Rise Above with Kevin Lanning

Kevin Lanning
  • 4.8 (248)
  • Personal Journals
  • Updated Weekly

Welcome to Rise Above with Kevin Lanning. Join Kevin, a former Google executive in sobriety, as he shares inspiring stories of resilience. Each episode features individuals who have faced life’s toughest challenges—addiction, trauma, anxiety, and more—and emerged stronger. These conversations aren’t just about survival; they’re about thriving and finding practical solutions to rise above adversity. Kevin’s own journey through addiction and childhood trauma fuels his passion for sharing stories that uplift, educate, and inspire. Tune in and discover the strength within you.

  1. I Was A High-Functioning Drinker Who Hid It All | Losing My Mom, My Marriage & My Hair

    5h ago

    I Was A High-Functioning Drinker Who Hid It All | Losing My Mom, My Marriage & My Hair

    From the outside Christie Green looked like she had it all together. A successful career, a wide circle of friends, the person who sent the thank-you cards and remembered everyone's birthday. Nobody saw the high-functioning drinking underneath, or the grief, divorce and decades of quiet pain she was masking with it. Christie lost her hair to alopecia as a child and spent years building humor and achievement into armor so no one would look too closely. She lost her mother six years ago and describes that grief as the catalyst that sent the next chapter of her life into a tailspin. She went through a divorce, multiple miscarriages, and a long stretch of self-medicating just to avoid sitting with her own feelings. Then on one bad night out she slammed a door in a stranger's face in a crowded bar, walked home, and woke up the next morning knowing she was done. She caught herself at the crossroads. This March she celebrated one year alcohol-free. In this honest and reflective episode Christie talks about high-functioning drinking, grief, learning to sit with hard emotions instead of numbing them, and the journaling and self-worth work that carried her through her first year sober. This one is for everyone who looks fine on the outside and is quietly struggling underneath. If you or someone you love is struggling with addiction or mental health, you don’t have to do it alone. Reach out to my partners at Compassion Behavioral Health. They offer individualized care and a full continuum of treatment. Call or Text: 844-443-5669 Visit: https://compassionbehavioralhealth.com/rise-above/?utm_source=rise%20above&utm_medium=social%20media&utm_campaign=june #RiseAbove #SoberLife #1YearSober #HighFunctioningAlcoholic #AlcoholFree #SobrietyJourney#GriefAndHealing #WomenInRecovery #Alopecia #RecoveryIsPossible #MentalHealth #SelfWorth #SoberCurious#RiseAbovePodcast #KevinLanning #ChristieGreen #GettingSober #Journaling #OneDayAtATime #OneMoreThing Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

    1h 40m
  2. I Was Drinking A Handle Of Vodka A Day & Making $50K A Month Online At 18 | Getting Sober At 21

    2d ago

    I Was Drinking A Handle Of Vodka A Day & Making $50K A Month Online At 18 | Getting Sober At 21

    Makenzie Raine had her first panic attack at seven. She never felt comfortable in her own skin....paralyzing anxiety, constant fear, neurodivergence nobody ever addressed. Then at 12 her parents let her have a drink hoping to take the mystery out of alcohol. That same night she snuck out, finished the bottle alone and got obliterated. She describes that first drink as coming up for air for the first time in her life. By 18 she had moved to Los Angeles, was living in a penthouse pulling in $50,000 a month on a subscription platform, and was drinking a full handle of vodka a day. She became a frequent flyer at the ER for withdrawals she didn't recognize, got committed to a psych ward, and was even bringing alcohol in her backpack to the outpatient program that was supposed to be keeping her sober. She walked into her first AA meeting at 18 trying to prove she wasn't like everyone there — and heard her own story come out of a stranger's mouth. Now sober at 21 with six months back, Makenzie is building a young sober community, using her platform to reach other young people, and finally feels safe in her own skin. This one is for every young person who thinks they're too young to be an alcoholic. 🔔 Subscribe for new episodes every week📲 Follow Makenzie on social media IG: Makenzie_raine If you or someone you love is struggling with addiction or mental health, you don’t have to do it alone. Reach out to my partners at Compassion Behavioral Health. They offer individualized care and a full continuum of treatment. Call or Text: 844-443-5669 Visit: https://compassionbehavioralhealth.com/?utm_source=rise%20above%20with%20kevin%20lanning&utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=may #RiseAbove #YoungAndSober #SoberAt21 #AlcoholRecovery #RecoveryIsPossible #AddictionRecovery#WomenInRecovery #SoberCommunity #SobrietyJourney #MentalHealth #AnxietyAndAddiction #YouthInRecovery#RiseAbovePodcast #KevinLanning #MakenzieRaine #FunctioningAlcoholic #WalkingBlackout #SoberLife #LGBTQSober #OneMoreDay Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

