Why Having Sober Mates Matters...
Sober Awkward
Victoria Vanstone
4.8 • 533 Ratings
🗓️ 16 November 2025
⏱️ 54 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
This week on Sober Awkward, Vic finally tells Hamish everything about the jungle retreat, and no, it wasn’t a cult, no white robes, and absolutely no seduction attempts (apparently). Instead, fifteen strangers arrived in Thailand and fifteen new mates walked out, bonded by rainy boat trips, sweaty boxing classes, lots of yoga, a quiz night that got wildly out of hand, and a whole lot of belly laughs. Oh, and some people that really get it!
In this episode, Vic and Hamish explore why finding your sober people is such a game changer. When you quit drinking, you don’t just lose the booze, you can lose belonging, confidence, and your old social world. Sober mates fill that gap. They get you, steady you, calm your nervous system, and make you laugh in a way you actually remember the next day. They make sobriety feel less lonely and a whole lot more fun.
Vic also shares the big realisation she had in the jungle: the magic wasn’t the retreat itself, it was being completely, unapologetically herself around people who were doing the same. No pretending. No performing. Just real connection. So, if you are feeling like a sober billy no mates, have a listen to todays episode, it's packed with ways you can fill your sobriety not just with fizzy water, but also with a few magic sober mates that really see you and your glorious awkwardness!!
Oh and there is a bit of Craig David action as per usual. Enjoy!
💛 Resources & Links
📘 Victoria’s memoir – A Thousand Wasted Sundays
A brutally honest and hilarious look at motherhood, anxiety, and ditching the booze.
🎧 Listen to more Sober Awkward episodes
🫖 Join The Cuppa Community
Our private, supportive online space for sober folk
📘 Get the Sober Awkward Guide
Our downloadable toolkit for ditching booze the awkward way.
📱 Follow us for daily sober fun:
Instagram: @soberawkward
TikTok: @soberawkward
Facebook: Sober Awkward Community for Women
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | The cattle's boiled, Vic. |
| 0:03.8 | Great, perfect timing. |
| 0:05.7 | Just a dash of milk for me, please, mate. |
| 0:09.5 | Here you go. |
| 0:10.9 | Should we get started then? |
| 0:17.3 | Have you ever woken up on a Sunday morning and said, |
| 0:19.9 | I'm never drinking again, |
| 0:21.4 | and then found yourself waving 50 bucks at a barman by happy hour? |
| 0:25.1 | Are you wondering why everyone else can stop at one, |
| 0:27.8 | while you head to a dodgy after party with a weird bloke called Disco Dave? |
| 0:31.6 | If so, it might be time to take a deeper look at your relationship with your reliable social crutch, alcohol. |
| 0:38.1 | On each episode, we'll investigate our own dysfunctional dealings with booze |
| 0:42.2 | and find out if it's possible to stop this deeply ingrained habit before things get too messy. |
| 0:47.5 | Yep, we're going to open up a shame shed of humiliating drinking stories |
| 0:51.1 | to help you understand why waking up from a booze coma each weekend with a |
| 0:54.9 | kebab sticking out of your top pocket might actually be negatively impacting your health. |
| 0:59.9 | Hamish and I are here to delve into what it's like being sober, an unwanted warts and all look |
| 1:05.3 | into why giving up those cheeky pints or putting down those mummy wines will make you feel happier, |
| 1:12.0 | help your anxiety in mental health and turn you into the most sparkly authentic version of you. |
| 1:16.5 | Won't that mean I become boring though, Vic? |
| 1:18.3 | Well, Hamish, we'll just have to wait and see. |
| 1:20.9 | I'm Victoria Vanstone. |
... |
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