Episode Transcript
[00:00:03] Speaker A: Welcome to the Alcohol Tipping Point podcast. I'm your host, Deb Maisner. I'm a registered nurse, health coach, and alcohol free badass. I have found that there's more than one way to address drinking. If you've ever asked yourself if drinking is taking more than it's giving, or if you found that you're drinking more than usual, you may have reached your own alcohol tipping point. The alcohol tipping point is a podcast for you to find tips, tools, and thoughts to change your drinking. Whether you're ready to quit forever or a week, this is the place for you. You are not stuck, and you can change.
[00:00:37] Speaker B: Let's get started.
Welcome, everyone. Thanks for listening to this episode of the Alcohol Tipping Point podcast. Today on the show, I have Susie Strilman. Susie is the founder of Zero Proof Experiences, and she is the creator and co runner of the Sober in the city weekend events. I'm especially excited about this interview and sober in the city because I'm going to go to my first sober in the city event in Seattle, which is September, September 6 through 8th. So if y'all are interested, if you want to meet up in Seattle, I would love to see you. I've never done a sober in the city event before, but I've heard about them. So I'm going to drive over from Boise so that I can participate, and I'm just looking forward to it. So welcome to the show, Suzy.
[00:01:38] Speaker C: Hey, good morning. Thanks for having me. And we are so excited that you are coming for the first time. It's nice when it's a little bit closer so you can drive on over. I know that it is a drive, but Seattle is a nice place to visit, too, right?
[00:01:55] Speaker B: Yeah, I think that it'll be wonderful. And because I never really knew, I would kind of see things pop up in Instagram, like sober in the city. And I was always like, what is that?
But we're definitely going to get into that. But first, I just want to hear more about you, just like, basically what you do, where you're at now. And then we'll get into your drinking story.
[00:02:22] Speaker C: Go from there. Okay. Thank you, Deb. My name is Susie. I live in Long Beach, California. I've lived here for 32 years, I guess, which is how long I've been married, believe it or not, to the same person, Rick. Thankful. And we have two boys that are adults now and also live in Long beach and not in our house. I am a physical therapist by trade, currently not working in physical therapy, and have kind of found a passion in that alcohol free life and alcohol free connection, travel and all of those things is what I'm working on a lot right now.
Oh.
[00:03:06] Speaker B: But I never, I didn't know that background about you, so I'm just excited to get to know you a little bit more on our show, too.
Well, congratulations. 32 years of marriage, you said?
[00:03:18] Speaker C: Yes. Yes. Thank you. So, yeah, we lived in Long Beach, California, for a long time, maybe to kind of transition. I mean, one thing that I think I've been pretty passionate about, you know, maybe even since high school, is, you know, nutrition fitness.
I remember getting into some weightlifting in the nautilus sector, and that was.
I really enjoyed that. So I was interested physical therapy sort of aligned with that kind of health and wellness aspect. So, yeah, I was always interested in the different options. So over the years, I actually taught spinning classes. I was very into running for a long time, which I didn't start until I was after 30, but over some time period, I ran five marathons and about 20 half marathons. So, you know, it was something fun that I did. And I think because of that kind of passion for nutrition, health, fitness and wellness, I started maybe analyzing some of my habits a bit sooner than. Than I would have otherwise. For example, you know, I know you're active and you do a variety of things, but to take a long training run after a typical night out, like, not even that much, but maybe you had two or three glasses of wine, that that was not pretty at all. So, you know, I just began to notice things. And it's funny, when you think back, maybe you've had these thoughts, too. You know, there were thoughts in your mind that you really didn't even make space for. Like, you know, I remember maybe planning on a long trip, and I thought, oh, maybe. Maybe I'm just not going to drink on this long, you know, road trip that we had the experience of doing. And then that kind of switched up pretty quickly because there weren't any plans or actions. But, you know, I think I had thoughts like, you know, I think it might be healthier if I just changed my drinking habits or something like that. And then a little bit later on, I was even told by a doctor that my liver enzymes were high, and he wasn't so suggesting that it was necessarily from alcohol. Maybe it was or maybe it wasn't, but he did suggest that I didn't drink any alcohol for a month, which I thought, that sounds like quite a challenge, sir. I don't know about that. Of course, I didn't say that out loud, but after. And after the month they went down, and so everything was fine. But periodically from that period on, you know, which was probably more than a dozen years, I would take breaks and I would. You know, it's kind of always in my mind that maybe it's probably a little healthier if I would drink less.
