NON ALCOHOLIC DRINKS PODCASTMary Bernard Athletic Brewing Co. Ambassador (and all round good human): Espiode #003

Summary

Sharing stories is at the core of Tipple Zero. Listening to and learning about people that look, sound (especially in this case!) and ‘do’ differently to you is what makes the non-alcoholic scene really inspiring and exciting.

There aren’t many things that allow people to be on completely different ends of a spectrum but still aiming for the same goal. 

Thankfully non-alcoholic drinks provide that opportunity and it is why I jumped at the chance to build episode #003 around Mary Bernard! You can find her at @mysoberbff

Mary is (as you’ll gather from the accent) based in America and currently in Upstate New York and is someone who has through 2021 decided to leave alcohol behind.

Haven’t got the time to listen? Check out the show notes below for

1. Podcast #003 Recap
2. Drinks mentioned and referenced in the episode; and
3. The full episode transcript

Key Recap.

• Though 2021 Mary made the call to go against the flow and leave alcohol behind.
• Mary mentions she was reading Quit like a woman by Holly Whitaker.
• The community we touch on is built around Instagram (you can find Mary @mysoberbff).
• Getting time back, going from an 8/10 to a 10/10, losing the fogginess and having extra time to explore and build other passions (like yoga in Mary’s case) are the benefits she has experienced.
• Having access to non-alcoholic beer like Athletic Brewing Co and Ritual Spirits getting to a party has become easier to navigate and people are starting to become accustomed to the presence of NA beer and drinks.

Drinks Mentioned in Episode #003

Spirits

• Ritual Spirits
• If you’re in the US you can use Mary’s Ambassador code and enter YOURSOBERBFF for 10% off your order from Ritual.

Beer

• Athletic Brewing Co. (Australian Links & USA Link)
• Athletic Brewing Co. Use MARYB20 for 20% off your first order and order here
• Upside Dawn Golden Ale Review on Tipple Zero

For a range of other drinks head over to our brands’ page for a full rundown of brands that have been profiled

Episode #003 Transcript

Non-Alcoholic Drinks Podcast #003 Transcript

Welcome to the non alcoholic drinks podcast, helping you navigate the ever growing world of what non alcoholic drinks have to offer by bringing you the latest news, interviews and drink reviews. Now, here’s your host, Jonathan Lambrianidis.

Hello, and welcome or welcome back. Thank you so much for joining me for the non alcoholic drinks podcast brought to you by tipplezero.com, where we believe enjoying a drink is just really all about the taste and that company you’re with while being a little bit less about the alcohol. 

This is the podcast for anyone looking to take the guesswork out of what non alcoholic drinks to try next while staying up to date with brilliant new releases and hearing stories from people making waves in the community and the industry. I am your host, Jonathan Lambrianidis. And on today’s episode, we are going global, we will head to New York and chat with Mary Bernard and she is the ambassador for Athletic Brewing Co. 

And we’ll have a chat to Mary about her story and the journey that really led her to leave traditional alcohol behind and how she kind of made the switch and is embracing non alcoholic drinks for the benefit of health and wellness. 

It’s really a cool story to hear. And we’ll be diving into that today. So if any of that sounds like something that you are interested in, and you want to get a bit of a different perspective, then stick around and this episode is absolutely for you. 

And hey, if you haven’t followed the podcast yet, what better time to do so it would really mean a lot. If you could just take a second hit that follow button wherever you’re listening. And that way you’ll be kept up to date and the first to be in the know about the latest news, drink releases and interviews just like this one. 

With that out of the way. Let’s head over to today’s chat with Mary. 

Alrighty, let’s get on with today’s episode. 

Jonathan:

Today we’ll be talking with Mary Bernard and Mary is an ambassador that for athletic Brewing Co and someone who’s left alcohol behind completely. And she’s done that for the purposes of improving her health and wellness and along the way has managed to find a really great community associated with athletic and also found a love for yoga as well. Mary, welcome to the non alcoholic drinks podcast, it’s awesome to have you along today to kick things off, it would be great if you could run the listeners through a little bit about your background, and also given our accent don’t exactly match up and are a dead giveaway where from different parts of the world where you are currently dialing in from.

