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I Love Being Sober
Tim Westbrook talks with Antonio Sanders about his journey from long-term heavy drinking to ten years of sobriety and why he created the Meeting Makers Club. The conversation focuses on the power of community, the challenges of online meetings, and how a dedicated virtual platform can keep recovery support available around the clock.
30:38•26 Jun 2020
Building a New Sober Pack: Antonio Sanders on the Meeting Makers Club
Episode Overview
- Changing your environment and social circle can be crucial for staying sober.
- Regular meetings and a supportive "pack" help build new habits and confidence.
- Newcomers benefit from being easily identified and actively welcomed into the group.
- Online platforms can make recovery support available at any hour and across time zones.
- Simple visual tools, like icons and profiles, can help people connect with sponsors and peers they relate to.
“"I learned how to act differently from the people in the meetings."”
Curious about how others manage their sobriety journey during chaotic times? This conversation between host Tim Westbrook and guest Antonio Sanders offers a mix of raw honesty and practical tech solutions for staying connected in recovery. Antonio shares how his drinking escalated over twenty years, starting at fourteen and becoming "a regular thing" built around parties, bars, and friends who drank the same way.
Despite having a house, cars and a young family, he describes being emotionally absent and deeply unhappy. A marriage counsellor finally cut through the denial by asking about his drinking and suggesting AA. Faced with the choice between going to a meeting or "having another man raise his kids," Antonio walked into a 7 a.m. AA meeting in February 2010 and hasn’t had a drink since.
He talks about the shock of seeing a packed room of laughing, happy sober people when he felt devastated, and how that supportive "pack" became vital. As he puts it, "I learned how to act differently from the people in the meetings." Changing his route to work to avoid buying alcohol and shifting his social circle were simple but powerful moves.
From there, Antonio explains why he built the Meeting Makers Club, an online recovery platform designed so "there will always be someone there when anybody is ready to recover." He and Tim contrast the one-off feel of many Zoom meetings with a more interactive community: member profiles, colour-coded sobriety dates to spot newcomers, icons for veterans and available sponsors, and 24/7, user-created meetings—including options for different time zones and languages.
The tone stays relaxed and hopeful, with plenty of real-life detail for anyone who’s sober-curious, newly sober, or just struggling with the isolation of the pandemic. It’s aimed at people who know they need a new "pack" but aren’t sure where to start. Could a virtual recovery community be your next step towards a happier, sober life?
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