And so I would do a dry January, did a couple of lent seasons, Deb, which I thought was, like, a really, really long time. And. And then it was like, okay, the celebratory champagne, because it's Easter.
Right. And so you. Do you feel like that's not a life without alcohol? That is. I mean, I believed that you couldn't lead a full and complete life without alcohol.
Sounds funny now, right?
[00:07:09] Speaker B: Oh, totally. So it sounds like you were kind of more of a social drinker. You were just going about your regular life. I was relating so much to your health and fitness. You know, I'm a nurse, and I was, like, really into health, fitness, dieting, training for. I never did a marathon, but training for half marathons?
[00:07:35] Speaker C: Yes.
[00:07:35] Speaker B: And, yes. Like, I remember a night after drinking too much, going on a run with my dog, and I had to use the bathroom, and I was not close to my house, ironically, I had to run with the dog to our neighborhood pub, this, like, dive bar, and run in and use their bathroom. My poor dogs outside, and just reminded me, like, maybe I shouldn't be drinking. But I'm curious, with your, you know, working as a physical therapist and then your background in health and wellness, do you think that alcohol was brought up much as, like, a health concern, or was it not even on the radar? Because it wasn't on our radar. It was still, like, moderation's okay. You can drink. You know, it just wasn't really addressed.
[00:08:33] Speaker C: It was not on the radar, in fact.
Yeah, like, don't even talk about it, really, because I think if you were to bring it up, and I think I felt this way, too, like, if I were to bring it up and bring this up as a discussion, that means I'm saying that maybe I think things are not quite right, or maybe I think I should cut down, or maybe I think I should actually stop drinking. And we don't want to have that discussion. So let's just. I mean, yeah, let's bring on the green juice and let's do the healthiest diet. But, you know, don't forget to reserve your designated carbohydrates so that you can have those two or three glasses of wine or whatever it is, you know, in the evening.
And.
And now, I mean, I put it like this. Sometimes, like many people who drink alcohol, or maybe even most, I sometimes drink more than I would have preferred.
Right. And I've also come to believe over the past several years that I'm not sure how much it matters the difference of where you are on that continuum, because, you know, there's a continuum, and maybe you were on the lower end, or maybe you were on the higher end again. There were definitely times where I drank more than I would have liked, or then certainly that was healthy for me, and that were. Would have propelled me further in my goals of running. Now look back and think, man, that probably would have gone a lot smoother, because, you know, sometimes it's not that I couldn't function, but it would take me all. All week to, like, maybe Friday's workout was going to be the best, because, you know, there was a party on the weekend. And even if it's not a lot of alcohol, it really starts to take its toll when you're asking things from your body.
[00:10:56] Speaker B: Oh, absolutely. Absolutely. Well, when did you get to the point where you were just done with drinking?
[00:11:03] Speaker C: Like, you.
[00:11:04] Speaker B: Sounds like you took breaks, you had some liver concerns, like, how did you get to where you were done?
[00:11:12] Speaker C: I was an expert breaker. Thank you. I was very expert. And I considered myself, you know, when I met up with my high school girlfriends once a year, if anybody wanted to talk about, you know, taking a break, I might even have a few tips for them.
I don't know. So what happened in COVID? We. We had a lot. A lot going on, and we were eating more, drinking more. Oh, we had more people in the house. We had big dinners. We baked a lot of cookies. We had, you know, it was kind of constant. And, you know, one in the summer, I just said, I've had enough. Gotta, like, cut back. We're, you know, gonna stop eating all the extra sugar, we're gonna stop drinking wine. And this time, somehow I was looking for more connection in that space because I had done it before a whole bunch of times.
Never, ever had any fun with it.
[00:12:19] Speaker B: Deb.
[00:12:20] Speaker C: So all I really did, honestly, in 2020, was signed up for a long break. I signed up for a longer break. And I actually met some people in that, the sobers community and Jen couch had a lot of fun there.
So I signed up for a four month program, and I think that was really, really pivotal in learning more things and also taking more time. So it was somewhere around the six month for me, around the six month timeframe, and again, for me, everybody has a different story, right. And it's cool that we can all share.
