the moment her world turned at 3 a.m. — the fear, the prayer, the phone call that lined up too perfectly to ignore… and the chain of events that led her mom to treatment at Hazelden and a new life of sobriety. Jeremy shares his own turning point: a Tool concert, a sudden conviction, and the shift that changed the entire trajectory of his life. And then the episode pivots. They open up about the years that followed: losing stability, living in an RV, rebuilding careers, and learning what it means to keep going when life goes silent. Finally, Jeremy and Amy bring us to the day everything changed — And a recovery story that doesn’t make sense on paper… but somehow keeps unfolding. This is Part 1 of 2 — and the hook is real: don’t miss Part 2. Subscribe so you don’t miss the next drop — the second half goes even deeper. Find us / contact Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/shattereddarknessnoco?igsh=YWl3eXEwemJrajVi Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/share/1E2cmh8YAf/ Email: shattereddarkness5@gmail.com Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/1yu39F8u4WvPVwUmNeimh4 Shot on location at Love Shack Love Shack — the only mocktail bar in Northern Colorado 📍 120 E 4th St, Downtown Loveland, CO https://loveshackmocktails.com/ #ShatteredDarkness #Recovery #Sobriety #AddictionRecovery #FaithJourney #SpiritualAwakening #Grace #Forgiveness #Marriage #RealLifeStories #StrokeSurvivor #StrokeRecovery #CaregiverSupport #FamilyHealing #ColoradoPodcast #LovelandColorado #NorthernColorado #LoveShack #MocktailBar #Community

    46 Min.

  6. 10. FEB.

    051 | Elliot & Mitch - Accountability Changes Everything

    This episode is a reflection on how much can change when you stop pointing outward and start taking responsibility for your own life. Mitch and Elliot look back on the early days of Shattered Darkness and talk honestly about growth, faith, sobriety, personal accountability, and the uncomfortable process of owning your story without hiding behind it. They dig into what it means to stop blaming your past, your upbringing, or other people — and instead take responsibility for your choices, your relationships, and the direction of your life. From family and marriage to purpose, discipline, and faith, this conversation is about choosing growth even when it’s hard. This episode is about learning to lead yourself first, understanding why accountability matters, and recognizing that real change starts when you’re willing to tell the truth — to yourself. This episode was recorded on location in the basement of The Love Shack - Craft Mocktails and Potions, Northern Colorado’s first sober bar, and a place that represents everything this community is about: connection, honesty, and showing up as you are. The Love Shack - Craft Mocktails and Potions 📍 120 E 4th St, Loveland, CO 80537 🌐 https://loveshackmocktails.com/ 🤝 Connect & Share with Shattered Darkness 📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/shattereddarknessnoco?igsh=YWl3eXEwemJrajVi 📘 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/share/1E2cmh8YAf/ 📧 Email: shattereddarkness5@gmail.com 🔗 Listen on Spotify 🎧 https://open.spotify.com/show/1yu39F8u4WvPVwUmNeimh4 #shattereddarkness #accountability #sobriety #recoveryjourney #faithandgrowth #mensgrowth #personalresponsibility #purpose #honestconversations #leadership

    1 Std. 6 Min.

  7. 29. JAN.

