Get a Grip Podcast

In this episode of Get a Grip Podcast, Louis Essig and Aaron Garnes sit down with Kenny Maupin to talk about how addiction can happen to anyone — even someone who had a good childhood and loving family. Kenny opens up about growing up in a stable home before his parents divorced at a young age, something that quietly affected him more than he realized at the time.
What started with marijuana and alcohol eventually progressed into harder drugs and ultimately IV heroin use. Kenny shares how addiction slowly took over his life, changing the way he thought, lived, and viewed himself. He talks honestly about the emotional pain, the progression of substance abuse, and how quickly recreational use turned into full-blown dependency.
Throughout the conversation, Kenny reflects on the choices he made, the people he hurt, and the moments that forced him to confront the reality of his addiction. But this episode is also about hope, transformation, and purpose. Today, Kenny is sober and dedicating his life to helping other people break free from addiction and rebuild their lives.
This is a powerful reminder that addiction does not discriminate. No matter your upbringing, background, or circumstances, anyone can fall into the cycle — and anyone can recover with the right help, honesty, and support.
If you or someone you love is struggling with addiction, this episode offers real insight, encouragement, and proof that recovery is possible.
🔥 Expect emotion. Expect truth. Expect hope.
🔔 Don’t forget to like, comment, and subscribe for more powerful stories on addiction, recovery, and resilience.
Get a Grip Podcast Social Media: Find our TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, Spotify, Apple Podcasts, iHeart Radio links, a more on our Link Tree below!
Get a Grip Social Media Links: ⁠https://linktr.ee/officialgetagrippodcast
For Collaboration and Business inquiries, please use the contact information below:
📩 Email: [email protected]
👇 Let us know your thoughts in the comments.
#getagrip #redemptionstory #mentalhealth #mentalhealthawareness #addictionrecovery #recoveryjourney #trauma #childhood #oxy #dealer #soberlife #wedorecover #childhoodtrauma #healing #inspiration #awareness #kingpin #trafficking #hustle #opioidcrisis #neardeathexperience #fyp #prison #bar #mistake #change #survivor #survival #tv #television #inspire #parole #officer #school #teacher #students #study #student #changinglives

In this episode of Get a Grip Podcast, Louis Essig and Aaron Garnes sit down with Tree Burns for one of the rawest conversations yet. Raised in chaos with a mother addicted to cr4ck and a father constantly in and out of prison, Tree’s childhood spiraled fast. By just 9 years old he was already getting high, running the streets, robbing convenience stores, and getting lit at school while trying to survive a life with no real stability.
As the violence, partying, and addiction escalated, Tree found himself in and out of trouble, spending years in DYS and later bouncing from house to house, couch to couch, and relationship to relationship just trying to make it. From drinking and fighting constantly to becoming homeless after a police encounter, his life only kept getting darker.
Things took an even harder turn when he was introduced to m3th and eventually started selling f3ntanyl throughout southeastern Ohio. Tree opens up about the paranoia, daily drug use, chasing people down in a U-Haul after being robbed, and the criminal lifestyle that eventually led to direct indictments and serious consequences.
One of the most heartbreaking moments of the interview comes when Tree talks about smoking cr4ck with his own father for the first time — a cycle of addiction passed down from generation to generation. What started as a broken childhood turned into years of destruction, benders, arrests, lies, and losing himself completely.
But this episode is more than just addiction and crime. Tree reflects deeply on becoming a father, losing relationships, hitting rock bottom, and finally realizing that the life he was living was built on lies. He shares how honesty with his probation officer became the first real step toward getting clean and how reflection changed the way he sees himself and the world around him today.
This is a powerful story about generational trauma, survival, addiction, consequences, and redemption. If you’ve ever struggled, loved someone battling addiction, or wondered how people end up trapped in these cycles, this episode gives an unfiltered look into that reality.
🔥 Expect emotion. Expect truth. Expect hope.
🔔 Don’t forget to like, comment, and subscribe for more powerful stories on addiction, recovery, and resilience.
Get a Grip Podcast Social Media: Find our TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, Spotify, Apple Podcasts, iHeart Radio links, a more on our Link Tree below!
Get a Grip Social Media Links: ⁠https://linktr.ee/officialgetagrippodcast
For Collaboration and Business inquiries, please use the contact information below:
📩 Email: [email protected]
👇 Let us know your thoughts in the comments.
#getagrip #redemptionstory #mentalhealth #mentalhealthawareness #addictionrecovery #recoveryjourney #trauma #childhood #oxy #dealer #soberlife #wedorecover #childhoodtrauma #healing #inspiration #awareness #kingpin #trafficking #hustle #opioidcrisis #neardeathexperience #fyp #prison #bar #mistake #change #survivor #survival #tv #television #inspire #parole #officer #school #teacher #students #study #student #changinglives

