I sat down with Samantha Dudley to talk about a life that started with circumstances she had absolutely no control over — and what she chose to build from them.

Samantha was taken from her mother at just 18 months old, along with her siblings, because of alcoholism, abuse, and neglect.

She spent much of her early childhood as an orphan, from 18 months until around eight years old, and remained in foster care until age 12.

But there was something Samantha had almost from the beginning:

Music.

She says she has been singing since she was three years old.

Influenced by artists like Whitney Houston and Monica, Samantha continued developing her voice throughout childhood. At 12, she became the first singer to perform at a Diane Moore Dance Academy recital and later performed with different choirs and vocal groups.

Her story eventually expanded beyond music.

Since 2012, Samantha has been producing films alongside her partner, Chase Dudley, while continuing her career as an R&B/Soul singer and songwriter. She also brought those worlds together by contributing music to film projects including Payton's Burden.

But this conversation isn't just about singing or making movies.

I wanted to understand what happens inside someone who experiences childhood trauma, parental alcoholism, abuse, neglect, separation from siblings and family, orphanhood, and foster care — and still finds a way to create something with their life.

Samantha and I talk about her childhood, being removed from her mother, growing up in the foster care system, discovering her voice, music, songwriting, filmmaking, and continuing to pursue both film and music today.

That's what GITT Up with Adam Larkin is built around.

I want the story underneath what people see today.

The childhood.

The adversity.

The decisions.

The failures.

The sacrifices.

The opportunities.

The turning points.

And what somebody did with the hand they were dealt.

GITT Up with Adam Larkin brings you raw, long-form conversations with CEOs, entrepreneurs, creators, and people with incredible comeback stories.

We talk about business, entrepreneurship, leadership, success, failure, addiction, recovery, adversity, health, fitness, faith, and the experiences that shape people into who they become.

I want the stories behind the highlight reel.

The failures. The risks. The rock bottoms. The sacrifices. The turning points. The comeback.

CEOs. Entrepreneurs. Creators. Comeback stories.

Real people. Real conversations. Real lessons.

From Rock Bottom to Redemption.

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GITT Up with Adam Larkin From Rock Bottom to Redemption.

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I sat down with Danny Tepper, a longtime television and film producer whose career has taken him behind the scenes of some major productions.

Danny has worked on projects including Survivor, America’s Next Top Model, The Stand In, Secret Celebrity Renovation, Expedition from Hell: The Lost Tapes, and more.

But I didn’t bring Danny on GITT Up to read through his IMDb credits.

I wanted to know what actually happens behind the camera.

What does it take to survive in television and film for decades?

How do productions really come together?

What happens when the cameras stop rolling?

And what does the audience never see?

Danny and I get into the reality of working in television and film, producing major projects, navigating the entertainment business, making opportunities happen, and what he has learned from years inside the industry.

We also talk about Survivor, reality television, Hollywood, filmmaking, producing, and the business behind creating entertainment that millions of people eventually see on a screen.

That’s exactly why I built GITT Up with Adam Larkin.

I’m interested in what happens before the success everyone sees.

Whether I’m sitting across from a CEO, entrepreneur, creator, producer, athlete, expert, or someone who rebuilt their entire life, I want the real story.

The decisions.

The failures.

The risks.

The opportunities.

The moments that changed everything.

And the work nobody sees.

GITT Up with Adam Larkin brings you raw, long-form conversations with CEOs, entrepreneurs, creators, and people with incredible comeback stories.

We talk about business, entrepreneurship, leadership, success, failure, addiction, recovery, adversity, health, fitness, faith, and the experiences that shape people into who they become.

I want the stories behind the highlight reel.

The failures. The risks. The rock bottoms. The sacrifices. The turning points. The comeback.

CEOs. Entrepreneurs. Creators. Comeback stories.

Real people. Real conversations. Real lessons.

From Rock Bottom to Redemption.