    1h 16m
  3. She Started Smoking Meth At 15 | From 20 Years Homeless & Prostituting Women To 7 Years Sober

    4d ago

    She Started Smoking Meth At 15 | From 20 Years Homeless & Prostituting Women To 7 Years Sober

    Betty Guadagno was born into a long line of addicts — poverty, chaos, eviction notices in red envelopes, and sexual trauma she carried as a small child. By 11 she was mixing drinks behind a stranger's bar. By 15 she was smoking methamphetamine. And for the next 20 years drugs were the only thing that made her feel powerful, beautiful and safe. By the end she was a homeless meth addict who had lost 100 pounds in three months, lost most of her teeth, and was manipulating and prostituting other women to fund her addiction. She had been through over a dozen detoxes and rehabs. Her own cousin — who had come forward about the same family abuse — died of a heroin overdose three days before her 21st birthday. Then Betty overdosed on her bathroom floor. And had a near-death experience that changed everything. She says she met God, was told she was worthy of all the love in the universe, and was forced into a recovery she never asked for. Now 7 years sober Betty is married to a man she met in the rooms, works as a coach helping others break free, and is living a life she never thought was possible. This one is for anyone who believes they are too far gone, too broken, or too unworthy to ever come back. 🔔 Subscribe for new episodes every week📲 Follow Betty: @goodentvgloomy Betty Guadagno was born into a long line of addicts — poverty, chaos, eviction notices in red envelopes, and sexual trauma she carried as a small child. By 11 she was mixing drinks behind a stranger's bar. By 15 she was smoking methamphetamine. And for the next 20 years drugs were the only thing that made her feel powerful, beautiful and safe.By the end she was a homeless meth addict who had lost 100 pounds in three months, lost most of her teeth, and was manipulating and prostituting other women to fund her addiction. She had been through over a dozen detoxes and rehabs. Her own cousin — who had come forward about the same family abuse — died of a heroin overdose three days before her 21st birthday.Then Betty overdosed on her bathroom floor. And had a near-death experience that changed everything. She says she met God, was told she was worthy of all the love in the universe, and was forced into a recovery she never asked for.Now 7 years sober Betty is married to a man she met in the rooms, works as a coach helping others break free, and is living a life she never thought was possible.This one is for anyone who believes they are too far gone, too broken, or too unworthy to ever come back.📲 Follow Betty: @goodentvgloomy If you or someone you love is struggling with addiction or mental health, you don’t have to do it alone. Reach out to my partners at Compassion Behavioral Health. They offer individualized care and a full continuum of treatment. Call or Text: 844-443-5669 Visit: https://compassionbehavioralhealth.com/?utm_source=rise%20above%20with%20kevin%20lanning&utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=may #RiseAbove #WomenInRecovery #7YearsSober #MethRecovery #HeroinRecovery #RecoveryIsPossible#AddictionRecovery #NearDeathExperience #SoberLife #TraumaRecovery #FaithAndRecovery #SobrietyJourney#MentalHealth #RiseAbovePodcast #KevinLanning #BettyGuadagno #FromHomelessToHealed #SpiritualAwakening #GodSavedMe #OneMoreDay Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

    1h 6m
  4. "I Was Cut In Half On Impact" | Pronounced Dead 3 Times, A 3.5 Week Coma & I Performed Surgery On Myself

    6d ago

    "I Was Cut In Half On Impact" | Pronounced Dead 3 Times, A 3.5 Week Coma & I Performed Surgery On Myself

    Jerry Lucey beat opioid addiction in 2018. Then in 2020 a motorcycle accident cut his body open from his heel to his chest. He was pronounced dead three times. He spent three and a half weeks in a coma and had a near-death experience he still can't fully explain. In this follow up episode Jerry reveals what wasn't covered the first time — going septic during recovery and nearly dying again, over 100 blood transfusions in a single night, 68 surgeries, five years in a wheelchair, and the moment he woke up from his coma believing he had already died and gone somewhere else entirely. He also shares the unbelievable update from just the last few months — a hip replacement, a knee replacement, breaking his own femur after forgetting his leg wasn't fully reconnected, and performing emergency self surgery at home with a razor blade rather than going back to the hospital and risking opioids again. Doctors said he wouldn't survive. Then they said he would be blind. Then they said his body would never work again. He is still here. And he is still going. Jerry Lucey beat opioid addiction in 2018. Then in 2020 a motorcycle accident cut his body open from his heel to his chest. He was pronounced dead three times. He spent three and a half weeks in a coma and had a near-death experience he still can't fully explain.In this follow up episode Jerry reveals what wasn't covered the first time — going septic during recovery and nearly dying again, over 100 blood transfusions in a single night, 68 surgeries, five years in a wheelchair, and the moment he woke up from his coma believing he had already died and gone somewhere else entirely.He also shares the unbelievable update from just the last few months — a hip replacement, a knee replacement, breaking his own femur after forgetting his leg wasn't fully reconnected, and performing emergency self surgery at home with a razor blade rather than going back to the hospital and risking opioids again.Doctors said he wouldn't survive. Then they said he would be blind. Then they said his body would never work again.He is still here. And he is still going. If you or someone you love is struggling with addiction or mental health, you don’t have to do it alone. Reach out to my partners at Compassion Behavioral Health. They offer individualized care and a full continuum of treatment. Call or Text: 844-443-5669 Visit: https://compassionbehavioralhealth.com/?utm_source=rise%20above%20with%20kevin%20lanning&utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=may #RiseAbove #MiracleStory #OpioidRecovery #MotorcycleAccident #SurvivalStory #RecoveryIsPossible#AddictionRecovery #NearDeathExperience #SoberLife #MedicalMiracle #RiseAbovePodcast #KevinLanning#JerryLucey #PronouncedDead #AgainstAllOdds #TraumaSurvivor #MentalHealth #GratitudeInRecovery #PartTwo#OneMoreDay Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

