#102 – Tim Lodgen: Coming For It All

#102 – Tim Lodgen: Coming For It All

What makes a recovery story truly inspiring? This conversation with guest Tim Lodgen shows just how far a person can come after decades of addiction, mental health struggles, and a near-fatal suicide attempt. Tim shares 27 years of alcohol and drug use, escalating from teenage partying to drinking 20–25 miniature bottles of whiskey a day and wrecking his truck twice in 24 hours.

At his lowest point, he was standing on a bucket with a rope around his neck when his wife found him. He says simply, "I just want the pain to stop. I can't do this anymore." From there, things start to shift.

With the support of old friend Brandon Novak, Tim goes to treatment in Florida, throws himself into the process, and later commits to "98 meetings in 90 days." He explains the difference he sees between being dry and being in active recovery: sobriety alone left him miserable, but recovery "teaches you how to be a better son, father, friend." The chat will resonate with anyone who’s ever felt hopeless or stuck.

Tim talks openly about suicidal thoughts, the loneliness of addiction, and the strange mix of signs and second chances that kept him alive. You’ll hear how he rebuilt his life through meetings, faith in a higher power, daily reading, and intense physical training as he prepares for his first bodybuilding show.

One of the most striking moments comes when Tim reframes his past: he refuses to label those 27 years as wasted, choosing to see them as the path that shaped who he is now. His declaration sums up the mood of the whole conversation: "I'm coming for everything that alcohol promised me and took from me.

I'm coming for it all." If you need a reminder that it’s never too late to start again, this story might be exactly what you’ve been waiting for.