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GITT Up with Adam Larkin From Rock Bottom to Redemption.

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I sat down with Ty Howell because his story destroys one of the biggest stereotypes about addiction.

Ty didn’t come from a broken home. He came from a good family, went off to college, and had a future ahead of him.

Then he started using at 19.

What began in college eventually progressed into hardcore opiate addiction and years of chaos that completely changed the direction of his life.

Two colleges. Dropping out. Two engagements. Years of using. Relationships affected. Opportunities lost.

But that’s only half of Ty’s story.

What interested me about having Ty on GITT Up is what he did after addiction.

In his early 30s, Ty became a father, got clean, and started rebuilding his life. Today, he has a background in podcasting, uses his platform and experiences to help other people, and is developing a sober app designed to support people in recovery.

That’s what GITT Up is about.

I want to sit across from CEOs, entrepreneurs, creators, and people with incredible comeback stories and find out what happened before the success, what nearly took them out, and what they learned rebuilding their lives.

In this episode, Ty and I get into the progression of his addiction, what happened when opiates took over, college, relationships, fatherhood, getting sober, podcasting, rebuilding his identity, and why he now wants to create something that can help other people stay sober.

We also talk about something I think is important: addiction doesn’t care what kind of home you came from.

You can have opportunities. You can have people who love you. You can go to college. You can have plans for your future.

And addiction can still take you somewhere you never thought you would go.

Ty lived that.

Now he’s building something completely different.

This is a conversation about opiate addiction, sobriety, fatherhood, entrepreneurship, podcasting, technology, purpose, and turning the worst chapter of your life into the foundation for a comeback.

ABOUT GITT UP WITH ADAM LARKIN

GITT Up with Adam Larkin brings you raw, long-form conversations with CEOs, entrepreneurs, creators, and people with incredible comeback stories.

We talk about business, entrepreneurship, leadership, success, failure, addiction, recovery, adversity, health, fitness, faith, and the experiences that shape people into who they become.

I want the stories behind the highlight reel.

The failures. The risks. The rock bottoms. The sacrifices. The turning points. The comeback.

CEOs. Entrepreneurs. Creators. Comeback stories.

Real people. Real conversations. Real lessons.

From Rock Bottom to Redemption.

Connect with Ty Howell https://www.facebook.com/ty.howell.497362

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From Rock Bottom to Redemption.

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At 34 years old, Mindy Street was living out of hotel rooms, addicted to heroin, selling her body to survive, estranged from her children, and trapped in a cycle of addiction and incarceration.

Then she was arrested and discovered she was pregnant.

Seven months into her pregnancy, with no prenatal care and still using, Mindy believed there was no hope left for her. She was ashamed, broken, and convinced everyone would be better off without her.

Then an unexpected message from an old friend gave her an opportunity to enter Chrysalis House in Kentucky.

Mindy didn't go to treatment because she believed there was hope for her. She went because she thought maybe they could save her unborn baby from her.

What happened when she walked through those doors changed everything.

Instead of being shamed for using while pregnant, Mindy was welcomed with kindness and compassion. During a long COVID-era quarantine, she finally surrendered and made a decision: if this was God's plan for her, she was going to do everything in her power to get it right this time.

On this episode of GITT Up with Adam Larkin, Mindy tells the raw story of heroin addiction, pregnancy, incarceration, motherhood, treatment, grief, recovery, and rebuilding a life she once believed was impossible.

After treatment, Mindy took a job at DV8 Kitchen because she knew people there were in recovery and believed it would be a safe place to rebuild her life.

Then another life-changing moment came.

After Mindy moved into her apartment, the grandfather who had been raising her older children unexpectedly passed away. Suddenly, Mindy was a mother of three.

She had to learn how to parent while navigating guilt from her past, felony convictions, transportation issues, financial barriers, and the challenges of rebuilding a life in recovery.

Today, Mindy's story looks completely different.

