The passenger I didn't bring along

Hey Clubbies,

Been writing the past couple of newsletters while on the road. I haven't slept in my own bed since the Sunday before Labor Day. And I probably won't until the first week of October.

Strange pillows. Strange dreams. My step count is taking a beating from all the driving. Home-cooked meals and consistent workouts? A distant memory.

Makeshift offices in Airbnbs. Team calls from a Starbucks in West Virginia. The work never took a day off. It just kept changing desks.

But one passenger didn't get a seat on this trip.

Alcohol.

For a long time, drinking and traveling were a package deal for me. New city? New bar. Long drive? Earned a round.

When I helped my parents move from Cleveland to San Francisco, it took seven nights mostly because of the late starts the mornings after. And the drives to Colorado always meant a stop in Stuart, Iowa. No bar in town. Didn't matter. The gas station sold airplane bottles, and the motel had a mini fridge.

Now I get to explore everything with a clear head. I actually connect with the people I'm with. I remember the conversations.

Even cities I've been to before feel brand new, because I'm not seeing them through a hangover.

The trip kicked off with a couple of days to decompress. I did all the stuff I normally avoid. Sleeping in. Shopping. Laptop closed. Dinner parties. Talking about feelings.

Turns out none of it is so bad when you actually like who you're doing it with.

On the way up to Ohio, I swung through Charlotte to see one of my best friends and old college housemate.

The flip side? The trip meant missing the 40th birthday of another best friend (yes, another college housemate). Happy bday CP!

That's the deal when you're juggling so much at once. You can't be everywhere. But you can be all in wherever you are.

Next up was Columbus, where I linked up with Joshua Gandee and Chris Manis, the producers of the No Proof Podcast.

We first met at Tales of the Cocktail in New Orleans and clicked right away. Same mission: showing people how drinking differently can make everything better.

Lately I've been cramming a lot into tiny reels. Hook, point, done.

This was the opposite. About an hour, sitting down, no rush. I got to answer the questions the way I actually wanted to.

We dug into the history of Club Soda Club and the stuff that helped me most in my first 30 days. The Jamo Fund. The $5 tipping rule. Asking for the best club soda they have, on the rocks. And why everybody's invited.

And Joshua and I realized we had something in common. Neither of us had a rock bottom moment. What started as a short-term challenge just quietly turned into a lifestyle.

So if you're waiting for a "sign" to cut back, this is your reminder. You don't need a disaster to decide you deserve better mornings.

Start with one night. Then watch how fast it adds up.

In four days around Columbus, I logged 26 club sodas on the rocks in the Club Soda Club app. Sixteen different spots, from a rooftop at Lincoln Social to Mikey's Late Night Slice. That's $258 that would've gone to drinks.

The app's still in invite-only beta. Hit reply if you want in. 🙂

Home base. Sort of.

This mission had two jobs. Part A: get a car up to Cleveland. Done. Part B: wrap up some end-of-summer admin and get ready for something I'm really looking forward to.

The first ever Club Soda Club meetup.

It's a Club Soda Club event, powered by Q Mixers.

Monday, September 28, 6 to 8pm
BrewDog Cleveland Outpost, 1956 Carter Rd

We're capped at 50 guests.

Once the meetup wraps, the weather turns. And so do I. It's about that time of year to go full snowbird and kiss Cleveland goodbye until Christmas.

Being on the road is rough on routines. Workouts get squeezed. Meals get sketchy. Sleep gets weird.

But a clear head travels well.

It turns a random Wednesday in a new city into a day you'll actually remember. It turns a catch-up with an old college housemate into a real conversation. It turns an hour in front of a mic into the story you wanted to tell.

The old version of this trip had a bar at every stop. So did this one. The difference is what's in the glass. And a guy who remembers every one of them.

You don't need a cross-country drive to try this. Pick your next trip, even a quick weekend one, and leave alcohol off the passenger list. See what you notice.

The No Proof episode drops sometime in October. And if you're anywhere near Cleveland on the 28th, come say hi.

Stay Sparkling,

Sorin

produced by Scott Nixon

Justin Kramm is a year in. He'd been cutting back for months when one random Tuesday night (too many IPAs, empty stomach, a beer literally called Florida Man) he fell on his face on a bridge in Fort Lauderdale. What surprised him was how much easier life got once the debate was gone: no more calculating how many, how much, how he'd feel tomorrow. As a dad to two athletes, he's been honest with his kids about what happened and they watched him stick to it. His advice is the opposite of what you'd expect: go all in at a big event. He dreaded a wedding without drinking and had one of the best nights of his life.

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 alcohol-free) and felt like they had to explain themselves... they're already one of us.

👇👇👇