The Club Soda Club isn't just for people who stopped completely

When people first hear "Club Soda Club," some of them assume it's for people who don't drink at all. Full stop.

It's not.

One of the things I'm most proud of about this community is that nobody gets carded at the door. You don't need a dramatic story. You don't need a rock-bottom moment. You don't need to have quit cold turkey three years ago. You just need to want to drink less — and even that's on your own terms.

That's the whole point. The Club Soda Club is not a binary membership. You're not either in or out, drinking or not drinking, clean slate or lost cause. That's not how real life works. And we're not going to pretend it is.

There are full-time members. There are part-time members. And everything in between has a seat at the bar. (Club soda in hand, obviously.)

I'll be straight with you: I'm a full-time member. Have been for over three years. And if you ask me, going all the way is the best version of this thing.

But here's what I've also seen with my own eyes: people who have cut down considerably, found their number, and held it there. Responsibly. Consistently. Without sliding back to where they were.

That's not nothing. That's actually really hard to do.

And just like I picked up lessons and tricks going full time (the Jamo Fund, the Golden $5 Rule, learning to own a room without a drink in my hand) — part-time members have developed their own playbook. Their own systems. Their own ways of making sure one drink doesn't quietly become four, and a good Friday doesn't wreck Saturday and Sunday.

That's worth sharing too. That's worth celebrating.

So while I'll always wave the full-time flag, this community was never built to be exclusive. If you're drinking less than you were six months ago, you're in the Club Soda Club. Full stop.

Over the past several months, I've been quietly building something I didn't even realize was a series until it was almost done.

Four posts. Four plays. All of them written for the person who still wants to go out, still wants to be part of the night — they just want to do it smarter than they used to.

Here's the full lineup:

The Sandman Method — how to trick your brain into thinking you've had five drinks when you've really only had one. (Yes, it works. Yes, it involves tequila.) → Read it

The Substitution Play — how to swap out mid-night without making it a whole thing. Because the moment your drink change becomes the main event of the table is the moment you need this post. → Read it

The Halftime Reset — how to pull a night back from the brink when it starts going sideways. A couple of small moves that'll save you from Sunday. → Read it

The Overtime Rule — the one I hadn't posted yet. Until now. → Read it

This one's about what happens when the night just... keeps going. Last call at one spot, "just one more" somewhere else, and suddenly you're two hours past your exit. Overtime is where nights can flip from a great story to a rough morning. This post is about catching the magic without paying for it tomorrow.

Four posts. One question behind all of them: how do you stay in the game without losing the next day?

Now you've got the whole playbook.

produced by Scott Nixon

Meet Zach — a true part-time member. No dramatic turning point, no single night that changed everything. Zach's always just been the guy who was naturally one or two drinks behind the group. At some point he leaned into it, built a system around it, and held the line.

His take on open bars alone is worth the watch: "Yes, the bar is always open. But you control when it's closed."

That's a Club Soda Club member.

Daylight saving is right around the corner. The weather is warming up — even in Cleveland. Spring break trips are already in progress.

The tank tops are here.

Four colors: Lagoon, Terracotta, Butter, and Watermelon. Rep the movement on your next trip, or if you're one of us down here in South Florida — honestly, just wear it every day. That's what we're doing.

Know someone who's thinking about it? There's no membership requirement.

Part-time members, full-time members, "I'm just curious" members. All welcome. So whether you've got a friend who's been saying "I should probably cut back" every Sunday morning for the last six months, or a friend who's already all-in on the alcohol-free life and just hasn't found their people yet — send them your link . They subscribe to the free newsletter, you both win. No pressure, no program, no weird pamphlets.

Basically, if they've ever ordered a club soda (or anything else non-alcoholic) and felt like they had to explain themselves... they're already one of us.

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