Mary: 

Yeah, thank you, Jonathan. I’m so excited to be here. So I’m Mary and I am from St. Louis, Missouri, just right in the middle of the US. But I recently moved to Albany, New York. So now I’m in upstate New York.

Jonathan:

Missouri to New York, what an interesting move. 

Mary:

It’s great. I love it. I’ve been here for a year now. And I’m so happy to be here.

Jonathan:

In terms of moving to New York, did you find it difficult compared to being in Missouri to find non alcoholic options? Or was New York maybe a little bit easier?

Mary:

You know, I think New York actually has a really good range of non alcoholic beverages. And in general, I think the scene is actually a little bit better here than it is in Missouri. So that helps me and I’m going to talk more about athletic brewing, but actually, their headquarters is not too far from where I live. So I’m planning a road trip out there to go and do a tasting sometime.

Jonathan:

That’s super interesting to hear that the biggest cities have a little bit more accessibility and you’re able to find what you’re looking for. 

Mary: 

Yeah, definitely. 

Jonathan:

So that kind of leads me to the next piece around how did you actually come into the non-alcoholic drink space?

Mary:  

Yeah, so I’ve been toying with the idea of being sober for a while for a couple of years. 

And for context, I’m 23. So I’m kind of young for being sober. But ever since even I was 21. I was like, you know, I don’t know if this is working for me. And 21 is the drinking age here in the US. 

So I had tried doing a dry January, but I was finding it difficult to stop drinking. And that kind of concerned me. You know, there came a point at the end of the month when I was like wow, I don’t know if I can make it the last five days I really want to drink with my friends. And that kind of set off some alarm bells in my head. 

But it wasn’t enough to actually quit drinking at that point. So I kept toying with the idea thinking about it for over a year. And then more recently, in June, I decided that I just wanted to cut it out completely. 

It kind of got to a point where I was feeling really fatigued, I was feeling foggy headed, and I started to attribute that to my drinking correctly. 

So when I decided that I was going to cut it out for June it was sort of like let’s do one month and see how it goes. And within a week or two. I knew that I wasn’t going to go back to drinking because I just felt amazing. All the fogginess was gone. All of the fatigue was gone and I just felt like I could do anything. That’s amazing.

Jonathan:

I think you touched on something really important around losing that fogginess, and having all that energy from that health and wellness perspective and just bouncing out of bed the next day.

Mary:

Absolutely, yeah. Because there were so many things that I wanted to get done in the day. And I felt like I couldn’t, I didn’t have time because I was sleeping in. And then I was, you know, having my first glass of wine at five or 6pm. And then it was like the night was over. So I was literally just sleeping and working. And I didn’t have time for the other things that made me excited, maybe you want to get out of bed.

Jonathan:

That’s a really interesting take on it. And I mean, so many people I’ve heard from, say that Sunday mornings were their key driver. So they kind of go out on a Saturday night and now have either no alcohol and just enjoy some of these non alcoholic drinks, or they’ll have a few alcoholic drinks and transition over to no alcohol. 

And they say that come Sunday morning, they’re up about and really enjoying their Sunday, their weekend and not losing the day. 

So I’m guessing for you What was your key driver there? 

What was kind of the one moment that you realized you wanted to swap across and kind of leave a traditional alcohol behind?

Mary:

Yeah, that’s a good question. I think I think it’s exactly that. I mean, I think it was the mornings. Because the same time at the beginning of June, I started taking yoga more seriously. And that’s something that I’m pretty passionate about now. 

But in June, it was just like a hobby that I usually didn’t have time for, you know. And so I stopped drinking, and I started waking up at 6am to do yoga. And I was like, I don’t you know, I’ve never been able to get up at six. 

I don’t know how I’m going to be able to do this now. But then when I didn’t drink, it was like the easiest thing. I was waking up at 530 before my alarm. And I was just flabbergasted. And that’s when I knew when I was able to I mean, I gained multiple, so many hours in the day, just because I stopped drinking. 

I just loved it. And so I knew I don’t want to go back to sleeping in until five minutes before I have to get up to log on to work. It wasn’t fun for me anymore.

