227 - DAVID RIGGINS

Chuck LaFLange (00:02.251)
Watchers, listeners, supporters of all kinds, welcome to another episode of the Ashes to Awesome podcast. I'm your host, Chuck LaFlange checking in from Krabi, Thailand, halfway around the world, somewhere in Tennessee, is a fellow content creator, David Riggins. How you doing today, David?

David Riggins (00:16.636)
Actually no, I'm in North Carolina.

Chuck LaFLange (00:18.355)
Oh, North Carolina. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. Yes. So somewhere in North Carolina is a fellow content creator, David Raves. There we go. I did my do over. Yeah. So how you doing today, David?

David Riggins (00:21.461)
Yeah, I'm...

David Riggins (00:29.051)
Alright guys. I'm doing pretty good. Just enjoying this warm weather.

Chuck LaFLange (00:32.991)
Yeah, yeah, yeah. I can appreciate that. Well, you know what? I didn't even realize it till like a couple of weeks ago. Summer's just starting here in Thailand. Things are about like, and I like, it was like, what? It hasn't been hot yet. And they're like, oh no, it hasn't been hot yet. So 95 is going to be the new norm here. Like, well, it's already, we're pretty much there now. 95 in American, 35 in the rest of the world. It's a.

David Riggins (00:35.574)
Yours is probably warmer.

Chuck LaFLange (00:59.787)
It's hot, man. It's really, really hot. Even at night now, even at night, it's like 85, 90 degrees. It just doesn't give, right? So, yeah. You know what? You would think so. I'm a 20-minute scooter drive from the beach, 30 minutes maybe, but it's not that humid, and I don't know why that is. You would think it would be, right? But it is... When you walk out, it's that dry heat that just hurts your skin. It's so hot.

David Riggins (01:02.416)
Yeah.

David Riggins (01:08.47)
The humidity is higher there too also.

Chuck LaFLange (01:28.299)
Right, I guess it's, I do not enjoy it. But that's why at 9.30 at night, it's great for me to jump on with you because now it's a cooler part of the day. So typically I try and work throughout the night to try and avoid some of that daytime heat, right? But yeah, but yeah, AC is only in my bedroom. So, hey man, listen, we were talking beforehand and we don't like to do a ton of the whole, you know, war stories and that from our using days.

David Riggins (01:42.067)
Understood that.

Chuck LaFLange (01:54.051)
but we got to establish what's going on with you. And I mean, I know a couple of things about you, but I certainly don't know your story. If you kind of want to, I'll start out with one line of questioning I'd like to do just because I find it very interesting, David, is, do you remember the first time you got messed up?

David Riggins (02:08.63)
First time I used, I was nine years old. I started with the green. Yeah, yeah, yeah.

Chuck LaFLange (02:10.379)
Yeah.

Chuck LaFLange (02:13.764)
Tovr.

Okay, okay. And well, so how did that come to be? Let's ask that first. And then I've got a specific line of questioning, so bear with me, but how did that come to be?

David Riggins (02:28.01)
Yeah. Um, just a kid that was running around with older individuals. My nickname was actually Shorty when I was a kid. And the reason was cause I was, I, when I was 11 years old, I was hanging out with my 18 year old cousin and his friends. So he was like, yo, this little Shorty want to be a thug. The old Tupac song in 1995, about 12 years old, the Tupac song, Shorty want to be a thug come out. So they was like, yo, this little Shorty want to be a thug. Yeah. Here running with us. So.

Chuck LaFLange (02:36.641)
Okay.

Chuck LaFLange (02:45.671)
Yeah, yeah, yeah.

David Riggins (02:55.478)
Hahaha

Chuck LaFLange (02:57.346)
Alright, alright. Do you remember how it made you feel specifically in that time?

David Riggins (03:03.786)
empowered because I thought I was like the cool kids. That was the mentality at that time. I wanted to fit in.

Chuck LaFLange (03:05.407)
empowered.

Chuck LaFLange (03:12.879)
Okay, okay, okay. So with benefit of hindsight, do you realize? Do you think you knew what it was? Do you think at the time, you're nine years old, you don't have enough self awareness for anything just cool and empowered, I guess, right? Or correct me if I'm wrong. I don't want to put words in your mouth. But yeah, fair enough. Okay, so how do we go from smoking a joint at nine years old to being on a recovery podcast?

David Riggins (03:30.807)
Exactly, exactly.

David Riggins (03:41.214)
Um, the military, um, at, at nine 11 happened. I was a senior in high school. So nine 12, I skipped school and signed up for the army.

Chuck LaFLange (03:43.902)
Oh, okay.

Chuck LaFLange (03:48.856)
Okay.

Chuck LaFLange (03:52.663)
Wow.

David Riggins (03:54.186)
So in May of 2002, because obviously I had to graduate high school before I could actually leave for basic training. So May of 2002, I leave for basic training. I go through basic. I go to AIT, which is the schooling. I complete that. I go to airborne training and the safety harness fails. I fall from 15 foot, fall onto a cement pad, land standing upright, snap my ACL, my MCL in both knees.

I spent 14 months in a physical therapy ward before I was finally medically discharged with a humongous narcotic prescription. Boom, kid that never even took a pain pill in his life all of a sudden has got more narcotics than somebody that weighs four times as much as we should have.

Chuck LaFLange (04:23.051)
Mm.

Chuck LaFLange (04:32.531)
No kidding, eh?

Chuck LaFLange (04:42.155)
And that would have been right at the height of the opiate, like the whole prescribed opiate epidemic, I guess, right? Right when it was ramping up, I suppose, eh? No kidding, no kidding.

David Riggins (04:49.218)
Oh yes. Well for the next seven years, boy, they gave me for seven years I went to a pain clinic and was given massive amounts and all of a sudden the government said we're giving out too many. Guess what? You've got to, yep, then what happens? You have to sit there and continue, you're so physically dependent by that point. Not even mentioning the pain, the physical dependence, the addiction at that point, it overtook him to a point it was extreme.

Chuck LaFLange (05:02.397)
Ah, such a familiar story that part is, right?

Chuck LaFLange (05:11.136)
Yeah.

David Riggins (05:17.154)
So boom, you go to the street and start buying. Oh, absolutely. Oh, I had been abusing them for almost three years before this happened. I was breaking them down and injecting them three years before I got cut back at the pain clinic.

Chuck LaFLange (05:17.303)
So did you realize that at the time? Did you know that you had a problem by that point? Yeah.

Chuck LaFLange (05:26.934)
Okay.

Chuck LaFLange (05:34.1)
Wow, wow, right?

David Riggins (05:35.382)
Yeah. So by then you already know it was a, you know, hey, my buddy knows where to get them on the street. Start buying them. They're too expensive. Heroin's cheaper.

Chuck LaFLange (05:42.924)
Yeah.

Chuck LaFLange (05:47.343)
Jesus, man. Jesus. Now, nine years old, you smoke that joint, you ever think it's gonna lead to heroin use, right? You know, right? Like that's...

David Riggins (06:03.611)
I never fathomed that.

Chuck LaFLange (06:05.754)
Right?

