From Corporate to Creative, with Chaz Bademan

SUMMARY

Chaz Bademan shares his journey through mental health struggles, addiction, and recovery. He emphasizes the importance of seeking support and not doing it alone. Chaz's sobriety journey involved adopting the belief that he had an insidious disease that wanted to kill him, which helped him stay sober. However, after a few years of sobriety, he realized he needed to learn to trust himself again. Chaz found healing through practices like yoga, meditation, breathwork, and self-reflection. He also reconnected with himself by prioritizing his own needs and desires. The conversation explores the importance of self-care and personal development in overcoming addiction and finding purpose in life. Chaz shares his journey of recovery and how he has transformed his life through practices such as meditation, breathwork, and therapy. He emphasizes the significance of rewiring the brain and developing a mindset of curiosity and compassion. Chaz also discusses his current projects, including building communities, creating content, and coaching others. The conversation concludes with a message of hope and the reminder that no one is alone in their struggles.

KEYWORDS

mental health, addiction, recovery, sobriety, support, trust, self-reflection, healing, yoga, meditation, breathwork, self-care, personal development, addiction recovery, purpose, meditation, breathwork, therapy, rewiring the brain, curiosity, compassion, community, coaching, AA, NAMI

TAKEAWAYS

• Seeking support is crucial in overcoming mental health struggles and addiction.
• Believing in a higher power and working through the 12-step process can be transformative in recovery.
• Reconnecting with oneself requires self-reflection, prioritizing personal needs, and learning to trust oneself again.
• Practices like yoga, meditation, and breathwork can aid in healing and self-discovery. Self-care and personal development are essential in overcoming addiction and finding purpose in life.
• Practices such as meditation, breathwork, and therapy can help rewire the brain and develop a mindset of curiosity and compassion.
• Building communities and sharing experiences can provide support and inspiration for others on their own journeys.
• No one is alone in their struggles, and there are resources available for seeking help and support.

TITLES

• Rebuilding Trust in Oneself
• Finding Support and Overcoming Addiction 
• You Are Not Alone: Seeking Help and Support
• Building Communities and Inspiring Others on the Journey

SOUND BITES

• "I celebrated seven years completely free of all mind and mood-altering substances."
• "A big part of my personal development spiritual practices over the past few years is really taking the time to figure out who I am, what I'm about, and what am I into."
• "Working with a sponsor really opened up my mind and my heart."
• "The shrapnel effect that addiction has in the lives of loved ones."
• "When you're in that deep in addiction, you don't trust when people say, 'I love you. I want to help you.'"
• "Taking a step back from thoughts and feelings and developing witness consciousness."

RESOURCES 
NAMI, National Alliance on Mental Illness - https://www.nami.org/
SAMHSA, Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration - https://www.samhsa.gov/find-help/national-helpline
Kim Rapach Coaching, Trauma Focused Coaching for Artists and Entrepreneurs -  https://www.kimrapach.com/

CHAPTERS

00:00
Introduction and Connection

03:45
Shared Mission and Purpose

05:40
Early Years and Addiction

09:34
The Journey to Sobriety

19:47
Seeking Help and Support

21:57
The Power of the 12-Step Program

25:43
Reconnecting with Self through Yoga and Meditation

29:53
Finding Balance and Self-Trust

33:56
Devastating Loss and Confusion

35:30
Being Dangerous to Oneself and Others

37:33
Discovering Witness Consciousness

41:28
Finding Purpose and Becoming a Leader

46:58
The Exciting Work and Projects

54:53
Curiosity and Compassion in Personal Growth

01:00:24
The Power of Rewiring the Brain

01:07:04
Seeking Support and Resources

01:11:44
WOW Outro.MOV

Creators and Guests

Host

Kim Rapach

Creator & Host - The Work of Warriors

Guest

Chaz Bademan

With over a decade in tech and 12+ years in the creative industry, Chaz is passionate about using his creative vision and business strategy to make a real difference. He partners with creative entrepreneurs, coaches & consultants to elevate their brand through video, digital marketing, and community building. His goal is to help people uncover their creativity and build business structures that let them pursue their passions. As the creative director for the Able Heart project, Chaz led efforts that generated multi-six-figures of annual profit, over 800 million organic video views and 5.5 million+ monthly music streams, grew Able’s Instagram from 20k to 380k+, TikTok from 0 to 700k+, and YouTube from 1k to 70k+ subscribers, an online community of over 5,000 members. For him, it’s not just about business—it’s about making a positive impact and helping others lead creative, fulfilling lives.

Composer

Mac Rapach

Designer, Composer - The Work of Warriors

Producer

Mike Rapach

Producer - The Work of Warriors

What is The Work of Warriors?

Success shouldn't cost you your peace.

Welcome to The Work of Warriors, the mental health podcast for artists, entertainers, creatives, entrepreneurs, and high performers who want to build extraordinary lives without sacrificing themselves in the process.

Hosted by former therapist and nervous system strategist Kim Rapach, this podcast explores the intersection of mental health, nervous system regulation, creativity, leadership, and sustainable success. Through honest conversations with actors, musicians, comedians, producers, executives, entrepreneurs, and other industry leaders, you'll discover what it really takes to thrive both personally and professionally.

Together, we're changing the conversation around mental wellness in the entertainment industry by:

• Normalizing honest conversations about mental health

• Teaching practical tools for nervous system regulation and emotional resilience

• Redefining success to include well-being, healthy boundaries, and authentic leadership

Whether you're navigating burnout, anxiety, creative pressure, trauma, or simply searching for a healthier way to succeed, you'll find practical insights, inspiring stories, and meaningful conversations designed to help you build a life you don't have to recover from.

Because when artists are well, everybody wins.

Thank you for being part of this movement. Together, we're creating a healthier entertainment industry, one brave conversation at a time.

Chaz (06:01.078)
Hey, how's it going?

Kim Rapach (06:02.244)
Chas. Good, how are you? It's so good to see you.

Chaz (06:07.51)
You too, you too. Yeah, thanks for your patience. I was just rolling off of another call.

Kim Rapach (06:11.972)
Yeah, no worries, no worries. I've been at it all day too. It's been a lot of fun. Hopefully your calls were good.

Chaz (06:17.366)
Yes, they were. Yeah. They were good. Working on so much exciting stuff that I'm super inspired about. Happy to jump into some of that on this call as well. Yeah. So, so much exciting stuff is changing in my life.

Kim Rapach (06:28.196)
exciting.

Awesome. Well, we met on Instagram through Abelheart and you know, we've connected a few times and I've heard a bit of your story and a bit of your journey and watched, you know, some of your podcasts with Abelheart. And then also I see some of this cool stuff that you do. It's like men's yoga retreats. And I'm like, okay, okay, hold the phone. We need to talk. I'm so excited. Anytime I see.

Chaz (06:51.734)
Yes.

Yes.

Kim Rapach (06:57.668)
Anyone in the industry taking care of themselves. I mean, anyone really, but also especially in the industry and especially men. I just, I just want to hear more and I want to get to know you and it's exciting to meet you in person quotes. This is about as in person as it gets, but I'm grateful that we have this platform to be able to meet. So welcome.

Chaz (07:10.102)
Yeah, likewise.

Chaz (07:17.718)
Yeah, me too. Yeah. I'm super excited. Yeah. Thanks for having me. I've been following your journey as well. And, you know, tapped into the episode that you did with Able and follow what you're doing on social media. And I think it's much, much needed right now. So thank you for your whole mission and everything that you're doing. It's, it's inspiring.

Kim Rapach (07:33.38)
Yeah, absolutely. So, welcome to the work of warriors.

And I know that we follow each other. And like we said, we were connected, but you know, when I reached out and I'm like, Hey, I have this podcast and it's for mental wellness. And, you know, I have this mission. We can end celebrity suicide. And I just, I see the positivity in Able Hearts music. What was it for you when I reached out to you and said, also, I would like to talk to you because I really believe managers and agents, you know, it's not missed on me that their life is, you know, their business and life is also challenging and you're often in the right.