Jonathan:

Yeah, I hadn’t thought of that. So you raise a really interesting point. It sounds like you committed to it made a choice. And then all of a sudden kind of you started seeing the gains compounding and the results coming through.

Mary

Yeah, definitely. I just I felt totally different. And it was energy. It was Yeah, lack of fatigue. And I’ve also dealt with some depression anxiety over the past year, as many people have during COVID.

And I’ve been taking antidepressants, and I’m pretty vocal about this. I’m not, you know, I think it’s important that people know that it’s normal. And something else that I noticed when I stopped drinking was I felt like my antidepressants were working. 

And I had felt a big shift. And I started taking them. 

But they started working even better. It was like I was at an eight and I thought that was normal. And then I was able to get to a 10. 

So it makes sense because alcohol is a depressant. But again, I was like, why would I take something that’s actively inhibiting my medication, and I’m reaching new parts of myself new levels of happiness and contentment that I didn’t think was possible.

Jonathan:

Yeah, I think that’s so awesome to hear that piece where you’ve gone from living at that kind of eight out of 10 Mark, and then you’ve made this decision to kind of invest in yourself and invest in your health. 

And then, as you’ve done that, the changes you’ve seen there have seen you go from kind of that eight out of 10. 

And you’ve been able to eke that extra 10 or 20% out and really continue to grow. I guess it comes back to that piece you mentioned a little bit earlier, where it was all about doing it for that health and the wellness benefit and just trying to kind of be better every day. It’s a really interesting take on it. And one that we’re starting to hear off more and more often as kind of the non alcoholic space keeps growing.

Mary: 

Yeah, yeah. And the other thing I’ll say that made a big difference was kind of stumbling upon the NA drinks that are available in the non alcoholic drinks scene because I do love the taste of beer. 

I like having a glass of wine at the end of the day. I like having a cocktail. And so it was hard for me to parse out, you know, do I like these because of the alcoholic, you know, and like addicting components of those drinks? Or is it true that I actually just like the taste of beer. 

And so once I found and a beer that I really like, like athletic like partake. I mean, there’s there’s so many and it’s astounding, then I realized I can kind of have it all I can feel really good. 

I can not drink alcohol, but I can still have something fun to drink at the end of the night without it taking away from any other parts of my day.

Jonathan:

Absolutely. And you say something that so many people have mentioned lately, and it’s they just stumbled across the non alcoholic drink scene. So how did you get involved? And how did you kind of find the same?

Mary:

Yeah, I really found it all on Instagram, I was reading “Quit like a woman by Holly Whitaker”. And she mentioned in that book, that there’s this Instagram community so I started looking just for my personal account, starting to follow different hashtags and different you know, people who are sober and they all were posting about these N/A beers and N/A wine and I had no idea that you know that there was anyone even like spirits, you can get non alcoholic spirits and I was like that is just mind blowing. 

So that’s how it all started. And once I actually decided to become sober I made a separate Instagram account @yoursoberBFF and that is where I really started to post about my journey because I wanted to have a dedicated space where I could talk about my own struggles with alcohol, just catering to that community, because I don’t know if my normal followers would be interested in that I invited them to follow. 

But it was important to me that I just had a place where I could talk about this openly. And people also reach out and talk to me about their own struggles and their own journeys. And it’s just become a place where I’ve made friends.

I’ve found community, you know, we’ve shared ideas, and it’s been really, really powerful and impactful for my own journey.

Jonathan:

Yeah, that’s super interesting. I mean, it really sounds like you did stumble across it for the first time on Instagram, it’s not very often that happens anymore. Given the 24 hour news cycle, it is one of those ones where the community is so important because I feel it can be quite isolating, and then it can impact you kind of wanting to go the whole way through it, because it’s such a big life change. So how did you find building that community? And is it still on Instagram? Or, or where is it?

Mary:

Yeah, it started on Instagram, and it still really is on Instagram. And it was isolating at first because I was like, Here I am at 23 not drinking all my friends think I’m crazy, you know, they’re like, we can finally actually legally buy alcohol, and you’re quitting, you know, it makes no sense. 

