Addiction recovery isn’t always dramatic, sometimes it starts with a phone call.

Jeremy thought he had a lung anomaly. He spiraled into alcohol, self-destruction, and the mindset that if cancer didn’t take him out, he would take himself out first. Then a stranger answered the phone, gave him the brutal truth, and everything shifted.

In this episode, we break down:

• The real psychology behind addiction and denial

• Why most people never reach true accountability

• The difference between “rock bottom” and being ready

• Sobriety without the performance

• Setting boundaries that protect your progress

• Identity masks, ego, and rebuilding your life

• Mental health for men who were taught to suppress everything

• Why social media addiction mirrors substance addiction

Jeremy shares the turning point that led him to long-term sobriety, deeper self awareness, and writing his book An Odyssey of Oddities, where he tells the unfiltered truth about addiction, personal responsibility, purpose, and growth. This is not a motivational speech, it's a conversation about accountability, pure ownership and rebuilding your life when you realize that no one is coming to save you.

If you’re navigating addiction recovery, personal growth after rock bottom, or trying to figure out who you actually are without the mask, this episode will hit.

If this conversation helped you:

• Follow the podcast for weekly conversations on accountability, mental toughness, and self-improvement.• Leave a 5-star rating and written review (this directly impacts search visibility and rankings).• Share this episode with someone struggling with addiction, denial, or identity loss.

And go deeper:

Jeremy’s book An Odyssey of Oddities is available online, read the full story behind this transformation here: https://books.by/an-odyssey-of-oddities

Everything else I’m building; the books, merch and resources are here: https://stan.store/fts25

Stop waiting for rock bottom.
Rewrite. Rebuild. Repeat.

In this episode of The F*ck the Standard Podcast, I sit down with Dr. Robb Kelly, a neuroscience-based addiction and trauma specialist whose story carries as much weight as his work.

Dr. Kelly didn’t study addiction from a distance. He lived it.

After growing up in a working-class environment in Manchester, England, his life unraveled through alcoholism, homelessness, losing his children, and being clinically pronounced dead before being revived. Instead of accepting the narrative that addiction is a life sentence, he threw himself into neuroscience to understand how the brain actually changes, and how people can rebuild themselves from the inside out.

Today, Dr. Kelly works with individuals struggling with alcohol addiction, drug addiction, PTSD, anxiety, depression, and identity collapse, helping people break destructive cycles by rewiring the brain through neuroplasticity. His work has reached everyone from everyday families to high-level performers and leaders, all grounded in one truth: real change only happens when the person is ready to own it.

This conversation goes deep into:

• What rock bottom really looks like — and why it doesn’t always mean the streets

• How the brain protects addiction and trauma through self-deception

• Why forced change never works

• How identity is formed, lost, and rebuilt

• Dr. Robb’s background: growing up poor, music at a young age, addiction taking over

• The reality of “multiple rock bottoms” and the moment your brain becomes able to receive help

• Why nobody can force recovery, you have to be ready

• The excuses people use to stay stuck, and why we believe our own lies

• Neuroplasticity: training the mind to train the brain to change the reaction

• Status, ego, and the trap of “looking rich” vs having enough

• Identity and work: why so many people collapse when the job disappears

• Parenting, presence, and the one currency you never get back: time

• Words are weapons or medicine: how a few words can change someone’s physiology

• Social media/news and algorithmic brainwashing: protecting your mind and your kids

• The closing gut-punch: “Stop giving a sh*t what people think."

This isn’t motivational fluff.
It’s a raw, honest conversation about responsibility, healing, and what it actually takes to change your life.

Follow the show on SpotifyShare this episode with someone who needs a wake-up call

Want to support the show and rep the message?Grab the official F*ck the Standard gear and resources here: https://stan.store/fts25

Book: Start Your Journey Now

Content warning: addiction, violence, child removal, homelessness, death, trauma, and explicit language.

Not medical advice: This episode is education and personal experience, not a substitute for professional care.

Most guys don’t realize they’re on autopilot until life starts breaking in half.

This episode is with Uncle Jimmy — Boston union man, union vice president, host of Uncle Jimmy’s Podcast — and he’s lived the version a lot of us brag about: 7 days a week, 16 hours a day, convinced the whole operation would collapse without him… while his marriage and life were collapsing quietly in the background.