Chaz (08:01.27)
Yeah.

Kim Rapach (08:10.518)
the rat race, but what was it that made you say yes to coming and speaking about this today?

Chaz (08:17.174)
Yeah. I mean, I think mostly your mission, I think your mission is in alignment with, with mine and a big part of why I've worked so hard on the able heart project and to build it to be what it is with able is to help as many people as possible. And, you know, Abel's music, a lot of it being tuned to certain frequencies, a lot of it having self and positive affirmations infused within them. It's been.

A really powerful experience to infuse a lot of that into what might be considered a little bit more kind of like mainstream or pop leaning image or persona. And then, you know, playing the algorithms and the games on social media and ultimately having as much fun as we can as possible, to have it reach as many people as possible. But then the hope is, you know, hopefully anyone gets whatever they're meant to get out of it. But you know, it's really.

A medium where I'm able to create and have fun and work with my friend to create art. And ultimately at the core of it, it's to help inspire people that they're able to do anything that their heart desires. And it's been really amazing. Working really closely with Abel over the past few years and really holding space for each other and really seeing ourselves transform a lot. And, I know I've gotten a lot out of that and working with him in that way.

Kim Rapach (09:44.964)
How did you guys meet?

Chaz (09:46.646)
So we actually knew each other back in high school. Yeah. Yeah. So we had some mutual friends. so, so Abel was traveling a lot for snowboarding. And then after he was injured, he came back to more traditional schooling or high school, which I was going to at the time. So I went to that high school. We had some mutual friends and, some mutual hobbies. So we started skateboarding together and also we were both like really into cars.

Kim Rapach (09:49.412)
really? Okay.

Chaz (10:14.262)
So through our mutual friends, you know, him and I started hanging out more together.

Kim Rapach (10:18.82)
Yeah, that's fun. So did your journey with like your mental wellness, did that begin after starting to work with him and realizing what, you know, kind of what the universe had in store for the two of you? Or was it before? Do you have any part of your backstory that you want to share?

Chaz (10:36.662)
Yeah, sure. Absolutely. Yeah. Excited to go into that as much as you'd like to. I'm like a completely open book at this point. And I've, you know, shared my story and other podcasts and on Abel and I's podcasts, in great detail and the full length. but yeah, I would say my, my spiritual awakening, like that part of my journey really happened when I decided to get sober back February of 2017.

So earlier this year, you know, it's 2024 right now. So I celebrated seven years completely free of all mind and mood altering substances. Earlier this year, I celebrated seven years.

Kim Rapach (11:16.388)
Congratulations. That's the work of a warrior. That's amazing.

Chaz (11:20.95)
Thank you. I, I appreciate that. Yeah. And, and, and over these past seven years, I've just learned so much about myself and I've worked through so much trauma and have came through so many realizations and I've had so many amazing moments, you know, like my life truly feels like one that was beyond one that I could have ever dreamed of, especially when I was using. so yeah, back in 2017, you know,

Drugs and alcohol took me to a place where I finally admitted that I needed some help. So I had been using regularly since high school. So it started off with casually smoking with friends. Then I went to college and got more into drinking in college. I wasn't a big drinker in high school. So I got more into drinking.

And then also prescription medications, you know, really entered my life throughout college. So, opiates, stimulants, I was just kind of self medicating and using, you know, different cocktails, both for fun and also to, you know, at the time, you know, get all my work done. so I was also working a job while I was in college. So, you know, student loans and putting myself through college is a part of my story. so grateful, you know, for my parents, they did help me.

You know, my, my first year with some of my apartment costs and stuff like that. but the bulk of college was, you know, me putting myself through college with working in student loans. So, yeah, as far as like my actual using, I think so many, so many people have so many different experiences with drugs and alcohol, but, you know, and doing a lot of 12 step work.

And, going to meet recovery meetings. So I became a member of narcotics anonymous after I started to, you know, get some help and went to like a rehab after work program. But what I realized is that although like everyone's experience with drugs and alcohol is different, like most of the people that I had met with emotionally were taken to a similar place by using. So kind of skipping over all the like details of me using like.

Chaz (13:42.55)
towards the end, I was using substances that I told myself that I would never use in ways that I never could imagine myself using them. and it just took me to a place where I was just felt very like soulless. I was really messed up myself financially. So I was in a lot of debt, ran up a bunch of different credit cards, all while what I thought at least I was maintaining this external.

image of working a corporate job. So I worked at a financial firm for a decade and was sort of using on the nights and the weekends. And then towards the end, it all started to blend together, which is where I just sort of lost it and needed needed to get some help at that point.

Kim Rapach (14:26.788)
Yeah, do you? I mean, first of all, thank you for sharing that addiction can it like when you said I just felt soulless, like it really does just rob your soul. It just leaves you a shell of who you used to be. We hear that all the time, right? It just leaves you a shell of who you were. I don't know how much you're willing to share. But a question I often ask, you know, Gabo Mate says, you know, the addiction is not the problem. The addiction is an attempt to the solution to the problem. And I wonder if...

you know if you've figured out in your journey if you care to share what you were running from.

Chaz (15:04.758)
Yeah, sure. I think in doing the work over the past few years, a lot of it, which I'd be excited to tap into like more details of like what some of that work has looked like. I think a big part of the core of it for me was the desire to just be loved and accepted. And I think from a very early age.

I struggled to fit into the traditional schooling system. So I had a lot of behavioral issues. It was pretty early identified as having ADHD. I've since come to realize it's not very common to have a disciplinary action plan as a kindergartener, which I did have. But there was also this kind of, I felt like a unique situation in a lot of ways where,

I had this disciplinary action plan, but I was also like identified as, being like gifted and was like a part of this, enrichment program. So it was a sort of like, I could get all the work done. That wasn't the issue, but then I just had sort of this like extra like energy that perhaps was, you know, not always being directed in a healthy way. So that led to, you know, me getting in trouble and different complications with behavioral stuff at home and.

you know, like my, my parents, you know, like trying to, you know, at least for me, like what felt like just trying to figure it all out, you know, and then, and in hindsight, you know, have like developing a lot more like empathy for them and realizing that, you know, me as a child, like it was probably like pretty complicated to try to, you know, do the best with parenting me. So I, I think they, we're doing everything that they could to support.

And, and, and help me. but I think also like from a very young age, I think I was feeling like, well, like what's wrong with me, you know, it's like, it just felt like there was always something like trying to like figure out what's wrong with me and try to fix me, you know, whether it be with guidance counselors or therapy or medication. so I think that was, I think that was at the core of it for me at a really young age. And then I think throughout, you know, growing up and.

Chaz (17:23.734)
early adulthood, I just never really felt like I fit in. So I think, or like really knew myself or could like be whatever myself is to fit in. I felt like I sort of always had to like either tone myself down or change who I was to fit in or be accepted. So I think that in combination with, you know, my later high school years,

really getting into starting smoking and that becoming like a big culture, like smoking weed more specifically, then sort of associating like feeling good or like not feeling pain or emotion with drugs, which I do, you know, judge or put, you know, weed into a category of drugs, but also really am super glad now that we live in a time and an age where it's way more medically.

understood. And I do think it is a powerful, medicine, you know, for a lot of people to use, but back when I was using in high school, it was completely illegal. You know, there was no dispensaries or medical cards or anything. and then I think just with the people that I was around and where my path took me, you know, the, the same people that I was smoking with, were the ones that, you know, started to introduce, you know, stronger medications. And again, timing wise, this is back around.

2008, 2009. So this is right in the middle of the opioid epidemic. So I was like right in the opioid epidemic and having these pills start to come into my life that, you know, then over the course of the next decade, that just really spiraled out of control. But I think at the, at the core of it was just the desire to be loved and accepted and then not, not at the time.

