S3 Ep 4: Family Matters

Building Possibilities

Season finale! Paulo and Anthony sit down with two Chicago recovery constants, John O and Alley B, for a conversation that's equal parts celebration and real talk. John and Alley share what it took to get sober during the Great Recession and actually build a life on the other side of it, including the wisdom of finishing the work on the inside before diving into dating. They dig into leaning on the sober community when things get hard, and the idea that connection, not sobriety alone is the real opposite of addiction. It's a conversation about what becomes possible when we get sober: the ability to actually show up for life. And in true No Matter What Club fashion, Paulo and Anthony get vulnerable too, sharing a painful twist in their own journey together and the lessons and light that came out of it. Watch and listen wherever you get your podcasts. #RecoveryPodcast #SoberLife #RecoveryJourney #SobrietyMatters #OneDayAtATime #NoMatterWhatClub #RecoveryCommunity Hosts: Paulo Arranaga-GraysonCo-Founder, No Matter What Recovery Anthony Arranaga-Grayson Co-Founder, No Matter What Recovery Special Guests: John O, Chicago Alley B, Chicago

The Road to Chemsex Recovery

This week, Paulo, Anthony, and Mell sit down with Ross Mondschain at the Chicago Podcast Studio for a deep dive into chemsex recovery — both during treatment and long after. They talk through doing parts work with Internal Family Systems, learning to settle back into the body in early treatment, and then settling into the mind for the harder work around chemsex itself. Ross shares why safety containers matter so much in those first few months of sobriety, and then we talk about what it actually looks like to come to No Matter What Recovery for chemsex-specific work, and how clients navigate the transition out of treatment — including the sexual recovery plan that helps set people up for lasting success. New episode streaming now on all your favorite podcast platforms. Host: Paulo Arranaga-Grayson Co-Founder, No Matter What Recovery Anthony Arranaga-Grayson Co-Founder, No Matter What Recovery Mell McCracken Director of Chemsex & LGBTQ+ Programs Special Guest: Ross Mondschain, LCPC CST About Connection Counseling

Hocus Pocus

In this episode of the No Matter What Club podcast, Paulo, Anthony, and Thomas sit down with Chicago Roundup Chair Melissa Young for a conversation that covers a lot of ground — sage advice from old-timers in recovery, the "hocus-pocus theory," the legend of local drag king icon Jackson Masters, and a shared love of Madonna and other muses. Melissa also takes us back to the beginnings of the Chicago Roundup and how it became a safe space for people living with HIV during the early days of the AIDS epidemic. Host: Paulo Arranaga-GraysonCo-Founder, No Matter What Recovery Anthony Arranaga-GraysonCo-Founder, No Matter What Recovery Thomas AllenProgram Director, No Matter What Recovery ChicagoSpecial Guest: Melissa YoungChair, Chicago Roundup

Reclaiming Queer

This week on the No Matter What Club, Paulo, Anthony, and Thomas sit down with a true Chicago legend — Edna D Mascara, a beloved fixture in the city's drag scene. Out of the wig and lashes, she's Andy Foxhoven, substance use counselor and proud member of the No Matter What Recovery team at our Chicago outpatient location.In this episode, Edna takes us back to where it all began — the origins of her drag journey and how it's been woven into her own personal recovery story. The group digs into how iconic Chicago institutions like the Miss Continental and Serenity pageants became so much more than competitions — they became community. They also get into the real talk around drag as a tool for dismantling internalized homophobia, the ongoing conversation around reclaiming and reframing the word queer, and — as always — how we stay sober today.It's a rich, joyful, and deeply honest conversation. Don't miss it — streaming now on all your favorite podcast platforms.Host:Paulo Arranaga-GraysonCo-Founder, No Matter What RecoveryAnthony Arranaga-GraysonCo-Founder, No Matter What RecoveryThomas AllenProgram Director, No Matter What Recovery ChicagoSpecial Guest:Edna D Mascara/Andy FoxhovenSubstance Use Counselor #NoMatterWhatClub #RecoveryPodcast #DragCommunity #ChicagoDrag #MissContinental #QueerRecovery #ReclaimingQueer #QueerAndSober #SoberPride #SoberLife #ChicagoRecovery #ChicagoLGBTQ

Community Heals

A new episode just dropped — and this one hits differently. 🎙️🏳️‍🌈Paulo, Anthony, and Mell are coming to you from the Chicago Podcast Studio with the incredible Howard Gelb, and this conversation does *not hold back. Howard takes us inside what it was like living through the AIDS epidemic in the 80s and 90s — the loss, the survival, the drugs used to cope — and how out of all that grief, the circuit party was born. He also opens up about a deeply personal promise he made to his mom, and the early roots of recovery communities right here in Chicago.At the heart of it all? *Community builds resilience* - and in recovery, that's everything!This episode is for anyone who's ever needed their people to get through. 🤍🎧 Streaming now on all your favorite podcast platforms.Hashtags: #NoMatterWhatClub #SoberPodcast #PrideMonth #chicagopride #QueerHistory #AIDSHistory #mentalhealth #communityhealsHost:Paulo Arranaga-GraysonCo-Founder, No Matter What RecoveryAnthony Arranaga-GraysonCo-Founder, No Matter What RecoveryMell McCrackenNational Director of Chemsex and LGBTQ+ Programs, No Matter What RecoverySpecial Guest:Howard Gelb, LCSWPsychotherapist