Chuck LaFLange (06:22.535)
No kidding, man. No kidding. Similar to yourself, I never, never in a million years would have thought that I'd get to a place where I was slamming anything. For me, it was meth, it wasn't opiates, but I look back on that now and go, it was such this weird progression though, like that, that... there's something I've never thought to ask. That first time you put a needle in there, does it occur to you how fucking messed up that is, or is it a natural process that gets you there?

David Riggins (06:48.29)
the that's the funny thing right there. For four years, the first four years I did it nobody knew I did. I was embarrassed to let anybody know. My friends that I didn't want to go buy from I would go and buy pills and like sniff one over with them. That way they thought that's what I was doing and then I'd really leave to go shoot them. I remember sit I remember going to tractor supply buying the ones to vaccinate dogs.

Chuck LaFLange (07:04.916)
Yeah.

Chuck LaFLange (07:08.773)
Okay.

David Riggins (07:16.406)
The 22 gauge huge needle and sitting in Taco Bell parking lot sticking myself trying to teach myself how to do it That my first time that's how it was I'm by myself in Taco Bell parking lot using a damn dog needle trying to figure out how to do it

Chuck LaFLange (07:18.273)
Yeah.

Chuck LaFLange (07:24.397)
Wow, man.

Chuck LaFLange (07:33.427)
Wow, wow. And it doesn't, and I don't know if it's the same for you, same for me. At the time it was just like, oh, might as well try this. I hadn't even, like it didn't even.

I can't say it didn't cross my mind, but it's just that attic brain, right? Or is this like, I guess this is the next thing to do, I suppose. Right. You know, like it seemed, it seemed like such a casual thing. And wow, is that not a casual thing? Right. The whole world that you're introducing yourself to when you, when you start going down that, right. Right. Of course I have a tremor. I have a tremor, right? So.

David Riggins (07:51.463)
Exactly, exactly.

David Riggins (08:02.974)
It's unfathomable how...

Chuck LaFLange (08:07.391)
Me, I was, it was like tattooing myself half the time. It was horrible, man. It was horrible. Yeah. If I had some.

David Riggins (08:10.702)
Hahaha

David Riggins (08:14.946)
Unfortunately, I had really, really good veins, but unfortunately it was way too easy for me.

Chuck LaFLange (08:21.735)
Yeah, yeah, right, okay. Geez, right. So, you know, you are, you're, I don't know, how old, how old would you be at that point? 23, okay, okay. So what happens over the next few years to get you to a, get you to where you are now?

David Riggins (08:23.303)
Way too easy.

David Riggins (08:32.834)
When I started 23.

David Riggins (08:40.074)
Um, well then, uh, it, the progression, as you could well assume, it, it overtakes you to a point that at a speed that you don't even realize what's going on before you realize that, you know, you, you've went from somebody with a good job, you know, a wife, twin sons that were born. I've got 14 year old twin boys, boys were born July 4th, 2009. I mean, uh, to go from that to being homeless and, and having to overtake you to that point.

On December 20th, 2022, I got so intoxicated on Lysette Fentanyl, I laid there while a space heater fell on my leg and burned it. I had 85% of my left leg was 30 degree burns. When I came to, I was in the UNC, the burn unit ICU at UNC in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. I spent 56 days in there. Six surgeries.

Chuck LaFLange (09:30.415)
Wow.

Chuck LaFLange (09:34.696)
Wow, man.

David Riggins (09:37.67)
I left out of there below the knee amputee on February the 8th, 2023, so 13 months ago. And as you see, I'm not below the knee amputee anymore. I'm above the knee amputee now.

Chuck LaFLange (09:42.797)
Wow.

Chuck LaFLange (09:48.564)
Yeah, yeah.

Chuck LaFLange (09:56.539)
Yeah, I was I was gonna say, did I see those pictures wrong? So what happened after that then, bro?

David Riggins (10:03.298)
Yeah, yeah, that was the first set of surgeries. I had seven major surgeries last year. Oh, yeah. So I got out of the hospital in February the 8th, around May, in the lower portion of your leg, you have two bones, the fibula and the tibula. Okay, the fibula bone, which is the smaller of the two in the lower section of your leg, became exposed, it started sticking out at the end of my stump.

Chuck LaFLange (10:06.558)
Okay.

Chuck LaFLange (10:10.715)
Wow.

Chuck LaFLange (10:21.835)
The tubular. Yeah, yeah, yeah.

David Riggins (10:32.674)
What had happened was when they cut my leg off, they cut that bone jagged and it started cutting me from the inside out. It stuck out that far. I went through four rounds of bones infections.

Chuck LaFLange (10:40.392)
UGH

Chuck LaFLange (10:44.235)
So I have to ask, I have to interrupt David, what's going on with your addiction at this point?

David Riggins (10:54.167)
Okay, obviously December 20th when I got burned, obviously I'm in full burn addiction at this point. I go to the hospital, they put me on massive, massive narcotics. I'm on a ketamine drip. I was on everything under the sun. And so when I got out February the 8th, I was like, I cannot do this. I knew that I had to change. February the 9th, I went to the methadone clinic.

Chuck LaFLange (10:59.895)
Yeah.

Chuck LaFLange (11:05.794)
Yeah.

Chuck LaFLange (11:10.158)
Yeah

Chuck LaFLange (11:21.551)
Okay.

David Riggins (11:21.954)
I'm a full advocate for MAT, however works for everybody. For me, it's not a long-term option. I only went there for 45 days. I went there and the day I went there, I told them, I said, my intentions is to wean myself off because I was obviously on a massive amount in the hospital. So when I got out, even though I didn't wanna use anymore, the physical dependency is still there. Yes, I had to take care of the physical dependency.

Chuck LaFLange (11:29.005)
Yeah.

Chuck LaFLange (11:32.256)
Not good for you.

David Riggins (11:50.21)
So I went to the methadone clinic and told them day one, I want to detox. We did a 45, I did a 45 day run there and titrated down from day one. And I have not touched the opiate since.

Chuck LaFLange (11:50.347)
Of course it is.

Chuck LaFLange (11:55.373)
Yeah.

Chuck LaFLange (12:00.915)
Okay. And they were supportive of that?

David Riggins (12:06.251)
I didn't give him a choice.

Chuck LaFLange (12:07.859)
Okay, okay. Well, I just I've heard horror stories about, you know, yeah.

David Riggins (12:12.905)
They were not 100% behind it, but with the way I came at them, they said, you know what? It looks like your mentality is going to do it either way. We'll help you. And so they were with me at that point.

Chuck LaFLange (12:18.723)
Yeah.

Chuck LaFLange (12:24.323)
Cool, cool, okay, okay. Okay, so I'm sorry to interrupt. Now you're going back in, you're going back in for another set of surgeries because the bone is starting to cut through the stump. What, at that point specifically, where are you at with your addiction? Like what's going on that way?

David Riggins (12:44.479)
that's actually, to be honest in my opinion, one of the most powerful video series that I have on my platform. On October the 10th, 2023, you know, what, five months ago, I went into the VA hospital in Durham, North Carolina to have an above the knee amputation done because they told me where that bone was sticking out, I went through four rounds of bone infections.

