Nangs: The Addiction Nobody Talks About with Sam Bramman
Sober Awkward
Victoria Vanstone
4.8 • 535 Ratings
🗓️ 14 June 2026
⏱️ 39 minutes
🔗️ Recording | Apple Podcasts | RSS
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
This week on Sober Awkward, Vic steps away from alcohol to explore another addiction that is quietly growing across Australia: Nangs.
Nitrous oxide, often sold legally and delivered to your door within minutes, is commonly seen as harmless party fun. But for Sam Bramman, what started as a few nangs at a house party quickly spiralled into a devastating addiction that led to psychosis, hospitalisation and a long road to recovery.
Sam shares the shocking reality of what happened when nitrous oxide took over his life, including the psychotic episode that saw him drive from Sydney to the Gold Coast before ending up in a psychiatric ward. He talks openly about addiction, recovery and why he believes Australia needs stronger regulation around the sale and delivery of nitrous oxide.
Now the founder of the No 2 Nangs campaign, Sam is using his experience to educate young people, support families and push for change. He is also preparing to run 350 kilometres from Sydney to Parliament House in Canberra to raise awareness of the issue and campaign for greater public education around a substance he describes as both legal and lethal.
It’s an eye-opening conversation about addiction, vulnerability, recovery and a drug many of us know very little about.
Follow Sam’s work:
Instagram: @sambramman
TikTok: @stepsforchange
💛 Resources & Links
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Right, the kettles boiled, perfect timing. |
| 0:04.5 | I'll just make myself a quick cupper, take a deep breath and pretend I know exactly what I'm |
| 0:10.2 | doing. |
| 0:11.6 | Right, let's get started. |
| 0:16.1 | Have you ever woken up on a Sunday morning with massive anxiety and said to yourself, |
| 0:22.6 | I'm never drinking again, only to find yourself waving 50 bucks at a barman by happy hour? |
| 0:28.9 | Do you ever wonder why everyone else can stop at one while you end up at a dodgy after party |
| 0:34.6 | holding hands with a weird bloke called Disco Dane. |
| 0:38.5 | If so, it might be time to take a closer look at your reliable social crutch, alcohol. |
| 0:45.3 | On this podcast, I investigate my own deeply dysfunctional dealings with booze |
| 0:50.4 | and find out what it's really like navigating this alcohol-drenched world, one fizzy |
| 0:56.0 | water at a time. I'm going to open up a shame shed of humiliating drinking stories to help |
| 1:02.1 | you understand why waking up with one eyebrow missing and a kebab sticking out of your top |
| 1:07.4 | pocket might actually be negatively impacting your health. So what happens when you |
| 1:12.9 | put down those cheeky pints and finally let go of those rewarding mummy wines? I guess we're just |
| 1:19.8 | going to have to wait and see. I'm Victoria Vanstone and this is soberber Awkward. |
| 1:34.5 | Right, I'm back in the studio after a couple of days of running up and down to Brisbane because my lovely daughter Nellie had her operation on her leg and she's going to be fine |
| 1:39.6 | but the poor thing needs a bit more extra work done on that knee. |
| 1:43.4 | So it looks like hospitals are going to be a bit of a bigger part of our lives over the next year, |
| 1:48.4 | which is not fun, although I must say the nurses and doctors were absolutely amazing. |
| 1:54.2 | And I got to eat hospital food, which after plain food, is my favourite. |
| 1:59.0 | Give me floppy white bread and peaches in custard any time. |
... |
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