Allowing myself to really figure out who I am who like what am I about? Like who am I at my core? I think that's been a really deep part of my personal development spiritual practices over the past few years is like really taking the time to like figure out who I am What I'm about what am I into and then having that sort of confidence and inner knowing now in the world like

Chaz (19:45.654)
by myself individually in my marriage and social situations. so at least at, at, at the core of it, no longer feeling the need to kind of like escape myself or, or change myself, perhaps the way that I was feeling around many of the years that I was using. And then I think in my more intense using years where it was more addictive substances were in the mix. I think there was a balance of emotional.

stuff like I was just kind of talking about. And then I also think there's like the physically addictive component of it as well. I think my brain was just so wrapped up in the using of these different substances that I was just operating in a way that I never would have without my, my brain sort of having them in the mix.

Kim Rapach (20:31.684)
Yeah, wow. I have so many reactions. And the first one is, I'm just so glad you're here. I'm just so glad you're still here. When you were talking about having the onset of the opioid epidemic in your active using phase, that's terrifying. The story could have been very different. And so.

Chaz (20:39.158)
thank you. Me too.

Kim Rapach (20:55.844)
I just want to pause for just a second and just say, so glad that you're here. And I'm so glad you're here to share your story. And my second reaction is the importance. Well, I'll leave out the part like what you're married. It just, I'm, I don't say this was self judgment, but sometimes I forget how old I am. Like you just seem so young to me. Like you're old enough to be married. but I digress. but the importance of the story, you know, just hearing how that plays out.

Chaz (21:09.558)
Yes.

Chaz (21:16.574)
Yeah.

Kim Rapach (21:25.284)
just is such a good visual of how we just continue to, manifest isn't the word I want to use, but we just continue to emulate this feeling of a shortcoming. And I think the feeling of just wanting to be loved and accepted is a universal human desire that most, if not all of us have or continue still wrestle with, right?

Chaz (21:50.454)
Yeah.

Kim Rapach (21:50.66)
And so, and when, when other things, whatever it may be, whatever vices make you feel not as bad or make you feel not as broken or that people, this person likes me, these group of kids like me, whatever, it just kind of snowballs out of control. And so I would love to hear more of how you, you know, what, what modalities you have used to return to yourself, to find out who you really are at your core. And.

how you how you got from feeling like you weren't enough etc and to where you are now where You love your life

Chaz (22:31.158)
Yeah, for sure. Man, there's so much to unpack there. I think there's been different phases to it. So I could probably talk about just like sharing my experience as far as like what my story has been. And then at any given moment, if you want to jump in and explore any one of those given, whatever you want to call them, buckets or phases of my story, I'd be happy to go into more detail.

But I would say at the, at the core of it, it's been becoming open -minded and acknowledging that I don't have it all figured out. And then I need support. I think what kept me in a dark place for a really long time was I've got this under control or this is manageable or this is normal, or this is okay.

and as long as I keep up my external appearance and my employer and my parents and my significant others, not going to question everything's fine. You know? so I think.

You know, it wasn't until I started falling asleep in different places or my parents were like seeing me like wake, like they're waking up to go to work and I'm like still sleeping in the car from the night before. there started to be some instances where I started to, not off while driving with other people. so, and also overdose is a part of my story. So that happened like years before me actually deciding to get some help. so.

It was really that decision that I just need some help. And I think societally.

Chaz (24:21.462)
It is really historically, at least for me, it wasn't really that common to like talk about feelings as a man and ask for support and help.

which blows my mind now, because after doing this work for so many years, it's like, all I do is like have these like heart open conversations with other men and men's retreat and yoga. And we're all talking about our feelings and life all the time. but I also realized that, still isn't really normalized, you know, with, with men and our society. So I would say, you know, kind of first and foremost that, you know, you know, men or women, whoever is listening, you know, just as my experience as a man that.

if you're struggling in any type of way that you don't have to do it alone and it doesn't make you weaker, vulnerable, reaching out and getting some support. So, it was kind of funny actually, like when I decided to actually get some help again, I was trying to keep my, I didn't identify as an addict, you know, until I was several months over actually, which is, you know, kind of ironic. I wasn't like those people.

You know, like I'd be the one that'd be using like the same type of thing next to someone using the same type of thing. Like, my God. It's like, like this person, you know, just like having, having this was denial was a big part of my story. So anyway, I was, yeah, yeah, sure. Yeah. Yeah, sure.

Kim Rapach (25:45.764)
Actually, can I hit pause for a second? My dog is snoring. And so I'm gonna go, I'm just gonna walk away. I'm gonna put her out with my son because she will get very loud. And as much as I love her, she's old. Look, can you see her? Thank you, Malaney. But I'm gonna kick her out for a second. Come on.

Chaz (25:56.438)
No problem.

Chaz (26:02.646)
what's her name? So cute. Okay.

Kim Rapach (26:44.548)
Okay, sorry about that.

Kim Rapach (26:49.732)
I was afraid she would be too distracting. She gets really loud. We say she snores like a truck driver. And she's this big. Okay, so sorry to interrupt.

Chaz (26:52.278)
No worries, it's all good.

Chaz (26:56.854)
Hahaha!

Chaz (27:02.134)
No, it's okay. Yeah. I was, I was just getting to the point where I was talking about finally deciding to get some help. So again, I was trying to keep my whole needing to get help under wraps. I didn't want my employer to know, I had like ruined my relationship, you know, with my ex girlfriend at the time. So I had moved back in with my parents. I didn't want them to know. So I Googled, can I go to rehab after work? And then it popped up like 0 .2 miles from me where I was, was a place called rehab after work. so I called them.

Kim Rapach (27:31.3)
Wow.

Chaz (27:31.99)
I made a consultation, which I think was either same day or the next day. And I went in and that started my journey. The counselor that I had an initial consultation with, he had like 30 years sober. he was just like such a large personality. His name was Jerry. and you know, he had me become open -minded to like doing his program. And I started going there, a few times a week after work, I think like three days after work a week.

and then a part of like starting that program was I needed to detox off all substances, which I did on my own with some medical assistance, medical assistance, as far as like using different medicine to get off the medicine that I was. And that was really, really tough. but once I was able to get off the substances that I basically started this group therapy, so it was called intensive outpatient. So it was an intensive outpatient program. A lot of the other people that were there.

were coming out of rehab, which was an inpatient program. So they had gone and they had done their detox and rehab experience somewhere else. And then to sort of reintegrate into the world, they come to this outpatient program, or maybe they're going back to working a job and they're coming to this thing after work. So I started doing that for a few months. And then I really connected with one of the guys in the group. He was like my age, similar background, working a similar job, similar education. So I was like, wow. Like I could really connect and relate to him.

Which I didn't expect. And then he was already going to 12 step meetings at the time. So for anyone that's like not familiar with what that is, like alcoholics anonymous or narcotics anonymous, he was going to these Friday night meetings. I had nothing better to do. I had a lot of resistance towards seeing the 12 steps because I didn't believe in God at the time. And I saw that God was all throughout the steps. And I was like, well, like God's involved. Like I'm not going to be, that was my perspective at the time. So.

I just became open -minded to go into these meetings with him on Friday nights and, really, really, really powerful for me. I've made these Friday nights, like a weekly meeting that I started to go to each and every week really started to connect with a lot of other of the members in the group. And then those became my friends. You know, we started going to meetings, multiple times a week altogether. And I eventually.

Chaz (29:50.006)
people just kept suggesting for me to get a sponsor and I was still of the mindset of like, I'm just here temporarily. Like I'm not actually doing this thing. I just have nothing better to do right now. I'm trying to get my money back on track so I can go back to using the substances that are manageable and that are normal. and stop using these particular substances, but yeah, with some open mindedness, I eventually did just get a sponsor within the 12 step program that I was going to. And.

He would share at these meetings and I really liked what he talked about and how he talked about it and talked about life and his experience in general. And he also mentioned a few times that he initially had struggled with believing in some type of higher power, which I think was like a real crux for me, like, or not crux, but it was like a blockade that felt like for me to work through actually kind of doing this program and doing the step work. So I asked him to be my sponsor, started working with him and, and.

