Breaking Barriers: How Bryttany Hyde Built The Little Sober Bar & Disrupted the Events Industry

In this episode of Nosedive, Renée and Mara sit down with Brittany Hyde, founder and owner of The Little Sober Bar! They chat about her journey into an alcohol free lifestyle and the creation of a community-focused mobile bar that offers non-alcoholic options. They discuss the challenges of entrepreneurship, the importance of curiosity, and the evolving landscape of sober spaces. Brittany shares her insights on parenting, personal growth, and the significance of making choices that align with one's true self.

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Transcript

Renée Adams (00:00)
What's up y'all, we're back with another episode of Nose Dive where we bring you guests who show us how numbing less and living more really does work and how you can incorporate these pockets of joy too. Today we're talking with Brittany Hyde, founder and CEO of The Little Sober Bar, a mobile bar and small footprint bottle shop.

We're stoked to talk about your journey, why you decided to start Sober Bar, and your experience through it all. And I just want to give a huge thank you, first and foremost, to Brittany for sending over a bottle of La Petite Victoire, a non-alch sparkling blanc de blanc, which is so good. And just want to raise a glass. Cheers, you guys. So excited. And Brittany, welcome to Nosedive.

Bryttany (00:43)
Yay!

Thank you so much for having me. Yes, we have to drink after you cheers.

Renée Adams (00:53)
You have to drink after. Yeah, exactly. Or else it's bad luck. So yeah,

Mara DeMauro (00:57)
Wow, that pronunciation

Renée Adams (00:58)
we

Mara DeMauro (00:59)
was just like, go la la la la. Yes.

Bryttany (01:01)
⁓

Renée Adams (01:01)
my francaise coming out, indeed.

Bryttany (01:05)
You

Renée Adams (01:06)
So we wanted, yeah, and just to give a little backstory, so Brittany and I connected through social media. Instagram is just really, y'all, it's amazing. I found a little sober bar on Instagram when searching for places ⁓ to buy non-elk drinks on my way home for the holidays, and there really wasn't that many to even choose from in the surrounding.

like Atlanta area. So I just love seeing what you're doing for the community and being this beacon of belonging for events and sober-ish people. And I specifically love your motto. Every event isn't dry, but every event has sober a night that is. So let's get into it. Tell us a little bit about you and yeah, how you came up with this concept.

Bryttany (01:57)
Yeah. So a little bit about me is I've kind of been an entrepreneur forever, like my whole life. ⁓ So I think in how can I fix things? I mean, one of our mottos is stay curious. So I definitely feel like I personally embody that vibe. So I'm like, ⁓ that could be better. ⁓ that's not fair. Like, I'm very curious about the why behind things. So.

In my own sober curious journey, I started because I just really wanted to take control of my mental health. I realized I was just not the best mom I could be, not the best me I could be. And I started asking myself, like, why? Like, why? Why do I feel that way? Why do I? Why is every day hard to, like, get up every day? Partially because I was drinking, like, every night in the suburbs. That's where we live. Like, it's...

Renée Adams (02:48)
Yeah.

Bryttany (02:50)
not

uncommon for bus stop beers and like with COVID it got worse. ⁓

Mara DeMauro (02:55)
Mm.

Renée Adams (02:56)
Wow,

yeah. Bus Stop Beers. I haven't heard that one before. I've heard like the mom wine culture, but yeah, Bus Stop Beers. That's a new one.

Mara DeMauro (02:59)
I know!

Bus stop beers.

Bryttany (03:04)
Yeah, it was a vibe. Listen, I'm not knocking it at all. It's just for me. Like you live your life. I don't judge little silver bar like me as a person. Like I don't judge you live your life. But for me, I was not recovering well. Like there's people out there who could like clean their house and do things. And for me, I was like, no, I'd rather just sleep all day or and then another bus stop.

Renée Adams (03:19)
people out there who could clean their house.

Mara DeMauro (03:29)
Hahaha!

Renée Adams (03:29)
Yeah.

Yeah, totally.

totally. Yeah.

Mara DeMauro (03:33)
Mm.

Bryttany (03:35)
⁓ So I was just like, this is crazy. Like the culture behind it is for me is just, I need another option. I need a better option. I want to be able to go out and like hang out with my friends, but like not drink and not feel like I had to lie about what I was drinking. So that whole idea of a little sober bar came from that whole like, it's not fair feeling. ⁓

Renée Adams (03:41)
is just I need another

Mara DeMauro (04:01)
Mmm. The honesty. Love it.

Renée Adams (04:01)
That's such a synchronicity that you say that.

Yeah, because when I was growing up, that was my motto. It's not fair. It's not fair. So I love that something really great came out of that. That's kind of weird. Yeah, I used to say that all the time. But yeah, Mara, what were you going to say with the truth kind of behind it? When we get down to that layer of what we actually want. Yeah, what were you going to say?

Mara DeMauro (04:11)
Oooooh

Bryttany (04:17)
Yeah.

Mara DeMauro (04:25)
Well, gosh, there's like so much to say, but I, first of all, wow, Nate, I didn't know that about your little motto thing. So that's interesting. ⁓ And Brittany, I really appreciate the honesty of like, it came out of this, this belief that I had that it's just not fair, you know, because I think sometimes it's hard to like sit with the truth of like,

Bryttany (04:29)
Yeah.

Renée Adams (04:36)
Yeah.

Mara DeMauro (04:55)
This like, I was in a place where I was like, fuck, this sucks. You know, like, why me? You know, it's hard to admit that we feel that way because people are like, don't be a victim and like this and that. it's like, dude, but we all go through this and we actually all feel this. And when people are transparent about that evolutionary process and they don't just skip that part, that piece that we actually do go through, it like normalizes it and helps other people realize it's okay to fucking say that.

Like, you're not alone in that. So I really appreciate you being like, yeah, I was having this thought that it's not fair because shit, I still have some of those thoughts, you know?

Renée Adams (05:23)
Yeah.

Bryttany (05:24)
Mmm.

Mm.

Mm-hmm. Yeah, that should I just felt like people should have the same amount of options No matter if you choose to drink or don't drink and like this is it was like a hill. I was like I am It's just not fair. ⁓ I want to be able to I loved the part that I loved about drinking was the flavors and the The fact that I could go to like a bar or like for my birthday one year We did a seltzer hop and we went to different

Renée Adams (05:45)
Yeah.

Bryttany (05:59)
breweries around and try different stuff. So to me, it's like the experience and the community and getting to try new things was always the underlying of why I was drinking as much as I was drinking. ⁓ So, because I would just drink and not eat. Also that. ⁓

Mara DeMauro (06:12)
Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm.

Right.

Renée Adams (06:19)
yeah, been there.

Bryttany (06:20)
Yeah. Yeah. That's

Mara DeMauro (06:21)
Yeah. Totally.

Bryttany (06:23)
the truth of it. You know, it's like, as much as I wanted to feel there was also this part of it. Like I learned about ADHD and having it being on the spectrum a little bit and that the addiction mindset too for me was dopamine seeking. Like I was just like, Oh, I want to try something new and I want to do something crazy. And like, what flavor is this? And let's try the new thing. And I don't know. There's a lot of that for me.

So that's kind of where this evolution of the sober bar came from.

Mara DeMauro (06:56)
Totally. Yeah. Can you share with us what the little sober bar is for people who may not know who haven't stalked your Instagram yet?