Chuck LaFLange (12:52.835)
Okay.

Chuck LaFLange (12:58.06)
Yeah.

David Riggins (13:10.306)
They said, if we don't cut more off of you, you're gonna die. I said, well, I told them, I said, well, we got an issue. I'm not letting you cut more off of me and give me pain medication. How is that possible? You can't get your leg cut off without pain medication. I said, yes, I can. I had to sign a waiver with the anesthesiologist to agree for them not to use narcotics in the anesthesia even when they put me under.

Chuck LaFLange (13:13.935)
Jeez, man.

Chuck LaFLange (13:29.696)
Wow.

Chuck LaFLange (13:38.238)
Oh.

David Riggins (13:39.802)
When I came out of surgery at 830 p.m. on October the 10th, my blood pressure was 240 over 180. I was beginning going to shock. My whole body was just like that. And they told, yeah, they said, we have to give you something or you're gonna die. I said, if they wanted to give me a four milligram shot of Dilaudid, I tried to fight them.

Chuck LaFLange (13:47.895)
Wow.

Chuck LaFLange (13:52.881)
Just from the pain, right?

David Riggins (14:06.078)
They said if we don't give it to you you're gonna die. I said if you do give it to me I'm still gonna die because I knew that if you give me a four milliliter if I feel the euphoria Then it's gonna reactivate that's my mentality at this point So I finally I agreed to a half a milligram shot of the lot You know it's good in comparison to the four milligrams They wanted to give me and it brought me it brought my blood pressure down. It alleviated that

Chuck LaFLange (14:17.201)
Yeah. Right.

Chuck LaFLange (14:25.922)
Yep.

David Riggins (14:33.906)
And so they put me into, I get back to my room. So this is 8.30 PM on October the 10th. At 5 PM on October 11th, I was discharged from the hospital.

Chuck LaFLange (14:47.212)
Oof.

David Riggins (14:49.286)
The doctor came in about two o'clock in the afternoon, you know, the next day, so, you know, what, 20 hours after surgery and said, you keep refusing your pain medication. You're done with your IV antibiotics. Only thing you're going to do from this point forward is sit in that bed. You may as well be at home sitting in the bed. I said, write the discharge papers. He looked at me. He said, are you serious? He was trying to scare me so that I would say, no, I need to be here with a pain medicine because obviously

Chuck LaFLange (15:09.099)
No shit, hey.

Chuck LaFLange (15:17.089)
Yeah.

David Riggins (15:17.498)
I wasn't not getting paid medicine because I wasn't offered it. But so there's literally I have I have videos where on my thing where I'm in pre-op right before surgery because I was scared. And I told I said you know that I will be doing another video soon as I get out of surgery. And if this is the last one I still love y'all.

Chuck LaFLange (15:21.387)
Yeah, yeah, right, right.

Chuck LaFLange (15:34.434)
Yeah.

David Riggins (15:47.95)
I know. Then, then literally 20 hours later, I have a video of me in the car sitting there saying, guess who's already has already been discharged. So it's well documented that that's less literally had happened. But oh, my God. Don't imagine not sleeping for three weeks.

Chuck LaFLange (15:48.28)
Yeah.

Chuck LaFLange (15:59.135)
Wow, man.

Chuck LaFLange (16:03.043)
So the pain, the pain, can you like...

Chuck LaFLange (16:11.587)
Wow. Wow, man.

David Riggins (16:13.41)
But I knew what was going to happen, you know. So I did have a half a milligram shot allotted immediately out of anesthesia that yeah, I did. Um, they did. They wrote me five, five oxycodone fives, and I ended up taking two of them. And I still had three of them in the cabinet in there. And this has been since October the 11th, 2023, five months later, I still have three of those pills that they gave me in there.

I consider that a fucking win right there.

Chuck LaFLange (16:43.295)
Wow. That's a win by any standard, bro. By any standard, man. That's amazing. It's getting kudos to you for that. Congratulations to you for having that kind of strength because I don't know, I don't know how many people in the world, myself included, who could do that. So, you know.

David Riggins (16:58.734)
Do you know why I did it? I did not do it because honestly, it was not 100% because I was scared I would relapse. That was part of it, but the true reasoning for it was, I done it as a personal challenge to myself. I said, if I'm strong enough to not use during this, there is not a damn thing life can ever throw at me where I'll question my sobriety again.

Chuck LaFLange (17:05.077)
Yeah.

Chuck LaFLange (17:22.191)
Well said, Ben, well said. That's amazing, bro. It's absolutely amazing, man. I'm still trying to wrap my head around that, to be honest with you, right?

Wow. So how long before you're normal? I mean, you know, as far as you're at a, I mean, normal is such a subjective word, right? But how long before you're at a point where the pain isn't the only thing on your brain anymore? Like, how long, how long does that last? And how long before you could start getting back to working on just you and your recovery and in all the things, right?

David Riggins (17:55.79)
Um, uh, I actually, that's another one that people, one that I'm amazed people with three days after surgery. I actually, uh, I started working, I started working out a few months for surgery with, with plans for it so that I could try to be in good shape. But three days after surgery, I started working back out again. Um, I've actually, yeah, I've got no, listen to this.

Chuck LaFLange (18:15.327)
Holy shit. You're allowed to skip leg day though, right? Like, come on, you can skip leg day.

David Riggins (18:21.474)
Three days after surgery, I have a video on there of me in my backyard right here with a cinder block tied to my leg to my stump with a rope while I'm sitting there doing I'm doing pull ups and leg lifts. Three days after surgery. Yeah. Because I said the better physical shape I'm in the better the easier the transition is going to be once I knew I would get my leg.

Chuck LaFLange (18:35.563)
Wow, man. Wow. F***, eh?

Chuck LaFLange (18:48.009)
Yeah, of course.

David Riggins (18:49.462)
I got my permanent leg on January 3rd.

Chuck LaFLange (18:52.263)
Okay, you're prosthetic. I mean, yeah, right. Yeah. Okay. Wow.

David Riggins (18:53.846)
Yeah, yeah, yeah. So, you know, I wanted to be in as good a physical shape as possible, you know, with plans of, because obviously if recovery, no matter physical recovery, mental recovery, whatever it may be, it takes work. You know, that's what's all about. That's like our buddy Josh Catlett, stay consistent and recover. That's what it's all about.

Chuck LaFLange (19:08.759)
Yeah.

Chuck LaFLange (19:14.219)
Yeah, yeah, right. 100% it is 100%. So I got to say, man, you're blowing my mind right now. Right. So, so that's not even that long ago. Right. Where I mean, we're pretty, that's pretty fresh, pretty fresh wound, if you will. Of course, when I started paying attention to you, I guess, geez, man, that would have been right, right out of almost like, holy cow. Thinking about that now, you'd have been pretty fresh. That was only a few months ago now. Right. So,

David Riggins (19:22.082)
I'm sorry.

Chuck LaFLange (19:44.523)
What's going on nowadays? What's going on? I know there's lots of things you want to talk about. So let's get to the message instead of the mess, right? So what's happening these days? Yeah, yeah, yeah.