You know, working with him really opened up my, my mind and my heart. And we really started to go through this 12 step process, which, you know, was, was really involved for me. It was really deep. And, you know, first it was like admitting, you know, that, that I had a problem and that I was an addict, which again, I hadn't identified with for my first few months. So that was really step number one was admitting that. And then.

You know, there was this whole literature around the 12 step program. So starting to read some of that literature and then with narcotics anonymous, what I was doing, there was also what's called the step working guides, which was like a workbook that went along with the literature. And all of it was really resonating for me at the time, everything I was reading the whole process.

Kim Rapach (31:33.7)
Did it tick you off?

Chaz (31:35.67)
Take me off.

Kim Rapach (31:37.028)
Like when you start to see like, man, this is me.

Chaz (31:39.894)
And it was like, it was weird, you know, it was like a weird reaction because I was like, wow, I feel like this was like written about me. And I had been like, so in denial up until that point. So it was like this bizarre revelation of like, my gosh, like maybe I am this. Cause so much of what the literature was referring to, like all of it, you know, like really fit for me. So I think, I think that was.

that had me become more open -minded to the whole process, I would say. And then at these different meetings, you're reading different parts of the literature, depending on what types of meetings you go to, there's different people that are sharing their stories and experience. So I would say in combination, just becoming open -minded to it all and then working with a sponsor to go through the 12 step process, you know, helped me start to believe in a higher power, start to believe in prayer, start to like figure out like what a higher power looks like for me.

take an inventory of my character defects and look at all the past trauma that I caused other people and, and talk through it, you know, with him through this step work process. So it was a lot of digging stuff up a lot of, realizations of, you know, different parts of my life that I think I had suppressed or buried and like allowing the space for some of that stuff to come up and, and talk through it. And.

you know, make, make amends to some of those people that I had harmed, which is, you know, difficult and challenging. And then, you know, working through figuring out, you know, what my spirituality looks like, you know, sort of with that foundation that was built upon the step work. And a lot of that. What for me, that foundation, in addition to the step work is a meditation.

breath work and yoga are both, are all three of those are a big part of my story. And those came into my life around the same time that I decided to get sober because one of my friends, Jacob Ellis was hosting these yoga meditation workshops with one of our other friends, Nicholas Geo in the Philadelphia area. And I was just open -minded to trying different things at the time. So Saul, he was doing these workshops and decided to start going to them and that.

Chaz (34:04.278)
really, I would say, open my mind to how I could change the way I feel and get more in touch with myself through these ancient practices of yoga, meditation and breath work.

Kim Rapach (34:17.22)
Yeah, that's amazing. And I, you know, I think about how when you move away from the substances, you move away from, you start to heal, you know, from addiction, you become less selfish, right? Just it's, it's very humbling, especially when you talk about the step where you make amends. It's, I mean, it's, it'll turn your life upside down in the best kind of way.

Chaz (34:43.414)
Definitely. I think it's a really good perspective as far as stepping into more of a space of selflessness. And my past, my past few years has actually been a journey of reclaiming some of that. So I think a part of my story was I was giving so much of my energy away and became so selfless to the point where I kind of lost myself and taking care of my own self in sobriety I'm talking about.

so trying to like pick up and take care of all these other people and see like who's doing their step work and where they're at and trying to hold other people accountable and like, Hey, we need to all like do this thing together. I think doing that to the degree, the degree at which I was, I wasn't really prioritizing. Well, who, who am I? Like, what do I actually want? You know, and I was still working this corporate job.

at the time, which, which I had loved. And it, you know, I had like a lot of paid vacation and like a good salary and was able to like pay my bills and pay off my debts. and then I think it was about four or five years into my sobriety journey. That's when, COVID had happened and then able moved back from LA to the Philadelphia area. Cause LA had pretty much shut down. So I was on this like,

spiritual awakening journey, and then Abel moved back to the Philadelphia area. And then that's when him and I reconnected. So he had been doing the Abel Heart project for a few years before then he had put out some music. He was on the show on NBC called song land where he got to work with the Jonas brothers, Ryan Tedder and Esther Dean. And that was from like a production songwriting perspective. But then after that show, you know,

He decided he wanted to like pursue being an artist, which is the able heart project. So when he moved back to the Philadelphia area, I forget exactly how much music he had out, maybe, maybe like 15 or 20 songs or something like that. And he was just managing, you know, the whole project by himself, just like kind of posting some stuff on Instagram here and there, uploading his music himself, maybe uploading the music on YouTube as well. but.

Chaz (37:07.958)
I think at the time, I didn't know it at the time because I was like loving my life, you know, in sobriety, I'm going on these amazing trips and vacations and, you know, Abel kind of came in out of left field and him and I reconnected after sort of like pretty much falling out of touch for a while. You know, he was out in LA for like six or seven years or something like that. And him and I didn't really stay in touch when he was out there. So I was like working my corporate job. He was doing his thing in LA. and then we reconnected when, when he moved back.

to the East coast and then, geez, that was, I think in the fall of 2020. so it's, it's been over three years since him and I reconnected in that way. And so much has happened since then with his project and me leaving my corporate job and everything we've accomplished with the project and all of like the personal development that, you know, both him and I have, have done since, since reconnecting. There's, there's a lot to like unpack there, I would say.

Kim Rapach (38:06.884)
Yeah. Well, but I like what you're, you know, when you said originally you were talking about, well, there's been phases and I think it's important for us to understand that that's, that's evolution, right? Of course there's phases. There's it's like when the student is ready, the teacher will come. And so you go through one layer of healing or, you know, inner work, personal development, whatever. And then it's like, okay.

then you're given new perspectives or new challenges or a new season and it's up to you whether or not you want to keep going. And you talked about being sober and all of a sudden finding yourself like, wait, I'm sober, but actually overextending myself. And I connect personally a lot to your story because that's what happened to me as a therapist. I used to be a therapist and I was a good therapist, but I was also overextending myself. And when COVID hit, it was too much. So I had...

to redefine and to reconnect with myself redefine who I am what kind of healer do I want to be who do I want to work with and how do I help people without sacrificing my own mental health and that's that's essentially what I teach people how to do how do you make your art how do you use your gifts how do you chase success after you are well like not

Chaz (39:14.71)
Hmm.

Kim Rapach (39:24.772)
the most people think it's the other way around, right? Like I'm successful and then I'll be happy. And it's like, well, what if we worked on happiness first and then watch your career blow up, right? Like in a good way. So I would like to hear more about what, how did you learn to reconnect with yourself? You became selfless, you got sober, you're doing a lot of good work, but then you're like, wait a second, I think I forgot about me.

You know, sobriety is one piece of it, but that inner work is a whole nother layer.

Chaz (39:52.022)
Yeah.

Chaz (39:56.118)
Definitely, yeah. I think a part of my sobriety journey, especially in the first like four years or so was adopting this ideology that I had this insidious disease that wanted to kill me. And essentially I couldn't trust myself.

some of that I think was, I was picking up from other people that I was around and then others of it is like written into the literature of the community that I was a part of. So I think that perspective is what.

I needed at that time because I couldn't trust myself. That was the parts of me that were telling me to go use or to act out in different ways that were unhealthy. So I think I, that perspective really served me for a number of years. But then after a few years of like not using drugs and alcohol anymore, I didn't have those thoughts. I didn't have those, those urges anymore, but.

I was never really what felt like granted permission to, okay, now you don't struggle, you know, with those urges anymore. So you can learn to retrust yourself. That's not like a part of the playbook in recovery. so there's some people, you know, that I was going to these meetings with that have 10, 15, 20, 30 years sober.

