The Alcohol Free Revolution Podcast

steve33sz

The Alcohol-Free Revolution is an honest, uplifting, and thought-provoking podcast hosted by Steve Smith and James Lloyd—two people who didn’t hit “rock bottom,” but simply reached a point where drinking no longer matched the life they wanted to build. Each week, we explore what happens when you step away from alcohol: the clarity that returns, the identity shifts, the surprising challenges, and the unexpected joys. This isn’t a lecture, a rulebook, or a moral crusade. It’s a real conversation about modern life, habits, wellbeing, and what it means to create a life that actually feels like your own. We talk openly about the social pressure to drink, the fear of standing out, the role alcohol plays in relationships, confidence, work, and weekends—and why so many people are quietly questioning it. Along the way, we share personal stories, reflections, mindset shifts, and the lessons we’re learning as we navigate our own alcohol-free journeys. Whether you’re sober-curious, taking a break, already alcohol-free, or simply exploring a different way of living, this podcast is here to help you feel understood, supported, and part of something that’s growing fast: a new normal where feeling good is more important than fitting in. Welcome to the Revolution.

  1. 5d ago

    Episode 50: William Porter - Alcohol Explained

    Episode 50 — William Porter | Alcohol Explained This is a big one. For our 50th episode, we sit down with William Porter — author of Alcohol Explained, the book that for so many people, including ourselves, finally made the whole thing make sense. William wrote the book he wanted to read. A former paratrooper, he found himself in 2014 with his drinking spiralling — He stopped in February 2014, and Alcohol Explained was published in 2015. What makes William's work different is the tone. No lectures, no moralising just a forensically clear account of what alcohol actually does, chemically and psychologically, from that first drink all the way through to dependency. When you understand the mechanism, the desire starts to dissolve. That's the point. In this conversation we get into why moderation is so much harder than it looks, what alcohol really does to sleep, why the Wednesday feeling of being "back on top of things" is probably still only 60% of your best, and how the cultural conversation around alcohol has shifted beyond recognition since 2015. We also talk about what advice William gives to people who are nervous about socialising sober for the first time. William is the perfect guest for episode 50. We hope you love it as much as we did. More on William and Alcohol Explained: Website: www.alcoholexplained.com (The first five chapters of Alcohol Explained are free to read on the website — a great place to start) Join our free community: Every Monday at noon. Email the word Community to: info@thealcoholfreerevolution.co.uk Coach with Steve: Web: www.soberilliant.com  Insta: @sober.illiant LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/stevesmith-soberilliant Coach with James: Web: http://alcoholfreecoach.com Insta: @alcoholfreecoach_ LinkedIn: http://linkedin.com/in/james-lloyd-48313032

    1h 8m
  2. May 17

    Ep 47:The Art of Recovery — Emily Taylor-Rice

    This week we welcome Emily Taylor-Rice: artist, educator and mental health advocate whose work is simply incredible. Emily is a multidisciplined artist working across printmaking and photography, exploring themes of mental health, addiction, vulnerability and recovery. She holds an MFA in Print Media and Photography from Boston University College of Fine Art, has taught internationally across Asia and the Middle East, and has exhibited widely across America and beyond. Behind the art is a remarkable personal story, one of unexpected addiction, rock bottoms, and a long road back. Emily has been alcohol-free since 21st October 2016, coming up on ten years, and has channelled every part of that journey into work that opens conversations others are too afraid to start. In this episode we talk about what drove her drinking, why removing yourself from the problem never removes the problem, and how art became the thing that reconnected her to herself. We also get into the neurobiology of alcoholism and Emily's upcoming PhD bringing together art, neuroscience and public health. A genuinely special conversation. We think you'll love it. Find Emily: Website: www.emilyricestudio.com Instagram: @emily.taylor.rice.studio Join our free community: Every Monday at noon. Email the word Community to: info@thealcoholfreerevolution.co.uk Coach with Steve: Web: www.soberilliant.com  Insta: @sober.illiant  LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/stevesmith-soberilliant Coach with James: Web: http://alcoholfreecoach.com  Insta: @alcoholfreecoach_ | LinkedIn: http://linkedin.com/in/james-lloyd-48313032

