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PODCAST

Get a Grip Podcast

Louis Essig and Aaron Garnes

Get a Grip Podcast is hosted by Louis Essig and Aaron Garnes, both in recovery from addiction and alcoholism. In each episode, they share their unfiltered stories of overcoming addiction, time in prison, and struggles with mental health—mixing raw honesty with humor. The podcast gives a voice to the underdog, breaking down the stigma surrounding addiction and recovery. Through candid conversations and real-life experiences, Louis and Aaron inspire others on their journey, showing that while recovery

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All Episodes

01:47:36

I Was Addicted to Oxy, Xanax, Lean & Cocaine… How I...

Get a Grip Podcast ·

2026/10/04

In this episode of Get a Grip Podcast, Louis Essig and Aaron Garnes sit down with Matthew Fishrupp for a raw, intense, and eye-opening conversation about Xanax addiction, prescription drug abuse, partying, arrests, psychosis, rehab, and the long road to recovery. Matthew's story reveals how quickly recreational drug use can spiral into a life consumed by addiction, and how becoming a father ultimately changed everything.Matthew opens up about his childhood and the experiences that shaped him growing

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01:52:00

PTSD, Pills, & Ibogaine - The Drug That Can Cure...

Get a Grip Podcast ·

2026/10/02

In this episode of Get a Grip Podcast, Louis Essig sits down with PJ Wright for an intense and eye-opening conversation about childhood trauma, military service, PTSD, prescription medications, alternative treatments, and a profound spiritual awakening that changed the way he looks at life.PJ opens up about growing up with alcoholic parents and the challenges he experienced during his childhood. He shares how his early experiences shaped him and discusses some of the difficult family revelations he

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00:59:49

I Was Shot Twice During a Meth Robbery, Survived...

Get a Grip Podcast ·

2026/09/30

<p>In this episode of <strong>Get a Grip Podcast</strong>, Louis Essig and Aaron Garnes sit down with James Polley for a raw, intense, and eye-opening conversation about growing up gay, meth addiction, homelessness, violence, overdose, and finding a path to recovery.</p><p>James opens up about his childhood and the challenges he faced while growing up gay. As he got older, he was introduced to meth, setting off a chain of events that would dramatically change the course

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00:43:18

How Homelessness Led Me to Heroin, Fentanyl & Almost...

Get a Grip Podcast ·

2026/09/27

In this episode of Get a Grip Podcast, Louis Essig and Aaron Garnes sit down with Jasper for a raw and heartbreaking conversation about homelessness, opioid addiction, heroin, fentanyl, overdose, and the journey toward recovery.Jasper opens up about his childhood and the experiences that shaped him before addiction entered his life. One of the earliest turning points came when he experienced a friend overdosing, giving him a firsthand look at the dangers of addiction.Eventually, Jasper found himself

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00:57:22

How Alcohol Slowly Took Everything From My Life | Ep 216

Get a Grip Podcast ·

2026/09/25

In this episode of Get a Grip Podcast, Louis Essig and Aaron Garnes sit down with Jason Gardner for a wild, honest, and ultimately inspiring conversation about alcoholism, career struggles, reckless drinking, relationships, consequences, and finding a way into recovery.Jason opens up about his childhood and some embarrassing moments growing up before talking about his first experiences with alcohol. What started as teenage drinking quickly turned into a pattern that followed him into high school and

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01:18:01

How My 18-Month-Old Daughter Accidentally Took 16mg...

Get a Grip Podcast ·

2026/09/23

In this episode of Get a Grip Podcast, Louis Essig and Aaron Garnes sit down with Jordan Py for a raw, emotional, and at times unbelievable story about alcoholism, prescription drugs, cocaine, addiction, marriage, fatherhood, relapse, and the long road toward recovery.Jordan opens up about his childhood and his first experiences with alcohol before describing how drinking gradually progressed during college. What started as partying eventually became something much more serious. After landing a job

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02:44:36

I Got Banned From Jerry Springer & Fenway Park......

