Recovery is Walking the Talk with Erik Anderson | Episode 518Recovery is Walking the Talk with Erik Anderson | Episode 518
The Way Out | A Sobriety & Recovery Podcast
Erik Anderson shares how repeated treatment attempts, brutal honesty and real community shifted his drinking from secret chaos to meaningful recovery. He also talks about creating Walk the Nine, a sober golf space that proves joy and connection don't have to involve alcohol.
1:35:13•7 Sept 2026
Walking the Talk: Erik Anderson on Community, Golf and Getting Real About Recovery
Episode Overview
- Community is a powerful part of recovery; feeling "I am like you and you are like me" helps break shame and isolation.
- Any reason to enter recovery is valid, but long-term change tends to stick when it becomes something you want for yourself.
- Routine practices like meetings, meditation and simple daily check-ins on feelings can keep sobriety grounded.
- Service can be as simple as consistently showing up, being present and answering the phone when someone calls for help.
- Fun and connection are still possible without alcohol, as shown by sober activities like Walk the Nine golf gatherings.
“It’s okay not to be okay but it’s not okay to stay that way.”
What makes a recovery story truly inspiring? For many, it's hearing from someone who's still close enough to the chaos to remember it clearly, yet far enough along to speak with hard-won honesty. That’s exactly what you’ll get as Erik Anderson shares his journey with hosts Charlie and Jason on The Way Out.
Erik, a person in long‑term recovery, talks candidly about going from “quantity over quality” drinking to passing out on the way into his intensive outpatient meeting, and how that moment led to residential treatment. He explains what shifted for him inside rehab – that move from doing it to save his marriage to doing it because he finally wanted recovery for himself.
His line, “It’s okay not to be okay but it’s not okay to stay that way,” becomes a kind of anchor for the whole conversation. A big thread here is community. Erik and Charlie joke about sneaking booze, hiding evidence and the terror of being truly seen, then contrast that with the safety they found in recovery rooms.
You’ll hear how Erik went from arriving late and leaving early to becoming the bloke who simply picks up the phone, shows up consistently and tries to be “fully present” as service. The episode also introduces Walk the Nine, Erik’s sober golf meet-up that lets people in recovery enjoy the game without the booze-soaked culture that usually comes with it. Whether someone’s never swung a club or hits it a country mile, the focus is on connection, not scorecards.
This conversation suits anyone who’s questioning their drinking, feeling stuck after a failed rehab attempt, or craving real community in sobriety. You might even come away asking yourself: what good things could open up if you gave recovery one more proper try?
Do you want to link to this podcast?
Get the buttons here!
More From This Show
The latest episodes from the same podcast.