The Illuminate Podcast: Coach BluThe Illuminate Podcast: Coach Blu
Addict II Athlete Podcast
Coach Blu Robinson shares how Addict II Athlete grew from a small running experiment into a free, service-focused recovery community that blends sport, family and peer support. Host Emma Benner guides a candid conversation about grief, relapse, identity and why Blu believes you’re never too far gone to start again.
1:09:10•8 Sept 2020
Erasing Addiction, Finding Purpose: Coach Blu on Addict II Athlete
Episode Overview
- Replacing an addict identity with sport, service and community can provide a powerful framework for long-term sobriety.
- Labels such as “I’m an addict” and strict day-counting are avoided in favour of focusing on the whole person and their many roles.
- Physical training is paired with community service and family involvement to prevent exercise from becoming a new fixation.
- Relapse is treated as something to learn from, distinguishing between “losing” and “being beaten”, with peer support and structured “bench” time.
- Honouring those lost to overdose through actions like the proxy run helps keep their memories alive while motivating ongoing recovery.
“We are not anonymous… in 2020, anonymity will kill you.”
Curious about how others navigate their sobriety journey? This conversation between host Emma Benner and coach/therapist Blu Robinson gives a raw, honest look at how sport and community can reshape life after addiction.
The chat centres on Addict II Athlete, the free community group Blu founded to help people “erase the addiction and replace it with things of greater value.” You’ll hear how his own chaotic childhood, teenage substance use and what he jokingly calls “social suicide” in 1996 led him towards mountain biking, endurance sport and eventually a career as a mental health counsellor.
He talks about that turning point on a Utah mountain trail when two strangers helped him down and he realised he could swap an addict identity for “mountain biker”. Emma draws out the origin story of Team Addict II Athlete: five reluctant clients, a couch-to-5k, a “chase the mayor” race and a bold decision to ditch anonymity by wearing Addict II Athlete shirts.
Blu shares why the team avoids labels like “I’m an addict”, focuses on balance rather than creating a new obsession, and weaves in service projects—from raising thousands for racing wheelchairs to funding youth sport fees for kids whose parents are in recovery. The episode doesn’t shy away from grief either. Blu speaks openly about losing athletes, including Carly, and how that shaped their annual virtual “proxy run”, where people run in honour of loved ones affected by addiction.
Throughout, he keeps coming back to relationships, family, and the idea that you’re never too far gone if you’re willing to step up to the starting line. If you’re in recovery, love someone who is, or just want a fresh, practical way of looking at sobriety, this conversation might leave you asking: what could you erase and replace in your own life today?
Do you want to link to this podcast?
Get the buttons here!
More From This Show
The latest episodes from the same podcast.