    050 | Melissa Moore - When Survival Turns Into Self-Respect

    Episode 50 marks a huge milestone for Shattered Darkness! Thank you for all of your support! Melissa Moore joins the conversation to share her story — growing up on military bases overseas, moving to Northern Colorado as a teenager, and trying to find where she fit in after suddenly being dropped into a very different world. From high school culture shock to chasing belonging, from nightlife and identity to motherhood, recovery, and rebuilding — this episode moves through decades of lived experience with real clarity and reflection. Melissa talks openly about: -Growing up between cultures and never quite feeling “in” -How party culture became a way to belong -Motherhood, responsibility, and taking ownership of choices -Letting go of shame and rebuilding self-respect -What sobriety looks like now — imperfect, intentional, and honest -Why forgiveness, faith, and accountability changed everything This episode was recorded on location in the basement of The Love Shack - Craft Mocktails and Potions, Northern Colorado’s first sober bar, and a place that represents everything this community is about: connection, honesty, and showing up as you are. The Love Shack - Craft Mocktails and Potions 📍 120 E 4th St, Loveland, CO 80537 🌐 https://loveshackmocktails.com/ 🔗 Connect & Share with Shattered Darkness 📸 Instagram https://www.instagram.com/shattereddarknessnoco?igsh=YWl3eXEwemJrajVi 📘 Facebook https://www.facebook.com/share/1E2cmh8YAf/ 🎧 Spotify https://open.spotify.com/show/1yu39F8u4WvPVwUmNeimh4 📩 Email shattereddarkness5@gmail.com #shattereddarkness #recovery #sobriety #honestconversations #personalgrowth #selfreflection #community #faith #identity #healingjourney #loveshackmocktails #sobercommunity #lovelandco

    1 Std. 1 Min.

  8. 24. JAN.

    049 | Elliot Osteroos (Part 2) - Halfway Up the Mountain: Life After Getting Sober

    Part 1 ended at rock bottom. This is what came next. After the chaos stopped, nothing suddenly felt easier. There was no instant clarity, no relief, no clean reset. Just the reality of sitting with everything that had been avoided for years — grief, fear, identity, and the quiet question of now what? This conversation picks up in the aftermath. Not the highlight reel version of recovery, but the slow, uncomfortable middle where the noise is gone and the work begins. It moves through: -What happens when alcohol is no longer an option -Why early sobriety can feel harder than active addiction -The collapse of old identities and false confidence -Letting go of control instead of forcing outcomes -Rebuilding faith without fear or dogma -Learning to sit with emotions instead of escaping them -Why recovery isn’t about fixing yourself — it’s about meeting yourself honestly This is simply what it looked like to keep going when quitting wasn’t the hardest part anymore. If you’ve ever wondered why stopping is only the beginning… If you’ve felt lost after doing the “right” thing… This will resonate. 👇 Question for you: What surprised you most after things finally stopped falling apart? 🎥 FILMED ON LOCATION The Love Shack – Craft Mocktails & Potions This episode was filmed at The Love Shack – Craft Mocktails & Potions, Northern Colorado’s first sober bar, located in downtown Loveland. The Love Shack offers handcrafted non-alcoholic drinks, coffee, and tea in a welcoming, alcohol-free space built for real connection. The venue includes a basement game room (pool, darts, and more) and an upstairs lounge known as the Pink Cloud Room. 📍 Address: 120 E 4th St, Loveland, CO 80537 🌐 Website: https://loveshackmocktails.com/ 🔗 CONNECT WITH SHATTERED DARKNESS 📸 Instagram https://www.instagram.com/shattereddarknessnoco?igsh=YWl3eXEwemJrajVi 📘 Facebook https://www.facebook.com/share/1E2cmh8YAf/ 🎧 Spotify https://open.spotify.com/show/1yu39F8u4WvPVwUmNeimh4 ✉️ Email shattereddarkness5@gmail.com

    1 Std. 46 Min.
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Info

We are here to Shatter the stigma around Sobriety from addiction, with a focus on alcohol and drugs. We have both, once in our life been extremely addicted to alcohol. We have been through the process of getting sober, and we want to share experiences. Not just our experiences, but the experiences of others as well. This podcast is a compilation of stories of people from our community. People, just like you, who have struggled with addiction, but through ownership and vulnerability have overcome their addiction and are prospering today. Mitch and Aaron are nothing more than recovering addicts who have found a deeper purpose and love for their community and peers that are still struggling. You are not alone, we are here as a group of people who want to do better, and live free of the disease of alcoholism. Join us, listen to our podcast, tell your truth, and start living a better life. Thank you for your support, and your likes, all of it helps us get the word out!

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  • Erstellt von
    Aaron Nelson and Mitch Benner
  • Jahre aktiv
    2024 - 2026
  • Folgen
    55
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