And they're sharing about how they can't trust themselves. And they're still like making all these mistakes in their lives. And they're struggling still with a lot of the same things that they were when they first got into recovery, just not with drugs and alcohol anymore. And,

Chaz (41:50.134)
I have like love and respect for where everyone's at on their journey, but that wasn't attractive to me. I always struggle. I always struggled with the idea of like, I'll have this issue or this disease forever. so, you know,

It's tough when you talk about traumatic situations and try to apply this lens of like, I think everything happens for a reason. Because back in 2021, my best friend at the time who I'd been going to meetings with and him, you know, he had sort of been in and out of recovery over the years, but you know, had a good amount of recovery time underneath his belt. he overdosed and died in 2021. He was struggling, with his wife and without putting like too much of his.

business out there, just one night he just went out and used and died after being sober for, you know, some time. It really was. Yeah. He left behind, you know, two young sons. I was devastated and really confused. His mom, you know, just, just, there's, there's so much there. but I,

Kim Rapach (42:50.98)
So devastating.

Kim Rapach (43:08.548)
Yeah, and I just I want to pause just for a second, Chaz, because so much of the work that I do and so much of you know, what the work of warriors is about is taking care of yourself first so that you can take care of other people. And something that I think we need to talk about is and I'm glad that you mentioned this is for all of us when we're not well, whatever it may be.

The shrapnel, especially when there's an overdose or a suicide or even just an ongoing struggle, a lifelong struggle with addiction, the shrapnel effect that it has in the lives, it's not just that person. It's not just you, right? It's everyone who loves and cares about you. And...

you put someone in the public eye, not only do they have their family, their own friends, their own community, their own church, whatever, but the whole world who adores you and is looking up to you and loves you as much as that's possible. And so I just want to just be clear that when we are well, we can help others be well. And when we're not, we are dangerous to ourselves and to the people who love us.

Chaz (44:25.75)
Definitely, yeah. And I think having been in it myself, being dangerous to myself and others for so long, it's so hard to see that when you're in it. And to me, just speaking for myself, I didn't care. I just, I didn't care. You know, the drugs and my mental health took me to a place where I just...

I didn't care. I didn't care. I didn't care what other people thought, you know, or what it was doing to me. It just wasn't even a part of my thought process at the time. And that's scary. You know, it's, it.

Kim Rapach (44:55.14)
Yeah. Yeah. Well, thank you for your honesty. And I'm guessing, and would like to hear your thoughts, but you don't think about what other people are thinking or feeling. and also I think you don't trust when people, when you're in that deep in addiction, or if you're that deep in the dark, you don't trust when people say, I love you. I want to help you.

Chaz (45:17.078)
Yeah, I think, I think for me, I was just so emotionally shut down. Really. I think it's what it comes down to and doing, you know, some of this work after the fact and kind of opening my heart back up. It was, it was almost like whatever someone was saying emotionally, logistically, it just kind of one in one in near and out the other. so I, you know, just pray so much and just send so much like healing energy to all the people out in the world that may be.

in that space right now. And one of my hopes with, you know, over the past year or so getting out from behind the camera and getting more in front of the camera and having podcast conversations with Able and starting to build my own brand on social media is to hope that maybe some little snippet of me saying something or sharing about my story might impact someone that might be in a position that needs to hear it.

cause that's what happened for me. I started watching different videos on YouTube and I was like, like, can you really like get sober? I was watching these different videos that we're talking about, that you're, we are not our thoughts and feelings. And that was like such a now for me, it seems like such a simple perspective, but that was like the most profound thing that I had heard at the time that I could take a step back from my thoughts and feelings and have, you know, what I would refer to as witness consciousness. You know, there's a lot of different ways that people refer to it.

but that there might be this higher self that's above all these thoughts and feelings. And like, if my brain is telling me to go do something, wait a second, I can actually kind of look at that and assess that and does it really fit for me? which again, that is such a foundational belief system that I have now, you know, it's such a core to like everything that I do in life and kind of trying to tap back into that witness consciousness and.

And evaluate, you know, what's coming through for me at any given time. But so much of my life was just consumed by my thoughts and feelings. If I had like a thought that was like, go to this or go to that. I was like, okay. I was like, I'll say, go do it. Wasn't even really contemplating it, especially when I was using. So that's, that's a big core of, of me getting more in front of the camera and sharing my story and hopes that who knows, you know, maybe just someone seeing me the way that I am might help or inspire them in some type of way. And I think it's, it's.

Chaz (47:37.462)
also me continuing to get out of my own way that like, I've accomplished enough that someone may see that within me, you know, or my experience really matters in that way. So that's sort of this like constant sort of back and forth that I have within me, like each and every day I've kind of getting my own way to like getting out of my own way to share my self and my story. But back in 2021, when my friend had overdosed and passed away,

I didn't know how to deal with it, you know, even after, you know, doing the steps and, you know, having a strong support group and having these recovery meetings, like I was going and sharing about that it had happened, but, you know, it was getting really tough for me to get out of bed in the mornings. I was, it was just like, I just didn't know how to move on from it. And it was starting to bring up a lot of like, kind of really confusing things for me. Cause it was like, he was there and then he was gone, you know? And then it was just like, wow. Like you see, you know, okay, you have the funeral. I did his eulogy. People are sad, but then you're just gone.

You know, like the life and then that.

hit me in so many different ways, but I think something that came out of that was me deciding to get some professional help. So I started working with a therapist a few years ago after my friend had passed away and he's an IFS therapist. So he, for those that don't know what that is, is the internal family system form of therapy. and that's been so transformational for me.

and so many different ways, you know, I could probably like write a book or talk about it for 10 hours, like my experience in, in just working with him and, and doing, doing that work. but I think to tie it back to what I was saying before, you know, he's a certified addictions counselor also, and he himself has like, at the time I forget 25, 30 years sober or something like that. So.

Chaz (49:27.734)
He was familiar with 12 step programs to certified addictions counselor and was also doing this IFS therapy. So he understood all of it, like everything that I was working through. And he gave me the invitation of like, Hey, if you're not struggling with the urge to use drugs and alcohol right now, everything that you learned in recovery, we can just sort of like leave that at the door. You know, we're not going to get rid of it. We're not going to discredit it. It's exactly what you needed to get to where you are right now.

But we're just going to leave that all at the door and we're going to just start to figure out like who is Chaz and what does Chaz really want? And, you know, it's been a, it's been a multi -year journey working with him through this IFS style of therapy of really figuring that out for myself and him holding the space to, ask me different types of questions and do the work together to figure out what that really looks like for me. And there's so much to unpack there, but.

There was a, there was sort of like this catalyst awakening point. I'll call it after I'd been working with him for a few months, my friends who I mentioned in the beginning that were doing yoga and meditation at the time, I had been doing their workshops locally here in the Philadelphia area for a few years. And then also my wife and I had been going down every year to Costa Rica. So Jake.

my good friend that I was telling you that led these workshops with our other friend, Nicholas, he would go down every winter to teach at this kid's school, teach some yoga, meditation movement, and he would, he would live down there for the winter. So he would come back every year and be like, Hey, you guys have to come down and check out Costa Rica. So eventually Lauren and I did, and we loved it so much. And we would go down there each and every year. And I, after coming back, I would always just feel so inspired as other people need to like experience this down there, the culture, the land, the.

yeah, the people, the nature, the waterfalls, just everything was just so amazing. And I'd never been out of the country before, before going to Costa Rica. So, after I'd been doing this work with my therapist and Jake and Nick had the desire to do an international retreat in Costa Rica. So I forget exactly what month it was. It was like a January or February. And we basically decided to throw this international retreat. So I worked with Nick and Jake.

Chaz (51:50.646)
And they put together the art cinderary, the name, the branding. I worked with Jake and Nick to do the marketing. And then I was sort of on the backend with the logistics, like booking the Airbnb, finding the drivers, finding the location, coordinating the ticket sales and.

