RR 221: Getting Sober Kicking and Screaming with Britt TaylorRR 221: Getting Sober Kicking and Screaming with Britt Taylor
The SHAIR Recovery Podcast
Host Omar Pinto talks with martial artist and singer Britt Taylor about childhood trauma, decades of heavy drinking and her shift into an alcohol-free, structured and spiritually grounded life. Their conversation blends raw honesty with practical tools like routines, accountability and martial arts to support recovery and self-worth.
1:34:19•7 May 2019
Getting Sober Kicking and Screaming with Martial Artist & Rock Singer Britt Taylor
Episode Overview
- Alcohol first felt like a miraculous relief for Britt at 12, masking deep pain and quickly becoming her way to feel funny, confident and carefree.
- Years of heavy social drinking, bands and bar work left her outwardly popular but inwardly "brutally lonely" and convinced she was unlovable.
- Repressed memories of early childhood abuse surfaced in her late twenties, explaining long-standing shame and opening the door to finally letting people in.
- Seeing her brother stop drinking and thrive, plus concern for her marriage and children, inspired her to choose an alcohol-free life as a calm, deliberate shift rather than a dramatic bottom.
- Structured routines, martial arts training, meditation, visualisation, gratitude and accountability check-ins help her stay grounded and show others they’re far more worthy than they think.
“I didn't know I could feel that way... you just gave me four wine coolers and I'm 12.”
What can we learn from those who have battled addiction? This conversation between host Omar Pinto and guest Britt Taylor pulls you straight into that question with humour, honesty and some serious truth bombs. Britt shares how a 12-year-old handed four wine coolers felt her pain lift for the first time: booze quickly became her shortcut to feeling funny, confident and carefree.
Over the years, that early buzz spun into decades of heavy drinking, party culture, bands, bar work and what she describes as being surrounded by people yet feeling "brutally lonely" and convinced she was unlovable. You’ll hear how childhood trauma, buried until her late twenties, quietly shaped that belief system and fuelled addictive patterns with alcohol, running and constant busyness. Rather than a dramatic rock-bottom, her turning point came when her high-achieving brother casually said he’d stopped drinking.
That simple moment, plus concern for her marriage and children, nudged her into an alcohol-free life that actually stuck. The episode also shows a very different side of recovery: Britt as a second-degree black belt, martial arts academy director and band singer, using structure, visualisation, goal-setting and accountability pods to build a life she doesn’t need to numb.
She talks about mapping her week on a giant whiteboard, daily meditation, stretching and gratitude check-ins with a friend – all small habits that add up to emotional stability. Spirituality runs quietly through the chat too, from quick prayers before tough situations to her line that instead of asking what God can do for you, ask what can be done through you.
Anyone curious about getting sober without a dramatic cliff-edge – especially parents, high achievers and creatives – will find plenty here to relate to. Could it be that the version of you past the bottle is the one you’ve been trying to play on stage all along?
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