In this vlog, Austin Martinson reflects on reaching five years of sobriety, tracing the path that began with a spontaneous decision to join the 75‑Hard challenge during a Fort Lauderdale mastermind in August 2026. He outlines the strict regimen of the challenge—no alcohol or cannabis, two daily workouts, a strict diet, daily water intake, and nonfiction reading—and how he initially intended to quit drinking only for the 75‑day period. After completing the challenge in early November, he briefly resumed drinking in Mexico but soon recognized the habit‑forming power of the program. Over the following months he limited alcohol to occasional “special occasions,” eventually finding himself consistently choosing not to drink at weddings, bachelor parties, and other social events. Austin discusses how peer accountability, a competitive group chat, and a shift in personal identity—from a regular drinker to a non‑drinker—reinforced his sobriety. He emphasizes that sobriety is a highly individual journey, varying from mandated abstinence to gradual lifestyle changes, and invites viewers to ask questions about their own paths. The video concludes with an open offer to discuss sobriety further and a hopeful sign‑off.
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Oh yeah, cool, we live. Let's do this. So we gonna talk about big event in my life, uh, and I guess let's talk about how it works. So just hit 5 years sober, right? How real is that? How is that? I guess one thing about this video is I want to point out that sobriety is super different from everyone. It's a journey. It's everyone goes about it differently. It depends on if you're doing alcohol, meth, heroin, whatever it is. Your journey is so different. So. When I hit 5 years sober, everybody asks me, how did you do it? What happened? Were you an alcoholic? Was it mandated? All those questions. But the number one thing is that, um, yeah, that it's a journey. It's different. There might be setbacks, and it's up to you to define how it is. So let's go over how it worked. I, it was like August 27th. So I remember this date. We went to a big mastermind in Fort Lauderdale. There was a group of us that were drunk, partying, doing networking things, meeting people. And there was another group of friends that didn't come, or maybe had a couple come, but they weren't drinking. They were doing a challenge called 75 Hard. So it's all 75 Hard. Andy Frisella's fault. His fault for everything. So they're doing 75 Hard and they're sitting there not drinking, doing their work, 2 workouts a day, pictures, diets, all this stuff. And we're making fun of them in the group chat and we're getting drunk partying in Fort Lauderdale. And somehow drunkenly gets to the point where we all challenge ourselves. So by the next morning we're like, okay, we're leaving Fort Lauderdale, let's start, uh, let's start 75 Hard like the next day. And I'm like, oh hell no, what? No drinking, no nothing, no cannabis, no— you have to do 2 workouts, diet, all this stuff that you have to do. Gallon of water a day, read nonfiction, all the stuff you have to do every day, and no breaks. So literally 75 days straight. Every nutritionist and like physical therapist and like personal trainers, like, you got to take breaks, give your body rest, this and that. And apparently in the entrepreneur world, we say fuck that. So I knew that I was throwing, um, uh, an annual event that I do, the Beer Olympics. So Denver's Beer Olympics, and that was ending, I think, August 27th. So I knew I would drink for that event. So I like kind of started half 75 Hard, but really it was August 27th when I did the beer— the day after the Beer Olympics that I joined them, like 10 days later, 20 days later, something like that. So they're already on like day 15, day 20, and I decided to start then. So that's when I started 75 Hard. Hard. It ended like November 5th, somewhere around there. So 72.5 Hard, when I did it, was not that hard for me outside of the alcohol. So every— this is during football season, you gotta have a beer with the Broncos. This is, you know, as fall is coming, you know, Denver, there's a lot of camping, a lot of camping and fishing and hiking. All of those have beers. Um, And so all my friends, you know, always buy a round. Oh shoot, you're doing that challenge, can't do it. So they would take the beer away or whatever, or shots or whatever they're buying. But it all ends up kind of for naught. So, so when I say that I'm 5 years sober starting today, this is like August 27th is like the day that I decided to stop drinking. And at that time, at that time, I thought it was just for 75 days and I planned on drinking when I ended it. which I did. I was in Mexico for my— one of my best friend's birthdays, and when midnight hit and I finished 75 Hard, drinks all around, let's go. Then, um, the next day I drank significantly less, and the day after that I was like, I think I'm gonna go back to being sober for a little bit. Um, so for the month of like November, like 2 or 3 weeks, I think I drank a little bit here and there, maybe like on Fridays. But in my head, in my body, I was sitting there You know, after 2 and a half months— and I see why Andy makes it that long— you develop habits. And so people were not buying me drinks, you know, they'd buy the round and they'd skip me. And then they'd be like, oh, you're not doing the challenge anymore, I can buy you a drink. And I'd be like, no, it's okay, just don't do it. And so I never ever planned on quitting alcohol. I still have never said I'm not drinking ever again. At this point, I have like five years when I decided to stop drinking. I had like two weeks in November where I went back to drinking, and then I've been. Then I kind of when I decided to finally quit, I never ever said I'm never drinking again. I just said, okay, I'm done. You