So somewhere around that six month timeframe, I began to feel a little more pulled to the alcohol free lifestyle than to drinking wine.
And I think, for me, it took that amount of time to also realize that the thoughts that were going on in my head about how much. How. When. How often to drink were taking up oh, so very much space.
You know, like.
[00:13:42] Speaker B: There'S a.
[00:13:43] Speaker C: There's a lot of choices to, to drink alcohol. You know, I I really. I don't like to stay home. I have a lot of hobbies. I like to golf, which, you know, is very.
It's. It's very. It's very much associated with drinking alcohol. So I actually. I kind of. It kind of cracks me up because. Are you. Did you ever drink fireball? Like, oh, yeah.
[00:14:13] Speaker B: Cinnamon, gummy bear flavored. Yum.
[00:14:17] Speaker C: So I really never was too interested in fireball. I thought that was, like, a college kid thing. But there's a lot of women my age that liked drink fireball in the golf course, and, you know, God bless them, but. So, you know, there's opportunities to turn down a drink when you're on the golf course and. Cause it's a birdie shot. That's a thing. In case people aren't familiar. If you get a good score, then you do a birdie shot if you want. And sometimes I like to take those little ginger shots along from Trader Joe's or something.
And then there's always the. The. After you go in and have a cocktail, maybe. Maybe it's happy hour with your friends the next day. Maybe it's a dinner out. There's.
I mean, if you actually went through your whole week and looked over how many times you made a different choice or said no to alcohol, it's a lot. And that's one thing I didn't realize before I took that longer break, because, you know, it wasn't as important. I guess, if you're taking, like, a 30 days off or even 50 days, I think what I did in that time was kind of alter my activities a bit. So I did turn down some dinners, I think, or I would maybe postpone something. Right. Until. Until you're off break. So, you know, if you're planning a, you know, a celebratory dinner, well, let's plan it a little bit later. And when I did attend a party, you know, I sort of quietly poured my water in a glass, and. And that's okay for a short period of time, but once you get to that six month time. And part of that was sort of in COVID, but then when you started getting out and you realize the options are not good, and they have come so, so very far since then, it's still coming. It's still coming.
But water is not just fine.
Water is not just fine long term. If that's you and you love water, then. Then God bless you and enjoy that. But for. For me, I really enjoy socializing. I enjoy going out, even to a nice bar.
But I'll tell you what, I enjoy it a lot more when they have a lovely alcohol free option that is on the menu.
So I think it was out of that pain, I guess, that awkwardness, that social discomfort, you might say social anxiety that we did start the idea of silver in the city.
So that really started when I started getting out a little more. And I can remember feeling like, in my head, okay, we're going out to dinner, and, you know, probably everybody's going to be drinking a few drinks, just. Just like I would have many times in the past. And wouldn't it be nice if there was something for me, like, you know, I don't expect it all the time, but wouldn't that be something you could get excited about if you were going out to dinner and you knew that you were going to be offered, like, an alcohol free champagne as a welcome beverage and that maybe there would be an alcohol free cocktail or an alcohol free wine on the menu there? That would be so nice, because I could still have that same experience and connection with my friends, but I could have something special, too. And I wouldn't be the one holding the large water glass while everybody else had their sexy cocktail glasses and wine glasses.
So we. We got together with a few people online, right?
And, you know, our first sober in the city dinner was in here in downtown Long beach with 45 people. So we just got together with a few people and took suggestions, got a lot of help. 45 people came. We called it sober in the city, and it was fun. That's actually when I met my partner. Now, Peggy Cooney attended our very first event in downtown Long beach.
She became the guest speaker at our second event, which was in her hometown of Sacramento. And people even flew to Sacramento to attend from all over. But we did get some feedback at that time that maybe they'd like to go someplace with a little bit more. No offense, Peggy, to Sacramento, because I grew up not so far from there, either.
So from there, it really sort of grew into what we're doing today, which has just been only just a little over two years, so I can't let Peggy go. She can't get rid of me.
Since we met in January of 2022, it's hard to believe that we're on to, I guess number seven will be sober in the city, Seattle. And we're thrilled to have you, as, you know, one of our presenters, too. It's so neat. Definitely a silver lining to meet all of these different people. Right. In the alcohol free world. I know you've connected with a lot of people, too, right?
