The Michael Chernow Podcast

Michael Chernow shares the raw story of how childhood trauma led him into addiction at just 12 years old and eventually brought him within inches of losing his life. After surviving a heroin overdose, Michael returned to using only hours later because he still didn’t know how to stop. Everything changed when one phone call connected him with the mentor who gave him the structure, discipline, faith, and support required to rebuild his life. Now 21 years sober, Michael explains why asking for help is a sign of strength, how fitness became part of his recovery, and why getting back up is the only thing you need to do perfectly. He also opens up about fatherhood, meeting his wife nine months into sobriety, learning to love himself, and becoming the mentor he once desperately needed. This is a powerful conversation about addiction, redemption, faith, discipline, love, and the possibility of completely changing your life.

I felt it was time to have this conversation

After being told at just 13 years old that she likely wouldn’t survive her teenage years, Ashleigh Di Lello refused to accept the future doctors predicted for her. Years later, after a failed hip surgery left her unable to walk and living with debilitating chronic pain, she reached another breaking point that changed the direction of her life.In this episode, Ashleigh explains how she began studying neuroscience, nervous-system regulation and the connection between physical, mental and emotional pain. She and Michael discuss faith, neuroplasticity, trauma, survival mode, self-compassion and why the brain repeatedly returns to familiar patterns—even when those patterns are destructive.Ashleigh also breaks down the practical process she uses to help people process emotional pain, calm the brain’s fear networks and create healthier neural pathways. Michael shares his own experiences with addiction, childhood trauma, his son’s rare genetic diagnosis and the role his relationship with God has played throughout his recovery.This conversation is about refusing to let pain, fear or a diagnosis become your permanent identity. It is a powerful reminder that healing requires faith, responsibility, daily action and the willingness to move directly through what hurts.

Michael Chernow and Mattiy Christofferson sit down inside an RV after six exhausting days on the road launching the Kreatures of Habit Daily Bar at Sprouts stores across the West Coast.In this raw, off-the-cuff conversation, they break down the reality of building a company, the pressure founders feel when comparing themselves to massive brands, and why obsession is often required to succeed. They also discuss delegation, maintaining momentum, creating your own luck, and learning to accept that nobody will execute your vision exactly like you.Michael opens up about nearly sacrificing his marriage for business, the dream he is still working toward, and why success is meaningless if it costs you the people you love. This episode is a reminder that the biggest failure is not losing—it is reaching the end of your life knowing you never tried.Follow the journey as Kreatures of Habit and Ops Run travel across the country connecting with runners, run clubs, and local communities.

Michael Chernow opens up about growing up in an unsafe home, searching for a father figure, and how that vulnerability led him into the hands of a predator. He shares the confusion, shame, addiction, and anger that followed, and why he believes parents need to be more aware of who has access to their children. This conversation also goes into his near-death experience with heroin, the moment that finally pushed him toward sobriety, and the mentor who helped him rebuild his life. Now 21 years sober, Michael uses his story as a warning to parents and a message of hope for anyone who feels too broken to change. This episode contains sensitive conversations around childhood abuse, addiction, and recovery.

#ChildhoodTrauma #AddictionRecovery #Sobriety #MensMentalHealth #Fatherhood #TraumaHealing #SurvivorStory #ProtectYourKids #Parenting #RecoveryJourney