Sober SunriseSober Sunrise
Addict II Athlete Podcast
Coach Blu Robinson talks with recreational therapist and sober coach Hayley Leishman about her non-traditional recovery shaped by fly fishing, nature and family healing. Their conversation highlights goal-setting, couples’ sobriety, honest parenting and the meaning behind her Sober Sunrise approach.
56:35•18 May 2020
Sober Sunrise: Fly Fishing, Family and a Different Kind of Recovery
Episode Overview
- Simple, concrete goals in early sobriety, like Hayley’s 25-trout challenge, can structure time and create a natural record of progress.
- Recreation therapy and outdoor activities such as fly fishing help keep attention in the present moment, easing anxiety about the future.
- Couples who share addiction may need clear boundaries, honest dialogue and consistent counselling to avoid codependency while each works their own recovery.
- Children of addicted parents can be harmed by addiction, but open conversation about mental health, statistics and coping skills gives them tools for their own lives.
- Shifting from dreading mornings to appreciating “sober sunrises” shows how everyday routines can become a source of hope and stability in ongoing recovery.
“I spent, you know, years over a decade dreading mourning… one of the first things that brought me joy when I got sober was sitting on my porch and watching the sun come up.”
How do people find strength in their journey to sobriety? This conversation on Addict II Athlete shines a light on one woman's very untraditional path away from alcohol and drugs and into early mornings, mountains and fly fishing. Coach Blu Robinson chats with recreational therapist and certified sober coach Hayley Leishman, who shares how years of heavy drinking and drug use led to a sudden moment of clarity on a chaotic fishing trip. With no clear plan, she quit anyway.
Formal groups like AA didn't quite fit, so Hayley ended up spending a lot of time alone, on her front porch with coffee, “reading inspirational quotes, drinking coffee, watching the sunrise”, and out in nature.
Her self-set challenge became the backbone of her first 90 days: “to catch 25 trout on a fly from 20 different bodies of water in Utah.” By the end, she’d fished over 50 unique waters and later realised she’d accidentally designed her own recreation therapy programme and documented her early recovery in the process.
The episode also digs into what it meant for Hayley and her husband to get sober at the same time, including his hidden pain pill addiction and the blunt reality that, as she says, “statistically, we don’t exist.” Weekly 6 a.m. counselling sessions, clear boundaries and constant communication became their lifeline as they tried to heal themselves and their family.
Hayley explains how those long mornings watching the sky change inspired the name of her sober coaching work, Sober Sunrise: the shift from dreading daylight to genuinely welcoming it. The chat will appeal to anyone in addiction recovery who feels out of place in traditional settings, as well as parents and couples wondering if change is even possible.
If you’ve ever wondered whether simple things like walking a trail, casting a line or watching the sunrise could help you through early sobriety, this story might get you thinking in a whole new way.
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