Bryttany (07:08)
⁓

Sure, absolutely. So the Little Cyber Bar is an alternative bar and market. We are primarily mobile, so we do festivals, private events, like weddings, birthday parties, all kinds of things. ⁓ And then we also have small footprint bottle shops. So we're opening our newest one in downtown Woodstock.

Renée Adams (07:18)
We are primarily mobile, so we do.

Mara DeMauro (07:29)
Mmm.

Renée Adams (07:33)
Yeah, so excited for you on that. Yeah, that's so exciting.

Mara DeMauro (07:33)
Wow. Take care.

Bryttany (07:36)
Yeah.

Mara DeMauro (07:37)
What does small footprint bottle shop mean?

Bryttany (07:42)
Yeah, so for us, means we are very curated based. So we don't just have all of the major players in the non-ALC industry. We do have some, because of course, every bottle shop has that. If you go into a regular bottle shop, mean a regular traditional bottle shop, you know that you have the regular players and then you have stuff from all over the world, depending on the type of bottle shop it is. So for us, I...

don't believe that the non-alk industry is ready for like, my dad calls them, ⁓ the house is a huge liquor store. So that's what he calls like the two story ones. I'm like, I don't think we're ready for like that in the sober industry. So I think like having a small footprint bottle shop where you can find all these alternative options, bottle, like spirits, wines, and then cans. ⁓

Mara DeMauro (08:24)
wow.

Renée Adams (08:24)
Okay.

Mara DeMauro (08:31)
Hmm.

Bryttany (08:39)
and learn about how to use them in like a small community-based setting, but still be able to go back and join the party because that's where I think we're at in the industry.

Renée Adams (08:43)
Yeah.

Whoa. Yeah, I've never actually heard the explanation of that concept. I can see how like on the flip side, I'm sure there are a lot of non-Alec brands are like, yeah, I want to get in all of these major retailers for accessibility. But then on this flip side of like, well, wait, it's actually a little overwhelming for people who

might be very new to the space and understanding of like what they like or what's even out there because there really is a lot which is like very exciting. But it can be very overwhelming. So yeah, I love this concept even deeper. mean, that's like awesome. It's like very curated. It's like almost white glove. Yeah.

Bryttany (09:33)
Yeah. ⁓ Yeah.

Mm-hmm. And we work with a lot of small

Mara DeMauro (09:41)
Hmm.

Bryttany (09:42)
brands too. Like that's my heart has always been with helping others succeed. Like that's just that it's like the whole it's not fair guides. So like I'm here for the small guys too, because like not everybody has the marketing dollars to be on the Super Bowl commercial, you know, like not everybody has that. And in the non-Ox space, there's so many amazing people who've been doing this for a long time.

that just don't have the dollars to compete. by offering, like basically we curate every season. So every season we swap things out. We're allowing like different brands to be seen. We're shifting into more marketing. So like helping them with that side. ⁓ And then again, teaching people how to use products and that way they can order them from us later or go to the brands themselves or even shop at their local like

Mara DeMauro (10:11)
Wow.

Renée Adams (10:12)
Yeah.

Basically, we curate every season, so every season we swap things out. We're allowing different brands to be seen. We're shifting into more marketing, so helping them with that side. And then again, teaching people how to use products, and that way they can order them from us later, or go to the brand with themselves, or even shop

at their local sprouts or public, wherever it's at. People just don't know where to get them.

Bryttany (10:35)
sprouts or public, you know, like wherever it's at, people just don't know what to do with them yet.

Mara DeMauro (10:42)
⁓ Yeah, and what to do with themselves, you know, like when they have this like awesome alcohol-free bev in their hand, you know, yes, it like takes down that barrier of like not having something in your hand and feeling awkward and things like that. But there's still a point where at first you feel awkward. Doesn't matter whether you have a drink or not drink, you know, so it's like...

It's so interesting how it brings it all together, you know? And there's this like bigger conversation that you can have, you know, you don't have to, it doesn't have to be this big thing, you know? It could just be like, I don't freaking want to drink today, you know? I have a big event tomorrow and I just want to like sip on something like tasty and awesome. So I'm going to hit up the little sober bar and like grab something groovy. No big deal.

Bryttany (11:20)
Mm-hmm.

Renée Adams (11:34)
Yeah.

Bryttany (11:35)
Exactly. Yeah, we're actually bringing our canned on demand concepts to the new bottle shop. So basically you'll be able to come in and choose what spirit you want, what syrups you want and what mixers and be able to choose like one to two. And then we will can we can we have a canning machine and it like spins and puts a top on it. So you'll be able to

Renée Adams (11:37)
Yeah.

Mara DeMauro (11:42)
Say that again?

Renée Adams (11:43)
What is that?

Cool. and you can, we have a canning machine and they like, scale it to put the top on it.

So you'll be able to learn how these flavors go together.

Bryttany (12:05)
learn how these flavors go together, but then also

have your specific cocktail to go with you wherever you go.

Mara DeMauro (12:15)
my gosh, that's so fun!

Renée Adams (12:16)
Whoa, I

Bryttany (12:17)
I know.

Renée Adams (12:18)
know I was just thinking that Mara, was like, Mara is going to love this shit because it's so like, it's so playful and like personal and it's very hands on and interactive, like getting into the process of and I think it's funny, I think it's like the same thing with musicians or any kind of craft. It's like if you are a musician and you listen to music, you see it and feel it in a completely different way. ⁓

Mara DeMauro (12:25)
Hmm

Renée Adams (12:44)
So if you get people in there who are creating their own beverage, they are going to have a completely different appreciation for anything that they consume because of what it kind of goes, like what goes into creating something like that.

Bryttany (12:59)
Mm-hmm.

Yeah, we're super stoked. It's the coolest thing. I was like, I cannot wait to move in. And we were supposed to move in in like July, then September. And now we're, is exclusive news, everyone. ⁓ We are potentially, and by potentially, mean every day we've gotten an email that we are moving in on Monday. So we're, yeah.

Mara DeMauro (13:02)
you

Wow. Yeah.

Whoa!

Renée Adams (13:26)
Like this upcoming Monday? my

God. Wow. Congrats.

Bryttany (13:28)
So we're trying,

Mara DeMauro (13:28)
Okay, drum roll, let's go.

Bryttany (13:30)
I

know, I'm so excited. It's a lot of work though, because it's Thanksgiving week and I have kids and it's gonna be, they're gonna be working. I was like, you guys are gonna earn your allowance this week.

Mara DeMauro (13:39)
Ha!

Renée Adams (13:43)
Family business, that's how it goes. ⁓ wow. That is like, I'm just so happy for you. Like I can't even imagine and maybe you can touch upon that a little bit. Like the challenges that you've maybe faced throughout this entire process. Like I know specifically in Savannah too, opening any kind of like brick and mortar is like.

Bryttany (13:44)
Yep. Mm-hmm.

Mara DeMauro (13:45)
Yeah.

Renée Adams (14:07)
the hardest. It's like the odds are against you or some shit, at least in Savannah. Like I haven't tried, but I've heard that from other business owners that it's like they don't make it easy. how has that been? It's not fair. ⁓

Mara DeMauro (14:12)
Hmm

It's not fair!

Bryttany (14:20)
It's not fair.

I didn't think of that as a shirt for our next like shirt line. It's like, it's not fair. Oh no. Yeah, we will tell you it is tough. We've, so we've been in business for a little over two years, which is incredibly fast for the growth that we're at. Like we have two trailer bars, we have tent setups, like we run, have, my people are, we hustle.

