It’s so much more than Dry January…
It’s health. It’s self control. It’s f-ing freedom.
It wasn’t my first dry rodeo, but I always discover new perspectives every time I commit to it. This past month wasn’t too hard sticking to it, as I noticed how many more friends, fam and people in general were also along for the journey. That was an incredibly encouraging feeling to know I wasn’t in it alone.
It was just after the holidays when I thought about why this might be a good time to get “off the sauce” for a bit and see what changes. A nice advantage from the get go was having my girlfriend willing and trusted to do the same. At first, I thought it’s easiest to take the hermit route, and just find quiet “booze-free” things to do, but quickly found that was no fun.
By week two, I found myself getting out to a couple events like a trivia night hosted by a friend and cheering on my hometown reigning champions the KC Chiefs in the playoffs at my favorite local pub. Everyone was very encouraging of my goal, and had their own perspectives to share which I gladly welcomed. The more tactics I had, the better.
One option I latched onto right away was the non-alcoholic (NA) beer craze which had taken the month by storm. I was impressed how brewing giants like Blue Moon from Molson Coors were dedicated to the trend. I enjoyed their tasty, almost-as-good-as-the-original, NA brew and their commercial shown below, had a pretty captivating strategy as well. They even had a promotion on January 12th, also known as Quitters Day for all the weaklings out there, called “Dry-Back January”. This clever special offered a free 6-pack of Blue Moon next month if you bought the NA option.
There was also a German craft brew Brlo, who made pop culture news for a rather hilarious take on a recent famous underwear ad. It included a well played parody of Jeremy Allen White’s Calvin Klein commercial, with an actor of a slightly different physique, which you’re welcome to check out here. The buzz took search engines by storm as views and sales made a significant impact.
Another great benefit here in Chicago was how many bars provided booze-free options to choose from. One of my favorites was checking out a new spot near Wicker Park called Life on Marz Community Club, which featured CBD/THC infused seltzers, nitro coffee, carbonated tea drinks, NA kombucha and more outside of their usual great beer lineup. Board games like Scrabble and Exploding Kittens kept us busy, along with some prime entertainment from Chicago band AtariMetal - which combined quite well with the THC.
Next highlight was making it to the gym a lot more frequently within the past month, given I wasn’t tired or achey from sucking down all that sugar and suds the night before. Though I already get in boxing classes, training workouts or pickleball 3–5 times a week, it was a nice feeling to push myself a little harder, which I do plan to continue.
So beyond the health benefits was simply having a clear mind to stay focused daily. Waking up sharp, staying on task and less of those midday crashes. Not to mention they hefty stack of cash you save at those pricey Chicago pubs. Normally I tend to only have a few drinks on the weekends with friends, I rediscovered some pretty nice advantages to having full control and staying dry 24/7, even if just a few weeks. That said my Dry January compadres, imagine if we kept going?
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