Get a Grip Podcast ·

2026/09/20

In this episode of Get a Grip Podcast, Louis Essig sits down with Chris Cole for an intense and unbelievable story about addiction, partying, fatherhood, relapse, and recovery.Chris opens up about his childhood, early drinking, and how Adderall became his first real addiction. His substance use eventually escalated to cocaine, and by his senior year of high school, partying and cocaine had become a regular part of his life.Chris shares some wild stories from his years of partying, including getting

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01:22:27

How I Spent $40K on Crack in 5 Months & Still Held a...

Get a Grip Podcast ·

2026/09/18

In this episode of Get a Grip Podcast, Louis Essig and Aaron Garnes sit down with Jason Baer for a wild, emotional, and unbelievable story about family trauma, alcohol, cocaine, crack addiction, money, crime, international drug use, and ultimately finding his way into recovery.Jason opens up about growing up in a chaotic home and the mental health struggles and abuse surrounding his father. He shares disturbing memories from his childhood, including an incident where his mother hit his father with a

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00:40:31

How Heroin at 14 Led to 4 Mini-Strokes and Brain...

Get a Grip Podcast ·

2026/09/16

In this episode of Get a Grip Podcast, Louis Essig sits down with Cory Baton for a raw and deeply personal conversation about childhood abuse, addiction, relapse, serious health complications, and the fight to finally build a life in recovery.Cory opens up about a difficult childhood and the abuse he experienced growing up. By just 14 years old, Cory was already caught in the grip of addiction, using crack cocaine and eventually shooting heroin intravenously. What began at an incredibly young age

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00:48:39

How I Started Smoking PCP at 12, Became a Heroin...

Get a Grip Podcast ·

2026/09/13

In this episode of Get a Grip Podcast, Aaron Garnes sits down with Dave Marcus for an intense and unbelievable conversation about growing up with drug-addicted parents, being exposed to drugs from an early age, dealing drugs, heroin addiction, homelessness, psychosis, jail, and ultimately finding a reason to change his life.Dave opens up about growing up in a household surrounded by addiction. His father was an amphetamine chemist, meaning drugs were a part of Dave's environment from a very young

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00:59:50

I Drank Vodka Every Day for 30 Years, Found Crack,...

Get a Grip Podcast ·

2026/09/11

In this episode of Get a Grip Podcast, Louis Essig and Aaron Garnes sit down with Tom McDonald for a powerful and eye-opening conversation about alcoholism, addiction, DUIs, family, prison, recovery, and what it takes to rebuild your life after decades of drinking.Tom describes growing up with a good childhood before discovering vodka and eventually spending 10 years working as a bartender. His relationship with alcohol continued to grow until he found a job working for a liquor distributor—putting

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01:11:40

I Got High on My Grandma’s Fentanyl Patches | Ep 210

Get a Grip Podcast ·

2026/09/09

In this episode of Get a Grip Podcast, Louis Essig sits down with Ronnie Schaffer for a raw and deeply personal conversation about growing up with an alcoholic and abusive father, getting into the party scene at a young age, working in his dad’s bar, opioid addiction, fentanyl, loss, and ultimately finding a path toward recovery.Ronnie opens up about his childhood and the impact his father's alcoholism and abuse had on him. He shares some unbelievable stories from growing up before talking about his

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01:09:42

How I Wenat From Crack in High School to a Full-Blown...

Get a Grip Podcast ·

2026/09/06

In this episode of Get a Grip Podcast, Aaron Garnes sits down with Natalie France for a raw and deeply emotional conversation about addiction, motherhood, abusive relationships, homelessness, heroin, meth, incarceration, pregnancy, and finding recovery after years of chaos.Natalie opens up about her childhood and her first experiences with alcohol before getting introduced to cocaine at just 16 years old. What started with cocaine quickly progressed into crack during high school, sending her down a

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02:55:02

My Mom Introduced Me to Cocaine… Then I Got Hooked on...