Mara DeMauro (14:24)
Yes!

Renée Adams (14:25)
Yes,

⁓ totally I would be I will buy at least 10 of them probably

Mara DeMauro (14:30)
Yeah,

yeah.

Bryttany (14:50)
But really, because we just believed in the concept so much, we're like, let's just figure out what we're doing. with our story, I had the one trailer bar that we built ourselves in 43 days because I lost my corporate job. And I was like, OK, this is what we're doing. But also because you can do anything one day at a time. that was tough. The red tape and all of the licensing and all of that was easy.

For the most part, I I want to say like easy, but there's a few things where it's like, okay, how do we do this if we can't do that? So like serving drinks, in open containers, like we couldn't do that until we had a kitchen. And so it's just like, that's a red tape. But I really believe, like I said, in helping others succeed and making relationships and community and like really connecting with people. So... ⁓

Renée Adams (15:21)
but there's a few things where it's like, okay, how do we do this if we can't do that? So like serving drinks.

Mara DeMauro (15:33)
Wow

Bryttany (15:46)
We were lucky enough and we're blessed to have such great people around us. ⁓ Someone was subleasing out their space and we were able to move into that last year. So we were able to have like the kitchen idea and storage for all the products. Cause we were just trying to figure out what we were doing and like what we wanted to do. So we figured that out now. We got it.

Renée Adams (15:53)
Nice.

We were just trying to figure out what we were doing. Yeah. We figured that out now. We got it.

Yeah.

Mara DeMauro (16:15)
Lots of pivot moments, it sounds like.

Bryttany (16:18)
Entrepreneurship is all about, I call it sailing forward. You know, like if something doesn't work, okay, well how do we fix it and keep going? Yeah, it's been crazy.

Renée Adams (16:20)
is all about, I call it sailing forward. If something doesn't work, okay, well, how do we fix it and keep going? Yeah. Yeah. And what was the thing you

Mara DeMauro (16:26)
Mm-hmm.

Renée Adams (16:31)
said, Mara, about what are your mentors told you about entrepreneurship? It's like a one-way ticket to really getting raw and knowing about yourself.

Mara DeMauro (16:40)
it's the

like express way to personal growth, like express path, like every single thing you can ever imagine is gonna light up throughout the experience and you're like, ⁓ fuck, you know, like, ⁓ man.

Renée Adams (16:49)
Yeah.

Yeah. And

to add to that too, it's like, and doing that with no alcohol, with no numbing, like feeling all of the feels in its entirety. Like, I feel like that's next level. Brittany, do you feel like that? Like with removing the alcohol and like going through all that shit. Yeah.

Mara DeMauro (17:12)
Yeah.

Bryttany (17:12)
yeah.

Yeah, no, I mean, this

year, the fact that I haven't drank is tremendous, in my opinion, because like, the old me have passed me would have easily given up or started drinking because I was just stressed. Like we went through two months of having no POS system because we got kicked off. The hemp industry, can not even going to get into that. It's like a whole.

Mara DeMauro (17:30)
Hmm.

No, Mike.

Renée Adams (17:40)
Dude. Yeah.

Bryttany (17:43)
But I mean, for two months, I was

like, how do I pay my people? How do we make money? Because we can't take cards or anything right now. How do we find a solution? And that is a business killer moment to where I was very stressed. We didn't even celebrate. I didn't celebrate my birthday or our two-year anniversary party for the bar because I so like, I realized it. And I was like, wow, I'm so stressed.

Mara DeMauro (17:50)
Wow.

Renée Adams (17:58)
Yeah No Right ⁓

Mara DeMauro (18:07)
Mm.

Bryttany (18:10)
over these things that I have no control over and I didn't celebrate. And that's really sad. So was like a moment for me to be like,

all right, that can't be the normal moving forward. Like things just happen. It's okay. Keep going.

Mara DeMauro (18:23)
Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm.

Renée Adams (18:23)
Yeah, right. Yeah.

Mara DeMauro (18:28)
Right.

Renée Adams (18:28)
Well, and it's like it's like the whole purpose of why you put together Sober Bar. But I think that's I think that's such a like great reminder for people to like slow down in those moments because I think we can get so caught up. ⁓ You know, we're all just doing our best and wanting things to work and.

so passionate about things, but we forget to slow down. So I know it's difficult for sure.

Bryttany (18:56)
And doing it without numbing those feelings is like so much harder than it needs to be. But the longer, for me at least, the longer I'm sober, the more I'm sober, the easier it gets to deal with those feelings. At first it was incredibly hard.

Mara DeMauro (19:10)
Absolutely.

Renée Adams (19:11)
Yeah. At first it

was incredibly hard. Yeah. That resilience level just like, and how you bounce back is just quicker and quicker. Yeah. It's pretty incredible actually. Yeah.

Bryttany (19:17)
Yeah.

Yeah, it's surprising. Like, it's seriously

Mara DeMauro (19:22)
Yeah.

Bryttany (19:24)
like shocking almost because like there's times when like for me to even realize that I didn't celebrate and like that's a problem and like work through those feelings in that moment. That would not have happened before. Like my sobriety journey. And not that I'm super like you have to be sober to be at the sober bar. Like, no, it's just about having options. Like that's the option I chose was to be sober, curious and to

Renée Adams (19:37)
Yeah, right.

Bryttany (19:49)
I mean, listen, if I go to Europe, I'm drinking wine with my dinner. It's an experience that I will not miss out because it's an option. However, I feel so much better without drinking, just me personally.

Renée Adams (19:55)
Yes.

It's an option. Yeah.

Mara DeMauro (19:59)
Mm-hmm.

Yeah, I really resonate with just how... Okay, sorry, I'm gonna back up here. Like, because you're talking about all of the things that you've processed, you know, and that you're willing to reflect on. And I think sometimes, and Brene and I have talked about this too, you know, whatever, probably too much, but like, just because you...

remove a substance or something, you could still stay there. You just remove it that's it. But if you are someone who wants to be very curious and introspective and actually change a pattern or something, that is going to require a little bit more vulnerability. And I think even that word, people are like, ooh, that's tough. But curiosity, that's why I love that term, sober curiosity. And just curiosity in general, that's a fun word.

That's not like anything that says this is gonna be forever. This is experimental. And so I just really wanna encourage anyone who's listening to this episode to know that there are options out there. No one's saying you have to do it this way or that way or forever, but what happens if you just choose to be a little curious and do something maybe just a little bit different this time around?

Renée Adams (21:27)
Yeah, Yeah, exactly, yeah. Yeah, it's like the supplement that we all need, you know what I mean? It's like that's that first entry is like the curiosity and figuring shit out, but then having these sort of tangible elements that's able to like supplement that exploration is so pivotal for people.

Mara DeMauro (21:27)
you end up with a little fucking sober bar and you're crushing it. You know, like, ⁓ come on, it's so amazing.

Bryttany (21:30)
I mean, yeah.

Renée Adams (21:55)
You know, I recently went to an event and it was like out in California and I was like, oh, they're for sure going to have some kind of non-alch something there. I was like, there's no way they don't. They didn't. And for me, I was like, whoa, I feel a little pissed off about that, actually. And so you're just like, because it's not fair, y'all. Like, what the fuck? was. Yeah, I was like genuinely pissed. So.

Mara DeMauro (22:14)
because it's not fair.

Bryttany (22:16)
Just not fair, yeah.

Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm.