[00:20:32] Speaker B: Yeah, yeah. I'm just digesting all the information you just shared about your journey and then getting into sober in the city.
So you are, would you say, like, you have a sober date? Like, how long have you been alcohol free?
[00:20:51] Speaker C: Yeah, a little over three years, actually.
[00:20:53] Speaker B: Oh, congratulations. Yeah.
[00:20:57] Speaker C: Thank you. Thank you. And that's, you know, that's something I was just talking about to some people, because in the beginning, don't you feel called out for being alcohol free?
It's interesting to think about, because probably most people in the world that drink alcohol, which isn't everybody. Sometimes it feels like everybody, but it's not everybody.
You know, I think most people, at least, would like to drink a little bit less. Right. So, actually, why is it really being called out for not drinking alcohol? Like, maybe we can kind of start to reframe that as, hey, congratulations. Yes. I'm not drinking alcohol, and I'm kind of happy about it, which, again, you know, that is a process. But as I mentioned before, I had taken breaks before, and it wasn't any fun, Deb.
So part of that is the timeframe, part of that's the mindset, because I do feel like. And this is, again, this is personal, but for me personally, the alcohol free beverage industry coming up like it has is the right time for me. And I. For me personally, it is a game changer to have something nice, to have a nice option, to have it in a nice glass.
[00:22:30] Speaker B: Oh, absolutely. So I can relate because my breaks used to. I am also the queen of breaks, and now I lead 30 day dry months. The dry months going back to how they were for you sound similar to me. Mine were like punishment for drinking.
[00:22:50] Speaker C: Right.
[00:22:51] Speaker B: And validation to keep drinking. So it was like, oh, I'm going to just, like, cleanse and prepare for. I would always do the 30 days before a race. I'm going to just, you know, focus on my health, and then I can go back to drinking and everything's going fine. I don't have a problem. But for you, what was helpful for you was to, like, join a group, get community, get support, have a longer break, and then just. And get more and more evidence. I think it's like tilting the scales again. It's. It's the tipping point.
[00:23:26] Speaker C: Wink, wink.
[00:23:27] Speaker B: You know, of.
[00:23:29] Speaker C: Yeah.
[00:23:29] Speaker B: Of like, having more alcohol free days than drinking days and, like, leaning more into being alcohol free, being sober than your drinking self.
[00:23:43] Speaker C: Yeah, that's really interesting. I love the way you put that because it is a tipping point. And it's kind of like, you know, I think some people just think that I stopped drinking. And while that is true, there's a little more to it than that.
It's kind of like the. The glasses come off. Like, when that tipping point happens, like, all of a sudden you see something that you couldn't see before.
And what is that? That we saw? I mean, a couple of things come to mind right off that this is kind of a relief.
This is a relief that I don't have to think about. Okay, am I going to have a glass of wine before we go out while I'm cooking dinner? But then I won't have one after dinner when I go to this party.
Okay. I was known. I was called out before for having 0.5 glasses of wine at a party because, you know, what was it? I had some training coming up or, you know, and again, I never. I never noticed how much time and energy and effort that was taking.
So seeing that.
[00:25:06] Speaker B: Yeah, go ahead.
[00:25:08] Speaker C: Yeah. And also, I think just the physicality, the difference, like, in the morning, having. Having the option to work out in the morning versus knowing in the past that some. Some mornings weren't going to work out so well, that was. That's. Those are a couple things. I don't know if you have thoughts on that.
[00:25:33] Speaker B: Well, what I was going to say is, I'm so glad that you're sharing your experience, because, like you said, it doesn't matter how much you drink, is it taking up all this mental chatter? Like you said, even having that half a glass of wine was taking up so much mental bandwidth. Like, when am I going to drink? How much? And so even if you end up not over drinking, you're still thinking about drinking. It's still exhausting. And that's why I find that's why I did finally get to the point where I'm like, moderation is a bitch.
It is exhausting. You know, there's a saying that 99. The saying is 100% is bliss. 99% is a bitch. And that's how I feel about moderation. That's why I'm like, you know what? It's actually just easier for me to even take. You know, it's easier for me to just take the decision off the table. I'd rather have none than one. Because of that mental chatter you were talking about.