Get a Grip Podcast ·

2026/09/04

In this episode of Get a Grip Podcast, Louis Essig and Aaron Garnes sit down with Gage Bobo for an emotional and brutally honest conversation about growing up around addiction, a father spending years in prison, cocaine, Xanax, Percocet 30s, homelessness, crime, relapse, and ultimately finding a reason to change.Gage opens up about his childhood and what it was like having his dad spend six years in prison. He talks about his mom's cocaine use and the moment she introduced him to cocaine while he

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01:15:53

I Was Prescribed Xanax at 14… Then Fentanyl &...

Get a Grip Podcast ·

2026/09/02

In this episode of Get a Grip Podcast, Louis Essig and Aaron Garnes sit down with Zach Henry for an intense and deeply honest conversation about addiction, trauma, fentanyl, xylazine, family, and the devastating consequences of losing control.Zach grew up with alcoholic parents and was exposed to substance abuse and chaos at an early age. At just 14 years old, he was prescribed Xanax by a doctor, setting him on a path that would eventually lead to selling cocaine, abusing opioids, and eventually

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01:51:14

I Was a Notre Dame Professor Smoking $800 of Crack...

Get a Grip Podcast ·

2026/08/30

In this episode of Get a Grip Podcast, Louis Essig and Aaron Garnes sit down with Ted Beauchaine for one of the most unbelievable addiction and recovery stories we've ever heard.Ted takes us back to a childhood spent moving around the country, attending nine different schools before reaching high school, and eventually discovering alcohol. His first experience with drinking quickly spiraled when he consumed half a fifth of 151-proof alcohol—and the consequences that followed were only the

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02:04:35

How Hiding My Sexuality Kept Me Shooting Oxy and...

Get a Grip Podcast ·

2026/08/28

In this episode of Get a Grip Podcast, Louis Essig and Aaron Garnes sit down with Nick Newman for an incredibly raw and personal conversation about addiction, IV drug use, sexuality, relapse, recovery, and the moment he finally stopped hiding who he was.Nick starts by taking us back to his childhood and high school years, eventually discovering his parents' stash of opiates. What began with partying and prescription pills eventually turned into daily drug use, taking him from college and a career in

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01:46:10

How I Went From Fighting in Afghanistan to Fighting a...

Get a Grip Podcast ·

2026/08/26

In this episode of Get a Grip Podcast, Louis Essig and Aaron Garnes sit down with Nick Newman for an incredible story that spans childhood addiction, the U.S. Army, combat deployments, prescription drugs, kratom, 7OH, and the long road toward recovery.Nick opens up about a childhood that quickly went off the rails. By third grade, he had already been suspended twice, and by the age of 10 he was smoking weed regularly. At just 12 years old, he tried crack for the first time. What followed was a

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00:57:50

How I Made It From 90 Days to Over 1 Year Sober From...

Get a Grip Podcast ·

2026/08/23

In this episode of Get a Grip Podcast, Louis Essig sits down with Tony Newton for a raw and honest conversation about childhood trauma, addiction, crime, relationships, and the journey from fentanyl and heroin addiction into recovery.Tony opens up about a difficult childhood, including being sexually assaulted and being exposed to drug use by his own parents. He also talks about having aspirations of becoming a drug dealer at a young age and how those early experiences eventually led him deeper into

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00:48:07

I Had 78 Felonies, Did 7 Years in Prison & Fought...

Get a Grip Podcast ·

2026/08/21

In this episode of Get a Grip Podcast, Louis Essig and Aaron Garne's sit down for a raw conversation about growing up around addiction, crack cocaine, prison, gambling, and finding a new way to live.Their guest shares how his life spiraled from cocaine and crack addiction into a criminal lifestyle that eventually led to 78 felony convictions and a seven-year prison sentence. He opens up about getting his first prison number, serving time in six different prisons, and what it was really like inside

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