So I started to follow people who are just like me, you know, in their 20s. Young, like, they like to go out, they like to hang out with their friends. And they don’t drink. 

So I was like, Wow, so it’s not an oxymoron to be young, be in your 20s and be sober. So I started to reach out to these people. 

It was incredible that just when I made this Instagram account, people started to send me voice messages on Instagram, just saying, hey, Mary, you know, welcome to the community, happy to see you on your journey. And I was like, wow, there’s people out there. 

You know, aside from my friends who think I’m crazy, there’s people on Instagram who are more supportive. And that was it was really awesome. 

It made me realize that I don’t need to have everyone be my cheerleader. If I have a dedicated group of people who are excited for me are keeping me accountable, then that’s enough for me.

Jonathan:

Yeah. And I think that’s right. Like you said, it’s kind of around having those people around you who are going to be bringing you up and kind of building you up and helping you through this. And it’s one of those things like any big life decisions, whether you, you know, want to travel on your own or go on a vegan diet or something totally different to the way you’ve always been done, it is really important to have those people there who have always, you know, got your back or able to help you through it and really be supportive. So it’s really great to hear that.

Mary:

Yeah, yeah, totally. Because something else that was confusing for me was that I don’t battle addiction, I don’t suffer from that disease. it for me, it was I started to see addictive components in my own behaviour. But I didn’t go through withdrawal or anything like that when

I stopped drinking. And so I couldn’t figure out, you know, why do I want to stop drinking, if I’m not actually an alcoholic, you know, I thought that was like the natural stepping stone. 

And so once I started to find people who they weren’t alcoholics either, they just didn’t like how alcohol made them feel they didn’t like losing the mornings, I realized that, you know, you don’t have to everyone has their own rock bottom, you don’t have to reach that rock bottom to want to quit. And so it made me feel better. 

In my decision, people don’t have to assume that I had an addiction or anything like that, I can have my own journey. And that is totally normal and fine. 

Jonathan:

And I think that’s a really good point, right? Because it really does come back to the piece around being like, well, there’s also a space for people who haven’t had a problem with addiction to get involved and kind of find a place for non alcoholic drinks in their life as well. 

And like you said, it’s really your own journey and being able to then use non alcoholic drinks like athletic to inform what normal looks like for you. 

And you know, touching on like you said earlier about normal for you. It’s kind of a really like the way that you touched on the piece around yoga and wanting to go from that 8 out of 10 to a 10 out of 10. And really doing it in a way that was really letting you get out of your own way, right. 

And that in itself is really a reason for cutting back alcohol or cutting out alcohol in your case. 

And if you explain that, objectively, it’s not really something that anyone can argue with. 

But as we both know that there can be a little bit of kind of backlash from friends when you show up to a party when you’re drinking soda and lime or you’re just not drinking at all.

 And you know, thankfully now like we’ve been touching on no matter your reason for kind of wanting to skip alcohol for a night or kind of ditch it for the long term we’ve got these amazing drinks to help us along the way. 

Just like we said, Athletic is one of the ones that you’re associated with. 

So tell us a little bit around how you got involved with Athletic how you found them and the path that you took to kind of becoming a brand ambassador for them.

Mary:  

Yeah, so Athletic. I discovered them on Instagram also. And they were one of the first beers that I ordered online. And I was like, you know, who knows how this is going to be I had heard horror stories about how N/A beer used to taste. So I ordered it, I gave it a try. And I loved it. And I was just I mean again, just astounded and excited because I thought that this opened a whole world of possibilities for me that I could have my beer and be sober. 

So I started just engaging with them on Instagram sharing about how much I love their beer, all of that and I realized that they had this Ambassador program, I applied online and I spoke about how yoga and sobriety have gone hand in hand. For me, like I mentioned, I started doing a lot of yoga when I stopped drinking. And now it’s become a pretty important part of my life pretty quickly. 

So I talked about that, because something that I love about athletics, sort of like what we were just talking about is that they don’t necessarily catered towards people who don’t drink at all it they cater towards people who want to live without compromise. 

That’s their, that’s their mantra. So it’s for people who are athletes, or who are active or busy, and they want to be able to have a beer and then wake up in the morning and go for a 10 mile run or wake up and do a hard yoga session.