David Riggins (19:48.43)
Hehehe

David Riggins (19:52.718)
There you go. Well, basically with me, to be honest, I have what's called survivor's guilt. You know, I have that mentality and that question in my head of, you know, why did I survive? Why was I let to survive? So I come to the conclusion, I was, I had better intent, there was a better plan for me, there was a bigger plan for me. I'm supposed to sit there and use my pain.

Use what happened to me to sit there and try to help other people realize that, hey, like my buddy Jim McGill always says, so long as you see that breath in your lungs, you can become a productive member of society. You can turn it around. Don't matter how deep you went into it. I want to show people, hey, look, I started off as somebody I thought this trajectory of my life was going to go to a good point. And look where it took me. You know, as they say, you know, fifth avenue to Park Avenue to Park Bench, addiction can get anybody. So, you know, just.

Chuck LaFLange (20:31.104)
Yeah, man.

Chuck LaFLange (20:41.283)
Yep.

Chuck LaFLange (20:49.548)
Wow.

David Riggins (20:50.434)
Realizing that you could overcome it. That's that's what it's about So now not my efforts are trying to spread awareness and trying to get out into my community and try to lift others up You know, that's what it's about

Chuck LaFLange (21:00.611)
No kidding, hey? Yeah, man, yeah. Okay, that survivor's guilt is a funny thing, hey? And I, 100% do I agree with you on that one, man. When I, the couple days before I left for Thailand, I went back to people, places, and things that I probably shouldn't have, just to say some goodbyes, because I knew I probably wasn't gonna go back to Canada. And when I saw the struggle that people who I really cared about and called friends were still in, it just like, it hit me really, really hard, you know?

One thing to remember it through that fog, but to go back in and see it again was just like, you know, what that sobriety lands on, it was heartbreaking, right? Just heartbreaking, so. Fortune, yeah, just risky behavior for somebody with, you know, a year under their belt, to say the least, but it was something I felt I had to do. But, so that drives you now, and of course you've got your, you've got the heel, right? And,

David Riggins (21:44.334)
I totally understand.

Chuck LaFLange (22:00.091)
the Heal family, Heal family. Yep. Yeah, if I got that right. Yep.

David Riggins (22:03.218)
Yes, yes, the Hill family, which means to help others empathize for others, accept others, and love others. Because everyone goes through a struggle. It doesn't matter if it's mental health, if it's SA, if it was child abuse, if it was DV, if it's drug abuse, whatever. Everybody has a struggle. So, thus, my community is not just about recovery of drugs. My community is about lifting up individuals that are struggling with something.

Chuck LaFLange (22:10.539)
Ah, right.

Chuck LaFLange (22:21.234)
Yeah, we do.

Chuck LaFLange (22:28.715)
Yeah, man. Yeah, right, right.

David Riggins (22:30.431)
It's about getting together as a communal group to lift others up. That's what HEAL is about.

Chuck LaFLange (22:35.091)
Yeah, absolutely man. I love that about it. I love that. What's that website? Just the word and word near the end of the episode, but I just might as well say it now that you said it. So, yeah.

David Riggins (22:44.706)
There you go. My website is www.heal-family.com.

Chuck LaFLange (22:52.283)
Okay, okay. And of course that'll be in the show notes. It'll be, yeah, right. Available to anybody who wants to take a look at that. So, there's a couple things. You talked about Matt for a second. Let's talk about that for a bit, Dave, if you don't mind. David or Dave? Do you mind? David? Dave? Oh, yeah. Okay, Dave. Okay. Of course, I mean, if you're in the recovery world, if you're in the content creation world, and you know, part of that whole recovery community, you're going to see that

David Riggins (23:09.915)
David, I prefer, yeah.

Chuck LaFLange (23:22.179)
the hard arguments about Matt. Some of what I feel is just horrible, hateful stuff that comes out of people's mouths still, but you said you're accepting of Matt, of course it worked for you on the short term. What are your thoughts on the, I think I know how you feel about it in a personal way, but you tell us on this, if you're not completely clean, which I'm not a fan of that word at all.

and sober than you're not in recovery. Where do you weigh in on that one, David?

David Riggins (23:56.69)
My belief with it is all past recovery are valid, 100%. You know, whether it's MAT, whether it's smoke therapy, whether it's deliverance from the Lord, whether it's complete chemical abstinence, whatever your route is, it's 1000% valid because at the end of the day, to me, recovery means a progression towards a more positive life than what you were living before, okay? So if you're doing better today than you were yesterday, be proud of the fact that you're working towards something better.

Chuck LaFLange (24:01.241)
Hmm.

Chuck LaFLange (24:16.531)
Right. Yeah.

Chuck LaFLange (24:23.484)
Yeah, right. Yes.

David Riggins (24:25.486)
keeps people alive. I know people that have been on MAT long term and for them that's the best thing possible because they know that they would progress back to where they were if they wasn't on it. So of course, because here's my mentality with it. If you say somebody is not sober on MAT but then you look at the fact that in the last two or three years they've been on it let's say. Now they're able to maintain a job. Now they got their kids back that had been took from them. Now they have a house.

Chuck LaFLange (24:35.189)
Yep.

David Riggins (24:51.33)
Tell me that's not a better, more progression towards a positive life than when they were previously. Who are we to judge, who are we to judge if they just happen to take a medication in the morning that keeps them from going out stealing your shit? I mean, be glad about that.

Chuck LaFLange (24:56.689)
100% yeah.

Chuck LaFLange (25:04.571)
Right? And here's a thing. Lately, kind of where my focus has been on that argument, and it is an argument, I mean, I hate that it is, but it is what it is, is that if you shame somebody by telling them that they're not sober and that their recovery path isn't valid, and quite often that happens in the rooms, right? When it does happen.

You are taking away, potentially taking away the one place that is easy to find fellowship in recovery. And if you take that away from somebody and they go back out, this day and age, we don't know if they're coming back because everybody's one use away, right? And so to me that that's the real tragedy. The real tragedy of it is, there is a comment on a post that I ended up sharing. I don't know if you saw it David, something to the effect of

David Riggins (25:48.422)
Mm. Mm, mm, mm.

Chuck LaFLange (26:01.495)
The recovery community is one of the most toxic things I've ever seen. We've all worked. We've all, you know, worked really hard to get our lives back. We've all almost died and to be shamed by called be by being called a junkie in denial. You know, somebody had wrote that comment and it was just like fuck if we messed up man. We have failed. If one person feels that way when they're going to the only fucking place they know to go to get fellowship, then we're doing something wrong.

David Riggins (26:31.778)
You're risking someone's life at that point.

Chuck LaFLange (26:31.799)
Right? 100% you are, right? 100%. And I see it in the comments and I argue it. I still, and sometimes there's no point in arguing because you're not gonna change anybody's mind. But what if, what if even if, and here's the thing, if one person said it, a thousand persons thought it, right? So if you get into those comments on social media and you start having that discussion, maybe you're not gonna change your mind, but maybe somebody's reading it, their mind is gonna change. It's kind of my attitude to it.

And so I just keep having the fight, even though I just like banging your head against the wall some days. But, you know, it's just that's one of the hills I'm willing to die on, I guess. Right. I don't know about you, man, but I stopped collecting people that are suffering an addiction 16, 17 months ago, almost now. And I've had way more than 17 phone calls about friends that are lost, you know, right. So.

