#39: Brandon Novak
The BetterLife Podcast: Wealth | Real Estate Investing | Life
Brandon Turner and Cam Cathcart
4.8 • 767 Ratings
🗓️ 4 December 2023
⏱️ 90 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Brandon Novak is a keynote speaker, author, former professional skateboarder/TV star, and intervention specialist who reclaimed his life from addiction in 2015.
In this episode, Brandon walks us through his remarkable journey from sleeping in abandoned houses as a homeless heroin addict to owning and operating several sober living facilities and earning widespread respect as a champion for people in recovery.
He also speaks about:
-How he first got into drugs and alcohol, and his thoughts on "gateway drugs"
-The moment when Bam Margera offered help at a critical time
-Becoming a famous MTV star on 'Viva La Bam' in the mid-2000s
-The story behind his mother buying him a cemetery plot
-The epiphany he experienced standing on his mother's doorstep after she kicked him out of her house and put a restraining order on him
-Why he recommends a firm approach to dealing with loved ones who are battling addiction
-The spiritual element of his recovery
-Why he doesn't consider his 12 unsuccessful attempts to get sober, "failures"
-Why he's not tempted to consume drugs or alcohol today
-How to include friends in recovery in social activities
-The business of owning sober living homes and an addiction treatment center
-How he scaled his sober living facilities to 65 beds
Brandon’s charitable cause:
King's Crusade, which helps fund inpatient addiction recovery treatment for people who can't otherwise afford it.
Books mentioned in this episode:
Streets of Baltimore by Brandon Novak
Dreamseller by Brandon Novak
Support Brandon's Scholarship Foundation:
Donate to provide free beds for individuals transitioning out of treatment (Venmo: @novakshouse).
Struggling or need guidance?
Contact Brandon directly at 610-314-6747.
Connect with Brandon:
Redemption Addiction Treatment Center
Enjoyed this episode? Follow A Better Life in your favorite podcast app and share this episode to spread the word.
Transcript
Click on a timestamp to play from that location
| 0:00.0 | I've simply got to where I'm at today through process of elimination, but backwards. |
| 0:07.0 | I've failed so miserably in so many different things. |
| 0:10.0 | The last thing I tried was the first thing that worked, which was admitting complete defeat, right? |
| 0:15.0 | Who wants to admit defeat in life? Nobody. |
| 0:19.0 | So the moment I admitted that complete defeat was the exact second I secured the ultimate |
| 0:23.3 | victory. |
| 0:27.3 | Welcome to A Better Life with Brandon Turner. |
| 0:30.5 | That is me, where world-class guests share their wisdom on building a better life. |
| 0:34.4 | Join me as we explore the habits, the actions, and the beliefs that |
| 0:37.6 | have guided their journey with the aim of helping you apply those lessons to your own. Brandon Novak, welcome to the Seashed, man. |
| 1:00.4 | How you doing? |
| 1:00.9 | I'm pretty stoked to be here. |
| 1:02.0 | Good, man. |
| 1:02.6 | All the way from where in the world were you at? |
| 1:04.7 | Philadelphia. |
| 1:05.4 | Philadelphia. |
| 1:06.4 | Yeah. |
| 1:06.5 | All the way to Maui for the podcast. |
| 1:08.5 | Yeah. |
| 1:08.9 | I've always looked for an excuse to come here. |
| 1:10.3 | Yeah. |
| 1:10.8 | It's like, hey, I want to come to Paradise and hang out and talk to cooli for the podcast. Yeah, I've always looked for an excuse to come here. Yeah, yeah. |
... |
Please login to see the full transcript.
Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from Brandon Turner and Cam Cathcart, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.
Generated transcripts are the property of Brandon Turner and Cam Cathcart and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.
Copyright © Tapesearch 2025.