[00:26:40] Speaker C: Yeah, yeah, for sure. I think that's a really big thing. And the other really big thing also that I can see now that I didn't see before was how Alka centric still today, even though there's big changes our everyday life is for most of us. I know there's some communities that, you know, drink, drink very little, but I hear from a lot of people that, oh, we have a really big drinking culture because I live here or I live there, or I'm in this, you know, community. And basically it sounds like there's a lot of communities, you know, whether it's a retirement communities. I've heard of that. Now I have friends that are moving into this retirement area or even have bought a second home somewhere, and they're going there. And what are all those people doing? They're drinking a lot because they have a little bit more free time.
So where was I going with this? Okay. Seeing that alcohol is presented to you so often, you walk into a restaurant with, what would you like to drink? Can I get you a cocktail?
Often, if you walked into a party, and I have posted parties like this before you walk in, and it's actually pretty difficult even to get a glass of water. It's beer, wine, or the cocktail of choice.
It's, you know, the golf course is the same way. So many places that you go. I mean, I, again, I'm very interested in fitness and wellness, and yoga studios often have special little times at maybe a brewery, on a rooftop, and you get a beer after included in your yoga class. So it's really for every occasion. And I. I didn't see that. I did not see it before.
[00:28:49] Speaker B: Yeah. Yeah. So you started this sober in the city, and it started as just a dinner.
[00:28:57] Speaker C: True. But it's not just a dinner anymore.
[00:29:00] Speaker B: Okay. And I think maybe that's why I was confused. I'm like, is it? I couldn't tell what it was. So now that we've evolved, maybe explain, like, what is sober in the city now?
[00:29:14] Speaker C: Okay. Yeah. So now we do kind of have a framework, although we really like to connect with each town and city that we have locally because, you know, definitely another big hiccup for people that are considering drinking less, considering not drinking at all, is travel. Right. I mean, even going out to dinner is a big deal sometimes at first, but I think travel is something that gets put off, gets postponed. That comes with a lot of anxiety, being alcohol free, sometimes for many people.
So we've curated a weekend along with a lot of people in this exciting alcohol free space where there's activities, and some of them are, you know, a little deeper. Some of them are more casual, like a craft time.
So, for example, Friday afternoon, we usually start with a solo social because, Deb, about 70% of people that attend sober in the city weekends come all by themselves. Very bravely.
[00:30:28] Speaker B: I can't wait to, like, high five those people. Like, I love that. Love it. Okay.
[00:30:34] Speaker C: Yeah. So for some people, you know, it's their first time, so. And we're. We're continuing to evolve and. And change things, but it's a way to connect with those people that come solo. And then, as you know, like Casey Davidson, the hello Sunday podcast, she's going to be helping us to host a Friday meet and greet. And we've had different activities after that.
So we had kind of a dance, a choreographed dance party in Tampa, and we're pretty excited in Seattle to offer this kind of unique drum circle experience, which I'm excited for that. Yeah.
And then, you know, Saturday will be filled with activities like Deb. We'll be doing a breakout session. We're almost worked out all those details. So that's a lot of fun. So you have choices. You can go out for a walk. There's usually a couple of sessions going on at a time. A lot of times we've had yoga, some kind of movement classes. We usually have an author or two that, you know, has an interactive discussion on the expertise of their book and so on. And then, you know, a really kind of important piece to us is our Saturday evening celebratory dinner, of course, kind of throughout the weekend. Like, you kind of can just step in and take a big exhale. Right. Because that little discomfort for some or a lot of anxiety for others when it comes to ordering your beverage is simply not there. You're welcome to have water. But we also have some pretty sophisticated offerings. Both, you know, Friday afternoon and Saturday evening is actually going to be hosted by joyous wine. So Jessica Seelander will be there with her wine and also speaking to us about how she. She founded Joyous wines. She's been sober, alcohol free, I think, for about 19 years, actually. She has a unique story. I'm like, you looking forward to getting to know her a little bit? Better. So creating something that wasn't there. And again, what an exciting time to be involved in the space as a female solopreneur. And she's not taking on those, you know, huge investors. She is building that company, and, and she has hustled. So she is in so many markets. Like, that was one of her passions, too. Like, you should be able to pick up a chilled bottle of alcohol free wine just like you would the, you know, the regular wine. And I know that's one of her missions, to get. Get that out there. So, you know, she's really kind of at the beginning of the road in this alcohol free beverage space, and I just love to see what. What she's done and be a part of it. I mean, there's. There's so many great, great brands in the Pacific Northwest, too. And I know. I think you just got your first alcohol free bottle shop in Boise.