David Riggins (27:21.802)
Did you see that point that I shared a few days ago? My ex-girlfriend that just passed away last week. I mean, like that right there for instance. I've been in contact, I've talked to her mother and her stepfather and told them, look, I know when they have the memorial service for it and all that, I apologize. I'm sorry that I'm not sorry that I have to protect my recovery. I'm not going to be there. But I will do everything I can to spread awareness. I will do everything I can to use her words to possibly.

Chuck LaFLange (27:26.099)
Yes, yes I did. Yes.

David Riggins (27:51.362)
keep someone else from not going as deep as we did to realize that there is time to get out. But that's all and they fully understood and respected and told me that was awesome that I had the mentality of look, there will be people there that are still in active addiction and I just cannot, I just I can't do it. I got to protect my recovery. I mean.

Chuck LaFLange (28:10.239)
Yeah, yeah, yeah. Damn straight, man. They have there's nothing more important, right? Nothing more important. I mean, there's a million cliches about that, but jeez, man, jeez. And I'm real sorry about that loss, too, brother. I really am. And I hope I hope it does serve to inspire or award somebody off of, you know, making those kind of choices, I guess. Right. But.

David Riggins (28:16.417)
Yeah.

David Riggins (28:32.346)
where I shared it around, it got, I think it got about 2,500 likes and 130 shares, that poem of hers that I put out. Her word is, it's a sad truth, but every single word in that poem was, poof.

Chuck LaFLange (28:39.359)
Yeah.

Chuck LaFLange (28:47.971)
Yeah, man. 100, 100. So, let's talk about skydiving. Let's talk about that, bro. I gotta tell you, it just came up in an episode with someone that we were talking about you. And people are talking about you these days, man. They really are, and for good reason, right? I think that was an episode of Black Ass. I think you were probably in the comments because I was talking about the timeline.

David Riggins (28:55.563)
hehe

Chuck LaFLange (29:16.855)
Just about this first annual and like right from the start, man, like where's that idea come from? How the hell did you pull it off so fast? Tell me about that.

David Riggins (29:25.834)
Um, okay. Well, it actually, it started off literally. It just says, uh, um, I want to do it just for me. And I put a post, I put a post on, uh, on Facebook and said, I may have lost my leg, but I didn't lose my balls. Who wants to go skydive with me? And that's all it was. And, uh, a friend of mine, Melissa Williams, we call it Nima. She, she lost her daughter to fentanyl a couple of years ago. And, uh,

Chuck LaFLange (29:33.879)
Yeah.

Chuck LaFLange (29:43.68)
Yeah.

Chuck LaFLange (29:52.596)
Okay.

David Riggins (29:54.058)
She sent me a private message and said, my daughter always wanted to skydive. If I send you a picture of her, will you put it in your pocket when you jump? And it lit that spark. I said, that's what I'm supposed to do. So I put a post, I put word out there everywhere and said, if you have any of your loved ones that have been lost to overdose and you want them memorialized in a skydiving event, I have people submit pictures to me of their loved ones. We took about 35.

loved ones up on the air with us. I wore a collage shirt, it had people's pictures on it. We had, and then our press that we used for the sublimation presses, they actually burnt up that morning. So I had the shirt on with the pictures and then everybody else had the print that we were supposed to put. So the pictures still went up that everybody else was on.

Chuck LaFLange (30:25.016)
Mm-mm.

Chuck LaFLange (30:40.508)
Oh wow.

David Riggins (30:52.194)
printed on, you know, sheet where mine was on the shirt. But either way, we got all 35 of them up there. I had a good friend of mine who owns a catering company. He came and volunteered and did the cooking. He had a big double smoker out there. I had, I bought over 150 pounds of pork barbecue, about 100 pounds of beef barbecue. And I mean, we had a spread out there.

Chuck LaFLange (30:54.348)
Yeah.

Chuck LaFLange (30:58.816)
Wow, man.

Chuck LaFLange (31:17.941)
Wow.

David Riggins (31:18.862)
I had some amazing, I set this up in two weeks now, remember. I had Mike Meadows, Sober Talk Jess, Rachel Pallanti, and Joe Stan all came to the TANDA event just to speak at it. Rachel Pallanti drove eight hours to come. Mike Meadows and Sober Jess, they drove like five hours to come. Joe lives in Raleigh already, so he was the lucky one.

Chuck LaFLange (31:23.32)
Yeah.

Chuck LaFLange (31:37.079)
That's amazing.

Chuck LaFLange (31:43.491)
No kidding. No kidding.

David Riggins (31:47.87)
His only one, I had to go two hours to it. But so they actually believed in it that fast and said, let's go do it. So, you know, of course we've got the videos of all of us getting their testimony and this and that. If y'all wanna go check those out. It was a beautiful day, beautiful, beautiful. And I am so excited to when we can do the Heal Awareness Jump 2025.

Chuck LaFLange (31:49.09)
Ha ha

Chuck LaFLange (31:52.523)
Yeah.

Chuck LaFLange (31:58.211)
That's crazy.

Chuck LaFLange (32:07.359)
No kidding. No kidding, man.

David Riggins (32:15.698)
because this one was set up in two weeks and of course it ended up a lot of scrambling. Like I said, our press actually burned up that morning so we just got a replacement one in. So I actually spent $2,300 of my own money to make this happen and I got a talk.

Chuck LaFLange (32:29.527)
Wow. Well, I have a feeling next year you're going to see some help with that. You know, yeah.

David Riggins (32:34.73)
Exactly. And that's why I'm not I tell myself I'm not even mad that I ended up going 2100 in the hole. I got $220 worth of donations. I spent 2300. So you know, but the thing is that I'm a dig out of this hole. I'm a disabled veteran. Shoot, I haven't done my pension check from getting hurt in the military. I have another one a couple weeks. I'll get back out of the hole. I ain't worried about it. I think I've ate ramen noodles for a few weeks before I'll be up.

Chuck LaFLange (32:46.217)
Yeah, yeah, yeah.

Chuck LaFLange (32:51.455)
Yeah.

David Riggins (33:04.015)
Thank you.

Chuck LaFLange (33:05.71)
That's my breakfast, lunch and supper for a few days now. So I hear you there brother. Yeah. Hey, at least you got a home to do them in though, right? You know, these days, you know, that's kind of my attitude, right? You got to be grateful for that stuff. Hey, but that's fucking crazy, man. I can't, I just can't believe in two weeks that you managed to pull that off. So what's it going to be like when you have 52 more weeks or whatever it is, right? To get that done.

David Riggins (33:09.286)
Hehehehe

David Riggins (33:13.919)
There you go.

David Riggins (33:18.134)
Yeah.

Chuck LaFLange (33:27.875)
Right, that's awesome.

David Riggins (33:28.562)
always especially with uh we'll get into the progression of uh the next four months of stuff that I have the build up that for every one of the ones every one of these little discussions. I'm gonna drop the talk about Hill two thousand twenty-five. We're gonna have that with Rock.