    49 min
  5. I Drank a Liter & a Half Of Vodka Every Night & Still Told Myself I Didn't Have A Problem

    Jun 13

    I Drank a Liter & a Half Of Vodka Every Night & Still Told Myself I Didn't Have A Problem

    Matthew Polimeno was six years old when he climbed into his mother's bed and woke up next to her body. She had gotten sober through AA. Then a car accident led to an OxyContin prescription. And then she was gone. Growing up without her Matthew watched his father hold everything together while carrying a grief nobody talked about. He went to AA meetings as a kid without understanding why. And then at 16 he had his first drink — and immediately understood exactly what his mother had been chasing. By his worst stretch Matthew was drinking a liter and a half of vodka every single night. Shaking so badly at work he could barely function. Googling urgent cares while blackout drunk at 1pm on a Sunday. By some miracle a substance abuse hotline appeared in his search results instead. Now 16 months sober Matthew is doing the work — the steps the sponsor the hard look in the mirror — and building a life he never thought was possible. If you or someone you love is struggling with addiction or mental health, you don’t have to do it alone. Reach out to my partners at Compassion Behavioral Health. They offer individualized care and a full continuum of treatment. Call or Text: 844-443-5669 Visit: https://compassionbehavioralhealth.com/?utm_source=rise%20above%20with%20kevin%20lanning&utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=may #RiseAbove #SoberLife #16MonthsSober #AlcoholRecovery #RecoveryIsPossible #AddictionRecovery#ChildOfAnAddict #OxycodoneOverdose #GriefAndAddiction #MentalHealth #SobrietyJourney #WomenInRecovery#LGBTQSober #RiseAbovePodcast #KevinLanning #MatthewPolimeno #MomInRecovery #GenerationalTrauma#FunctioningAlcoholic #OneMoreDay Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

    1h 18m
  6. I Was Drinking So Hard I Couldn't Get Out Of Bed | From $100K A Week Steroid Empire To Prison

    Jun 13

    I Was Drinking So Hard I Couldn't Get Out Of Bed | From $100K A Week Steroid Empire To Prison

    Ryan Root was a skinny kid from upstate New York who got picked up by girls at 13 and couldn't grow facial hair at 28. Doctors dismissed him. So he went to the black market for testosterone at 23 — and his life changed overnight. He put on 32 pounds of muscle in weeks. His confidence exploded. His ambition came back. And then he discovered he had a gift for business. What started as trying to make $200-$300 extra dollars a week turned into a full blown black market steroid operation making $100,000 a week at its peak — with chemists, shippers and employees compartmentalized across the entire country specifically to avoid detection. He was dropping $60,000 at Vegas tables on a single trip and living in a penthouse overlooking Manhattan. Then at 5am, 15 DEA agents kicked his door in. He did federal prison. And never drank again. Now 11 years sober Ryan has built one of the largest legitimate hormone replacement therapy companies in the country — using the same obsessive business mind that built the empire that took him down. This one is for anyone who has ever turned a dark chapter into the foundation of something extraordinary. 🔔 Subscribe for new episodes every week 🌐 gofor.com 📲 @go_for4 (Instagram) If you or someone you love is struggling with addiction or mental health, you don’t have to do it alone. Reach out to my partners at Compassion Behavioral Health. They offer individualized care and a full continuum of treatment. Call or Text: 844-443-5669 Visit: https://compassionbehavioralhealth.com/?utm_source=rise%20above%20with%20kevin%20lanning&utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=may #RiseAbove #DEARaid #BlackMarketSteroids #FederalPrison #SoberLife #11YearsSober #RecoveryIsPossible#AddictionRecovery #Testosterone #HRT #MensRecovery #SobrietyJourney #MentalHealth#EntrepreneurRecovery #RiseAbovePodcast #KevinLanning #RyanRoot #GoFor #PrisonToSuccess #OneMoreDay Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