[00:33:59] Speaker B: Yeah, we've kind of had that off and on. Yeah. So going back to sober in the city, so it's kind of like a big weekend long retreat. People stay at a hotel, and all your activities are at the hotel in the same area. Yes, that is true. Pretty.
[00:34:17] Speaker C: Like, this time it is in Seattle. Elise Bryson will be there, the silver curator in Seattle, and so she's hosting a dinner for us in downtown. Our hotel will actually be in Bellevue, a very walkable area, too. So we will host a group walk, as well as just. Yeah. Being able to experience a typical american city as if you were traveling on a weekend. We're going to make it very easy for you to, you know, experience that alcohol free, and I believe that you're going to feel more confident and more empowered in that alcohol free choice as the weekend progresses.
[00:35:02] Speaker B: I love it because it doesn't have to be about deprivation. Like, I just think I also especially love traveling now. Sober vacationing used to be, for me, when I would go off the wagon, it was always like, well, it's vacation. I got a drink, but then I would waste so much of my time, like, literally waste, wasted so much of these, like, amazing places I went to. I remember being in New Zealand and on this glacier, but I was so hungover, I could barely function, you know? But now I love, love to travel alcohol free. So I. And I think a lot of people are, like, really looking for the connection. They're looking for the in real life connection because we've got the online space. The online world is. Is really, really supportive, really special. But there is something really special about getting a group of people together who just get it. You know, they get you and they get it. So I ran a couple of retreats, and it's been amazing. Sober in the city, though, is for men and women, right? Anyone can come.
[00:36:24] Speaker C: Yes, yes. Men are welcome. And also, it is mostly women. So if you're a man and you're thinking about coming, just make sure that you're. You're comfortable in a room full of women. I love what you said.
[00:36:38] Speaker B: Get some men coming.
I get more men. Oh, okay.
[00:36:45] Speaker C: Yeah, yeah, yeah. So, I mean, if you look around at alcohol free and sober instagram, there's not enough men in that space.
But our events probably look, you know, similar to those proportions.
[00:37:02] Speaker B: And I should get my brother to come. My brother has brought that up a lot. Like, where are all the guys? Like, where are, you know, women? And there have been just wonderful men who have joined my groups, done alcoholidays, things like that. But there aren't. There are so many women led sober movement groups. There are not as many male led groups like that.
[00:37:28] Speaker C: No. And I think it's a big need.
[00:37:33] Speaker B: Yeah, I do, too.
[00:37:35] Speaker C: I think probably a lot of us have people that we'd like to refer to, to them. So, yeah, we do.
You know, we say we like to err on the side of party, not conference, but we do get accused of both. But, you know, our.
[00:37:57] Speaker B: Accused of both.
[00:38:00] Speaker C: Our goal is to, you know, just plan a fun weekend. And, yes, there are areas where you can learn and grow and connect with people.
We have also discovered that we're getting a lot of leaders because perhaps in order to, you know, it really, you're committing a whole weekend of your. Of your time and. And resources. So most people, well, we get a few new people, and that's all always. It's exciting for us that have been alcohol free for a little longer. And, you know, I think it's kind of exciting for them, too, to kind of see a little further down the road. But we do get a lot of leaders, you know, coaches, retreat providers, and other things in the space. Alcohol free bottle shops sometimes have come and participated. So it's a really nice opportunity for networking as well, and kind of. So we have actually provided a specific space for that. Now we call it our thought leader collaborative. And again, that's evolving. It's a little bit different every time, but we noticed maybe around a year ago that, like, oh, look, after sober in the city, all of these people are getting together, and like you said, it's great connecting with your community online, but how much different is that? When you have your people for a little retreat in person, it's a deeper connection, and it's exciting to see the things that are coming out of that. And we do have a specific time for brainstorming and working together, coming up with ideas of how we can grow the alcohol free space and grow all of our passions and businesses at the same time. So we're excited about that.
