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Pondoff's Anonymous

Pondoff's Anonymous

By: Chris Pondoff Jeff Allen Jakob Miller
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About this listen

 Pondoff's Anonymous is the unfiltered recovery podcast that says the quiet part out loud. Hosted by Chris Pondoff, Jeff Allen, and Jakob Miller, this show brings real conversations about addiction, recovery, and everything in between — no sugarcoating, no bullshit. It’s not polished. It’s not perfect. It’s honest. Each episode dives deep into the stories behind relapse, trauma, shame, growth, and the hard f*cking work of getting better. You’ll hear from addicts, sober warriors, and the people who walk beside them — including friends, family, and the ones who stuck around when shit got dark.Chris Pondoff, Jeff Allen, Jakob Miller Hygiene & Healthy Living Psychology Psychology & Mental Health
Episodes
  • S2 E17 Victory Palmisano-Bruckner

    S2 E17 Victory Palmisano-Bruckner
    May 19 2025
    Guest: Victory Palmisano-Bruckner – Hollywood Producer, Stunt Industry Survivor, and Daughter of a Vietnam Vet/AddictWho this episode is for:Anyone with an alcoholic parent or a complicated grief storyDaughters who loved their dads even when it hurtFolks haunted by the war they never fought inSurvivors of church trauma, spiritual abuse, and Hollywood bullshitCreatives chasing their own IP dream (and still broke)Anyone who’s ever loved someone they couldn’t saveAND anyone not in recovery who thinks “just stop drinking” is solid adviceThis one hits the gut and the funny bone in equal measure.Victory Palmisano-Bruckner stops by the studio for a raw, hilarious, and soul-punching convo with Chris, Jeff, and Jakob. She may be Hollywood through and through—raised on sets, daughter of a legendary stuntman turned director—but she’s also as grounded as a St. Louis brick house and just as scarred.Her story is soaked in love and loss. Growing up the daughter of a Vietnam vet and lifelong alcoholic who doubled as a real-life action hero, Victory paints a brutal but beautiful picture of what it means to carry the legacy of a man who could survive car crashes, war, and fire—but not himself.There’s talk of strip club scouting (for a low-budget film, we swear), the trauma of church camp cults, daddy issues, and how alcoholism shape-shifts through generations. She helped her dad detox in her damn living room, only to watch him go back to the bottle. She buried him a year and a half ago. He was in the In Memoriam at the Oscars. Big time.You’ll laugh. You’ll ugly cry. You might want to call your dad. Or curse his name. Or both.Also: Chris drops one-liners like “flop a titty out” that are now canon in the Palmisano family. Jeff nerds out on stunt IMDBs. Jakob gets exposed as ChatGPT-ing guests. And Victory, despite growing up in the biz, reveals her realest role ever—daughter of an addict, and survivor of it all.Episode Timestamps:00:00 – Intro, sponsor shoutouts01:25 – Victory joins the chaos03:00 – Stunt double stories, Hollywood roots08:00 – Her path into podcasting, NBC Universal10:00 – Church trauma & leaving evangelicalism13:00 – Titty jokes, family legends15:00 – Launching Quantum Spin Studios19:00 – Husband’s script: Sopranos meets This Is Us22:00 – Her dad’s legacy: stunt safety & SAG activism28:00 – Oscar’s stunt category & grief spike33:00 – Vietnam trauma, PTSD, and substance abuse38:00 – Alec Baldwin, stunts, and industry danger41:00 – ACA & Al-Anon, strip club scouting horror46:00 – Making cocktails for dad at age 752:00 – Detoxing dad at home, COVID chaos56:00 – The rare apology before it was too late1:00:00 – Loving someone who doesn’t love themself1:05:00 – Boundaries, therapy, codependency truth1:10:00 – *World of Vesser* and the loneliness cure1:13:00 – Braves talk, Chipper Jones & Daniel nerd-out1:15:00 – Advice for people with addicted parents1:18:00 – Al-Anon’s power to make you feel less alone1:22:00 – After he died: health crashes, then calm1:23:26 – Naming the episode: Dad’s Club1:27:00 – Weekend at Bernie’s stunt reveal1:28:15 – Gino Lucci black car story, NYC-style sendoff1:30:00 – Viola, Serenity Prayer, and future visits1:31:36 – Game name slip: World of Vesser1:31:59 – Closing gratitude, grief, and fanboy loveResources Mentioned:Adult Children of AlcoholicsIllinois Recovery CenterBertarelli CutlerySponsored by:Bertarelli CutleryIllinois Recovery CenterEpisode Title: Dead Dad’s Club
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    1 hr and 33 mins
  • S2 E16 Kurt Garner

    S2 E16 Kurt Garner
    May 12 2025

    Who this episode is for:
    Those gutted by playoff heartbreak.
    Anyone who’s blacked out and called mom from jail.
    Teachers who taught Spanish while sweating out tequila.
    The sober curious, the secret drinkers, and the still spiraling.
    And anyone who’s ever run from a strip club tab and lived to tell it.

    EPISODE 16: “Señor Tequila & the Long Walk Home” (with Kurt Garner)

    Chris and Jakob are emotionally wrecked. The Blues blew it with 1.6 seconds left. Enter Kurt Garner—a guy who once taught elementary Spanish still buzzed from the night before.

    From blackouts and breakups to a Mexican strip club escape, Kurt’s story is wild, hilarious, and brutally honest. Now four years sober, he’s up at 3 a.m., hitting the gym, and helping others tell their stories through mysoundstory.com.

