Get a Grip Podcast

In this episode of Get a Grip Podcast, Louis Essig sits down with T.Y. Brooks for a raw and honest conversation about growing up in the streets, juvenile detention, addiction, and finding a new path through recovery.
T.Y.'s struggles began at an early age. After getting into trouble as a kid, he spent two and a half years in the Ohio Department of Youth Services (DYS), an experience that shaped much of his teenage years. Once back on the streets, he quickly became immersed in the drug culture, experimenting with opioids and finding ways to make money through illegal hustles.
He opens up about trying OxyContin for the first time, selling counterfeit drugs, and how partying with substances like MDMA eventually led him down an even darker road. When methamphetamine entered his life, everything changed.T.Y. shares what it was like discovering meth before the COVID-19 pandemic, how the drug evolved over the years, and the terrifying moment he unknowingly used meth that had been contaminated with fentanyl. He discusses the dangers of today's illicit drug supply, the increasing risk of accidental overdose, and how addiction became harder than ever to escape.
After attempting to clean up his life, T.Y. experienced setbacks and relapse before finally finding a recovery that worked for him. He reflects on the lessons he learned through addiction, what sobriety looks like today, and why he believes anyone struggling can still turn their life around.
This episode is a powerful conversation about resilience, accountability, and hope in the face of addiction.
🔥 Expect emotion. Expect truth. Expect hope.
🔔 Don’t forget to like, comment, and subscribe for more powerful stories on addiction, recovery, and resilience.
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📩 Email: getagrippodcast614@gmail.com
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In this episode of Get a Grip Podcast, Aaron Garnes and Louis Essig sit down with Eddie Pennington for a gripping conversation about growing up in addiction, surviving the streets, and finding hope after years of substance abuse and legal trouble.
Eddie's story begins in a home where addiction was already a part of everyday life. Raised by an alcoholic father and a mother battling crack cocaine addiction, he was introduced to alcohol at a young age, drinking Little Kings while still a kid. As if that wasn't enough, a devastating car accident during his early teens became another defining moment in his life.
As Eddie got older, his drug use escalated from experimentation to full-blown addiction. He shares how he became involved in transporting drugs on trips to Florida, eventually developing a severe crack cocaine addiction before progressing to intravenous drug use.
The conversation dives into the realities of street life, including boosting stolen vehicles, committing retail theft, passing fraudulent checks, and the criminal lifestyle that funded his addiction. Eddie explains how those choices eventually caught up with him, leading to serious charges and life-changing consequences.
After getting sober, Eddie believed the worst was behind him. But addiction had one more chapter to write. He opens up about relapsing while in a relationship, becoming addicted to fentanyl, surviving another devastating car accident, and nearly losing his life to an overdose.
Today, Eddie reflects on the lessons he learned through recovery, the importance of accountability, and why he continues to share his story to help others who are still trapped in addiction.
This episode is a powerful reminder that no matter how far addiction takes you, recovery is always 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: getagrippodcast614@gmail.com
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#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 #changinglivesdaily

In this episode of Get a Grip Podcast, Aaron Garnes sits down with Lynn Vetum for a powerful conversation about addiction, incarceration, relapse, and the long journey to lasting recovery.
Lynn's story begins with what appeared to be a normal childhood, but everything started to change after leaving private school and entering a new environment. Like many people, her first experiences with alcohol seemed harmless at the time, but they quickly escalated into a lifestyle of partying, substance abuse, and increasingly dangerous choices.After being kicked out of college, Lynn found herself bartending, where cocaine, Vicodin, and Percocet became part of her daily life. What started as recreational drug use soon evolved into a full-blown opioid addiction, eventually reaching the point where she was taking 8 to 10 Percocet 30s every day just to function.
As prescription pills became harder to find, heroin entered the picture.
Lynn shares the terrifying progression from swallowing pills to injecting heroin, working at a gentlemen's club while battling addiction, and the moment she crossed a line she never imagined she would. She also opens up about overdosing, being arrested, and entering rehab for the first time—only to discover that recovery would be much more complicated than simply stopping the drugs.
The conversation takes several unexpected turns as Lynn discusses attending the world-renowned Passages Malibu treatment center, being arrested there by the U.S. Marshals, and being extradited from California back to Ohio. She also shares the remarkable story of her mother's chance encounter with former Ohio Governor John Kasich during one of the darkest periods of her life.
Even after finding recovery, the battle wasn't over. Lynn explains how fentanyl changed the landscape of addiction, why it felt different from heroin, how alcohol nearly became a substitute for opioids, and what finally helped her achieve lasting sobriety after years of relapse and legal trouble.Today, Lynn dedicates her life to helping others by sharing her story, writing about recovery, and proving that no matter how hopeless addiction may seem, change is always possible.This is an honest conversation about addiction, accountability, redemption, and the work it takes to build a new life.
🔥 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: getagrippodcast614@gmail.com
👇 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 #changinglivesdaily