[00:39:58] Speaker B: Yeah. What are some of the trends that you're seeing in the alcohol free world? It just seems to be exploding.
[00:40:07] Speaker C: Is exploding. Like when we first started in January of 22, CNN was telling us that dry January is becoming popular and the no and low alcohol free beverage industry was hitting, I think, the $11 billion mark, and it's now over 13 billion, which, both of those numbers sound huge, but, I mean, we see it in the space so very much.
2024, I think, was a really big year. NiElsen Analytics, I mean, if you look at your numbers, big alcohol is pain.
They are well aware that this is happening. They're paying attention.
You know, I think Heineken Zero was one of the early adapters, and look how well they're doing. Yeah. One thing that we think is pretty exciting, you know, and when you, when you hear this statistic, you may think it's hard to believe because we all have friends and we know people, but let me see who this was. I'll find it in a minute. 40% of people say they would, they would like to book a detox trip this year, right? 40% of people, yeah. This was from the Expedia group, actually.
[00:41:29] Speaker B: Detox trip. Not like they want to go to detox. They want to. They want a sober trip.
[00:41:36] Speaker C: Yeah.
[00:41:36] Speaker B: Is that what you're. Is that what they're referring?
[00:41:39] Speaker C: This was Expedia's words, so, like, I can't say 100%, but detox, to me means, you know, you're going to let go of maybe food and alcohol, a healthier trip. And then when it asked, like, how many global travelers this was from, the Expedia group, would be interested in staying at a hotel that offers alcohol free beverage options? 60%.
60%. I think the venues, the hotels are not getting it. You may have seen some, like Hilton. I believe it was Hilton that started the free spirited program. They're still in select locations. One of their big first ones was in Times Square, and it's called the free spirited menu, which I do think it's kind of the way of the future.
I think it'll be here. I'm not sure when, but, you know, where you can walk into a bar and you could have your margarita with alcohol free tequila or, you know, regular tequila. Alcohol is not going anywhere, and that's not what we're about. But we are about empowering people.
Right, Deb? To feel proud of their alcohol free choice and, you know, make that alcohol free choice with. With confidence. So it's exciting, like, whether you're connecting online, you're traveling nationally or globally or just going out to dinner, it's nice to connect with other people that are like minded sometimes so that you feel more confident just going out and being excited about.
About that alcohol free life.
[00:43:35] Speaker B: I know it's a good time to quit drinking and just, you know, make it less about labels and more about health and wellness. Like, we want to take care of ourselves. Like, it's a. It's a health choice. And with that, you know, what you're doing is also bringing some fun into it as well. Awesome.
Well, how. How can someone find you?
[00:44:02] Speaker C: Well, I'm pretty easy to find. You can go to zeroproofexperiences.com. You can find me on Instagram at zeroproof experiences and also LinkedIn.
[00:44:17] Speaker B: That's wonderful. And I'm going to put a link in the show note to sober in the city, Seattle, because I would love, if you're listening, I would love to meet you in real life. Cheers you with an alcohol free drink. If you're in Seattle, I think that would just be so fun. Or some, you know, if you want to make a weekend trip, make a vacation out of it and fly into Seattle, it's that first weekend, September 6 through the 8th. So I'll put the link for that in the show notes, too. And I just want to thank you for what you're doing. Like, you're just making it cool to be alcohol free. I love it.
[00:44:56] Speaker C: Well, thank you so much for having me. And I am so excited to meet you in person, too. I've listened to your podcast, I don't know, for at least a couple years. And, you know, I just love to hear the stories. It's been really encouraging to me to hear your health perspective, too. So thank you so much for having me and just look forward to connecting in Seattle. Thank you.
[00:45:24] Speaker A: Thank you so much for listening to this episode of the Alcohol Tipping Point podcast. Please share and review the show so you can help other people, too. I want you to know I'm always here for you, so please reach out and talk to me on Instagram, alcoholtippingpoint. And check out my website, alcoholtippingpoint.com, for.
[00:45:42] Speaker B: Free resources and help.
[00:45:44] Speaker A: No matter where you are on your drinking journey, I want to encourage you to just keep practicing. You keep going. I promise you are not alone and you are worth it. Every day you practice not drinking is a day you can learn from. I hope you can use these tips we talked about for the rest of your week and until then, talk to you next time.