Renée Adams (22:24)
Yeah, I think you're just like creating something. You we've talked about third spaces too, and it's just this space to like be together and connect with or without alcohol and just having that option. ⁓ I would want to ask, yeah, go ahead.

Mara DeMauro (22:40)
I was just going to say, I'm like, is this a marketing strategy meeting? But like you literally sell curiosity in a Just saying. Just saying. Awesome. Yeah. Yep. Because Nate, got a... Yeah.

Bryttany (22:42)
Hahaha!

Renée Adams (22:49)
Whoa, yeah, yeah. And you're about to be able to bottle your own too.

Bryttany (22:52)
I'm gonna have to... yeah. I know, that's crazy. Yeah, that's gonna be a shirt as well.

Renée Adams (22:58)
⁓ yes,

Bryttany (23:00)
Curiosity in a bottle. ⁓

Renée Adams (23:01)
⁓ my God. I love these like brainstorming sessions. Fuck yeah.

Mara DeMauro (23:03)
Yes.

Bryttany (23:05)
I know, I have so much

Mara DeMauro (23:05)
Mm-hmm.

Bryttany (23:06)
other work to do guys. I don't need to be making shirts, but I'm going to. I know.

Mara DeMauro (23:13)
part.

Renée Adams (23:14)
But

listen, I've got contacts though to help you with that. So we can talk about that. So there we go. ⁓ man. ⁓ What was, I want to ask you too, like what was something that was surprising for you in opening the little sober bar? Like that maybe no one kind of prepared you for.

Mara DeMauro (23:17)
Yeah.

Bryttany (23:19)
Sweet.

I don't know. It's such a new concept that I was again curious about just like what people, what their reactions were going to be. ⁓ I guess the most surprising thing, I did not expect so many people to come up and ask for like different like vodka drinks or like Michelob Altres and stuff. And I was like, it's a sober bar. And they're like, ⁓ I, I saw the bar word and I'm like, that's

Renée Adams (23:47)
Yeah.

Mara DeMauro (24:03)
Hahaha!

Bryttany (24:08)
So interesting to me that the concept, like when we were naming it, like we couldn't, I couldn't think of anything. And I'm like, what if we were just what we are, you know? ⁓ Like what would happen if we just said what we were? And ⁓ it's so, it's cool to me that they come up and they ask for those things. And they're like, ⁓ this isn't the bar for me. And I'm like, well, have you heard of kava? Have you heard of hemp? Have you heard of cordyceps?

Mara DeMauro (24:08)
snoozing.

Renée Adams (24:12)
Yeah, yes, yes.

and I'm like, well, have you heard of comma?

Bryttany (24:37)
And it gets them like, well, I'm curious. they say that all the time. They come up, they're like, I'm curious, what is this?

Mara DeMauro (24:45)
Hmm. Wow.

Bryttany (24:47)
So it opens

Renée Adams (24:47)
Yeah.

Bryttany (24:48)
the door to a conversation, but I don't think I expected to hear people ordering like vodka sodas when I opened it.

Renée Adams (24:51)
I don't think I expected to hear.

That is such a like look into our psyche, I feel like, because like Mar and I've talked about that too, of like when we talk about sober curious, all that people hear is sober. But in this instance, they just see bar. like don't, yeah, like they don't even see the sober part, which honestly, I guess, you know, kind of works in your favor. So, you know, whatever gets people talking to you about stuff. But that's so crazy.

Bryttany (25:03)
you

Mara DeMauro (25:14)
bar.

Bryttany (25:25)
Yeah.

Mara DeMauro (25:25)
you

Yeah. Well, we found out saying sober curious because people not talking to us. People are like, what? No, that's not for me. You know, and it's like, OK, never mind. ⁓ But yeah, like like the what do they say? We we like block out. Like what?

Renée Adams (25:32)
Yeah.

Yeah.

It's

like when you read, it's like when you read, you can read a full sentence that doesn't have like all the words in it and you can still anticipate what the words are or whatever. Like you can still make a full sentence from it. ⁓ It's like that concept, like all they see is bar and you're, you know, you're at an event, which is like where people usually drink. That is just so crazy to me.

Bryttany (25:53)
Mm-hmm.

Mara DeMauro (25:55)
Yes.

Yeah.

So what is it like when you start talking to them about all these other options and they're like, what happens next?

Bryttany (26:18)
Sometimes they order stuff to take home. Like a lot of times they do. And that's like the small footprint bottle shop. Like our trailer bar is a rolling bar and bottle shops. We always have a plethora of like canned options for people to choose from. We do discounts on getting more than four. So that way they're encouraged to like take some stuff home, try it. you don't have to open it. It's totally fine. So a lot of times that happens. Sometimes they say, oh, well, I know a friend or I have a friend who really needs to hear about you.

Mara DeMauro (26:42)
Right.

Bryttany (26:48)
And they'll take a picture. Is it okay if we take a picture? Like we hear that a lot. ⁓ And then sometimes even I talk to them about how even if you're having a party or an event, like yes, you have a bar, a regular traditional bar, you have your specialty drink. But what about the other friends who are there who don't drink? Like they would still appreciate having something. And a cooler of Cokes and Sprites is great if you like Coke and Sprite.

Mara DeMauro (26:49)
Mm-hmm.

Renée Adams (26:51)
And then sometimes even. ⁓

Even if you're having a party or an event, like yes, you have a bar, a regular traditional bar, have your specialty drinks. But what about the other friends who are there who don't drink? They would still appreciate having something. And a cooler of Coke and Sprite is great if

Mara DeMauro (27:09)
Mm-hmm.

Renée Adams (27:18)
you like Coke and Sprite.

Mara DeMauro (27:18)
All right.

Bryttany (27:18)
But

it doesn't give you the same feeling that having a specialty cocktail does, like in a traditional setting or in a sober bar setting. And that's why we keep our, which isn't like a ploy for booking us, but we keep our stuff like at a reasonably priced level to where if you just wanted to add on the sober bar to your event that you're already having.

Renée Adams (27:23)
Yeah.

Right.

Bryttany (27:42)
It doesn't break the bank and we bring everything with us. Like you don't have to provide anything. Like we got it. We'll create something beautiful for you. ⁓ But you should have us there. So like how can we help you be more inclusive?

Renée Adams (27:43)
bring everything with us. Like you don't have to provide anything like we got it we'll create something beautiful for you. But you should have us there. So like how can we help you see more?

Mara DeMauro (27:57)
Yeah.

Renée Adams (27:58)
Mm.

Bryttany (27:59)
So

those kind of conversations just happen. People are like, oh, well, this isn't for me. And then I'm like, but it's for you and your friends.

Mara DeMauro (28:08)
Right.

Renée Adams (28:08)
Gosh, yeah, Mara, you've heard that so many times. Like, I know someone else who this would work for or like them taking the drinks to go to to look at it personally and not like out in the open. Like and I get people have to like.

Mara DeMauro (28:17)
Yeah.

Renée Adams (28:27)
It's their own journey, their own timeline, if that's what makes people feel safe. But it's so interesting to me that they feel like they have to like, take it to go so nobody sees that I'm drinking the non-alcoholic, whatever.

Mara DeMauro (28:40)
I'm really curious just what the space is gonna look like in five years. I think I say this a lot on this podcast, but truly, know, it's like someone else, we were talking about this, like the tobacco industry. And, you know, it's like, I feel like these conversations are gonna be, we're gonna be looking back on this and be like, what? Like, I can't believe we were talking about this. I mean, maybe, I don't know, but you know, the industry.

alcohol industry is so huge. And I'm just like, I don't know, you know, like, will this always be kind of, will it always be not the norm to, you know, to drink or not, you know, not drink or, I don't know.