know, for now. And so where I'm currently at, the last thing until this video where I'm actually thinking about it, the last thing I said is I'll only drink on special occasions, but it didn't really happen that way. So one of my best friends got married and I remember showing up and there's a table of like 30 people and they're like pouring wine and I had a glass of wine in front of me. I was like, yeah, yeah, yeah, bring it down. Yeah, it's a special occasion, I'll drink. And I'm talking to people, hanging out, chatting, talking, and like at the end we're like, okay, all right everyone, we're moving to the club or wherever. and my glass of wine is still there. I'm like, oh, I was planning on drinking that. No point in this time, so I didn't drink it. And then we went to the club, and, you know, just my natural— after that, that point, I'd been 3 and a half months or so. Oh no, wait, this was like the next year, so this is like 6 months of not drinking. And so then I ended up finishing that whole wedding in Mexico like 4 or 5 days without drinking. I even extended that trip and met with another friend and went off to an Airbnb. We rented like a big mansion up in Holbox and had a huge time there, no drinking. And I never really said like, oh, I don't drink. All right, I would just say I'm not drinking. I don't know, it's, it's a weird— I don't fit in anywhere ever with anything. But I think, I guess that's kind of what I'm trying to prove, is that going sober and not drinking is different for everyone. Some people go to the rock bottom and they may— it's mandated. Some people almost kill themselves and they have to stop. Some people just drink with their friends Every weekend like I did, and then a challenge makes them wake up to how easy it is to live without it. I still— I mean, if you ask any of my friends, I still go out, I still stay up late, I still party. I just do it sober. Um, so even to this day, I have— I haven't really ever said I'm never drinking again. Do I want to drink right now? Absolutely not. Do I have any desire? No. Um, one of my best friends got married and in Ibiza was his bachelor party, and I think I did take a shot then. That's probably the last actual drink on purpose. And sometimes there's accidental sips where a bartender— sometimes you'll say like a strawberry lemonade at Box Bar and they'll automatically— or a watermelon lemonade and they'll put vodka in it just by default. So there's been a couple accidental sips, but I, I'm lost now. ADD's taken over. Let's get back to the core of this video. If you're trying to go sober, your story will not be the same as anyone else's. Um, and it's also— I guess it's not— doesn't have to be permanent, although it probably should be. Um, honestly, at this point, the thought of drinking is weird to me. Like, imagine the first— like, when you're like 17 or 16 or 17, you've never drank, and like, yeah, maybe you see college videos and this and that, but like the whole notion of getting drunk and losing your mind, your inhibitions, your focus, your clarity. And I remember when I was in high school, I didn't drink for a while either, and everyone else was drinking. I would be the sober one at parties, and they'd always be like, why don't you drink? Why don't you smoke weed? Why don't you this or that? And it was always like, I didn't like to lose like the clarity of my mind and my eyes. I like to like always know what was happening. And so I've always dabbled with it, I guess. And so it was just nice to have 75 Hard and a group of awesome people. Huge shout out to that whole crew. Um, yeah, I definitely wouldn't have done 75 Hard if I didn't have 20 people talking shit to me every day. Shit, like every 10 minutes. You didn't take a picture? Go do it, loser. I already did both my workouts. You guys all suck. Uh, the competitiveness was huge, but the big thing is identity. Oh man, I was going to talk about this a lot too. I might have to do another video. All right, let's just focus and wrap this up so you don't all waste your lives. Number one question when I say that I'm five years sober, or at least five years from the date I decided to stop drinking and start 75 Hard. How it happened? I was drunk, talking shit. A group of people convinced me to join a competitive challenge. I would not have done 75 Hard by myself. I do not believe that. It was only because it was 20 of us, you know, and I think we only had like eight finishers. I think a lot of people dropped out. Um, which just motivated me more, like, oh, they're dropping out, cool, I'm gonna keep going, I can win this, I can do this. So say there was 8 out of 20 that did it. And then after that, landed in Mexico, drank, um, and then that was kind of the wake-up, like, hmm, I don't really like that. And then, you know, during that, like, that was November 5th. Yeah. And then during that, November 20th, I was dating who turned out to be a raging alcoholic. A girl, um, kind of odd that I met her sober and she was always drunk. And I just kind of— I mean, I was— it was my first time being sober. Um, and so then drank for a couple of weeks and then like never made the actual decision that I'm never drinking again. I always was like, on special occasions. And I decided birthdays weren't it because I had enough friends that I had a birthday like every weekend. So then it got to the point where I would go to weddings and bachelor parties of close friends and wouldn't drink. So at that point, my identity has now shifted. I am a non-drinker. I'm a sober person. And yeah, there's no desire to go back. Like, the thought of drinking right now sounds really boring to me and unentertaining. What a long story short. If you have any more questions about going sober, I'm always open. Let me know. Otherwise, I'm gonna wrap up this chaotic mind splat. Hope today is the best day of your life.