We basically had like a month to pull it off and we're like, if we sell enough tickets, we'll do it. If not, then it wasn't meant to be. but we ended up doing it. I forget exactly how many people came, but it was like 14 or 15 adults down in the jungle. We did this retreat and that retreat, I would say was really empowering for me. And from what I've heard from a lot of the other people that attended, and it was a series of, yoga, meditation, arts, crafts, if you want to call it that.

nature excursions and experiences, really healthy meals. And it was just an incredible experience all around. But I think what it helped me see was myself as a leader really for the first time, because when I was working in corporate America, I didn't see myself as a leader in corporate America as a project manager. And I could really run projects and contribute and work, but I was always comparing myself to the other leaders at the corporation.

And my judgment was they were like adults and I was just like, not, you know, like they were very responsible and like had families and I, you know, I, I just, I don't know. I just didn't like see myself as, as a leader amongst them. but this retreat really helped seem like helped me see myself as a leader for the first time. And then also I was, I believe, yeah, I believe I was already working with Able at that time as well.

Or just starting to around that time. So I started to have a bit of a taste of like this creative freedom lifestyle or able, and I were filming and going different places. And, basically within a few months after the retreat, we had to go back into the office at my corporate job. And I just remember like putting on like my button up shirt, and my slacks and looking in the mirror and just like, this, this just like, isn't me anymore. so.

Chaz (54:06.966)
That sort of started some of these ideas of like, Hey, what would it be like for me to possibly, you know, leave the corporate space and start to enter the entrepreneurial world. and, and Abel's project at the time really wasn't making any money. so I, it was, it was a combination of having so much faith and belief in the potential of Abel's project, but also like, Hey, if I'm going to jump out of corporate America, I'm probably going to need to do something else.

You know, in parallel to support myself financially while I have the location and time freedom to work with Abel. So yeah, I think that was, almost two years ago to date where I made that decision to like put my two weeks in. Abel was living in LA at the time. And then I got an Airbnb with my other business partner who's also coincidentally from the same hometown Abel and I are from. And we, we got an Airbnb for a month out there.

And I started to work with my other business partner on digital marketing, Facebook ads, creating the software, what's called like a CRM, like a customer relationship management tool to like manage leads. And then he was doing virtual sales. So he was selling residential solar. So I was doing that and learning how to do all that and build all those systems by day. And then at night Abel and I were running around LA with a camera and just filming.

a bunch of videos for his music. And then by the end of the month, you know, I had some really successful things happen in the, in the solar and the digital marketing space. And then also, some of the videos that Abel and I filmed when I was out there started to go viral, like really viral on Tik TOK, like five, seven million videos, like per video. And it was like back to back to back, like every video that we were posting was starting to get like millions and millions of views. So taking that leap of faith and.

going out in LA and just kind of like chasing my dreams to like see what would happen energetically, you know, kind of opened up, you know, the, the next chapter of my life in the past two years since being an entrepreneur has been such a rapid personal self -development growth experience, I would say first and foremost, and just having a lot of fun and.

Chaz (56:26.902)
also a lot of struggles and a lot of confusion and a lot of like figuring things out as I go. So yeah, happy to dive into that journey, you know, a little bit more if it makes sense to touch on any bit of that. But, yeah, the past two years and what we've built with Abel's project and you know, what I did in the solar space, which I don't do anymore currently. but yeah, happy to talk about some of the other stuff that I'm working on and passionate about now.

Kim Rapach (56:55.076)
Yeah. Well, what is, what is the saying about an entrepreneur? People look at you like, wow, look at that. Look at that person riding a lion. They look amazing. And the entrepreneur is like, how the hell did I get a lion? And it's, it's, but I think it's, you know, it's a, it's a fun space to be in. I, you know, again, former therapist, it was actually a therapy client that I had many moons ago.

Chaz (57:07.014)
Seriously.

Kim Rapach (57:22.084)
who's like, you're an entrepreneur. I was like, I'm not an entrepreneur. And he was like, well, you got me here. And really, just opened up that window, and it opened up my creative spaces too. So it's exciting. When I hear you say, it's been a lot of ups and downs, a lot of confusion, a lot of excitement, and yeah, that's an entrepreneur for sure. So do you want to talk a little bit about what you...

you and or you and Abel have going on. So people know, you know, kind of how to find you and see what you're doing and what you're creating. And, you know, I know you're working with Abel, but I think you're doing your own stuff too, maybe. So what are you doing? We'll go there first.

Chaz (58:00.79)
Yeah. Yeah, absolutely. Yeah. Excited to share about some of that. So we built a community that was primarily based around Abel's project called the full of heart fam. So we built, we started building that at the end of last year, we had about 5 ,000 members who joined, which was amazing. And as a part of the full of heart fam, we were getting access to Abel's music early. he was also doing guided meditations and sharing certain videos in there for the community. And then also as a part of that, we were doing a weekly podcast.

So we've done, I think it's 17 weekly podcast episodes since we started the community and him and I recently made the decision that we're going to take all of those podcast episodes or at least the ones that make sense that were kind of good enough or have enough value if you want to say, and we're actually going to make those all public. so, so that's something that I'm really excited about that I'm going to be focused in on here over the next month or two is because when we would post them up into the community, it was, it was.

just like the way I'm seeing you right now where I see it's just me and you side by side and they were unedited. But putting them onto YouTube, they'll be edited a little bit more. So kind of back and forth, maybe have a little bit of an intro, a little bit more branding. So I'm working on that now. That's something that I'm really excited about. So that's gonna be the full of heartbam podcast. And yeah, I work with another client as well. His project is called the alignment of light.

project. So his name is Igor and I've been working with him for a few years as well. And we're actively building communities online. So it's an educational community, spiritual community where he hosts weekly meditations. And then over the past year and a half, I worked with him and a small team that we have to put together an eight week course that people can go through. So we've been building that on this community called school, this platform called school with a K.

And I'm really, really interested in both of those spaces, like online education and personal development. So I'm having some conversations with some other people as well that are also interested in building communities and education. So, at this point in time, I'll actually be moving like away from the day to day and working with Abel, which I'm super excited and like proud of him that he's like got.

Chaz (01:00:21.974)
really everything down to a system. And, you know, it just seems like in such a good place mentally, I feel like we've built and like have grown so much together. so I'm gonna be stepping away from my day -to -day responsibilities and working with him and then focus more on, building out this podcast, which I'm essentially going to kind of like take and run with. So Abel and I aren't going to be doing the weekly episodes together anymore. but a bunch of episodes of him and I will go up.

And then I'm going to be having conversations like this, you know, with, with you and with other people. And it'll be mostly heart centered conversations with other creatives and sharing their experience in hopes to help other people that may be interested in pursuing like a full -time creative lifestyle, pick up bits and pieces from, you know, my experience and the other people that I have conversations with. So I think in addition to sharing my experience.

You know, I've also been doing a lot of, work. So like men's work, men's group work, process work, meditations. We do a weekly men's yoga class here in the Philadelphia area at cocoon Philly for anyone that might be, you know, in the area. so there's a, and that, and that's Jake studio, Jake from Costa Rica, Jake who married my wife and I, a good friend of mine.

Kim Rapach (01:01:35.748)
Okay. Yeah.

Chaz (01:01:43.67)
so him and I, he also has the desire to build some online coaching programs and we're starting to explore what that might look like. There's also an organization that I'm a part of here in the Philadelphia area called sweat spiritual warfare, effectiveness training, SWET. You can find more information at sweat .org. but I've been getting more involved with the leadership of that organization. I helped them rebuild their website, sort of working with them on their branding a little bit. And then they have a.

training program called Warrior Soul Weekend. So this is like a more of a training weekend where people can learn how to facilitate process work. So for anyone that's like not familiar with that, I guess it's all kind of under the psycho drama umbrella. So it's really training and learning how to work with another man to get in touch with their emotions. And then once they have the emotion, bring it up and out of them and then process it.

And there's a, there's a bunch of different ways that you can process emotion, but this is essentially learning from men that have been doing this for over 30 years, how they do it. So we'll be actually filming that here in the next two months. We'll be filming that training and I'm working with those leaders to see what it might be like to put that training online and perhaps have that be a training program for people that are looking to learn more, how to facilitate the process work. And sort of at the backbone, I think of.