Renée Adams (29:13)
Mm-hmm.

Bryttany (29:28)
Yeah, I

don't know. I've been thinking about this a lot, actually. That's partly why we decided to stay little. Like that's our small footprint bottle shop. It's like you could put one anywhere. Like, why don't we just have one at every stadium? A little sober bar. Why don't we like why don't you have I'm not trying to compete with all of the big marketing dollars or like whoever can pay the most to sponsor X, Y and Z. It's like, no, I don't really care. We should just have it. It should just be there because there's always going to be sober people.

Mara DeMauro (29:41)
in

Renée Adams (29:52)
It's like, I don't really care. We should just have it. It should just be there because there's always going to

be sober people. Yes.

Bryttany (29:58)
regardless,

like even if alcohol is the norm, there's still people who choose alternatives and having one or two options when you have six different bars, isn't, it's not fair.

Mara DeMauro (30:00)
Yes.

Right.

Right. Right.

Renée Adams (30:15)
Yeah. Well,

and it's like how it comes back to that simplicity of like, why the fuck not? Like, it's really not that much bigger of a deal. And if you are talking about like monetary value on the flip side of it, like there is money in this market. Because as you said, there are sober, soberish, pregnant people who are not drinking.

So like, why not cater to that demographic also? Bernie, where do you, I mean, where do you see this going in the next like five years or maybe what do you see for the little sober bar? I know you mentioned like, yeah, put it in the motherfucking stadiums. That would be awesome. Music festivals, yeah, yeah.

Mara DeMauro (31:00)
music festivals, know? God. It's

Bryttany (31:02)
Yeah. Yeah.

Mara DeMauro (31:04)
like,

what do you have? Liquid Death. That's your option. Which is a great option, but like, what else?

Bryttany (31:07)
Exactly.

Renée Adams (31:07)
You

Bryttany (31:09)
Well, for us specifically, like that's our thing is going to people where they're at, like being the mobile little sober bar. Like you should just have one everywhere you go. The industry right now, I think that the soda industry, like that's why I talk about our drinks as adult alternative options or adult alternative beverages. That's what we sell. We don't sell non-alcoholic that's also included. I mean, we sell some sodas. Yes.

Renée Adams (31:10)
Yeah.

Bryttany (31:39)
And we do dirty sodas now. I just bought a lemonade company. It's a whole it's a whole thing. We added some options. We added some options. ⁓ So yeah, those are the sodas that have syrups, like flavored syrups and then cream on top. So it's like the.

Renée Adams (31:43)
It's a whole thing.

Mara DeMauro (31:46)
What's a dirty soda?

Renée Adams (31:55)
my

God, it's like, ⁓ it's like the Mormon, whatever it's called, like the Mormon wives. Dude, in Utah, because nobody fucking drinks there, they have like soda shops everywhere and they have like coconut cream and all this other shit. Whoa, cool, cool.

Bryttany (31:58)
Yep. Yep. Yeah.

Yes. Yep. Yep. So we just added that

Mara DeMauro (32:06)
What?

Bryttany (32:11)
because

I was like, well, I wanted the trailer and she was selling everything and I was like, all right, I don't know. So the little sober bar, like I'm wrestling with the whole idea because I bought it. She called me Monday. I bought it on a Thursday. So like, I'm like, how are we going to incorporate this? And it's truly like with our ethos of options.

Renée Adams (32:16)
Hahaha

Bryttany (32:32)
and being curious, it's like, okay, why wouldn't we have flavored lemonades and dirty sodas? Like, okay, that's fine. So I think that like, it's yeah, it's like whatever people want, like, let's just have it, like, why not? But anyways, getting back to it, the the industry, like, I think that the alcohol industry will always be there. Because there's always going to be people who like drinking. There is, I mean, as somebody who used to work for a high end whiskey and wine.

Mara DeMauro (32:38)
Cool! That's so fun!

Bryttany (32:59)
There's something to be said for the different flavors and ⁓ the notes of a nice whiskey. All of that, people are still connoisseurs. They're still going to enjoy that, I think. ⁓ But I think that the industry needs to make room for something like what we are, the little sober bar, versus trying to continue the industry the way it is where a big brand like

Renée Adams (33:15)
But I think that the industry needs to make room for something like what we are, the little silver bar, versus trying to continue the industry the way it is where a big

brand like, trying to look and see what I have here, I have so much in this box. But I don't think I have anything made. But like, a big brand who can afford a billboard, or can afford to sponsor a stadium so that they're there, or sponsor-

Bryttany (33:28)
trying to look and see what I have here. I have so much in this bar. But I don't think I have anything main, but like a big brand who can afford a billboard or can afford to sponsor a stadium so that they're there or sponsor a festival.

Renée Adams (33:44)
Yeah.

Bryttany (33:46)
That's always going to be like one or two options because there's not, I don't think there's enough room for brands to get that big.

to have the same amount of options as alcohol in the same space. ⁓ Maybe, I could be wrong.

Mara DeMauro (34:00)
Mm.

Bryttany (34:06)
But I think that right now it's a trend. And if we're realistic about it, we need more spaces like the little sober bar where you can go to it, what you need, and go back to society, I guess, or socialization. Like it's a little slice of paradise amongst everything else. Yeah.

Mara DeMauro (34:24)
ship.

Hmm.

Renée Adams (34:30)
I love that imagery.

Mara DeMauro (34:33)
Me too. I love paradise.

Bryttany (34:36)
Hehehe!

Renée Adams (34:41)
my gosh. So can you tell us more like ⁓ more of insight into kind of your story and what got you? I know you kind of talked about like what brought you to the little sober bar and creating it and now executing on it. But you just mentioned that you have a background in whiskey and wine. So can you tell us a little bit more about that and maybe like

where was the shifting point for you in maybe your own sober curious journey?

Bryttany (35:14)
Yeah.

Mara DeMauro (35:14)
Yeah,

sorry. And you and I'm curious because you said you your corporate job. So what was that transition like? All the things.

Renée Adams (35:24)
Let's see.

Bryttany (35:24)
Yeah, so ADHDpreneur, that's the vibes. ⁓ I have lived, I always say I've lived a lot of lives because I went to college for musical theater. Yeah, I'm, yeah. Went to college for musical theater and I played lacrosse in college. like.

Renée Adams (35:35)
heard that.

Hold on, hold on.

Mara DeMauro (35:44)
Mm-hmm.

Renée Adams (35:46)
How did I, did I know that? Where did you play La Crosse at?

Bryttany (35:49)
Birmingham Southern.

Renée Adams (35:52)
Okay. All right. Well, we just became even better friends because I played lacrosse in college too and played up playing lacrosse. Okay. Continue, continue. We'll talk about that later. Yes. Yeah. Yeah.

Bryttany (36:00)
Okay, we're gonna have to a whole thing about that. Yeah. So when you move back, when you move back, we'll be playing

ball in the cul-de-sac. A vibe, yeah. Yeah. So yeah, I went to college for that and I really just, I enjoyed it, but it wasn't, you know, for me really. So my best friend passed away and it really like shifted my reality.

Renée Adams (36:10)
Top Sally, dude. Let's do it.

