Dryy's Andy Ramage reveals how he 'cracked the code' to break through social pressure about drinking

Virgin Radio

4 Jun 2024, 11:26

Andy Ramage joined Chris Evans in the Virgin Radio studio this morning to talk about all things being alcohol-free.

The Dryy Community co-founder and world-leading sobriety coach recently celebrated his 10-year alcohol-free anniversary, and opened up on The Chris Evans Breakfast Show with webuyanycar about how he began his journey.

“To rip out alcohol, it’s like your identity, it’s how you celebrate… [the idea] scared the life out of me,” Ramage admitted to Chris, who is currently celebrating a year of sobriety himself.

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“My biggest fear, if I stopped drinking, was how on earth was I gonna dance at weddings?!” Ramage joked honestly with Chris while discussing the struggles of giving up alcohol as a "middle-lane" drinker, rather than an alcoholic.

“I think that’s the case for so many people. [Drinking] becomes part of our identity," he added. But as the sobriety coach explained, “Everything alcohol promised you, [being] alcohol free gives you 1000 times more.”

Detailing some of the benefits which being alcohol free brought him, Ramage shared: “I lost three stone in weight, [my] resting heart rate went from 68 to 42, relationships blossomed, my brokering business which people thought would fail ‘because you can’t be a broker and not drink’, grew seven times bigger in half the time, it was just such a transformation.”

On the topic of breaking through the social stigmas which surround being completely teetotal, former footballer Ramage explained: “It was hard, I’d have my arm twisted all the time, the social pressure to drink is still immense.

“So I slipped up and tripped up,” he admitted. “But eventually I was inspired to go back and understand how my brain worked. I went back and did degrees and masters degrees in positive psychology and coaching psychology, just to try and figure this thing out, and eventually cracked the code. So it was quite a slow epiphany on my point.”

On how he would recommend others attempt to try out going alcohol-free, Ramage shared: “The key to it is to take a break… rather than just a dry-Jan, maybe [try] a 90 day break… the results for people are dramatic, so I think why not just give it a go.”

As Ramage shared, to completely cut out drinking still “takes a lot of courage” these days, although thanks to a rise in alcohol free drinks, the journey has “got easier” since when he started his alcohol-free journey ten years ago.

“We have to remember, even those one or two drinks in the week - again, talking to the middle lane, average drinker - disrupts your sleep, and look at what sleep does to your well being and your health and your mental health. 

“I was suffering from anxiety, full-blown panic attacks. And for me when I removed alcohol, they went away… Of course, it’s not a cure-all for those things, but lots of people I think at the moment are probably suffering a little bit as an average drinker, and they don’t realise. But if they take a break, they might discover something powerful,” Ramage said.

For more information about Andy and his alcohol-free journey, visit andyramage.com. For more advice on how to take a break from drinking, you can also download his and Matt Pink’s DryyApp.

For more great interviews listen to The Chris Evans Breakfast Show with webuyanycar weekdays from 6:30am on Virgin Radio, or catch up on-demand here.