Hey, friend of Jerry Listeners, you can find every episode on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or YouTube.

Prime members can listen ad-free on Amazon Music. I'm going to get her. I'm going to get her. Jersey Jerry here. Friend of Jerry is back and it's better than ever. Thanks to the folks over at Diamond Recovery. Diamond Recovery has all levels of care for anybody that's struggling.

They're the presenting sponsor for Friend of Jerry and honestly, the show might not be here without them. That's why I made it my business to become a brand ambassador for diamond recovery. You can call our Texas number and if you're serious about treatment, they'll even get me on the phone and we can personally chat about you getting sober. If you are a loved one is struggling, then now is the time to call.

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Don't worry about who's going to walk your dog. Just make the call to the 24-7 emissions department and your one step closer to changing your life. The phone number is this. It's 877-537-7955. Anytime the day 24-7, give them a call. If you're serious about sobriety and want help, once again, the hotline is 877-537-7955. So back to the Friend of Jerry episode with Jeff Cook, Jeff Danks. Before Jeff introduces himself, I just want to say, me and Jeff been talking for a couple months now since the friend of Jerry podcast came out, gave us a follow, big supporter of the show, has a wild and crazy story. We met Jeff in person a couple of weeks back. Great dude, always reposting this stuff. So Jeff, thanks so much, man, for joining us. No, man, thank you for reaching out. I mean, I'm really happy.

One that the podcast is coming back.

Because again, I appreciate it so much. And now to be on it, I mean, can't ask for anything better. I mean, it's really cool. I really appreciate it. Yeah, brother, awesome. Well, congratulations before we get started on the Ravens Dub. third string quarterback beating the Steelers, my team,

they're dead. Steelers are dead. But congratulations on the big

dub. I appreciate it. We need it. These, I tell you what, good thing I'm not drinking anymore because I would not be sober to do this podcast if after that Ravens would not either be celebrated or I'd be drinking my stories. What it was. So where does, where does the Jeff Cook story start? Like, take me back to what got you into this? Like what got you into drugs and alcohol? Sure. Honestly, I'm from Baltimore, Maryland. I don't know how many people have ever been to Baltimore familiar with it. But Baltimore, in and of itself, is a bit of a booze in town, drinking drugs, whole deal. But me, personally, I come from a big family. My dad's one is seven and my mom's one of nine. And unfortunately, they each have two lost on each side to either drugs or alcohol. And where I grow up in Baltimore, man, it's kind of whoever drinks the most is like the coolest. That's kind of the barometer of what cool is. So yeah, I grew up drinking pretty young, man. I'd say like consistently and I don't know if heavily, but probably like 15, 16, realistically before I could even drive Was when I really started boozing Cuz I'd say pal call would be more my issue, but then I kind of got into I was stones Legitimus like four years straight up until I got over and then I was messing around with mushrooms a bunch because I was just trying to not Be in this world. And I guess we'll kind of hear that story because I literally did try to take myself out of this world. And that was on December the 16th. So coming up on a two year anniversary was December the 16th of 2020. And what led me to that was I already had, oh, sorry. So I own a pretzel company called doughboy fresh pretzel company. Yep Do boy fresh pretzel company we started off as a food truck in Baltimore And we were working a lot of breweries a lot of events stuff like that beer and pretzels goes hand in hand and Even at events like hey if we didn't make money at this event at least we got free beer because we'd be at the brewery or something like that and yeah so the pretzel company was going really well we started in 2017 or 18 the five years whatever that yeah um and we started as a food truck then we worked our way to um a building in my hometown, which is Dundalk

in Baltimore, and COVID kind of happens. So all this is right around the same time where

we were a food truck for a few years. We finally get a building. We're working on a wholesale line

where we do like sub-rolls made of pretzels and bread-boz made of pretzels and burger-bons made of pretzels.

So that happens in like March of 2020.

Obviously the building doesn't open up.

But we were doing some pop-up stuff there,

we were getting some pretty good traction.

Also around this time, I met a woman

and we had a real whirlwind relationship.

We met within three days, we love each other

within a week, I'm moved in at bank account and about five, six, seven weeks in or so we We actually get pregnant and It wasn't necessarily my choice, but it was one I had to support that I kind of failed at doing. We had an abortion. And that was something that I never thought I would do. Like I grew up Polish Catholic. Like I said, I was on the one of nine. You think they know anything about safe sex. The numbers are right there. So I buried that with boobs. Very, very much so. I buried it with boobs. I buried it with weed. like I't really know who to talk to. You don't really hear too much from I guess a man's side of that experience. So that really, really messed me up and then you're on lockdown so there's not much stuff else out there to do then drink and smoke and take mushrooms and stuff so. Is the business is the business affected at this time? Like are is it like starting to fail because Those events none of those events are in existence. We're doing pop-ups out of our building in Dundalk But that we're going on. I mean we were doing okay but I was not doing okay by any and That happens in like March April I Learned how to make dough from my grandmother. I have her recipe tattoo right here, like this is her handwriting. And we did like Polish ravioli, it's kind of like a parrugie ravioli around Christmas time every year. And unfortunately my grandmother gets sick in July of 2020. And she ends up passing away. And at the time, I had actually thought that I killed her because I thought I gave her COVID. I thought she passed away from that. So now my grandma was literally my best friend. Like she was truly like we hung out like in my family, everyone kind of goes to Vegas for your 21st birthday. Like she was with me and she like a 27 hour bender with me and she was in her late 80s at the time like we were legit friends and tight and So I had this guilt that I think I killed my grandmother. I now know my grandmother's never gonna see a child of mine because of the abortion and That's why I started drinking real heavy because I've always kind of known

I had a different relationship with alcohol.

Like there was times where I wouldn't drink liquor. I didn't really drink liquor for like four years. And then when my grandmother passed away, I started drinking seven and seven. So like almost in like remembrance of her. That was her drink. Who the hell's gonna serve a seven and seven out of bar? Like who's got seven up in zero? Yeah, literally I was waking up to seven and sevens. I was going to bed to seven and sevens. So all that stuff happens. Then in like all, no September, I get into an accident doing deliveries. Cause I told you we have a wholesale owner product. Levery to one of my buddies restaurant, Snake Hill Grill. And I actually get hit by a city bus. So now my back's messed up. I'm laying in bed, I'm sulking, things aren't really are not going well now with business because now I'm not even there to kind of like keep things going. My goofy ass something with me and the girl that I was, we were we eventually got married I proposed and it was one my birthday. We had the same birthday was both October the 17th So our first birthday we spent together I proposed because that was like the last time when we were really happy I'm like all it's time to try and bring this back together. So I was like my professional life's going down the way side Let me see if I can save my personal life and I Don't regret that decision, but I definitely jumped to gone on that

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