    1h 6m
  3. Apr 26

    Episode 44: Anna Donaghey

    This week we're joined by Anna Donaghey — author, alcohol-free mindset coach, and host of the Big Drink Rethink podcast. Anna's podcast is, in James's words, the gold standard of podcasting in this space — nominated for ITV's Best Creator Podcast of the Year and the show he has been pointing his own coaching clients toward for years. Her book, What Are You Thirsty For? Rethinking Alcohol and the Life You Want, is something rarer than a quit-lit memoir — an awareness book written upstream of the crisis, for the enormous middle ground of drinkers who quietly sense that life could be more than it currently is. What makes Anna's perspective unique is the 25 years she spent as a strategist in the advertising industry, helping build the stories and persuasion behind some of the biggest brands in the world — including alcohol brands. She lived inside those narratives. And then she quit drinking, trained as a coach, and spent the last few years dismantling them. This is a big episode for us and we are delighted to have her on. We think you are going to love this one. Find Anna: Web: www.thebigdrinkrethink.com Podcast: The Big Drink Rethink Book: What Are You Thirsty For? — available on Amazon Join our community: Email the word 'Interested' to: info@thealcoholfreerevolution.co.uk Coach with Steve: Web: www.soberilliant.com Insta: @sober.illiant LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/stevesmith-soberilliant Coach with James: Web: http://alcoholfreecoach.com LinkedIn: http://linkedin.com/in/james-lloyd-48313032 Insta: @alcoholfreecoach_

    1h 3m
  4. Apr 19

    Ep 43: Ollie Coe- The Guy Who Started It All

    This week we're joined by someone who is quite literally part of the origin story of this podcast — Ollie Coe, a long-time friend of James who, without really trying to, set the whole thing in motion. Ollie started drinking at 15, the way most of us did — Friday nights, a mate who looked old enough to buy the booze, getting absolutely obliterated because there was no off switch. That pattern carried all the way through college, university, and into adult life, until 2019 when a string of messy nights, some serious relationship strain, and one very bad birthday party's worth of Old Fashioneds finally made something click. He did Sober October that year. Then just kept going. Seven years on, Ollie has travelled the world with clear eyes, launched ten games on an indie gaming console, organised a sober stag do in Munich, and discovered that sober karaoke is, apparently, elite. He's also quietly become the kind of person who opens doors for others — including James, who credits Ollie with recommending the book that changed everything, introducing him to alcohol-free beer, and referring his very first coaching client. This one is warm, funny, and full of the kind of lived-in wisdom that only comes from someone who changed their life on their own terms, without any fuss. We think you're going to love this one. Join our community: Email the word 'Interested' to: info@thealcoholfreerevolution.co.uk Coach with Steve: Web: www.soberilliant.com Insta: @sober.illiant LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/stevesmith-soberilliant Coach with James: Web: http://alcoholfreecoach.com LinkedIn: http://linkedin.com/in/james-lloyd-48313032 Insta: @alcoholfreecoach_

    57 min

About

The Alcohol-Free Revolution is an honest, uplifting, and thought-provoking podcast hosted by Steve Smith and James Lloyd—two people who didn’t hit “rock bottom,” but simply reached a point where drinking no longer matched the life they wanted to build. Each week, we explore what happens when you step away from alcohol: the clarity that returns, the identity shifts, the surprising challenges, and the unexpected joys. This isn’t a lecture, a rulebook, or a moral crusade. It’s a real conversation about modern life, habits, wellbeing, and what it means to create a life that actually feels like your own. We talk openly about the social pressure to drink, the fear of standing out, the role alcohol plays in relationships, confidence, work, and weekends—and why so many people are quietly questioning it. Along the way, we share personal stories, reflections, mindset shifts, and the lessons we’re learning as we navigate our own alcohol-free journeys. Whether you’re sober-curious, taking a break, already alcohol-free, or simply exploring a different way of living, this podcast is here to help you feel understood, supported, and part of something that’s growing fast: a new normal where feeling good is more important than fitting in. Welcome to the Revolution.

You Might Also Like