Kim Rapach (01:02:56.516)
wow.

Chaz (01:03:11.542)
doing all of those different things, like all of that's sort of on my radar right now. I also have a desire to grow my own personal brand and sharing snippets with the podcast so people can learn more about who I am and what I'm about. And I hope my experience from these podcast episodes helps people. And then I also have a desire to create my own community and then my own coaching program to, I need to figure out what that looks like, but my own way to.

you know, help coach and guide people that may be looking to, you know, pursue a creative lifestyle. So part of that, I think will look like, creating more content for YouTube, sharing more content on social medias, growing awareness around my brand, helping grow these other communities that I was talking about, and then using everything that I've learned from Abel's project and these other communities that I'm building to, you know, build my own community. And hopefully like my goal is really to just.

help as many people as I possibly can and have as much fun as possible while doing it.

Kim Rapach (01:04:15.012)
That's amazing. Like you were not joking when you said a lot of exciting things are going on. You started with that and then you circled back to that. But I have to say what I really, really appreciate so much is the shift in the personal development work. So, you know, early, early in my career, it was, it was therapy and it was trying to be a therapist in a world where therapy was still taboo. You know, even in my family of origin, I was like, I was.

Chaz (01:04:19.926)
Yeah.

Kim Rapach (01:04:41.636)
the one who broke off and like, I'm going to go do this weird thing, which was therapy. and now it's, you know, it's, it's a lot more normalized and accepted and encouraged, but also that personal development has been so much around mindset. Like I always say, like mindset actually is not everything, right? It's all mindset, mindset, mindset. But what I appreciate about, I appreciate about your work is that yes, mindset is important, but also so is process work. So is.

vulnerability. So is discovering and you know, being curious about your story and where where did I lose myself? And how do I get myself back? And it's not it's not just in your head. It's not only mindset, right? Like mindset is important. You have to your thoughts, you know, predict how you feel. So you better have your thoughts in order. But also there's so much more that I think is really growing the communities that you're talking about is it's it's not just simple.

shift in mindset. It's doing really good, powerful, meaningful work that again, if you do within yourself and you're well, you have a greater impact to help others be well.

Chaz (01:05:52.278)
Yeah, I wholeheartedly agree. Yeah, I think the shifting of the mindset for sure is a foundational element of all of that, for sure. At least it was for me. I think a big part of that just became around becoming open -minded. And then pretty early on actually in my sobriety journey, Jake actually introduced me to the work of Dr. Joe Dispenza.

Kim Rapach (01:06:20.004)
Mm -hmm.

Chaz (01:06:20.31)
so for anyone that's listening to this, that's not familiar with Dr. Joe Dispenza. He has this, program, I guess you could call it. It was a show, I guess, on this network at the time called Gaia. And it was called rewired. And it was like a video part series where again, he is a, neuroscientist. So at the time it was also as I was like figuring out like my new belief systems, my new mindset, we'll, we'll call it.

I really dove into his work and I would say there's, there's a lot that has, that has work on packs, but at the core of it, I would say for me is the ability for us to rewire ourselves. and that can mean a lot of different things to a lot of different people, but from like a neurochemistry perspective, the thoughts that we have and the reality that we're creating for ourselves so much is driven by.

ourselves and our, and we have an ability to really change and transform our realities based on what we're thinking and feeling. And then he sort of, and all of his work and his whole team, you know, sort of prove this at the scientific level, which is pretty powerful, but you're talking about going down to like completely rewiring your neural pathways, changing the way that you think.

And at the time I was looking for that, you know, I knew that however I was wired, wasn't serving me. So I just sort of became open -minded to like, okay, you know, what else is out there? And then, wow. Seeing that this, you know, scientifically is validated. and then over the past years, that's probably been like five years or ago since I discovered Dr. Joe's work. And then a lot of the work, and practices that I've learned from Jake, which is like meditation, breath work, a lot of that sort of.

builds off of this ability to not only just like change our mindsets, but actually like completely like transform ourselves. And the one thing that I'm not sure of is do you need some type of traumatic event before you become that sort of open -minded true transforming yourself or not? and the only reason that I ask is because like, I know for me, like my life, you know, again, back in 2017, I

Chaz (01:08:39.67)
decided to get some help, you know, there's lots of trauma and lots of issues that I had. And most of the other people who I've talked to that are on this path had some type of like really big event or some type of like existential crisis or death or suicide or something in their life where they're like, I don't know how to do this anymore. but, but my hope is that.

perhaps some people can pick up on some of this stuff before their life, you know, turns to a point of complete chaos and turmoil. And they might just be like bored or just like looking for something different in life or, you know, even people that are going like into retirement, you know? so, so my hope is that people that are seeking just, just better themselves or I don't know, just to like change themselves can pick up on, you know, some of this work and.

A lot of these ancient teachings or a lot of these yoga practices, you know, a lot of which I've learned about, you know, come to awareness around through Jake, you know, so much of a lot of these ancient lineages and ancient practices sort of go back to this foundational core of our ability to, you know, harness this energy within us and, and witness it and see it and work with it. and so much of it can become like pretty spiritual, pretty quick, I guess.

But I think it also maybe doesn't necessarily have to be that deep either. It's like, Hey, if you like do some simple breath exercises for, you know, 10 to 15 seconds before a work presentation, like you'll probably feel a little bit more relaxed, you know, and they can, you know, start there. And I'm at a point now where I'm, you know, waking up and doing meditation and breath work for like at least an hour each and every morning. So that can seem a little intimidating to people, especially for me, you know, before I started doing it an hour.

morning, I have life, I can't do that. but there's so much, there's so much, joy, stability and, and power, that I feel comes from those practices for me now. And there's like endless amounts of practices and techniques and, the, the journey, you know, doesn't end in that way. And there's always so much to learn. And that's just what really excites me. You know, it's just like, there's so much about this human experience. And I just, you know, feel like.

Chaz (01:11:00.278)
forever a student and just like full of gratitude and like can't wait to see, you know, where my life goes and what type of impact I can have while I'm here.

Kim Rapach (01:11:10.052)
Yeah. my gosh. I love all of that. Absolutely. You know, you said like when you first started in people here, like an hour, I have a life. I don't have time. I got to live my life. I got to get to work. I got to, you know, take care of the kids, whatever. And then once you start really taking care of yourself, it's like, I can't do life without that. Like there's a shift. And then what happens is life gets easier. And I, you know, you see it, I see it. Like the more we take care of ourselves, the more we are.

Chaz (01:11:29.686)
Yes.

Kim Rapach (01:11:40.26)
awake or attuned to ourselves, the more the world opens up, the more opportunities you get that are not just for money or not just a job. It's like, no, there's this opportunity that I've wanted my whole life. That's so important, you know, to why I feel like I'm here. Maybe it's a mission. Maybe it's a cause, something that where you feel like you can make a difference. And, you know, the other thing you said, Chasmeer, talking about, you know, shifting the brain and being able to rewire our brains.

You know, I have the experience of starting out as a therapist where the science, you know, the researchers, the teachers all said, you can't change it. Once you're traumatized, you can't change it. And then getting to watch the shift of going from symptom, you know, symptomology, pathology, you know, this is, you treat the person as they are as opposed to help them rewire not only through,

Chaz (01:12:20.662)
really?

Kim Rapach (01:12:36.516)
pharmaceuticals or you know, electroshock therapy. I mean, I'm not that old, but you know, the, the ability to do that yourself through your thoughts, through your breath, through returning to your body, through understanding how your nervous system works to understanding that, you know, anxiety is just a message. It's just, it's an alarm. It's telling you something's not right. You're okay. You're not broken.

