In Episode 11 of The Shane Vitko Podcast, Shane sits down with his best friend George Wozniak, now CEO of Ryan Aviation Group. The two got sober together in Los Angeles, and this one is a full-circle conversation about what it really takes to rebuild a life after addiction.

George takes us back to Minnesota, growing up around recovery, family interventions, and the early warning signs he didn’t understand yet. He opens up about the first times he drank and got high, the chase for “more,” and how pills and opioid addiction took over after surgeries. Then comes the moment you won’t forget: George tells the story of using his black lab’s pee to try to pass a drug test, and how that insanity became the turning point that finally got him to say, “I need help.”

From treatment to West Side LA recovery, Shane and George break down why that community worked, why “men of action” mattered, and how real change happens when you stop talking and start doing. They get into time, trust, rebuilding a marriage, showing up as a father, and how George went from early sobriety fear to leading a company without lying to himself about what “balance” really means.

If you’re listening and you feel too far gone, this episode is for you. There’s a way out, but it’s earned, not announced.