7 Years 156 days - Birthday 427 Years 156 days - Birthday 42
I'm Quitting Alcohol
Comedian David Boyle marks his 42nd birthday with a raw, funny account of ageing, hair loss and watching his 10-year-old son’s first boxing sparring session. The episode mixes parental anxiety, pride and reflections on his own past fighting while drinking, all within his ongoing sober life.
11:33•18 Oct 2026
Birthday Number 42, Bald Jokes and a 10-Year-Old Fighter
Episode Overview
- A sober 42nd birthday is portrayed as an ordinary day, filled with humour about ageing, wisdom and hair loss.
- Boyle shares the tension of watching his under-experienced 10-year-old son spar with a bigger, stronger opponent in the boxing ring.
- His son surprises everyone by attacking confidently, taking hits and impressing the coach, who insists the boy “has something.”
- Boyle contrasts his son’s fearless boxing attitude with his timid approach on the soccer field, hoping the aggression transfers to sport in a positive way.
- He reflects on his own childhood love of boxing and how, during his drinking years, that urge to fight found its outlet in parties and bars instead of the ring.
“"You really got a fucking fighter here, your kid’s a fighter man. I never say it but he’s got something."”
Curious about how others keep showing up for sobriety, even on the most ordinary of days? This short, punchy instalment of *I'm Quitting Alcohol* follows Australian comedian David Boyle on his 42nd birthday, proving that recovery life is often more about family chaos and dodgy dreams than grand milestones. Boyle jokes that he doesn’t “really give a fuck about age,” claiming he only cares about “wisdom and hair” – and reckons he’s short on both.
You’ll hear him riff on ageing, baldness, and a dream where his sprinting ability apparently came from doing four pogo hops in real life. It’s classic Boyle: self-deprecating, sweary, and very aware that life at 42 is a long way from his booze-soaked past. The heart of this episode, though, sits in the boxing ring with his 10-year-old son.
Boyle describes the anxiety of seeing his relatively inexperienced kid thrown into sparring with a bigger, stronger opponent, worrying he’s sending him in as “a punching bag.” Instead, he watches in shock as his son charges forward, “just starts charging at him just throwing haymakers… ducking and weaving,” showing grit and fearlessness that never appears on the soccer pitch.
A coach tells him, “your kid’s a fighter man… he’s got something,” which Boyle finds both thrilling and slightly terrifying, especially knowing his own childhood fascination with Muhammad Ali ended up spilling out in drunken fights at parties and bars. Now, he’s seeing that same raw energy show up in a far healthier setting.
If you like recovery content that’s honest, unpolished, and often hilarious, this daily five-minute snapshot of sober life offers exactly that: no script, no filter, no drink – just a bloke turning 42, watching his son scrap in the ring, and reflecting on where his own fight used to go. How much everyday fight are you putting into the right arenas in your own life?
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