“Rarely does someone come in and say, “I’m gonna take this one day at a time, slowly.’ I most often hear, ‘OK, I’m here. Help me get a job, a girlfriend…’ They make the decision to be sober and want to start working on everything else… It’s a slow process, and we really encourage people to get a strong foundation in their recovery before they start even attempting some of these things that add stressors to their lives.” – Zack (18:13)
Zack Ament is the founder and co-CEO of Westwind Recovery, a client-centered rehabilitation center for individuals recovering from alcohol and drug addiction. Today, he’s joining Danny LoPriore on episode 32 of Off the Cuff with Danny LoPriore to share his story of addiction recovery, sobriety, the impact of treatment centers, and building Westwind Recovery.
After being introduced to alcohol at a young age and battling addiction throughout his teenage and young-adult years, Zack Ament knows the ins and outs of substance abuse. Once he moved into a season of sobriety, which he has sustained for 11 years, he fell in love and developed Westwind Recovery in Los Angeles alongside his late husband. While it offers resources and professional help to individuals in addiction recovery, it was also created as a safe space for people to build a solid foundation for their sobriety. It’s part of the reason why Westwind is so impactful. It maximizes the influence of community support through its sober living houses.
“Rarely does someone come in and say, “I’m gonna take this one day at a time, slowly.’ I most often hear, ‘OK, I’m here. Help me get a job, a girlfriend…’ They make the decision to be sober and want to start working on everything else… It’s a slow process, and we really encourage people to get a strong foundation in their recovery before they start even attempting some of these things that add stressors to their lives.” – Zack (18:13)
In today’s episode, he shares his journey growing up and coming to terms with his sexuality, his introduction to alcohol dependence, and how mental health fluctuates in confronting addiction. He also addresses how to get sober and how losing his husband and becoming a father has changed him in the last few years.
With a solid community of friends and family, Zack Ament is embracing the challenge of raising his son as a single father and helping others on the road to addiction recovery through various services and activities at Westwind. Beyond this, he is committed to his recovery journey and still attends meetings to sustain his sobriety and mental health.
Listen in on Apple Podcasts or Spotify, and check out our Off the Cuff Instagram to stay up-to-date on our podcast news! Off The Cuff with Danny Lopriore is presented by 1AND1. Become 1% Better, Together at www.1and1life.com.
