The Clean Choice Movement - Jake White - Vive18The Clean Choice Movement - Jake White - Vive18
Alcohol Free Life - Janey Lee Grace
Jake White shares how choosing not to drink at university led to sober parties and a national youth prevention movement focused on confidence, community and coping skills. Janey Lee Grace joins him in reflecting on how alcohol-free living can be fun, connected and full of everyday joy.
52:41•21 Aug 2026
Jake White’s Clean Choice: Making Sobriety the Fun Option for Teens
Episode Overview
- Young people often think everyone is drinking, so showing that many choose to stay substance-free can reduce pressure and isolation.
- Focusing on confidence, community and coping skills helps teens choose long-term skill sets over short-term shortcuts like alcohol or drugs.
- Exposing marketing tactics used by alcohol and drug industries can motivate young people to resist being manipulated into using substances.
- Parents can support their children by valuing the brain, talking about future goals, and building strong protective factors such as self-belief and connection.
- Finding joy in small, everyday moments is a powerful part of alcohol-free life and can replace the search for quick dopamine hits from drinking.
“"We show them how incredible their life can be, get them bought into a vision of what their life could be, and then show how substances are going to take you away from those."”
What drives someone to seek a life without alcohol? This episode spotlights Jake White, founder of Vive18, who made a bold decision as a student in Wisconsin: he simply chose never to drink. Surrounded by a culture obsessed with "beer, cheese, The Green Bay Packers, and more beer", Jake decided university was an investment he wouldn’t risk on regret-filled weekends.
Janey Lee Grace chats with Jake about how that choice led to sober house parties and eventually a national youth drug prevention movement. Jake shares how he once invited 129 students to a party with no alcohol – and 120 said yes. That moment showed him he wasn’t the odd one out, just part of a silent majority who were tired of pressure to drink.
He now speaks at around 200 schools a year, helping students build "confidence, community, and coping skills" and championing the idea of "choosing skill sets over shortcuts". You’ll hear how Vive18 encourages students to create sober clubs, run events like "slip and slide into a sober summer", and even pitch prevention projects in a "shark tank"-style contest.
The conversation also touches on how hard it can be for teens living with drinking or drug use at home, and why shaming doesn’t help anyone. Jake stresses that "there's nothing wrong with the person who is using" and focuses on helping young people believe their future is worth protecting.
Janey brings her own experience into the mix, talking about the joy of ordinary moments in sobriety and the importance of community, from her sober club to live events with guests such as William Porter. Together, they paint a picture of alcohol-free life that feels fun, connected and full of possibility. If you’ve ever wondered how to help young people see that sobriety can be social, joyful and cool, this conversation might be the spark you’ve been waiting for.
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