She earned her associate degree and is working toward her bachelor's degree in social work at Eastern Kentucky University. She became a homeowner and now serves as Employee Success Manager at DV8 Kitchen, where her job is helping other people overcome barriers, establish a foundation in recovery, and build a path toward their dream careers.

On July 29, 2026, Mindy celebrated 5 YEARS CLEAN AND SOBER.

The pregnancy she once believed was the worst thing that could have happened to her ultimately became part of what brought her back to her children and gave her another chance at life.

This is a powerful addiction recovery story about heroin addiction, motherhood, incarceration, treatment, faith, grief, second chances, redemption, and the power of meeting people with compassion when they believe they are beyond saving.

🎙️ GITT UP WITH ADAM LARKIN

Real people. Real stories. Real transformation.

From rock bottom to redemption, GITT Up brings you raw conversations about addiction, recovery, incarceration, mental health, entrepreneurship, adversity, faith, and the people who refused to give up.

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If Mindy's story impacted you, follow the podcast, leave a 5-star review, comment, and share this episode with someone who needs to hear it.

Every follow, review, comment, and share helps us reach more people with powerful stories of addiction, recovery, redemption, resilience, and second chances.

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From Rock Bottom to Redemption.

Joshua Woosley was born and raised in Lexington, Kentucky, in a home where addiction was already part of everyday life.

His father struggled with severe alcoholism. His mother battled addiction.

Then, when Josh was only 9 years old, his father was murdered.

Years later, at 18, another devastating loss followed when his best friend was murdered.

By then, substance use had already become part of Josh’s life.

Through his 20s and 30s, Josh became heavily involved in drug activity. Arrests followed. Jail followed. Multiple felony charges followed.

He went to treatment several times, but for years the cycle continued.

Eventually, one opportunity began changing the direction of his life.

Josh landed an internship in the recovery field.

What started as an internship became a career—and a completely different identity.

He worked his way up to assistant director at one of the largest recovery centers in America, taking the same experiences that once kept him trapped in addiction, crime, and incarceration and using them to help other people find a way out.

Today, Josh has worked in the recovery field for more than five years and is approaching six years clean.

But some of the biggest victories aren’t found in a job title.

Josh rebuilt his relationship with his daughter.

He rebuilt relationships with his family.

He became someone his daughter could depend on.

And instead of being consumed by the lifestyle that dominated much of his 20s and 30s, he now spends his life helping other people rebuild theirs.

On this episode of GITT Up with Adam Larkin, Josh opens up about growing up around alcoholism and addiction, losing his father to murder at nine years old, losing his best friend, substance use, drug activity, jail, felony charges, treatment, recovery, fatherhood, leadership, and what it actually took to build a life worth protecting.

This isn’t a story about pretending the past didn’t happen.

It’s about what happens when you finally decide the past doesn’t get to control what happens next.

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Real people. Real consequences. Real redemption.

GITT Up brings you unfiltered conversations about addiction, recovery, trauma, incarceration, mental health, entrepreneurship, fatherhood, second chances, and the moments that completely change a person’s life.

If this episode speaks to you, follow the podcast, leave a review, and share it with someone who needs to hear Josh’s story.

Every share helps these conversations reach another person who may be struggling, another family looking for hope, or someone who needs proof that their life can still change.

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You never know whose life might change because the right story reached them at the right time.

Every story has a lesson. Every lesson has the power to change a life.

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Trey Jenkins was born into a family shaped by alcoholism, addiction, incarceration, and mental-health struggles.

When his mother went to prison during his early childhood, Trey was passed between relatives while his father traveled for work. His grandfather became the closest thing he had to stability and a real father figure.

But after leaving that life to live with his mother and brother, Trey was introduced to drug dealing, gangs, crime, pills, and street life. By 15, he was using substances to cope with what he was seeing—and what he was becoming involved in.

At 17, Trey received devastating news: his mother had breast and lung cancer and did not have long to live.