Bryttany (36:29)
He, we just hadn't talked a long time and like, it was really sad and anything. for me, I was like, I'm tired of living, I'm just doing this stuff I'm doing because it makes other people like happier. It's like the path I'm supposed to be on. I've always been that like rebel, you know, just little hippie rebel in this world. Like, and then it's not fair that I have to do these things. It's my whole thing is like, I shouldn't have to do this to live a happy life. So I met my partner.

Mara DeMauro (36:55)
Mm.

Renée Adams (36:56)
Yeah.

Bryttany (36:58)
and moved in with him and his parents and we worked at McDonald's because that's all we could get. The only job we could get. We were the best employees and we got raises and you know like our 25 cents extra. was like heck yeah. ⁓ But from there I mean it's just the service aspect like I've always had a servant's heart. ⁓ So from there I went to another bar and worked up from serving to bar like pretty quickly.

Renée Adams (37:01)
in with him and his parents and we worked at McDonald's. That's all we could get. Only job we could get.

Yeah. ⁓

So from there I went to.

Bryttany (37:26)
just because I was interested and again, curious about like, how to drink smate. And I should have known that like I'd be in the food industry later in life, but I was so like, I have to grow up and be a person. ⁓ So I was like, how do I, and Miller, so it's like life is expensive. So I'm like, how do I make more money? ⁓ So my corporate life, I did some,

Renée Adams (37:28)
I was interested and again, serious about like, oh, how does this mate and I should have known that like I'd be in the food industry later in life, but I was still like, I have to grow up.

Mara DeMauro (37:35)
Boom.

Mmm.

Renée Adams (37:44)
And more so, it's like life is expensive. So I'm like, how do I make more money? Right.

Bryttany (37:52)
bookkeeping and front office help. And then I was an insurance agent for a few years, got pregnant, had my son and opened my first retail space, like online retail space. So that's like where I really jumped into entrepreneurship because I was like, I don't want to work for anybody else. I want to be home with my kid. And then there was a need because it was natural parenting. So in the suburbs, very hard to get like cloth diapers and

Renée Adams (38:05)
Wow, cloth diapers.

Bryttany (38:22)
It was really hard to get cloth diapers

Mara DeMauro (38:24)
very hard to get with.

Bryttany (38:28)
and all like the natural parenting things like baby wearing and all that. was a really big in that that time. ⁓ So I jumped on that. was like, yeah, I can. That's a great business idea. Like, how do I bring options to people again? ⁓ But then somebody who was

Renée Adams (38:37)
Yeah.

like how do I bring out

then somebody

who was very successful in her own retail space.

Bryttany (38:52)
very successful in her own resale space in that same space was like,

if you're just starting out, like I wouldn't continue the industry is and I was like, you know, I trust you enough to be like, okay, and she wasn't wrong, like the end, like there were stores closing left and right. And I'm glad I got out when I did. ⁓ Because it just, it just changed. So then COVID hit. Yeah.

Renée Adams (39:00)
Hmm. ⁓

Yeah.

Mara DeMauro (39:19)
Why, is Amazon or what?

Bryttany (39:21)
For sure, of course. Amazon and just like, well, you know, all the baby stores closed for a little while, like babies, R.S. Yeah. So yeah, so it was just like a shift in the market. And so ⁓ I ended up closing that and moved. We moved into the house for an hour and in order to afford it, I was like, I need a job. So I ended up working at a wine and whiskey bar.

Renée Adams (39:22)
Yeah, for sure. Damn.

Yeah. Right. Yeah. Toys R Us like all that stuff. Yeah.

Mara DeMauro (39:34)
Wow.

Bryttany (39:51)
⁓ after working at a liquor store. Because I was just like, I had my second baby and I'm like, I just need to do something at night. Like I have to be home during the day. And getting back into the food industry didn't make me but encouraged my alcohol. I wouldn't say I'm not, I don't say I'm an alcoholic, but like when you get off at 2am and all your friends want to go out, even though you have kids and you have to get up at four or five am, you just

Renée Adams (39:52)
Hmm.

baby and I'm like I just need to do something at night. kept it longer today. getting back into the food industry didn't make me but encouraged my... I wouldn't say I'm I don't say I'm an alcoholic but like when you get off at 2 a.m.

Mara DeMauro (40:19)
Oof.

Bryttany (40:20)
you ride it out, especially when you're in your late 20s and you didn't have early 20s. You know, I just there's a lot of things that I was like, yeah, I'm going to go rock out.

Renée Adams (40:22)
You go with it. Yeah. ⁓

Bryttany (40:29)
I didn't get to. And it just became like too much. Then Covid hit. And I was luckily enough to get a corporate job from home, which was great. It was like office admin.

But before that, before I left the whiskey and wine and whiskey bar, I helped raise funds for the industry in downtown Woodstock. So we raised about $13,000 for the industry during COVID. Because I was like, we have to help people. Somebody has to do something.

Renée Adams (40:56)
industry in Gansong, Wosok. So we raised about $13,000. Wow. Yeah, yeah. We have to help people.

Mara DeMauro (41:01)
Bye.

Renée Adams (41:06)
Somebody has to do something. Yeah.

Bryttany (41:08)
So yeah, that's like the story of Britney. And then I bought this bar thinking, it'd be a great side hustle.

Mara DeMauro (41:08)
Hmm.

Renée Adams (41:15)
Oh,

it would be a great spy hustle.

Bryttany (41:19)
Yeah.

Renée Adams (41:21)
Yeah.

Mara DeMauro (41:22)
Well, yeah, I love to hear the evolutionary picture of how it all unfolds. because I feel like a lot of times we don't end up where we ever thought we were going to be. or if you ask me 10 years ago what I'd be doing right now, I certainly wouldn't be sitting here on our podcast talking to someone who is crushing the little sober bar. You know, like like.

Renée Adams (41:50)
Yeah. Yeah.

Mara DeMauro (41:51)
Never. I would be like, what? What is that? And I'm like, oh, this is so awesome. This is really cool.

And I absolutely love learning about people's journeys. It's so cool. So thanks for sharing.

Renée Adams (42:06)
Yeah.

And we can always find too, which I think is really fun, like these lines of like how we're all connected in a very similar way in our stories, but it looks so different for you. And I hope that that can resonate with some of our listeners and our audience too, is that like a lot of the time we romanticize, I think, entrepreneurship and don't really fully understand the picture of like

where you came from in this space now, like how you got to this point and are continuing through entrepreneurship. know, a lot of the times people will see people who are doing really great and doing great things for the community, but then they don't see like the back end side of all the shit that you had to go through and move through and like all of these little elements that make up your story to be where you are.

But I also hope that that's like inspirational for people to realize that like, it doesn't matter where you come from, what you're going through. If you have this passion and this intention on helping one another, amplifying one another, connecting and like being part of something bigger than you, it's going to fucking work out. Like it really will. So you sharing these elements of your

like rocky story, you know what I mean? Like it's just, it's so, it's so interesting to us and important to us to talk to people like you.

Bryttany (43:36)
You

Mara DeMauro (43:45)
Mm.