And that’s exactly where I found myself was that I wanted to be able to do both and not feel the negative effects of alcohol. So once I sort of learned more about athletic learned about that without compromise, saying and explained my own ways that I was living without compromise, I was selected to be an ambassador at the beginning of July. 

And now I’ve just been able to engage with that community to and learn about all the incredible people who are also ambassadors and just really experienced what it means to be part of that athletic community, which is so inspiring, really, because they’re incredible athletes that are part of that

Jonathan: 

That’s super, that’s so cool that you’ve kind of been able to find that community and those people that are kind of really like minded, and it sounds like they really kind of great to be around because they’re athletically inclined and it really kind of aligned to the way that you’re approaching your things by diving in headfirst with the whole yoga piece.

Mary:

Yeah, yeah, totally. I mean, it’s crazy. There are like people who just got and run 50 miles or a trail runners, they’re, you know, bikers, everything under the sun. And there are even a couple other Yogi’s with me, it’s really cool just to see how important that is to the company, how much they champion.

I mean, they’ll pay for people to go out and run races, they’ll pay the race fees, they’ll send you an athletic swimming cap, if you’re going to go swimming race, though, it’s really cool. I’ve never considered myself an athlete, but I feel sort of like I’m becoming one just because this company is telling me that anyone can be an athlete really, you know, you just have to enjoy being active.

And it’s been I mean, it’s been another part of me realizing new aspects of my personality since I’ve become sober.

Jonathan:

Yeah, that’s so cool, right? Because it means you’ve got those people around you who are kind of the same way inclined, and you’re sharing the same piece around the same journey in some way, shape, or form. 

And it would be great to have kind of people like you said, the Yogi’s around you, you’ve also got the ability to kind of share this other element with two, which would be really cool. 

So have you been able to connect with them and kind of, you know, get to know them a little bit better?

Mary

Yeah, again, on Instagram, that I’ve just been able to connect with a lot of people their messaging, some of the other Yogi’s some of the ambassadors, and at this point, I’ve actually, I’ve made some people who I consider my friends, you know, all virtually and so last week, I did a virtual happy hour, and a few people came on zoom at five. 

And it was really, really cool just to hang out with these people who I’ve been following who’ve been inspiring me on Instagram, and just to, you know, realize that this is my support community. 

Like I was saying before, like, I don’t need to have everyone in my life championing me, I can have these individual people who are checking in on me and who are excited for me, and that’s been working for my journey.

Jonathan:

That’s a really cool take on it. And really being able to kind of show that there is kind of that piece around common ground that we all share. 

You know, you when you’re a kid, you kind of make friends based off your common interest. And then you go from there and it kind of never leaves us right. It’s something we kind of keep going with as we get older. 

Yeah, totally. And you know, yours in this case, is the the approach to drinking or should I say not drinking and enjoying the pieces around athletic too. So on the pieces of athletic, what would be your favorite drinks, I want to jump into kind of what you like from the range and what the range is because like I said, we’ve got a pretty limited range down here in Australia. And yeah, I’m pretty jealous of you guys having quite a lot of them over there.

Mary:

Yeah, yeah, athletic has tons available. And my favourite is there to trellises IPA. It’s a it’s actually a limited edition pilot program, but they have but they’re run wild IPA is another one of my favorites. I’m a big IPA girl. I mean, I’m not a beer connoisseur. But if you put that in front of me and another alcoholic IPA, I wouldn’t be able to tell the difference. I mean, it is just incredible. 

It’s delicious. And I even like well crap on open at lunch, because that’s what I love about non alcoholic beer is like I don’t I don’t have to hold back. I can have it any in any time of the day. 

They have an incredible range. And the upside dawn, which you mentioned, the golden ale is another just really easy one to drink. Really, really refreshing.

Jonathan:

Yeah, the upside Dawn is the one that I can talk to at the moment because it’s the one that I’ve been able to get my hands on because there is so difficult to get them over here in Australia. But the IPAs are something which is beautiful, right, because they’re so well constructed. And so well put together that you don’t actually feel like you’re missing out at all. It’s really quite remarkable. 