Two weeks later, she died while holding his hand.

That same night, Trey used heroin for the first time.

To everyone around him, he appeared tough—a gang member and drug dealer who could handle anything. Underneath that image, he was scared, grieving, shooting dope, and completely alone.

Then, just 28 days after losing his mother, Trey’s brother was killed through gun and gang violence while they were together in a car.

His addiction spiraled.

Homelessness, detoxes, treatment centers, crime, and survival became his reality. At 19, Trey was shot in the leg and spent six months in the hospital. Doctors told him he was fortunate the bullet had missed a major artery.

When he was released, he was homeless in downtown New Jersey and walking with a cane.

Around age 20, Trey committed a crime that resulted in 33 months in prison. After his release, he was paroled to Cincinnati and stayed sober for a period—but unresolved pain, manipulation, toxic relationships, and relapse continued to follow him.

Fatherhood eventually planted the seed for change.

Thinking about his son Matteo—and later learning that his daughter Amia was on the way—forced Trey to confront the life he was creating and the kind of father he wanted to become.

He returned to treatment, started listening, accepted guidance, found a sponsor, worked the steps, earned his peer-support certification, and built a genuine foundation in recovery.

Today, Trey has 50% custody of his children and has also become a father figure to Maisie, the daughter of his partner in recovery.

He wakes up every day with the opportunity to help other people and has launched Breaking Generational Curses, a clothing brand that gives a portion of its proceeds to God Behind Bars.

Trey’s mission is bigger than staying sober.

He is building a life his children can be proud of—and working to ensure they never experience the pain of addiction or growing up with an addicted parent.

This is a conversation about grief, heroin addiction, gang violence, homelessness, prison, fatherhood, recovery, and finally building a life you no longer need to escape from.

Every story has a lesson. Every lesson has the power to change a life.

Learn more about the podcast, apply to be a guest, or explore sponsorship and advertising opportunities:

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Follow, rate, review, and share this episode with someone who needs to hear that it is possible to break a generational curse.

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More than a decade of IV heroin addiction nearly took everything.

Addiction ran through almost the entire family. Life became consumed by survival, consequences, grief, and a system that would eventually change her family forever.

One of the deepest losses came when a child was placed in a closed adoption.

Years later, life came full circle in a way nobody could have predicted.

Today, Jamie Ivey has eight years of sobriety. She is a full-time mother, a college student, and the operations manager at a facility that provides drug testing and counseling services for parents involved in family cases with the Fayette County courts.

The same kind of system that once caused some of the greatest pain in her life is now where she gets to serve others.

She sees firsthand what social workers, parents, and families experience every day. She understands the fear, the judgment, the consequences, and the possibility of transformation because she has lived it.

Before stepping into her current role, Jamie served as the director of operations for a local recovery program for four years. When she moved forward, she passed that leadership position to a former client who had come through the program and transformed into an incredible woman.

That full-circle moment represents what recovery can truly create.

In this powerful conversation with Adam Larkin, Jamie opens up about:

• Growing up surrounded by family addiction
• Struggling with IV heroin use for more than 10 years
• Losing a child through a closed adoption
• Rebuilding her life through recovery
• Celebrating eight years of sobriety
• Becoming a present and committed mother
• Returning to college
• Working with parents involved in family-court cases
• Seeing addiction and family separation from both sides
• Leading a recovery program for four years
• Passing her position to a former client whose life transformed
• Turning her greatest pain into purpose
• Why recovery can restore far more than sobriety

This is not a story about pretending the past never happened.

It is a story about using the most painful chapters of life to become the person someone else needs.

Jamie is proof that recovery can lead to motherhood, education, leadership, service, and an entirely new future.

It is never too late to GITT UP.

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Follow the show, leave a review, and share this episode with someone who needs to know that recovery can rebuild a life.

Every story has a lesson. Every lesson has the power to change a life.

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