    1h 24m
  7. I Shot Fentanyl Until I Was Completely Unconscious | Jail, Losing My Daughter & How I Finally Got Sober

    Jun 11

    I Shot Fentanyl Until I Was Completely Unconscious | Jail, Losing My Daughter & How I Finally Got Sober

    Brittany Ellis grew up in a small town in South Georgia watching her parents drink & party. It wasn't until her oldest brother poured gasoline on a bonfire at 14 and burned his entire arm that everything changed. The doctors loaded him up with OxyContin. He brought it home. Her parents got hooked. And then Brittany did too. What followed was 15 years of addiction that took her from pills to heroin to fentanyl to IV crack cocaine. She married the man who introduced her to Oxy while they were both in the grips of addiction. She got pregnant on a run so bad her own dealer told her she needed help. No rehab in a three state radius would take her because she was pregnant. She tapered herself down at home with her mother just to protect her unborn daughter. Then she lost custody of that daughter for three years. When her father died she drove to Savannah to steal his prescriptions from the mailbox before anyone knew he was gone. Now 5.5 years sober Brittany has her daughter back, got married and is working in the recovery field helping others find the life she almost never found herself. This one is for every mother out there who thinks she's too far gone to come back. If you or someone you love is struggling with addiction or mental health, you don’t have to do it alone. Reach out to my partners at Compassion Behavioral Health. They offer individualized care and a full continuum of treatment. Call or Text: 844-443-5669 Visit: https: https://compassionbehavioralhealth.com/?utm_source=rise%20above%20with%20kevin%20lanning&utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=may #RiseAbove #WomenInRecovery #SoberMom #FentanylAddiction #HeroinRecovery #5YearsSober#RecoveryIsPossible #AddictionRecovery #MomInRecovery #LostCustody #SoberLife #SobrietyJourney#MentalHealth #GriefAndAddiction #RiseAbovePodcast #KevinLanning #BrittanyEllis #SouthGeorgia#FaithAndRecovery #OneMoreDay Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

    1h 40m
  8. I Shot Heroin With USB Cords Tied To My Arm After 2 Tours In Afghanistan | 7 Years Sober

    Jun 9

    I Shot Heroin With USB Cords Tied To My Arm After 2 Tours In Afghanistan | 7 Years Sober

    Johnny Schrey grew up in West Boca watching his two older brothers destroy their lives with drugs. He told himself he would never be like them. By 25 he was splitting Roxy 30s with his best friend because they couldn't scrape together $10 for one pill between them. So they joined the Marine Corps.. He detoxed off opioids in boot camp. Got a DUI his first night back from engineering school. Deployed to Afghanistan twice — watching friends die, getting his vehicle hit by IEDs, and coming home to bottles of Jack Daniels waiting on the bus. He married a bartender, had a daughter, lost a twin son at 22 weeks, and shot heroin in a condemned apartment in Overtown with USB cords tied to his arm looking for a vein. His brother — his hero — died on his birthday. Now 7 years sober, Johnny got his ex-wife back, is raising his daughter, and has built a life beyond anything he thought possible. This one is for every veteran out there who came home and didn't know how to turn the switch back on. If you or someone you love is struggling with addiction or mental health, you don’t have to do it alone. Reach out to my partners at Compassion Behavioral Health. They offer individualized care and a full continuum of treatment. Call or Text: 844-443-5669 Visit: https: https://compassionbehavioralhealth.com/?utm_source=rise%20above%20with%20kevin%20lanning&utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=may #RiseAbove #VeteranRecovery #MarineCorps #HeroinRecovery #7YearsSober #RecoveryIsPossible#AddictionRecovery #AfghanistanVet #SoberDad #PTSDRecovery #SoberLife #MensRecovery #RiseAbovePodcast#KevinLanning #JohnnySchrey #VeteranSobriety #CombatVeteran #SobrietyJourney #FamilyInRecovery#OneMoreDay Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

    1h 12m
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4.8
out of 5
248 Ratings

About

Welcome to Rise Above with Kevin Lanning. Join Kevin, a former Google executive in sobriety, as he shares inspiring stories of resilience. Each episode features individuals who have faced life’s toughest challenges—addiction, trauma, anxiety, and more—and emerged stronger. These conversations aren’t just about survival; they’re about thriving and finding practical solutions to rise above adversity. Kevin’s own journey through addiction and childhood trauma fuels his passion for sharing stories that uplift, educate, and inspire. Tune in and discover the strength within you.

Information

  • Creator
    Kevin Lanning
  • Years Active
    2024 - 2026
  • Episodes
    295
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    © Copyright 2024 All rights reserved.
  • Show Website
    Rise Above with Kevin Lanning

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