That is really amazing to see that, you know, I finally can really take in that opportunity that is there. And one of the pieces I really love about the products are the fact that the cans look like they belong, right you look normal and you’re not feeling like you’re missing. at all, because literally every single aspect that drinking your hand is identical, but for the alcohol in it to that of somebody else. 

So as people start to become a little bit more aware of it all, and really start to kind of enjoy the non alcoholic drinks, have you found that any of your friends who drink traditional drinks have kind of started to try and steal some of yours and try to get some of their own?

Mary:

Yeah, yeah, I have actually, I have shared the beer with my friends with my family, my grandparents are ordering some and you know, they’re, they’re big drinkers. And so it was cool. I brought them over to their house. 

And instead of, you know, having a glass of wine like we normally would, we all had an athletic beer. And they ended up wanting to order more. 

So there converts to but I was also talking to you about how I went to this party on Saturday night, it was my first party sober. And that’s what I did, I brought some na beer with me, and it fit right in. 

And like you mentioned, you know, with when I’m holding a can in my hand, nobody knows that it’s not alcoholic. And it was easier than I expected to go through my first party sober because I had something in my hand to sip on. 

I didn’t feel like I was missing out. I you know, I was also drinking beer. And nobody questioned me, you know, nobody even cared or wondered.

Jonathan:

So it sounds like a lot of the angst came from that position of kind of you’re going to the party and you know, making the decision not to drink and then getting the questions around it and kind of having to kind of fend off questions. 

And once you’ve got that glass or that bottle, or that can of athletic or whatever you’re drinking in your hand, and you look like you fit in, I guess that kind of starts to alleviate that and kind of pulls it all the way and you’re kind of fitting in and nobody notices any differently.

Mary:

Yeah, yeah, it’s funny, I think a lot of the anxiety that I had was really of my own creation. But I was worried about people questioning what I was doing, I was worried that when I was in that atmosphere, I might just want to partake, but because I felt like I had so many options, I had my N/A beer, we ended up going to a bar and the bartender just made me these like most amazing mocktails of all time. 

And so the whole time it was like I’m enjoying what I’m doing. There’s nothing that I would rather be doing. And as I saw everyone around me start to get any reiated. I also felt like I’m so glad that I’m not doing that. 

And I ended up I woke up on Sunday morning, just feeling amazing, well-rested, ready to conquer the day. And it made me even more grateful for my decision.

Jonathan:

Yeah, I love that. And that’s a really good way of putting it because it allows you to kind of get involved and partake, right? You’re just partaking, getting involved your way. 

And you’re the one that kind of chooses how the night pans out. And whether that’s I’m choosing not to drink because that’s what I do. Or it’s maybe I’m going to have a couple and then I’m going to dial back after that. Because I’ve got stuff to do in the morning or but to drive home, it’s just a really good way that the new products allow you to kind of have that choice.

Mary: 

Yeah, exactly. And the sober, curious movement is definitely growing. And so I hope that at bars, they start to offer more options, even just writing on their cocktail menu, like we can make all of these without alcohol, something as simple as that will invite people to order them without alcohol, for whatever reason, you know, even like you said, just to switch from an alcoholic drink to a non alcoholic, those small things can can make a big difference if that’s something that’s important to you. 

Jonathan:

And have you found that the non alcoholic spirits and the other kind of spices that helped create those cocktails are growing in the States, or is it still kind of in its infancy, 

Mary:

I would say at least at restaurants, it’s still pretty new. I haven’t actually seen any at restaurants. I know of one distilling company that I’m also making a road trip out to and they actually serve ritual spirits there. That’s one, that’s my favorite brand ritual. But they do have them online. And it’s pretty easy to get online. So all of the spirits that I have, I’ve been able to get online and make my own cocktails at home.

Jonathan:

I haven’t heard of ritual. So I’ll look it up. And for anyone interested, I’ll throw it in the show notes over at triple zero.com forward slash session 03. But ritual sounds really cool. That sounds like they’re doing what so many spirit brands are doing and really providing you with that ability to set up a time hang out with your friends and enjoy a drink like you would if you were able to go out. And it really sounds like brands like ritual and athletic are really helping you enjoy the new journey you’ve chosen to take. And you’re kind of enjoying it and getting along quite well. It sounds really quite exciting. You must be really stoked with it.