In this intense and brutally honest episode of Get A Grip, Louis Essig and Aaron Garnes sit down with Carl Wilson for one of the most chaotic and emotional conversations the podcast has ever had. Carl takes listeners deep into his past, opening up about a rough childhood filled with instability, violence, and early exposure to addiction. From getting hooked on painkillers in high school to spiraling into harder drugs later in life, Carl tells his story with raw honesty and zero filters.
What starts as stories about growing up in a small town quickly turns into unbelievable tales of addiction, bad decisions, heartbreak, and survival. Carl talks about the wild side of his younger years, including reckless partying, cow tipping adventures, and the toxic relationships that followed him through adulthood. He also shares painful moments from his personal life, including getting caught cheating by his wife and how those choices impacted everyone around him.
The conversation gets even heavier when Carl opens up about the abuse he suffered at the hands of his stepfather, including a violent incident involving a 2x4 that left lasting emotional scars. He explains how trauma and untreated mental health issues shaped many of the decisions he made later in life, eventually leading to a stay in a mental hospital. Louis and Aaron guide the conversation through some dark territory as Carl explains the paranoia, breakdowns, and psychosis he experienced during years of heavy drug use.
Carl also shares the stories behind trying cocaine and meth for the first time, describing how quickly things escalated once those substances entered his life. One of the craziest moments of the episode comes when he tells the full story of a terrifying car accident while high on coke, Jack Daniels, and weed — a moment that could have easily ended his life or someone else’s.
Despite all the darkness, the episode also has moments of humor, reflection, and honesty that make it impossible to stop listening. Carl speaks openly about regret, survival, relationships, and trying to find meaning after years of destruction. The episode closes with an absolutely unbelievable psychosis story that leaves Louis and Aaron speechless and perfectly captures just how insane Carl’s journey has been.
This is one of the rawest and most unforgettable episodes of Get A Grip yet.
🔥 Expect emotion. Expect truth. Expect hope.
🔔 Don’t forget to like, comment, and subscribe for more powerful stories on addiction, recovery, and resilience.
Get a Grip Podcast Social Media: Find our TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, Spotify, Apple Podcasts, iHeart Radio links, a more on our Link Tree below!
Get a Grip Social Media Links: ⁠https://linktr.ee/officialgetagrippodcast
For Collaboration and Business inquiries, please use the contact information below:📩 Email: [email protected]
👇 Let us know your thoughts in the comments.
#getagrip #redemptionstory #mentalhealth #mentalhealthawareness #addictionrecovery #recoveryjourney #trauma #childhood #oxy #dealer #soberlife #wedorecover #childhoodtrauma #healing #inspiration #awareness #kingpin #trafficking #hustle #opioidcrisis #neardeathexperience #fyp #prison #bar #mistake #change #survivor #survival #tv #television #inspire #parole #officer #school #teacher #students #study #student #changinglives