    What’s Inside:
    – Blues trauma, 1.6 seconds of hell
    – Dating apps, tequila-fueled teaching
    – DUI and a jail call to mom
    – Mexico, 75 Hard, and recovery
    – Finding purpose with SoundStory

    Plug:
    🎙️ Kurt Garner – Co-host of TMA and contributor at mysoundstory.com

    📍 Timestamp Breakdown:
    00:00 – Intro – bertarellico.com
    01:20 – Blues heartbreak
    02:30 – Gretzky & goalie PTSD
    05:00 – Meet Kurt
    08:00 – Hate-watching hockey
    11:00 – Soccer & Cardinals
    13:00 – Sober dating
    15:50 – Putshack dates
    18:00 – Señor Tequila opens up
    23:20 – First drink to DUI
    30:00 – Jail call & car wreck
    33:00 – Tequila Rose chaos
    39:00 – Teaching blackout
    43:00 – Divorce, denial
    47:00 – Mexico escape
    53:00 – Spanish saves him
    55:00 – 75 Hard begins
    58:00 – Gym & routine
    01:06:00 – Addiction patterns
    01:10:00 – Fired, freed
    01:14:00 – Building SoundStory
    01:27:00 – Storytelling & legacy
    01:36:00 – Radio chaos
    01:47:00 – Family purpose
    02:00:00 – 4 years sober
    02:02:00 – Share your story

    Sponsored by:
    🔪 bertarellico.com
    🏥 illinoisrecoverycenter.com
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    2 hrs and 3 mins
  • S2 E15 Cam Janssen

    S2 E15 Cam Janssen
    May 5 2025
    🎙️ EPISODE 15: Cam Janssen – "Painkillers, Playoffs & Garth Fucking Brooks"Who this episode is for:Anyone who’s ever played hurt, lived high, or faked being fineMoms who can smell bullshit before you open your mouthBlues fans screaming “LET’S GO!” and flipping off WinnipegKids who grew up begging to stay on the ice till the Zamboni chased ‘em offThose who overdosed in front of their neighbors and somehow kept it movingAnyone who’s ever made a mess of their lifeCam Janssen rolls into the studio with a story that’ll punch you right in the soul. What starts off as some rowdy playoff hockey talk turns real fast—like, real real—when Cam dives into the wreckage of his painkiller addiction.We’re talking overdoses in his driveway while the whole neighborhood watches. We’re talking hiding withdrawal in a pro locker room while pretending to be the funny guy. We’re talking about being a “good” drug user—that dangerous kind who keeps functioning just enough to not get help.But it ain’t all darkness. There’s a lot of laughs, too—like Garth Brooks accidentally storming the ice during a charity game and nearly getting murdered. And Cam’s dad eating a hot dog thrown by a pissed-off fan, then chucking it back into the crowd like a savage.There’s locker room stories, childhood fights, recovery truths, and some absolute mayhem from the Blues’ playoff run. Oh, and we get deep into what it means to actually show up—for your teammates, for your city, and for yourself.And major love to the St. Louis Blues Warriors—a team of badass disabled veterans taking names and scoring goals. Cam drops stories about getting hacked up by those guys and loving every second of it. If you're in STL, support them or just go watch ’em throw down:👉 www.stlblueswarriorhockey.comIf you’ve ever been addicted, ever been broken, or ever been almost famous while absolutely falling apart inside—this one’s for you.🕒 TIMESTAMPS:00:00 – Intro & sponsor shoutouts01:08 – Show theme music kicks in01:22 – Cam joins the chaos01:28 – Jersey number talk and mid-convo nonsense01:43 – “Always on hot bitches”—Cam lets loose early02:10 – Law & Order, Dell Guy, and guest rankings03:17 – From podcasting to radio to color commentary04:11 – Garth Brooks walks on the ice mid-play (yes, really)06:36 – Scoring 4 goals instead of throwing fists07:59 – Blues beatdown of the Jets: full breakdown10:29 – “You can’t get traded to Winnipeg”12:47 – Blues defense is buzzing14:02 – Bonuses, the cap, and nerding out on contract math16:19 – Packed barns, playoff energy, and money flying18:30 – Montreal chaos and goaltenders getting trucked20:25 – Goalies are psychos, period.22:43 – Why the Jets’ “park the bus” defense collapsed24:07 – Cam’s dad, a flying hot dog, and Granite City glory27:04 – Why respecting refs lets you get away with murder28:33 – Driving 14 hours to get kicked out in 10 seconds30:13 – Hockey isn’t a sport—it’s a fraternity31:02 – Cam shouts out the Blues Warriors (and gets hacked by a vet)33:03 – Blues alumni locker room = country club for ex-brawlers35:16 – Dwight Schofield, hurricane hero37:57 – The stuff moms carry that dads can’t39:29 – Cam’s full descent into painkillers: how it started42:06 – The yellow Percs. 190 of ‘em. Alone in Jersey.47:12 – Collapse #1: Cam overdoses in his driveway54:45 – Collapse #2: “That was it.”56:25 – “I thought I could beat this on my own”58:05 – Being the functioning addict is the most dangerous kind1:00:02 – Suboxone: the lifesaver that nearly killed his fire1:01:46 – Libido’s gone, energy’s gone, but at least he’s clean1:02:51 – Tapering off, staying off, and keeping the chaos at bay1:04:10 – Why opioids no longer have a grip—but other vices still try1:05:22 – Laughs, love, real talk, and a few final body blows1:06:45 – Fade to blackSponsored by:Illinois Recovery Center – www.illinoisrecoverycenter.comBertarelli Cutlery – www.bertarellico.com
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    1 hr and 27 mins
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