Healing the Inner Child to Overcome Porn Addiction with Drew Boa

Healing the Inner Child to Overcome Porn Addiction with Drew Boa

Curious about how others navigate their sobriety journey? This Agents of Recovery episode heads straight into porn addiction, inner child work and faith with guest Drew Boa from Husband Material Academy, alongside hosts Coach Blu Robinson and Coach Wendell. Drew shares how he grew up as "a boy who loved Jesus and hated porn" yet couldn’t stop using it, and how a specific fetish and early internet access shaped his struggle.

A key turning point comes when he realises, "It’s not the adult part of me that goes back to porn. It’s this little boy within me." From there, he leans into Internal Family Systems (IFS), treating emotions and sexual urges as parts of an "internal family" rather than enemies to crush. The conversation is especially helpful for anyone stuck in shame loops.

Wendell describes how Drew’s Husband Material work "literally has changed my life"—shifting him from an all‑or‑nothing mindset into seeing porn as a misguided protector trying to soothe old wounds. That shift takes him back to school in his fifties to study clinical mental health so he can help other men.

Drew also breaks down the difference between sexual arousal and sexual desire, stressing that "porn may arouse me, but it’s not what I desire." He calls out early exposure, lack of sex education and rigid purity culture as common roots, while challenging the idea that porn use is purely a moral failing.

The motto of his new book sums it up: "Heal the boy to free the man." This episode suits men and women who want a deeper, shame‑reducing way to address porn addiction, especially those from religious backgrounds. Expect honest talk, a few laughs, and plenty of practical encouragement to get curious about your pain instead of just trying to crush your behaviour. So, what might change if you stopped fighting yourself and started listening to that little boy inside?