On this intense and emotional episode of Get a Grip Podcast, hosts Louis Essig and Aaron Garnes sit down with Brandy Harden for a brutally honest conversation about addiction, trauma, loss, and survival. Brandy opens up about her chaotic upbringing, growing up with her father after her mother left when she was young, and how rebellion and risky behavior began early in her life.
From stealing cars in high school to buying a house at just 19 years old, Brandy’s story is full of extreme highs and devastating lows. She shares how toxic relationships and bad decisions pulled her deeper into the drug world, including being manipulated into transporting meth, cheating with dealers, and spiraling into addiction herself. What started as experimentation quickly turned into a lifestyle filled with dangerous situations, self-destruction, and losing control.
Brandy talks openly about using drugs while working professional jobs, including at CPS and Job & Family Services, where addiction completely overtook her life. Despite passing drug tests and maintaining appearances for a time, behind the scenes she was battling severe mental health struggles, reckless spending, and a growing dependency that drained her emotionally, financially, and spiritually. She describes blowing through tens of thousands of dollars, losing her home, becoming homeless, and eventually hitting rock bottom.
The episode becomes even more heartbreaking as Brandy reflects on losing contact with her daughter, a pain she still carries every day. She also recounts terrifying moments of addiction, including wrecking her car while high, hitchhiking across Ohio while dopesick, struggling through methadone treatment complications, and experiencing the traumatic death of someone she loved after desperate attempts to save his life.
But through all the chaos, Brandy’s story is ultimately one of honesty, accountability, and hope. She speaks about where she is today, the lessons addiction has taught her, and the message she wants others to hear before they lose everything. She also shares emotional words directed toward her children and discusses her plans for recovery moving forward.
This episode of Get a Grip Podcast is raw, heartbreaking, and deeply human — a conversation about addiction, mental health, motherhood, grief, and the long road toward healing and redemption.
🔥 Expect emotion. Expect truth. Expect hope.
🔔 Don’t forget to like, comment, and subscribe for more powerful stories on addiction, recovery, and resilience.
Get a Grip Podcast Social Media: Find our TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, Spotify, Apple Podcasts, iHeart Radio links, a more on our Link Tree below!
Get a Grip Social Media Links: ⁠https://linktr.ee/officialgetagrippodcast
For Collaboration and Business inquiries, please use the contact information below:
📩 Email: [email protected]
👇 Let us know your thoughts in the comments.
#getagrip #redemptionstory #mentalhealth #mentalhealthawareness #addictionrecovery #recoveryjourney #trauma #childhood #oxy #dealer #soberlife #wedorecover #childhoodtrauma #healing #inspiration #awareness #kingpin #trafficking #hustle #opioidcrisis #neardeathexperience #fyp #prison #bar #mistake #change #survivor #survival #tv #television #inspire #parole #officer #school #teacher #students #study #student #changinglives

Reading for one of the most raw and honest conversations yet. Matthew opens up about the struggles that shaped his life from an early age, beginning with the devastating loss of his father when he was still a child. Without guidance and dealing with unresolved pain, he found himself searching for acceptance and purpose in all the wrong places.
As Matthew shares, that pain eventually led him down a destructive road filled with violence, crime, and poor decisions. What started as a troubled childhood spiraled into robberies, assaults, and nearly a decade spent in prison. Behind bars, things only became darker as he fell deeper into addiction and became hooked on drugs while incarcerated. Feeling hopeless and trapped in a cycle he couldn’t escape, Matthew reached some of the lowest points of his life.
But this story is not just about prison, addiction, or mistakes — it’s about transformation. Matthew talks candidly about the turning points that forced him to take accountability and begin rebuilding himself from the inside out. Through sobriety, perseverance, and a commitment to changing his life, he has been able to break free from the path that once defined him.Today, Matthew is sober, thriving, and focused on building a better future while sharing his story in hopes of helping others who may feel lost, addicted, or beyond redemption. His journey is a reminder that your past does not have to determine your future and that even after years of hardship, it is possible to find purpose, healing, and hope.
This episode of Get a Grip is a powerful conversation about childhood trauma, addiction, incarceration, accountability, redemption, and what it truly takes to turn your life around. Matthew’s story is intense, inspiring, and proof that change is possible no matter how far gone someone may feel.
🔥 Expect emotion. Expect truth. Expect hope.
🔔 Don’t forget to like, comment, and subscribe for more powerful stories on addiction, recovery, and resilience.
Get a Grip Podcast Social Media: Find our TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, Spotify, Apple Podcasts, iHeart Radio links, a more on our Link Tree below!
Get a Grip Social Media Links: ⁠https://linktr.ee/officialgetagrippodcast
For Collaboration and Business inquiries, please use the contact information below:
📩 Email: [email protected]
👇 Let us know your thoughts in the comments.
#getagrip #redemptionstory #mentalhealth #mentalhealthawareness #addictionrecovery #recoveryjourney #trauma #childhood #oxy #dealer #soberlife #wedorecover #childhoodtrauma #healing #inspiration #awareness #kingpin #trafficking #hustle #opioidcrisis #neardeathexperience #fyp #prison #bar #mistake #change #survivor #survival #tv #television #inspire #parole #officer #school #teacher #students #study #student #changinglives