We get into the real cost of being “the reliable one.”
The ego behind “they need me,” the dinners you half-attend the family time where you get "a call," or the games you physically show up to while your head is still at work.
And the hard truth: your job will replace you fast , your family can’t.

Jimmy drops the line that sums it up:
Time is the only currency.
Money can be replaced. Hours can’t.

If you’ve ever taken a work call during a holiday… if you’ve ever told yourself “just one more shift”… if you’ve ever felt your family getting used to you not being there, this one’s going to hit.

Listen to Uncle Jimmy’s Podcast: https://open.spotify.com/show/77179VlSzVFSf3qZF1GAOW?si=2633d6419e554dae
Book, Resources & Support: https://stan.store/fts25

ost rebuilds don’t fail because they’re hard—they fail because the blueprint gets punched in the mouth and most people walk away.

When this podcast launched, the original blueprint was simple: four solo episodes, then guests. That was the plan. But rebuilds rarely honor your plans. This fifth episode wasn’t on the schedule, and I wasn’t delaying the guest episodes to make room for it. That’s exactly why it had to happen.

In Episode 5, we break down what actually happens when the life you’re rebuilding refuses to follow the script, and how the pivots, detours, and awkward identity clashes end up becoming the real strategy.

We cover:

• When the original blueprint stops working

• The three types of pivots nobody prepares you for

• Why uncertainty hits harder than failure

• How to stay in the game when support goes silent

• The “four things humans hate” during a rebuild

• A teenager’s handshake that said more than any adult validation

• The overheard conversation that forced an identity shift

If you’re somewhere between who you were and who you’re trying to become, this episode will make uncomfortable things make sense. Because when the pivot becomes the plan, the rebuild finally becomes real.

Guest episodes start Friday—real stories, real setbacks, real pivots. No delay.

Follow along and stay in the game.

Book, Tools and Resources: https://stan.store/fts25

Silence isn’t punishment, it’s the filter that shows up when you stop performing and start rebuilding. In this episode, Rob breaks down the four silences that hit you during a rebuild; social, tribal, work, and internal, and why proof always shows up before applause. We get into discipline, identity, self-respect, social media, unexpected support, and the quiet work that actually builds confidence. No gurus, no hype, just truth about why the rebuild feels lonely and why that’s the point.

If it hits, follow the show.

Book, Resources & Tools: ⁠⁠https://stan.store/fts25⁠

New guest episodes start next week.

Real fighters. Real rebuilders. Real stories.

Most people aren’t stuck because they’re incapable. They’re stuck because they’re addicted to validation and terrified of silence. In this episode, Rob breaks down how performing for approval destroys identity, why opinions only hurt when you sign for them, and how self-respect replaces applause when you stop asking for permission to exist. We get into social media, ego, insecurity, self-respect, identity, discipline, and becoming unrecognizable to your old crowd. No hype, no gurus.

If this hits, follow the show.

Book, Resources & Tools: ⁠⁠https://stan.store/fts25⁠

Self-awareness feels like growth, but without change it’s just avoidance. In this episode, Rob breaks down how people hide behind insight, explanations, trauma, and clever self-awareness while their life stays the same. We get into ownership, ego, excuses, mental health, emotional resilience, fatherhood, blue-collar identity, and the shift from “I’m working on myself” to actually changing. No gurus, no hype, just uncomfortable truth about the stories you protect and the one thing you already know you need to own.

If it hits, follow the show.

Book, Resources & Tools: ⁠https://stan.store/fts25⁠

F*ck The Standard isn’t a hype show, it’s a straight shot for people who look “fine” but feel like they’re rotting in quiet comfort. In this opening episode, Rob McCarthy breaks down discipline, comfort, identity, and the slow decay that happens when you stop showing up for yourself and the people you love. This hits if you’ve ever looked put together on the outside while quietly bullshitting yourself on the inside. No gurus and no perfect routines, just a 45-year-old blue-collar husband and father calling out his own excuses and rebuilding for real.

If it resonates, follow the show.

Book, Resources & Tools: ⁠⁠⁠⁠https://stan.store/fts25⁠⁠