‘No one is a lost hope’ – Popular Irish podcast star opens up on addiction hell and ‘essential’ service that helped him | KO47C80 | 2024-05-12 00:08:01
'No one is a lost hope' – Popular Irish podcast star opens up on addiction hell and 'essential' service that helped him | KO47C80 | 2024-05-12 00:08:01
PODCAST star Terence Power felt he was too far gone in his addiction to ever come back, but the Talking Bollox host said "no one is a lost hope".
The Dubliner hosts the award-winning podcast with friend Calvin O'Brien.
And they said they want to change the perception of what life in the inner city is like, while not being oblivious to the hardships and issues.
Terence describes them as "two normal lads from the north inner city of Dublin, just speaking about our lives".
He lost his father when he was young, and his mother Rachel battled addiction.
However, he said she is now clean and "the best mother in the world", even sharing her story on the podcast.
While he and Calvin are now both sober, Terence struggled with grief and an environment of poverty and addiction, which he said "shapes a lot of people for the rest of their life".
Like many, he didn't realise he had a drug problem until it was far gone.
It went from recreational use of alcohol and cocaine on nights out, to using every weekend, to every day.
Eventually, it was the first thing he thought of in the morning, and the last thing at night.
It was then he decided that if he wanted to fulfil his dream of starting a podcast, he needed to get clean.
He explained: "I think too many people are caught up in that mindset where they think they're too far gone or there's no way back when there's always a way back.
<!-- End of Brightcove Player --> "I felt like that for a long time, I felt like I was a lost hope and I remember thinking many times, 'this is just the way it's meant to be; this is who I am, this is the way it is'.
"But then when you break down that barrier and break through that, it's the best thing that's ever happened to me – I'm a much happier and healthier person for it.
"You can break that cycle and go, 'you know, I'm gonna change this generational circle. I'm gonna try and do better'… No one is a lost hope."
Calvin added: "You can make a decision today so that tomorrow is the first day of the rest of your life – it can completely affect the trajectory of your life."
Sober joy
No longer drinking or taking drugs, the men want to change that perception and show you don't need alcohol or drugs to have fun.
Calvin explained: "When you go out, if you go to a festival or a nightclub or even family gatherings and you're looking at what's going on around you, you're starting to be like 'this is a huge issue in society', but it's not spoken about enough until you see someone on their knees and then they're like 'alright, I'm ready to get out of this now'."
Speaking about how they find being sober in this industry, he added: "There's so many brands and companies out there who like to promote drinking. We're all about the alternative to that, and I don't think enough companies promote the alternative.
"You don't see enough non-alcoholic brands and you don't see that promoted enough."
Terence added: "We're not anti-alcohol, but we are trying to show people that you don't have to drink to enjoy events – if you're sober you can still go out and enjoy yourself."
Project partnership
The pair are now partnering with Coca Cola's Thank You Fund, which sees €200,000 going directly into youth groups and projects in Ireland.
Terence, who grew up in the Dorset Street flats, believes he was able to escape a generational cycle of poverty and a life of crime as a result of the Bradog Youth Services in Dublin's inner city.
"Bradog was essential for me and all the people from my area. Youth Services like this are essential to keep you off the streets – where we're from, a lot of us grow up in poverty.
"So to have a place like this to come, to keep us off the streets, to keep us out of trouble – I can't speak highly enough."
From feeding the kids and helping them make CVs, educating them and taking them on day trips to find their passion, the staff and services change young lives.
'They were brilliant'
He added: "The amount of time that they put into every single person, not just one person, the amount of money poured in trying to educate us and keep us away from criminality and addiction – they were brilliant, they were like friends to us."
Calvin grew up on Sean McDermott Street and went to LCS youth club.
The duo's biggest dream is to sell out the 3Arena and they say that they have big plans coming up, describing them as "pipe dreams".
Talking Bollox has sold out the National Theatre four times and Calvin said: "Here we are now, we never thought we'd be here, so long may it continue".
The Coca-Cola Thank You Fund is inviting Youth services with programmes on Learning and Sustainable Development to apply for a grant share totalling €200,000, with details on their website.
More >> https://ift.tt/mSOG9nq Source: MAG NEWS
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