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On a Mission Podcast

Pro Footballer Fraser Franks On Battling Alcohol Addiction and The Power You Gain When You Find Your Identity

On a Mission Podcast

Ellie McKay

4.41K Ratings

🗓️ 16 April 2023

⏱️ 96 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

At the age of 28, professional footballer Fraser Franks was abruptly forced into retirement from professional football and found himself spiralling into depression, which swiftly led to a prolonged period of alcohol addiction.

Through sheer willpower and determination, Fraser pulled himself back from the brink of self-destruction and has since gone on to become a vocal champion when it comes to helping others to beat their alcohol issues.

Fraser talks frankly about what it means to go from the top to the bottom, how he has learned to frame his past and why our careers must never truly define who we are as a person, the sometimes shocking moments from his time as an alcoholic, and why he resolved to pull himself back from the edge in order to carve out a happier, healthier life.

Another incredibly raw episode of the On a Mission podcast.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

  • When we are young, we seem to set our entire life's path according to the career we aspire to. When we have the benefit of experience and maturity, we see that career paths never truly define who we are as a person.
  • There's no such thing as failure when it comes to anything. There are only lessons that we can use to make us stronger and more resilient.
  • Alcohol makes us far more confident, and can allow us to explore a more free-thinking side of ourselves. But if that isn't who we truly are, then we tend to rely upon it to help us in social situations, leading to a spiralling effect, where we can't exist in the world unless we drink.
  • Rather than face the judgment of those who love us, alcohol users hide their addictions, forcing them to become shadowy versions of the person they once were. this can lead to shame, and a loss of self-worth.

BEST MOMENTS

'There was no separation of the player and the person'

'Personality is not permanent - good or bad'

'I developed a real confidence with alcohol, but no confidence without it'

'I became defensive because I knew I was drinking more than I wanted to'

'I didn't like the person that I was becoming'

VALUABLE RESOURCES

On A Mission - https://omny.fm/shows/on-a-mission

Fraser Franks Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/fraserfranks/?hl=en

Fraser Franks Twitter - https://www.twitter.com/@Fraserfranks

Athletic Greens - http://athleticgreens.com/onamission

ABOUT THE HOST

Not so long ago, life was barely recognisable for Ellie McKay, raising three children under five, battling post-natal depression, facing redundancy and walking into the job centre to claim benefits with a double pram, no confidence, and wracked with insecurities.

Fast forward to today, and life looks very different. Ellie committed to turning her life around for herself and her family. Following this commitment, she got to work and has now built multiple successful companies, as well as having created a multimillion-pound property portfolio from a standing start.

Ellie is now on a mission to make a positive impact and add value to others through her podcast which has attracted phenomenal guests worldwide. The show is specifically to help those trying to reach their full potential through its inspirational and motivational content, as well as challenging conventional wisdom to discuss all the “hot topics” in a relentless pursuit of the truth.

CONTACT METHODS:

Website: http://www.elliemckay.com

LinkedIn: Linkedin.com/in/ellie-mckay/

Facebook: Facebook.com/ellie.mckay.3150

Instagram: https://instagram.com/ellie_mckay_official?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y=

OAM Instagram: https://instagram.com/onamissionshow?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y=

YouTube: https://youtube.com/@onamissionpodcast

This show was brought to you by Progressive Media

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0

You literally had the biggest match of your career and then one day it literally gets ripped apart.

0:08.8

The day before I retired from football I wrote a blog post and on the way to my last ever game

0:14.2

I was writing it on the coach about all the things I didn't like about being a footballer and just

0:18.4

almost asking for a way out that next day I was in hospital.

0:23.2

I remember just looking around thinking like four days ago I'm playing against like the best

0:26.9

players in the world and now I'm literally on a ward. I saw these like old guys with oxygen tanks

0:33.6

and I know I'm there with them. How did you deal with that? I'd literally just like drink until I

0:38.8

blacked out in a hotel room and that was what I actually looked forward to. I know now that I can't

0:43.5

drink like a normal person anymore and I know that this isn't serving me. Too many people wait

0:48.3

until they've lost marriages, homes, relationships and I'm like I can sort this out now while I've still

0:54.6

got all that. Fraser Frank's welcome to the animation podcast. Thank you for having me.

1:00.4

We're just saying it's been a long time in the making hasn't it? When did we first start chatting?

1:05.5

I think it must be over six months now. Easily. Yeah we've had you came up to me and got stuck in

1:12.6

traffic for it seemed like about seven or eight hours I think. Yeah I think it was. It was about

1:17.6

seven hours round to trip to get the square meter of fuck all based. We didn't get anywhere.

1:24.3

We got absolutely gridlocked on the the M62. It was just one of those as well. You just know you're

1:29.6

not going anywhere fast. You're not moving an inch. You know we're trapped for about four hours.

1:35.5

And you just saying that's given me permission. I needed that language is acceptable on this podcast.

1:42.3

So I've not got to watch my mouth too much then. Yeah you're not on the diary of the CEO here. You do

1:46.5

have it. It's probably the least professional podcast going but it's just such an honor to finally

1:53.0

get you on and share a bit of your story because actually most people know you as a professional

1:59.0

footballer but the more I've been digging into you there's just so many more layers to your

...

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