Mary:

Yeah, it’s really just been eye opening. And I have loved every second of it. So I know that this isn’t for everybody. You know, not everyone is on a journey that you know, they want to be sober. But it’s made me realize that even if you don’t want to get totally sober like me, there are options out there just to swap in a drink just to take a day off or a week off, then that can make a huge impact on your health. And even if it doesn’t, you’re also just consuming fewer calories, which is another bonus.

Jonathan:

Yeah. And I think you really hit the nail on the head there, right? Because it’s kind of that piece of there’s no right way. There’s no wrong way. There’s no correct path. There’s really just a journey you’re looking to take and really making it work for you. And I think like you said it’s just that piece around having your ability to back yourself in and then kind of have the confidence to go forward with it and do it your way and kind of blaze your own path. That’s really kind of everything that I’m looking to talk about here at triple zero that There is a different option to the way it’s always been done. And you can kind of choose your own way.

Mary: 

Yeah, exactly. And I think it’s at least it’s worth a try, you know, if anyone is considering it, just give it a try and see what happens because it might be right for you. And you might love it, you know, or you might just realize that there’s another beer company that you love, and then you add them to your roster. So there really is no downside.

Jonathan:

Yes, that’s a really good way of putting it, it’s kind of like, you’ve got nothing to lose, like, take the advantages out of it, kind of look for the positivity in and give it a go. And if it’s for you, great. 

And if it’s not, well, also great, at least you’ve given it a go and you’ve tried it. So I think that’s a really, really good note to end on. And Mary, I just want to say a big thank you for coming on and making the time zones work with me. 

I know it’s about 730 or eight o’clock in the morning over there. And it’s kind of 10pm at night over here. So it’s been really great to chat with you. And I really enjoyed having a chat. So why don’t you let everybody know where we can find you and where we can kind of track you down online and on your socials. 

Mary:

Yeah, thank you, Jonathan, it’s been awesome to talk with you today. I’m so passionate about this, obviously. So I’m happy that I can share it the good word, but you can find me on Instagram at @YourSoberBFF (your spelled out) and I love to engage with people on there. So send me a message if you’ve heard this podcast, and I would love to talk more.

Jonathan:

Thanks so much for coming on, it’s been really great to hear your approach to it and kind of hear the other end of the spectrum because as someone who does kind of like to mix traditional drinks with non alcoholic drinks and kind of make them both work for me, it’s really great to hear how non alcoholic drinks generally have kind of helped someone like you mentioned earlier going out to a party than getting out to a bar.

And then being able to kind of live in a kind of normal ecosystem and no longer feel like you’re the odd one out and holding that lonely glass of soda water and live. Mary, it’s been great to chat with you today. And it’s been really enjoyable learning about your story. And I’ll put everything from today’s episode in the show notes. And I’ll chat to you soon. Thank you so much. 

Well, I hope you found a lot of value in today’s episode and chat with Mary. I know at least for me, it was super interesting to hear a little bit about someone who’s decided to put their health and wellness first and has kind of done so with the reduction or the total removal of alcohol from their lifestyle. 

And it was kind of great to see the way that athletic brewing are really helping foster a bit of a community ended approach to doing that. So if you’re looking for a little bit more information on athletic or you’re trying to track down Mary’s details, they are all in the show notes over at triplezero.com/session03.

By the way, if you haven’t done so already, I would love it if you could head over to your favourite podcasting app and follow the podcast. That way you’ll stay up to date and we can stay connected that way. 

Right. Well that brings us to the end of another episode of the non alcoholic drinks Podcast. I am your host, Jonathan Lambrianidis and I will be back with you for the next episode. And in the meantime, I hope you have a great rest of your day and that you discover some amazing non alcoholic drinks along the way. Cheers

Want to get involved and feature in the show?

If you’re keen to chat non-alcoholic drinks, share your story or talk about the zero alcohols scene, drop me an email – podcast@tipplezero.com!