In this episode of Get a Grip Podcast, Aaron Garnes sits down with Lauren Shoemaker for a powerful conversation about addiction, loss, recovery, and finding hope after years of chaos.
Lauren's story begins with a difficult childhood before addiction slowly took hold during her late teens and early twenties. What started with cocaine quickly escalated, leading to intravenous drug use and a lifestyle centered around survival. She shares how addiction consumed every aspect of her life, from selling methamphetamine to terrifying encounters—including being held at gunpoint while involved in the drug trade.
The conversation also explores Lauren's battle with anorexia, offering an honest look at the physical and emotional toll of an eating disorder alongside addiction. She reflects on the heartbreaking loss of her child's father to liver failure and how grief pushed her even deeper into substance use.As heroin entered the picture, Lauren's life spiraled further. She opens up about stealing from retail stores to support her addiction, the moment she was finally caught, and the unbelievable discovery that she was more than seven months pregnant without knowing it.
Lauren shares what it was like entering jail on a felony warrant while seven and a half months pregnant, making the difficult decision to place her son for adoption, and relapsing shortly after giving birth. She speaks candidly about the cycle of relapse and recovery, surviving a near-fatal fentanyl overdose, and the treatment program that finally helped her begin rebuilding her life.
Today, Lauren is focused on recovery, healing, and creating a future she once thought was impossible. Her story is a testament to resilience and proof that recovery can begin even after the darkest moments.
🔥 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: getagrippodcast614@gmail.com
👇 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 #changinglivesdaily

In this episode of Get a Grip Podcast, Louis Essig and Aaron Garnes sit down with Jason Mains for an incredible story of violence, addiction, prison, relapse, and the ongoing fight for recovery.
Jason's life was marked by trauma from an early age. As a teenager, he survived a brutal assault after being jumped and thrown from an overpass—an event that changed the trajectory of his life. Just two years later, at 17 years old, Jason made a decision that would alter everything when he shot another person, leading to a lengthy prison sentence before he was even an adult.
While incarcerated, Jason witnessed unimaginable experiences, including discovering an inmate who had taken his own life. Prison became a place where survival was the priority, but addiction would continue to follow him long after his release.
Once back on the streets, alcohol and cocaine quickly took over. Jason explains why drinking always led him back to cocaine, how his addiction escalated into crack cocaine, and the dangerous lifestyle that followed—including robberies, violence, and repeated trips through the criminal justice system.
Throughout the conversation, Jason also shares the unexpected role art and music played in his life. From creating portraits while in prison to performing music after his release, he reflects on how creativity gave him purpose, even as addiction continued pulling him back.
The episode takes another unbelievable turn as Jason discusses experimenting with methamphetamine, taking massive amounts of LSD, relapsing after four years of sobriety, and ultimately finding himself back in jail and treatment.Today, Jason is once again fighting for his recovery and speaks candidly about the challenges of staying sober, taking responsibility for his past, and continuing to move forward one day at a time.
This is a raw conversation about consequences, redemption, and the reality that recovery is often a journey—not a straight line.
🔥 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: getagrippodcast614@gmail.com
👇 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 #changinglivesdaily