Bryttany (43:46)
Yeah, I appreciate you guys having me on because like it's cool. I love sharing different aspects of the story. Like every interview I've done, I'm sure I've let out a little bit new things here and there. Because it's just it's interesting. I think that all entrepreneurs are a little bit neurodivergent because you have to be in order to juggle so many different things to try so many different things to even be

Strong enough to try. Like that's a big deal. ⁓ And all entrepreneurs who do that, like props to you because it's not easy. especially like my thinking about my journey and like all the things I've done, like I've done photography, I've done brand ambassador stuff. Like I've done so many little things that I think make me into a fantastic entrepreneur. And then knowing and in the heart that I have, I mean, I feel like I'm bragging, but I'm just sharing that the heart that I have with helping people it's like,

Renée Adams (44:19)
big deal. And all entrepreneurs who do that, like props to you, because it's not easy. especially like my thinking about my journey and like all the things I've done, like I've photography, I've brand ambassador stuff, like I've done so many little things that I think make me into a fantastic entrepreneur. And then knowing and in the heart that I have, I I feel like I'm bragging, but I'm just sharing that the

Mara DeMauro (44:20)
Thanks.

Bryttany (44:45)
It translates even into my employees. I'm like, what is your

Renée Adams (44:45)
heart that I have with helping people it's like it translates even into my employees.

Bryttany (44:48)
strengths and how can you contribute to this organization and follow your own story without me trying to micromanage or change you into what I need from you? So everybody in our organization is so fantastic and they have different strengths that add to what makes us great. Like I would not be able to do things without them.

Mara DeMauro (44:49)
Mm.

Renée Adams (44:49)
What is your strength and how can you contribute to this organization and follow your own story without me trying to change you into what I need from you? everybody in our organization is so fantastic and they have different...

Bryttany (45:15)
And as an entrepreneur, you have to be able to trust others with your vision.

Mara DeMauro (45:21)
Yeah.

Renée Adams (45:22)
Yeah, because you really can't do it alone. really cannot. And I think that's the biggest thing that I've learned through all this is like asking for that you're asking for help yourself because you give so much support to other people. But it's really difficult sometimes for.

the person who has the vision to ask for the support and being emotionally intelligent enough to like allow people to get in their zone and like ⁓ growing and developing that is actually something that a lot of other leaders I don't think do, at least not in the corporate space. I don't want to shit all over corporate. It's for some people, but like not in my recent experience at least.

Bryttany (46:02)
Yeah, that's something I tell my people all the time. I'm

like, we're a small business with a corporate mindset. Like I want to be in stadiums and in every state. Like every suburb should have a little sober bar. Why not? ⁓ But at the same time, like I actually care about you as an individual and you as a person. like two of my girls are still in college, so they needed internships. And I'm like, you want an intern? You know, like one of them.

Renée Adams (46:15)
Yeah.

Bryttany (46:28)
asked for one, she came up and she's like, I'm really nervous to ask you. And I'm like, please just like, what do you need? And she's like, I want to do an internship with you. And I'm like, I'm on like, what's I'm just a guy like, nah, bro. But like, when we got into it, I was like, wow, like, this is actually really interesting to me to be able to share the knowledge that I've gained with you and how it relates to your degree. Like, I'm actually learning so much about you as a person, about me as a person.

Renée Adams (46:30)
and came up and she's like, I'm really nervous to ask you, I'm like, please just, like, what do you need? And she's like, I wanna do an internship with you. And I'm like, I'm on, like, what? I'm just a guy, like, no.

Mara DeMauro (46:33)
Thank

Yeah.

Renée Adams (46:44)
really interesting to me to be able to share the knowledge that I've gained with you and how it relates to your degree. Like I'm actually learning so much about you as a person,

Bryttany (46:55)
got me as a leader and also just like the inner workings because she's a psychology major. So like the inner workings of entrepreneurship and marketing and like she's blown me away with what she's like been able to pick up and learn. And yeah, like I think that's

Renée Adams (46:55)
about me as a person, about me as a leader, and also just like the inner working, because she's psychology major, but the inner working of entrepreneurship and marketing and like she has blown me away with what she's like been able to pick up and learn. Yeah.

Mara DeMauro (47:11)
Mmm.

Bryttany (47:13)
important as an entrepreneur. You need to know how to learn from others.

Renée Adams (47:14)
Yeah.

Mara DeMauro (47:18)
Yeah.

Yeah. The capacity to be able and open to that. it's, it can be such an expansive journey. ⁓ we were kind of talking about this earlier, but, I've said this before, like, I feel like, you know, I've done plenty of drinking and drugs and all of these things, but like the most trippy experience has been this like sober alcohol-free journey.

and the entrepreneur journey, like, and being single at this age and like those three things coming together as one and being like, you thought that was trippy, you know, like this is fucking trippy. Like, and you, you're exposed to so much, so much. have, at least you have the opportunity and yeah, I guess, I don't know. guess sometimes that can feel hard to be able to hold the space for all of that.

Because I'm hearing you talk about your intern and how amazing that is and all of the things just that one relationship has brought into your life. That's just one. Then you have everything else, you know, and it's like, holy fuck, this is so much, you know, but like in the best of ways. And so I really feel like it's this, this balancing act or dancing act of learning how to hold that space for

Renée Adams (48:28)
Thank

Bryttany (48:36)
Mm-hmm.

Mara DeMauro (48:46)
this full life experience and to really be alive and not numb and open. So it sounds like you're doing that like in a very beautiful way, you know, not saying that it's all picture perfect, but it's beautiful, you know?

Bryttany (49:00)
No, it is. Yeah.

Renée Adams (49:02)
Yeah.

Bryttany (49:03)
I think the beauty is in the story. It's in when you're writing a book, there has to be ups and downs or it's a boring story. There has to be some great, amazing arches. And then there also has to be some valleys and lows. you have to resonate with the character. Otherwise, it's just not a book. It's like a magazine or you're just getting information.

Renée Adams (49:05)
Yes. ⁓

to resonate with the character.

Mara DeMauro (49:28)
Mm.

Mm.

Renée Adams (49:29)
Yeah

Bryttany (49:29)
You

know, like it's not a story that you're invested in. Like there's nothing like traveling to a different world in a book. So for me, I'm like, that's what life is. You know, life is the book.

Renée Adams (49:41)
love that. Yeah, I love that analogy. And just the exchanging of like, ⁓ of knowledge to one another, I think is so beneficial, because a lot of the time it can feel very transactional. ⁓ And a lot of these different elements, especially like in the workplace, or, you know, your to do lists and all of like the very like tactical things can feel. Yeah, just like

I don't know, just not as fun, not as fun, not as beautiful of this exchanging of knowledge that will stick with you for a really long time. And it comes back in different and cool ways. you being able to tell us more about your story each time kind of brings up another layer of you remembering kind of where you came from. just like with this of the it's not fair, like I haven't thought about that in so long, but it was such a big

Part of my life, it was like a running joke in my family for a really long time. So these little blossoming, remembrance, little flowers that kinda come up in my life that I'm like, yeah, that's fun. It's just so important.

Bryttany (50:51)
Yeah.

Yeah. Life is literally a trip. That's like something my friend's mom always said. said, life's a trip. And I'm like, yeah, it is. And like being able to experience it, like you were saying Mara, like experiencing it to its fullest is like, it's just, it's actually wild. Like, especially like as a mom, like I'm experiencing so many different things. I have a middle schooler now and that's a whole new, whole new thing.

Renée Adams (50:56)
Mm.

it's just it's actually wild

Oof!

Ooh buddy! Ooh buddy!

Bryttany (51:22)
Yeah, and I'm like, ⁓ man,

Mara DeMauro (51:23)
you

Bryttany (51:24)
but I'm so thankful that like, I decided to become more aware of my life. Because I don't know, number one, handling middle school without alcohol is very hard. ⁓ But I don't know if I would have handled some of the situations as well as I have without being sober or sober curious, like just being able to hold space for him to grow.