Chuck LaFLange (33:47.231)
Yeah, no kidding, right? No kidding. No kidding, man. Well, I would say I would come but I'm not gonna fly, you know, 30 hours to jump out of a perfectly good airplane. That's probably not gonna happen. I'll certainly be paying a lot of attention to it, right? What else you got going on, man? I know there's some things you want to talk about. So let's just take control of this conversation, bro. What you want to talk about?

David Riggins (33:48.715)
Yeah.

David Riggins (33:53.078)
Hehehe

David Riggins (34:08.994)
Absolutely. I'll sit there and say the progression of my life right now is just a blessing to me to be able to sit there and intercommunicate with some of the individuals I have. I mean, here's one example. Twenty years ago, I used to sell substances. The sheriff of my county

Sheriff Tony Durden. He was on the investigating team trying to get me back then. Okay Now he's the sheriff of the entire county. I've got videos. I've got videos on here of me and him in church together This man stood up in front of the church and told the congregation that story that he investigated me But so he had seen where I was and he sees where I am to listen to me that he Trust me and believes in what I'm doing and I mean in a small camp

Chuck LaFLange (34:43.359)
Yeah, yeah.

Chuck LaFLange (34:47.308)
Yeah.

Chuck LaFLange (35:04.875)
That's amazing, right?

David Riggins (35:06.798)
country town, the county sheriff's, that's the most powerful individual that there is and for him to be willing to sit there and say that because my goal is to get an addiction recovery center built here in my town. So my county sheriff is helping me get the word out here in my community so we can get the support to get that center built. That's what all, that's what my entire mission is about.

Chuck LaFLange (35:10.703)
What?

Chuck LaFLange (35:27.023)
That's awesome, man. That's awesome. That's funny, there's a parallel to it with me, but sometime this week, my arresting officer, last week, my arresting officer reached out to me randomly. All right, and just like, hey man, see what you're doing. Think it's awesome, you know? And our last conversation was not a good conversation, our in-person conversation, right? So that meant a lot to me, that meant, you know, like a lot, right? To just, it's like, wow, that's crazy, right? There's actually an episode that'll be coming out

Yesterday. Ha ha ha. Because I'm gonna release that one here tomorrow, so in years on Thursday. This one that we're recording right now on Thursday. So the episode that I recorded last was with a fellow, Robert Greer, from the Warriors Heart. Do you know what these guys are about? Warriors Heart? They are a treatment center for vets and first responders, exclusively.

David Riggins (36:15.51)
I don't know that one right off.

David Riggins (36:23.582)
I heard you talking about it on Black Ash the other night. That's right. The ones in Texas. Texas, right? Yep.

Chuck LaFLange (36:25.791)
Oh man, is this a powerful group? Yeah, Texas and somewhere else too. Yeah, yeah, yeah. I think he lives in Louisiana himself, but what a fucking great organization, man. Just like, it's crazy, you know, so just sitting here listening to you now being a vet and all that, it just makes me think about it, right? So, well, I guess, are you considered a vet because you never went to combat? Did you still get veteran status? Yeah, okay.

David Riggins (36:34.594)
Okay.

David Riggins (36:40.695)
Yeah.

David Riggins (36:51.951)
I'm a service-connected veteran. I receive a pension check for the rest of my life because of the injury that was received. Oh yeah, I'm service-connected. Because the reason it is because I was, you know, honorably, medically discharged after I got hurt in a training accident. It's not like I did something to get kicked out. You know what I'm saying? I was...

Chuck LaFLange (36:58.167)
Okay, okay. So yeah, okay. Okay.

Chuck LaFLange (37:12.779)
Yeah, okay. Got you. Got you. Yeah.

David Riggins (37:15.166)
I'd already been through all of my training. I'd actually already been in for two years. The school that the MOS that I had was called microwave systems operator maintainer, cross-chain satellite communications and computer networking. So my school was 54 weeks long. It was the longest MOS training in the entire Army. So I'd already been in for a decent little while before this ends up happening, but.

Chuck LaFLange (37:30.058)
Okay.

Okay, okay, okay. Yeah.

Chuck LaFLange (37:37.793)
Oh yeah.

Chuck LaFLange (37:42.272)
Yeah.

David Riggins (37:42.318)
Yeah, I didn't see active duty, but I still I'm still considered just the same because of you know, I didn't do anything I didn't do anything wrong Yeah

Chuck LaFLange (37:47.311)
Gotcha, gotcha. Of course, of course, of course, right? So, prosthetic leg. I want to talk about that actually. Obviously that's covered by Veterans Affairs, which I'm thankful for that because I know that can be a massive expenditure on something, you know, on something like that.

David Riggins (38:05.51)
Between the seven surgeries and the prosthetics and all that right there, the VA has paid out about 1.8 million right now.

Chuck LaFLange (38:16.295)
Wow, man. Wow. I'm glad you had that coverage because how does an average person do that? Right? You know, no kidding. So you're probably saying like, do you get around good on it now? Is it or do you still like, is there a lot of work to do that way? Or I don't know how these things work, right? If it's a you know,

David Riggins (38:17.815)
I don't know.

David Riggins (38:22.22)
Oh boy.

Yeah.

David Riggins (38:30.454)
Um, um, it's it, uh, the weight of it is significantly heavier than what you're natural, so it feels like lumpy on something. Um, and I'm getting better. Absolutely.

Chuck LaFLange (38:41.907)
Well, I suppose because it is technically it is hanging off of you right like it's not like it's yeah It's so instead of supporting you. It's you know kind of hey, I can I can appreciate that. Yeah, okay. Yeah

David Riggins (38:51.434)
Yeah, yeah, it's it obviously it doesn't it the agility of it doesn't move like your natural gait and all that right there Actually, I go to physical therapy twice a week Getting to get better at walking because like I said, I just got the my permanent prosthetic on January 3rd But that was like that was my seventh prosthetic I'd already yeah. Yeah, I've been through six already before we got to the good one the one I got now Yeah

Chuck LaFLange (39:00.903)
Okay, okay, okay.

Chuck LaFLange (39:08.129)
Yeah.

Chuck LaFLange (39:11.699)
Oh wow. Wow. Okay.

Chuck LaFLange (39:18.171)
Okay, okay. Is that like carbon fiber these days? I would or is it like yeah? Yeah, okay

David Riggins (39:26.025)
Yes, the whole top section of it is carbon fiber and then the bottom section of it is titanium.

Chuck LaFLange (39:29.461)
Okay.

Chuck LaFLange (39:33.529)
Okay. Cool. Really cool. Actually. Yeah.

David Riggins (39:36.826)
And it's got a foot on it, which is where the toes on the foot is like this long. It's crazy. But the foot like looks natural. But what I thought was weird, I was like, why is the sock under the foot? Cause it's like the foot's exposed and they have a sock under it. And the guy explained to me, the sock is actually Kevlar.

Chuck LaFLange (39:44.247)
Long toad, motherfucker.

Chuck LaFLange (39:56.009)
Okay.

