Keepin' It Friel: Conversations on Recovery

Keepin’ it Friel this week is Kiana Dean, a 22 year old foster care advocate, who was born addicted to drugs due to her mom’s meth addiction during pregnancy. As a result of the drugs, the right side of Kiana’s face is paralyzed, she has a heart defect, and has had many surgeries. She bounced around foster homes until a woman she calls her “angel” adopted her. Amazingly, Kiana doesn’t have the victim mentality, and instead got the urge to fight for babies who can’t speak for themselves.   

Darren Prince is a prominent sports & celebrity agent whose clients have included Magic Johnson, Hulk Hogan, Carmen Electra and more. He is also the other of the book Aiming High: How a Prominent Sports and Celebrity Agent Hit Bottom at the Top. Darren opens up about his 24-year addiction to opioids. Darren's recovery journey is now going 11 years strong, and he is now helping others break free from addiction.

Keepin’ it Friel this week is Dan Peres, the former editor in chief of Details Magazine and author of the book “As Needed for Pain”.  During Dan’s 15 years in charge at the magazine, he was secretly popping 60 opioids a day, and overdosed several times. He’d doctor shop, call in prescriptions for himself, and drive to Mexico for pills. Dan now has 12 years sober, loves being a dad to his three sons, and is trying to help de-stigmatize addiction.  

Laurie Dhue was the first news anchor to work at all three cable news networks.   While at Fox News Channel, Laurie’s drinking and cocaine use escalated.  She ended up hiring an addiction specialist to help her get clean.   Laurie now has 13 years sober, but at the 5 year mark, she attended an off the record dinner and a gossip magazine reporter outed her sobriety in an article the next day.   While she wasn’t planning on going public, Laurie became a recovery advocate that day, and continues to help others and speak on the topic around the country.  

Ryan Hampton is an author and activist. He is the author of the book American Fix: Inside the Opioid Addiction Crisis-and How to End It. Ryan opens up about his addiction to heroin, and the challenges he encountered with the nation's treatment system. Ryan's experiences have led him to be at the forefront of advocating for addiction recovery reform.

Keepin’ it Friel this week is Lawrence Zarian, a fashion expert who has covered hundreds of awards shows, and contributed to multiple TV networks, including here at KTLA.  Lawrence now has 14 years sober, but before that, he thought his alcohol and cocaine addiction would ultimately kill him. 

Keepin’ It Friel this week is Shelton Wilder, an LA real estate agent who was once featured on ABC’s “Shark Tank”.  From age 18-30, Shelton drank every single day, until her girlfriends gave her an intervention.  She went to rehab and has now been sober for 10 years.

Keepin’ it Friel this week is Bianca Rodriguez, a licensed psychotherapist who helps people struggling with addiction.  She also has 8 years sober from alcohol.  Bianca used to get sick all the time from drinking too much, ending up in the fetal position crying and hating herself.  Now she lives a calm, drama-free life and provides motivation to others through her “You Are Complete” life coach program.

Keepin’ it Friel this week is Rob Koebel, a former TV news investigative reporter whose career imploded after he got drunk and was caught on camera urinating on the Apple store, then scuffling with the cops.  He’s now coming up on seven years of sobriety. 

Keepin’ It Friel this week is actress Jennifer Gimenez, who starred in the movies Blow, Vanilla Sky and Charlie’s Angels.  She also appeared on the reality shows Celebrity Rehab and Sober House.  Jennifer just celebrated 14 years of sobriety, but for many years she abused drugs and alcohol, and even overdosed once.  Jenn now travels the country speaking as a recovery advocate.

Genevieve Morton is a former Sports Illustrated swimsuit model from South Africa.  She moved to Hollywood and seemed to be "living the life" with a successful career and a Maserati.  However, she felt like she was dying inside because of her alcohol addiction.  She was able to put two years sober together, only to have a boyfriend convince her to drink again one night.  Since that slip, Genevieve now has almost 3 years booze-free. 

Keepin’ It Friel this week is Anna David, a NY Times best-selling author of 8 books, publisher, TV commentator, and recovery advocate.  Anna recently celebrated 19 years clean from drugs and alcohol.  She hit rock bottom after being holed up in her apartment for weeks with her cats, doing cocaine. 

Keepin’ it Friel this week is Brandon Novak, a former professional skateboarder and star of the MTV show JackAss. Brandon is coming up on five years sober from alcohol and heroin.  After spending a year in jail, he finally surrendered to his addiction during his 13th rehab.  He now speaks around the country. 

Keepin’ it Friel this week is Susan Burton, an activist who’s been called a “modern day Harriet Tubman” for her work helping incarcerated women reintegrate back into society.  Susan knows what prison is like.  She went 6 times herself for drug offenses. She became addicted to drugs after her 5 year old son was struck and killed by a car. Susan now has 22 years sober and Governor Newsom recently pardoned her. She continues to work with her non-profit “A New Way of Life” and recently released a book called “Becoming Ms. Burton”.   

Keepin' it Friel this week is British rocker Billy Morrison, the lead guitarist for Billy Idol.  Billy Morrison now has 24 years sober, but before that he was homeless on the streets of Hollywood and hooked on heroin.   After 20 failed rehabs, he finally had a spiritual awakening when he realized no one would be at his funeral.  Billy loves living sober, is a successful artist, and also runs the charity “Above Ground” which raises awareness about mental health issues.  

Keepin’ It Friel this week is Sarah Scheper, star of VH1’s “Love & Listings” and an LA power real estate agent. For many years Sarah struggled with alcohol abuse and eating disorders. She finally quit everything after passing out and then waking up in a stranger’s moving car. She is now 9 years sober and hopes her past experiences will help others recover.  

Keepin’ it Friel this week is Brandon Lee, a main news anchor in Phoenix, AZ, and the author of “Mascara Boy.”  While Brandon was working as a reporter at KTLA 5 News, he hit rock bottom by overdosing twice in one week on booze, meth and GHB.  He’s now coming up on a decade sober and enjoys spreading a message of hope towards recovery. 

Keepin’ It Friel this week is Megan Holiday- a popular DJ on two radio stations: KROQ (Los Angeles) and ALT 105.3 (San Francisco). After getting fired from her job, becoming “high-class” homeless, and entering a psych ward due to her alcohol, cocaine and heroin addiction, Megan finally surrendered on 1/13/16.  She’s coming up on four years clean and loves living sober and helping others in recovery.

Keepin It Friel this week is reality TV star Jason Wahler, from MTV’s “The Hills,” “Laguna Beach” and “Dr. Drew’s Celebrity Rehab.”  Jason has been to more than a dozen rehabs and even attempted suicide.  He’s been honest about his past relapses and is now coming up on a year sober.  In this episode, Jason discusses recovery, and brings on a special guest to discuss tips and rehab options. 

Keepin’ it Frielthis week is Amy Dresner, a former stand up comic and author of the book “My Fair Junkie”. It took Amy many years to quit booze, blow, and crystal meth, but she’s now coming up on 7 years sober.