One Last Hit By Austin Rampt

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Addiction doesn’t always announce itself with a dramatic first hit. Sometimes it starts as a kid trying to quiet a loud, painful mind. Joe Grumbine sits down with author and recovery speaker Austin Rampt, whose memoir One Last Hit spans three decades of substance use, eight rehabs, a heart attack at 21, and a stretch living as a fugitive in Mexico after being forced into treatment under Florida’s Marchman Act.

We talk about the real mechanics of relapse prevention, including the slow “drift” that happens when daily recovery habits fade and life looks good on the outside. Austin gets specific about what changed for him: rebuilding sobriety through 12-step recovery, sponsor honesty, nightly inventory, prayer and meditation, service, and staying connected to a recovery community. He also shares a detail many listeners will recognize, how relapse can begin with a rationalized substitute like kratom before the obsession pulls you back to what you swore you left behind.

The Mexico chapter is intense: cartel-controlled access, escalating risk, trauma, and the moment the money finally runs out. But the heart of this conversation is hope and identity, learning that you don’t have to achieve anything to have value, and how vulnerability, relationships, and fatherhood helped him become someone he can live with. If you care about mental health, sober living, or recovery from addiction, this one stays with you.

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