David Riggins (39:59.958)
The reason it is because the foot is a titanium foot and then a Kevlar sock and then a rubber footy over the top of it. And the reason it is because if they didn't do that, the titanium foot would rub through the rubber foot looking thing if they didn't have that Kevlar sock. That Kevlar sock is like a middle. It makes sense once they explain it to me that way because I'm like, it looks weird.

Chuck LaFLange (40:00.446)
Oh.

Chuck LaFLange (40:09.251)
Yeah.

Chuck LaFLange (40:18.274)
Ah, okay, okay.

Chuck LaFLange (40:22.879)
Yeah, yeah, yeah.

Of course it does. Yeah.

David Riggins (40:30.058)
But yeah, obviously the initial learning how to walk on it was extreme. I mean, I've been in a wheelchair for a year. So, you know, it is pretty wild that the initial but I'm a hard worker. And I don't give up. I'm getting better at it. Obviously, it's still a lot of work. When I when I walk on uneven ground, I walk with a cane.

Chuck LaFLange (40:40.575)
Okay. Yeah.

Chuck LaFLange (40:47.051)
Yeah, well, obviously. Yeah.

David Riggins (40:59.762)
But, you know, hey, I walk with a cane anytime instead of sitting in a wheelchair with no leg on it. I wish I could do so.

Chuck LaFLange (40:59.839)
Yep. You'll get there. You'll get there.

David Riggins (41:09.934)
I mean, we got to push forward.

Chuck LaFLange (41:13.387)
Yeah, we do. Yeah, we do. No choice. No other option but right. So, um, what else you got? You mentioned something coming up in May here. What's going on there?

David Riggins (41:21.71)
Oh, well, uh, well, actually, look, we got, we got more than they, I got some more before May.

Chuck LaFLange (41:25.939)
Okay. Yeah. I did say you take control here. Then I, then I started yapping again. So yeah, go ahead.

David Riggins (41:31.595)
Oh, you're great, brother. Well, yesterday I went on with Josh Catlett, Scar Nation, and did one with him. Today, obviously, I'm coming on with you. Um, uh, then Friday I'm coming on black ass with y'all. Um, the April 2nd.

Chuck LaFLange (41:37.706)
Yeah.

Chuck LaFLange (41:46.835)
Yeah, you are. Yeah, you are. Yeah. Oh, you know what? You know who else is coming on black ash with us? We got Sonia Johnson. Sonia is coming on. Yeah, she is. And well, I've been OK. I can't say yes, because I have got a confirmation, but definitely Sonia. I'm hoping that Adriana comes from Dear Recovery. So Sonia is going to reach out to her for me on that one. And it should be great. Right. Yeah. So yeah. Yeah. While we're plugging. Yeah.

David Riggins (41:52.814)
Who we got? Oh, cool.

David Riggins (42:09.668)
Cool, cool. Yeah, that'd be awesome. I hadn't talked to, I sat down with Sonny Johnson and Jamie Tall did an interview with them back, about the first of December.

Chuck LaFLange (42:18.031)
You know, the first time I met them was a games night that Sonya was hosting so Sonya and Jamie were together at her place in Florida at Sonya's and I Was I was still at the Yachter treatment center here in Thailand doing my trauma treatment But I jumped in and had a games night with them That was that's how I met the two of them and all that's that inspired that nonsense How they not like the games nights that we do now which are off the hook sometimes

David Riggins (42:21.942)
Bye!

David Riggins (42:36.718)
Okay, okay.

David Riggins (42:45.522)
Yeah, this fashion was I Think I had I had like five. I had like five violations pop up on me during that live and I'm in the comments Yeah, it was All right, um and then April 2nd I'm going on with Kalisa Campbell she runs pine case middle She's out of Canada

Chuck LaFLange (42:47.823)
Oh my lord. I think that the one before two, two weeks previous was like.

Yeah

You know, you're doing something right, right? Fuck. Yeah. Yeah, that was crazy, man. That was out of control. Yeah. Okay. So what's next? What else you got coming up? Yeah.

Chuck LaFLange (43:14.831)
Okay.

David Riggins (43:16.295)
And then April 21st, another Canadian, I'm going on with High Sobriety Podcasts. I think you're going on with them a couple weeks before me.

Chuck LaFLange (43:22.607)
Yeah, yeah, I'm April 3rd. Yeah, yeah.

David Riggins (43:26.502)
Then May 3rd, I'm going on with Ian Bick. I'm flying to Connecticut, gonna do Ian Bick's show, and then I'm gonna drive to Buffalo, New York, Jared and Brianna of the Black Woods podcast. I'm going to meet them, I'm going to, May 4th with Jared and Brianna to a Fittin' All Overdose rally. We're gonna do that. Then I'll fly back home to North Carolina. And then on May 18th, I'm flying to Nashville, Tennessee.

Chuck LaFLange (43:29.868)
Nice.

Chuck LaFLange (43:39.908)
Yeah, man.

Chuck LaFLange (43:46.92)
Okay. Yeah.

David Riggins (43:56.082)
We're going to be doing another overdose skydive event in Waverly, Tennessee. I can't say right now who all we've got because we don't have full confirmations, but we've got some people coming in that just blows my mind that they even know who I am, let alone are willing to come and support something I'm trying to do. You know, it's beautiful. And then another one

Chuck LaFLange (44:00.391)
Okay, okay.

Chuck LaFLange (44:09.124)
some big hitters, eh? Yeah, yeah.

Chuck LaFLange (44:17.919)
No kidding, man. No kidding. That is, that is.

Chuck LaFLange (44:24.575)
What's happening on July 13th.

David Riggins (44:26.498)
Alright, in Washington DC, the lost voices of fentanyl rally. Um, I put a, I put a post up about seven or eight days ago saying I had two goals for this year. One was to get on Ian Bix podcast and the other was the shit was to stand on stage with Matt Keegan and Benjamin Lerner at the three of us on the stage together in front of a crowd. Well, within five days I had both of them lined up.

Chuck LaFLange (44:28.598)
Yeah.

Yeah.

Chuck LaFLange (44:40.952)
Yep.

Chuck LaFLange (44:48.97)
Yeah.

Chuck LaFLange (44:53.091)
That is just awesome. Awesome.

David Riggins (44:56.65)
Um, so Benjamin and Matt will be there performing at the Lost Wars of the Pentenal Rally and Ben said between songs, he's letting me get, I'm, I'm going to step up and tell my story to the crowd. Well, it'll be at the Washington Monument, the rally, and then there will be a march to the White House where there'll be a protest held in front of the White House. Um, and then on August the eighth, uh, our friend Jamie Tull.

Chuck LaFLange (45:08.954)
That's awesome, man.

Chuck LaFLange (45:17.372)
Okay, okay, yeah.

David Riggins (45:24.315)
Me and her are we're keynote speakers at an event on August the 8th in Rockingham, North Carolina called Steve's wings

Chuck LaFLange (45:32.583)
Okay, okay. What's that about?

David Riggins (45:36.207)
Right. It's another overdose rally. It's a lady, her father passed away and that was Steve. And so that got her, this is a 501C that they run that supports veterans. Rockingham, North Carolina is right beside Fayetteville, which is where Fort Bragg is at. So they do a lot of supporting veterans and things in the organization and that's part of the reason why they...

