The #RecoveryFirst Podcast with Mike Todd Bonus "What Bubba Taught Me"The #RecoveryFirst Podcast with Mike Todd Bonus "What Bubba Taught Me"
The Recovery First Addiction Recovery Podcast by Freedom Recovery Services of Greenville
Mike Todd shares personal stories about early mentors who challenged his dishonesty and taught him basic self-respect, then explains how those lessons connect to today’s recovery housing efforts in South Carolina. He also outlines work to support recovery housing operators and expand naloxone access for residents.
11:58•27 Jul 2021
What Bubba Taught Me: Honest Lessons, Clean Laundry and Safer Recovery Housing
Episode Overview
- Being willing to hear hard truths (“rude awakenings”) can spark real spiritual and personal growth.
- Honesty is a learned habit, and daily accountability around lying can reshape long-standing behaviour.
- Practical skills like cleaning, doing laundry and basic self-care become part of building dignity in recovery.
- Respecting women and protecting newcomers in meetings is a key part of healthy recovery culture.
- The South Carolina Recovery Housing Association works to support operators and is prioritising naloxone access and training in all recovery homes.
“Rude awakenings lead to spiritual awakenings. Don't be afraid of rude awakenings.”
Curious about how others navigate their sobriety journey? This bonus episode of The Recovery First Addiction Recovery Podcast hangs out with Mike Todd as he shares a heartfelt story he calls "What Bubba Taught Me" and links it to wider work in recovery housing today. Mike talks about early recovery days in the 1990s, when men like Ken "Bubba" B. and Earl "The Pearl" played huge roles in his life.
With plenty of humour and honesty, he explains how they challenged his old habits, from compulsive lying to something as simple as learning to wash and hang his clothes. As he jokes about ironing shirts straight off the floor, Bubba steps in with a blunt truth: "Rude awakenings lead to spiritual awakenings. Don't be afraid of rude awakenings." Those early lessons stretched far beyond laundry.
Mike describes being held accountable daily for honesty, being taught to treat women with respect, and being reminded that newcomers at meetings deserved safety and the same chance he was given. His message is clear: let people "call bullcrap" and speak into your life, because growth often starts with discomfort. The episode then shifts from personal story to community action.
Mike talks about how recovery housing in South Carolina has grown from a few people sharing homes and accountability into a full-blown industry, with all the risks that brings for a vulnerable population. To respond, he explains the creation of the South Carolina Recovery Housing Association, formed to support, mentor and advocate for recovery housing operators.
A big focus is getting naloxone into all recovery homes across the state and training residents to use it, supported by partners like The Clinton Foundation, the Recovery Advocacy Project, Challenges, Inc. and FAVOR Greenville. If you’re looking for a mix of raw honesty, practical recovery wisdom and real-world advocacy, this one might give you plenty to think about: as Mike says, "Guys, recovery’s beautiful."
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