Two Local Business Leaders on How They’re Living Alcohol Free
By Haley Dockendorff
In a world that’s seemingly obsessed with alcohol, it can be hard to get away from it. It’s in every restaurant you go to, in cocktail recipes on your feed, at your friend’s birthday, even at your company Christmas party. Heck, we bet you have some lying around the house.
Alcohol has stayed under the radar of most people’s idea of a “drug” because of its legality, but a new wave is breaking through the wellness community: sobriety.
Whether it be through trending “challenges” like Dry January and Sober October, mixologists embracing mocktail recipes, or even younger generations’ aversion to going out, going sober seems to be the new status quo. We wanted to dive deeper into this (not so) new way of wellness in our community and talk to some people who know a thing or two about sobriety.
Matt Williams has been sober for 15 years. He is the founder of FROPRO, a booming snack business that started with his journey to sobriety. After getting a DUI and losing his ability to drive, Matt was biking everywhere. He needed a snack that was healthy, but easy to take on the go, giving life to the peanut butter bars he’s now known for.
“Drinking and drugging was a solution for me that never worked,” Matt said. “I had to realize that I was the problem, and work on myself.”
Matt believes that anyone who is trying to cut back on their drinking is doing a positive thing. The tricky side to this new wave, or trend, of sobriety, he says, is the difference in effort it takes to embrace the change when drinking is a habit, versus when it’s an addiction. This is especially true if it’s being discussed to a large audience.
“I don’t think there’s anything wrong with [people on social media and wellness influencers] talking about that,” Matt said. “I just think it can be very confusing for some people because it’s not coming from a place where they stopped drinking because it was a disease.”
Rob Thomas, owner of CrossFit Hype in Boca Raton, also knows what it’s like to live sober. Only, he’s been doing it his whole life. Rob decided from a young age that alcohol just didn’t fit into his active lifestyle.
“I really wanted to excel in what I do … If I were to drink, nowhere does that fit in how I measure my success,” Rob said. He thinks that others are starting to recognize that, too.
“Hopefully, this is a trend turned lifestyle, and more people understand that this is a better path than letting drugs creep in at a younger age,” he added.
The thing Matt and Rob both found during their sobriety? Community.
FROPRO has grown from Matt’s home kitchen to a bustling production warehouse and functional gym facility in central Boca Raton, where Matt still trains clients. He says it would never have happened without the support of the community, the clients who believed in him, and of course, his wife and CEO of FROPRO, Chelsea Williams.
“I wake up excited for the things I get to do and thankful for another day,” Matt said.
Rob aligned with Temperance Training, a program within Hype that is tailored for those in recovery, as a way to bring the sober community together. He decided that they would open the gym for free for an hour every day for anyone who was at least 24 hours sober. That was seven years ago, and the community just never stopped growing.
“You want to get around the right people, not just any people, and I think going to places where people are doing hard things is where you’re going to find that,” Rob said.
Whether you’re thinking about testing the sober lifestyle, or you’re struggling with addiction, we think one thing is true: building a community is a rewarding part of the process.
@froprosnacks
@mwarwilliams
@crossfithype
@hype.rob
If you or someone you know is struggling with addiction, contact the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration’s (SAMHSA) National Helpline at 1-800-662-HELP (4357).