Chuck LaFLange (45:39.433)
Okay.

Chuck LaFLange (45:57.096)
Okay.

David Riggins (46:03.626)
Actually, I was home with Jamie Talasanya Johnson doing an interview with them and Jamie suggested I link up with these people. She contacted them, talked to them, and then they contacted me and asked me to come on to be a keynote speaker.

Chuck LaFLange (46:17.471)
That's recovery community for you right there, right? Right there. Yeah, man. Yeah, that's something else. Yeah, we are. It blows my mind, man. It does. Ah, just consistently. It's anywhere in the world right now. If you need help and you contacted any one of the people that any one of the names, ourselves, you meet whatever, you're going to find it. Because if I don't know somebody, she does. And if she doesn't know somebody, somebody she does. And off it goes, right?

David Riggins (46:19.767)
That's it. That's it. We're stronger together.

Chuck LaFLange (46:44.411)
Ireland, South Africa, Thailand, Australia, United States, Canada. These are all places that, you know, right. That, uh, that we've got resources now. It's pretty crazy. The London, London as well. Right. Yeah. It's nuts, man.

David Riggins (46:52.79)
Absolutely.

The reach of social media can be unbelievable when used correctly.

Chuck LaFLange (46:59.311)
Yeah, yeah, right. I mean, people like to complain about the toxicity of it. And there is, Lord knows there is a lot of that, but you know, whatever, fuck them, you know? Yeah, yeah, true story.

David Riggins (47:08.51)
Or you have that anywhere, you know, you have that anywhere, you know, it is what it is I was talking to somebody yesterday about that, you know, when you know when you got somebody hating on you It means you obviously you're doing something, right?

Chuck LaFLange (47:21.336)
Yeah, yeah, yeah. Dan Rarnox likes to say that. Yeah, if you haven't pissed somebody off, you're not, you know, you're not doing it right. So, right. But listen, man. So let's get your website again. Heal family, healed-family.com, correct? Right? Healed-family. Okay.

David Riggins (47:27.835)
Yeah.

David Riggins (47:36.182)
Yes, yes hill-family.com and we're working on we're working now to have the full merch line up lit loaded So by the time this come by the time this show goes on Thursday we there will be a full line on there what we have we do sublimation. We do DTF. We do vinyl we got Tumblr cups we got hats we got hoodies. We got shirts. We got mouse pads

Chuck LaFLange (47:48.568)
Yep.

Chuck LaFLange (48:02.528)
Nice, nice.

David Riggins (48:02.582)
We have these awesome ornaments that we do. They're really cool. We'll have all those on there by the end of the week. And all of it is to support, the end mission is the end goal. I want to become a 501C and open that recovery center here in my town. That's what my mission is.

Chuck LaFLange (48:07.663)
Cool, cool. Awesome.

Chuck LaFLange (48:18.227)
Nice. Nice, nice, nice. Well, something tells me you'll get her done, brother. It seems to me that if you draw a beat on something, it tends to happen. So that's, yeah.

David Riggins (48:29.05)
Well, here's my thing. When we were using, we gave 100% of energy, 24 hours a day to focus on getting that fix, right? So what happens when you take that same energy, that same energy that you put into using, that same energy that you put into death and you put it into life, you put it in trying to help your community, you try to better yourself, trying to better others? You can, the star, the moon is the limit.

Chuck LaFLange (48:36.727)
Yeah, we did.

Chuck LaFLange (48:41.336)
Yeah.

Chuck LaFLange (48:51.142)
100 percent.

David Riggins (48:53.954)
When you sit in there shooting, man, it ain't gonna say, well, you put all that into it, ain't nothing will stop you. I'm a hard ass worker, ain't nothing stopping me.

Chuck LaFLange (48:57.523)
Yep, exactly. I often say that if, I often say if all the drug addicts in the world got sober together at the same time, the rest of y'all would be screwed because you'd be working for us, right? You know, it's just like the kind of dedication it takes to maintain a habit, you know, and survive on the streets or whatever while you're doing it and all that jazz.

David Riggins (49:09.827)
Absolutely.

Chuck LaFLange (49:18.163)
Fuck, we'd have world hunger, world peace, fucking global warming, and we'd figure out where the socks went in the dryer all inside a week. It's all nonsense compared to what we had to go through to survive an active addiction. Right? So, um, right, right. Listen, um, and your social dogs. My dog started acting up there. I can hear all the dogs in the neighborhood barking. It's usually happens around this time of night. So, um, shit.

David Riggins (49:24.472)
Yeah

David Riggins (49:29.774)
That's absolute facts, Rector.

Chuck LaFLange (49:47.607)
Um, you're such a media page, David Riggins, right? That's what we're going. Yep.

David Riggins (49:51.791)
My Facebook is David.Riggins.39. And then TikTok is David underscore Riggins.

Chuck LaFLange (49:56.266)
Of course, of course, of course, right.

Chuck LaFLange (50:02.523)
Okay, and all those links are of course are in the bio page that you filled out for me that is going to be attached to this episode. So all you got to do is click on his name for all that jazz, right? So, yeah.

David Riggins (50:06.182)
Yes, yes, absolutely. Or if you go to Heal Family dot com, Heal-family.com, we have we have links on there to get you to any of all of our. I have seven different I have seven different platforms on my own. They're they're all listed on the site.

Chuck LaFLange (50:17.227)
Of course you do. Of course you do. Yeah.

Chuck LaFLange (50:24.571)
Awesome. That brings us to my favorite part of the show, David. That's the Daily Gratitudes. That's what you got for us today.

David Riggins (50:32.623)
And I am grateful that, you know, I woke up this morning with the with the mindset of wanting to become a better person instead of wanting to retaliate, go back to what I was. I want to actually help people today instead of worrying about what's up here.

Chuck LaFLange (50:48.799)
Yeah, yeah, yeah. That's a great gratitude, man. That really is. Um, myself, I'm grateful for this noisy little bastard, my dog, Sunny. You can, if you want to see more of him, you can check him out at sunny in a sidecar on Facebook guys. Um, I do like to post the videos. Yeah. I do love making those vids. Yeah, man. Yeah. Um, also I am grateful to every single person who continues to like, comment, share.

David Riggins (51:03.475)
He's a fun dog y'all, shoot it. I enjoy it. Yeah, I enjoy the reals that you do with you and Sonny.

Chuck LaFLange (51:18.955)
watch, do all the things, you know what they are down at the bottom of the screen there. So every time you do any one of those things you're getting me a bit a little bit closer to living my best life. My best life is to make a humble living spreading the message. The message is this. If you're an active addiction right now today could be that day. Today could be that day that you start a lifelong journey. Reach out to a friend, reach out to a family member, call in detox, pray, go to church. I don't really care. Do whatever it is you got to do to get that journey started because it is so much better than the alternative.

And if you have a loved one who's still suffering an addiction right now, if you just took the time to listen to our conversation, if you just take one more minute of your day and text that person, let them know they're loved. Use the words.

David Riggins (51:58.666)
You are loved.

Chuck LaFLange (52:00.919)
The little glimmer of hope just might be the thing that brings it back. Boom. Nice. Good job, bro.