And then I think, you know, two core values for me have been learning how to be curious and compassionate. So first with myself, like, why do I feel that way? That's interesting. I'm curious. And I'm sure there's a good reason for what do I need? Very compassionate. And when you live like that, guess what? When you're in the grocery store, when you're on the road, it spills over and then you're able to be curious and compassionate with other people. So you're less judgmental.

Chaz (01:13:17.398)
Yeah.

Kim Rapach (01:13:28.804)
And when you're less judgmental, you're less angry and you're less irritated. And when you're less angry and irritated, you're happier and have more joy and gratitude. So it's all relevant. And like you said, there's so many different healing modalities, but I think understanding that we have everything we need within us. I don't think we're supposed to do it alone, but we have everything we need.

just have to use whatever tools feel right to you to tap into that and to make changes. And you can rewire your brain and you can heal your nervous system. You can, it's possible. We have everything we need.

Chaz (01:14:01.622)
Wow.

Chaz (01:14:06.582)
Yeah. I think that, I think that's a good way to kind of wrap it up there. Like that, that was, yeah. So true. And.

So much of those perspectives have helped me become a better person and feel okay. And yeah, the compassion and curiosity piece is huge. So that's at the core of the work that I do with my therapist always is like having judgment step aside.

And then having compassion and curiosity come in for whatever it is that we're exploring. And then also saying simple things in conversation, like, Hey, it's okay to invite that in right now with some compassion and curiosity. And some of that simple language, you know, actually in my experience can have your, whatever you want to call it, parts of you, your nervous system, whatever sort of calm down.

Right? Like you can, you can like talk to, you can have someone talk to different parts of you to say, Hey, like we can, we can, if you're okay with it, we can, we can actually sort of explore that right now. And then that like, now doing the work for some years, I can like feel this, like kind of armor sort of like peel off and then inviting, you know, some of these old stories or old, or these different like parts of me.

into these conversations that I have, and then also feeling it within my body and then exploring that with some compassion and curiosity. And, yeah, I feel like in some ways I'm just kind of scratching the surface with it all, but I think that's such a good point that you bring up is like having less judgment and more compassion and curiosity with ourselves on this journey. And I think to your point,

Chaz (01:15:50.55)
I would have never been able to do this alone, you know, so I think a big part of this is, is finding community and, and support, you know, a lot of the work that I do myself now as like individual. but I also have lots of community and support around me as well to bounce things off of even like all the stuff I'm trying to figure out next, you know, like a few other calls that I had today before this were like, all right, like energetically I'm like freed up so much now since I'll be sort of rolling off of the day to day responsibilities with Able like.

what's next for me, you know, and, and so much like old stories or fear or scarcity or different things could pop up. or I can have like faith and know that, you know, as long as I continue to do my practices, stay on the right vibration, stay in alignment, you know, with, you know, my life mission that I have everything that I need in my life to fulfill that. And it's like no coincidence. As soon as that happened.

different people started reaching out to me for different things. And then before I'd even like announced anything, you know, and I don't know if we plan to necessarily announce like me transitioning off of Abel's project from a day -to -day perspective, but, yeah, then I went to this men's retreat weekend and was, you know, just spent this past weekend up on the mountain with like 50 guys. And I was staffing that and talking about what was going on. And then like a handful of them are like building different organizations or one of them was doing business coaching and him and I were getting into all sorts of conversations. So.

I'm super, super excited for what's to come. But any given day, it's like, I feel like I'm just getting warmed up, you know?

Kim Rapach (01:17:23.172)
Yeah, yeah, I love that. Well, I always say you cannot condemn yourself into positive change. I tried it for years. It didn't work. It didn't work. So let me help you skip over some of the painful pieces of, you know what, just stay curious and compassionate and open. And that's what you're talking about. So I am so grateful that you said yes to this invitation and it's, you know,

Chaz (01:17:30.87)
Yeah, true.

Kim Rapach (01:17:51.524)
we're here to shed light and hope to other people who might be suffering. You've given some, you know, insight into here's some things that you do with meditation and breath work and retreats and you know, your creativity and all those things. The only other question I have and we can we can end with this is if someone is listening right now who's

suffering and while this isn't a replacement for you know mental health treatment, but they're listening to this right now and they're like, what's the point of any of it? What would you say?

Chaz (01:18:30.39)
Damn.

Chaz (01:18:41.494)
I think, although in some ways I feel it's situational, like to the specific person and just like kind of like better understanding where they're at to sort of like respond in a way that, you know, feels heart led and appropriate. I would say.

Although for me, it didn't feel like it for many points in my years. Like it felt like I had no purpose here. and like, what was the point of all of this?

I can't believe I felt that way at one point in time because it's just become so clear to me that like I am here for a reason. And I wasn't really able to see that when I was within the darkness. And my belief is that each of us is here for a reason. And if you don't feel like you're here for a reason right now, you're not alone.

and it's okay if you're not sure what your purpose is. And I feel like there's a lot of pressure, in society to like figure out this grandiose purpose and everybody looks at life differently, you know, like some people it's just, it's just like experience at all, or just be here and just play and just like be alive and experience like what it is to be human, you know? so.

I would say to anyone that's that's feeling that type of way to seek support. and I think it depends on what you're struggling with and how, and I think everyone's in like different financial positions and situations, but I think that's also a big part of why I want to

Chaz (01:20:29.782)
put out all these conversations that Abel and I have had and just share our experience like freely online in hopes that it may help someone. But at the core of it, it's like.

You're not alone. And it's like, even if you feel like that doesn't matter, if you look around and you really feel alone, as you're able to work through everything that you're going through, which you will be able to, you know, even though it might not feel like it right now, your experience and working through whatever you're working through is most likely really going to help someone else. If you, you know, are able to share.

what you're going through.

Kim Rapach (01:21:13.38)
Yeah, it's the sharing of our stories. And we're not alone. I had it's not released yet, but I interviewed somebody and he's in recovery. And he said the only part of this journey you have to do alone is to walk in the room or raise your hand right after you after you just raise your hand for help, whatever that may be, make a phone call, walk into an you know, Narcotics Anonymous meeting, whatever it may be, once you take that first step, there are so many people out here who want to help you.

Chaz (01:21:42.23)
Definitely. Yeah. And I think sometimes getting support can feel inaccessible for a lot of people, especially like not everyone can afford therapy and maybe not everyone's struggling with narcotics, you know? So I think doing research on different organizations that are out there, like if you're a man and you're listening to this, there's an organization called the Mankind Project where they have like local meetings all over the world.

there's also, NAMI, which is like a national, like mental health organization where there's different meetings, that are free in your area to go out and get support. So I think a lot of people, at least for me, like when I was struggling, I didn't know about any of these things, you know? So I think that's also like a part of vocalizing some of this. And if you are struggling with drugs and alcohol,

you know, you can look at different recovery meetings that may be in your area. And if you live somewhere in the middle of nowhere where there's no meetings, there's also virtual meetings online. so I struggled with narcotics. So I joined narcotics anonymous. Like you can go to, I believe it's NA .org. yeah.

Kim Rapach (01:22:48.452)
Yeah, and we'll list everything in the show notes for sure. We'll put all of these resources in there. So we'll make them easily accessible.

Chaz (01:22:57.558)
Yeah. And then also for anyone that's like resonated with my story, you know, follow me on Instagram, Chas Bateman. I'm going to be putting more stuff on YouTube. It's spelled C H A Z B A D E A N on Instagram. I'm going to be creating more YouTube content and putting all these podcasts that I've done with Able up there. and you can feel free to reach out to me like at any time if you're, if you're looking for support.

Kim Rapach (01:23:18.212)
Thank you so much and thank you again so much for being here. You're definitely the poster child of a warrior, someone who's taking care of themselves first so that they can take care of others well. So I really appreciate it. Appreciate your story, you being here, the work that you're doing in the world and I just have a lot of gratitude. So thank you again.

Chaz (01:23:39.926)
Likewise. Yeah. Thank you so much for having me on.

Kim Rapach (01:23:43.748)
So I'm gonna stop recording, but I'll hang.