In this episode, Jason and Ron sit down with Isabella Roybal, soccer standout and now Director of Compliance at Nexus Wellness Clinic, to talk about the power of connection, recovery, and redemption.

From CIF-winning soccer champion to struggling with addiction, homelessness, and trauma, Isabella’s story is one of brutal honesty, grace, and second chances. She shares her journey through assault, overdose, and recovery. Her mother’s mantra, “On to the next,” inspired the name and mission of Nexus Wellness, to be the connecting point to someone’s next step in life.

Jason, Ron, and Isabella discuss how trauma and mental health drive addiction, how programs like Nexus Wellness Clinic and Desert Recovery Centers work hand-in-hand to create real re-entry opportunities, and why love, structure, and community are the keys to healing.

🏥 NEXUS WELLNESS CLINIC

📍 Phoenix, AZ
🌐 nexuswellnessclinic.com
📞 602-980-3862

🏥 DESERT RECOVERY CENTERS

🌐 www.DesertRecoveryCenters.com

🎧 Powerless 2 Powerful Podcast available on All Streaming Platforms

In this episode, Jason and Ron sit down with Mike Loverde, Founder and CEO of Family First Intervention, the largest intervention organization in the country. Mike shares his raw, powerful story. From a finance graduate turned homeless addict to one of the nation’s most successful leading voices in family-centered recovery work.

He opens up about the broken system that forgets the families left behind, the chaos of enabling, and how his own mother’s tough love and an unforgettable intervention changed everything.

Mike breaks down how Family First helps families change the environment, not just the addict. We discuss building and sticking to boundaries, accountability, and healing on both sides of addiction. The conversation dives deep into the fentanyl epidemic, the failures of modern therapy, and why truth-based, family-driven recovery is just what works.

This episode is brutally honest, deeply insightful, and full of hope for anyone walking through the pain of addiction in their home.

🏠 CONNECT WITH FAMILY FIRST INTERVENTION
🌐 www.Family-Intervention.com
🎧 Powerless 2 Powerful Podcast available on All Streaming Platforms

In this powerful episode, Jason and Ron sit down with Justin Lawson, a man whose story embodies the phrase powerless to powerful.

Justin’s journey began in Northern California. A good kid from a loving home who had no idea how deep alcohol and drugs would take him. From baseball dreams and construction crews to shooting dope in a hospital bathroom while his newborn was on the other side of the door, Justin’s story is one of brutal honesty, pain, and ultimate redemption.

He shares how he lost everything. We discuss his freedom, his family, his son’s mother, and how God, Crossroads, and the 12 Steps gave him a second chance. From being kicked out of treatment to returning just months later ready to surrender, Justin transformed his entire life through service, faith, and recovery. Today, he’s the Operations Manager at Crossroads, helping hundreds of men and women rebuild their lives the same way he did.

This conversation dives deep into fatherhood, addiction, relapse, faith, and the reality of recovery. This is the kind of raw truth that makes Powerless 2 Powerful one of the most impactful podcasts in the Arizona recovery community.

🏠 CONNECT WITH CROSSROADS

📍 2002 E Osborne Rd, Phoenix, AZ
🕗 Doors open at 8:00 AM (arrive early – first come, first served)
💬 Accepts AHCCCS, private insurance, and grants.
🌐 thecrossroadsinc.org

🎧 Powerless 2 Powerful Podcast available on All Streaming Platforms

Today we sit down with Drew “Rhino” Neiertz — father, leader, and Senior Project Manager at ProWest / Interstate Roofing, overseeing teams across 22 states.

From foster homes and juvenile detention to multiple prison sentences in 3 states, Drew’s story sits in the definition of powerless to powerful. Known behind razor wire as “Rhino,” Drew was all aggression and no direction until recovery, faith, and discipline flipped the script.

Now he leads one of the largest organically grown sales forces in the roofing industry, mentoring men from recovery and incarceration into six-figure earners, fathers, and leaders. This episode dives deep into what happens when recovery meets real-world results.

Today we welcome Matt Langford! Mentor, sponsor, and Chief Sales Officer of Valor Contracting.

Matt’s journey is the definition of Powerless to Powerful. In and out of prison, a childhood surrounded by chaos, addiction, and violence all transformed into a story of faith, service, and entrepreneurship. Jason & Ron revisit how Matt sponsored Jason, finding freedom through the steps, and how that same discipline built one of Arizona’s fastest-growing roofing companies. This is one of the most emotional and powerful episodes yet packed with spiritual awakening, leadership, and redemption.

Today we sit down with Zac Ponczak, Director of Business Development at The Embers (PHP/IOP/OP + luxury sober living). Zac opens up about his journey—from high-risk polysubstance use and a brutal run that ended in a moment of clarity—to rebuilding his life through service, sponsorship, and professional growth across multiple programs. We go deep on why documentation = advocacy, how to coordinate true continuum of care (DRC residential → Embers PHP/IOP/OP → sober living), and the Embers’ FOSS framework (a salutogenic, strengths-based approach grounded in positive psychology and evidence-based care).

Julio grew up on the south side of Chicago, survived childhood abuse, gang life, and years in Mexican and federal prisons. He lays out the brutal turning points that hardened him and the waking moment that drove him to change, from suicidal desperation to a life built on discipline, faith, and daily practice. In this episode Julio explains how he turned survival skills into leadership, how Wrong to Strong grew from pain into purpose, and why mentoring inside prisons and working with young men is the work that matters most to him now. Raw, honest, and unflinching, this conversation maps the path from violence and addiction to service, teaching, and real emotional repair.

In this deeply personal and inspiring episode, Jason sits down with Mike Cunningham, a key leader at AZ Hope and Healing Addiction Treatment Centers — an addiction treatment center with locations across Mesa, Phoenix, Scottsdale, and Surprise. Offering services like Residential Treatment, PHP, IOP, Sober Living, and a dedicated Veterans Program, AZ Hope and Healing creates space for healing through both clinical and spiritual transformation.

Mike shares his powerful journey from addiction to recovery, diving into how his early feelings of discomfort, disconnection, and overthinking led him to experiment with substances as young as third grade. From inhaling rubber cement to drinking and engaging in risky behaviors by middle school, Mike's story uncovers the painful truth of using substances to escape emotional turmoil.

Through faith, surrender, and community, Mike found his way to recovery—and even had the humbling experience of helping his own father begin his sobriety journey. This episode is a vulnerable, honest look at the way addiction affects generations, and how hope, healing, and belief in something greater can break the cycle.

Learn more about Hope and Healing Center here: https://azhopeandhealing.com/