Mara DeMauro (51:33)
Mmm.

Bryttany (51:50)
and us to have conversations versus just being a reactive parent where I'm like, listen, do it, clean your room. No, I'm taking away X, Y, and Z. It's like, we have more conversations like, hey, it seems like these things, video games or whatever is your priority when your priority is supposed to be schoolwork, keeping your room clean, things like that. So like, let's take a pause and revisit your brain, like let your brain recalibrate and

get back into what should be your priority and let me help you through this versus just punishing him and taking things away. Because like, he's not learning anything if I just take it away. He's not learning how to regulate himself, which I wish I would have learned as a kid. Yeah.

Mara DeMauro (52:31)
Yep. Yep.

Beautiful. Yeah.

No, a hundred percent. Like you are a present parent who has the emotional intelligence that and your kids are learning that, you know? and I don't know. Did like any of us have that growing up? I don't, you know, I'm just like.

Bryttany (52:50)
Go.

I mean, there's still some guilt though, because like

I wasn't a present parent as present as I could be. So there's a little bit of how do I make up for it? But I mean, I've always kind of been open. We talk about a lot of things, but I definitely was a more reactive parent when I was drinking. I was like very dismissive to like, let's just go hang out with friends and so I can drink and you can play.

Mara DeMauro (53:00)
Right.

Renée Adams (53:01)
Mmm,

yeah.

Mara DeMauro (53:17)
Sure.

Renée Adams (53:22)
Just go hang out.

Mara DeMauro (53:24)
Yep. Yep.

Bryttany (53:26)
But now it's like getting back into the type of parent I wanted to be. And that's a battle.

Mara DeMauro (53:34)
Yes. And that's all

we have is right now, like the present moment. And I think that's still very incredible that you're making that choice now. ⁓ I think, who was I talking about this with someone yesterday about they're pregnant and they're afraid that they're going to mess up. And we're like, bro.

Renée Adams (53:40)
Thank

Mara DeMauro (54:00)
You're going to mess up. know that like it's OK, you know, and ⁓ just like how we're talking about life, you know, like what story would that be if you're like this perfect parent? Like, is there a perfect parent? You know, no, we look at our lives, our parents or, whatever. And it's like, sure, they could have shown up in different ways that maybe would have been supportive to us and blah, blah. But like we're constantly evolving. And someone told me one time like we are the evolved version of our parents, hopefully, you know, like if we choose that path.

Bryttany (54:01)
You're gonna mess up. Yeah.

Renée Adams (54:02)
I'm sorry.

Mara DeMauro (54:29)
And because I can still see within me tendencies of things that I've learned from my parents that maybe I don't necessarily agree with or something. And it's like, ⁓ there it is. know, that's a little, that little learned behavior. Like, okay, I have this choice now. How do I want to move forward? You know, so, ⁓ just kudos to you to choosing, choosing that to be that intentional, you know, bringing more intentionality into it because it's so, so amazing, truly.

Bryttany (54:33)
Mm-hmm.

Renée Adams (54:39)
There it is.

Bryttany (54:40)
Mm-hmm.

Yeah.

Yeah, I mean

my house is a mess. Listen, I'm not perfect. Yeah, I know for a minute. There's no perfection in life. you have to just I was telling somebody this the other day. I'm like, it's so stressful trying to be perfect. It's so much pressure trying to be perfect. And it's exhausting. And there's always going to be something that you don't win at. Like you're not perfect at. So like

Renée Adams (54:59)
Yeah.

Mara DeMauro (55:03)
Yep. No one's saying that. Yeah.

Renée Adams (55:05)
Nah.

Mara DeMauro (55:16)
Mmm.

Renée Adams (55:23)
There's always going to be something that you don't win at. Yeah.

Bryttany (55:27)
Being able to take a step back and allow things to just be is such a strength. It's incredibly hard when you're in an overstimulating environment, yes. But for me, when I was drinking, I didn't have the capacity to do anything about that. Now it's like, I mean, I'm dealing with some health stuff, but I see myself changing. I'm like, I want to do these things. Oh, I'll do a load of dishes. Why not? They're right there.

You know, it's just have more awareness and more energy to move forward in life. And so it's not like a pitch for being sober. It's just a pitch for like, you have the option to do whatever you want in life. You have the option to change things. You have the option to drink less, drink more, like whatever, like it's your life story. ⁓ And you're the only one who can write it. So you have to make choices that align with who you are.

Mara DeMauro (55:58)
Hmm.

Renée Adams (56:09)
Yeah. ⁓

And you're the only one who can write it. So you have to make choices

that align with who you are. Even though it could be incredibly lonely or incredibly hard or whatever, like things get really hard before you level up. I know I was telling Renee that earlier. was like, life gets real tough before you're about to just like change something, something. And that's okay. that's Right. Yeah, the breakdown before the breakthrough.

Bryttany (56:28)
Even though it could be incredibly lonely or incredibly hard or whatever, like things get really hard before you level up. I know I was telling Renee that earlier. was like, life gets real tough before you're about to just like change something, something big. And that's okay.

Mara DeMauro (56:38)
Mmm.

Bryttany (56:52)
Yup.

Mara DeMauro (56:53)
Yeah. What was it to that you said something? the smaller moments, you know, of, well, I'm going do the dishes right here now. You know, I think sometimes when we think of like these, you know, big life transitions or something that it's like these big things, you know, and it can be. But also it's like the little micro moments and the smaller things that the everyday things that really make

Renée Adams (56:55)
Yeah. ⁓

Mara DeMauro (57:23)
a huge difference in just our daily lives. If anyone is thinking about being more curious about the substances they choose to use or whatever, maybe phones, whatever, scrolling, you don't have to be an entrepreneur. Highly don't advise it. No, I'm kidding.

Bryttany (57:37)
Mm-hmm.

No!

Renée Adams (57:44)
Right, right.

Bryttany (57:45)
No. Yeah, like seriously,

Renée Adams (57:49)
No.

Bryttany (57:49)
unless you want to age very quickly, very, very, very, very quickly. No, I mean, yeah, I think I found one the other day, like in the back of my head, I was like, no, it's happening. No, I mean, like if you, if you have the hustle and the drive for entrepreneurship, heck yeah. If you want to just have a hobby or a side hustle, that's also awesome.

Renée Adams (57:56)
You guys, you should see my grace. My grace are like crazy.

Mara DeMauro (58:04)
It's happening.

Renée Adams (58:04)
No.

Hmm.

Bryttany (58:15)
Like, I just think sometimes people get so caught up in the, is how life's supposed to be. And like, I'm supposed to do this and I'm supposed to do that. And I'm supposed to have these friends and I'm supposed to do this trip. I'm like, it doesn't have to be that you have options. You can like YOLO your life, you know, like I say that all the time. My kids, I'm like, yeah, whatever. Let YOLO like, let's move on. But like, and it's just because like it's true. Like you, you can try different things. You can do different things.

My daughter is involved in probably every single school club they offer right now. And it's crazy exhausting, but like she's, she loves it. And I, I was told somebody said you should not let her do that. Like you should tell her to pick one or two just because like it is overwhelming to be the parent to drive a kid to all the things. And like you have two kids, I have two kids to like double the thing. I have one kid who doesn't get involved in anything and I have one who does all the things.

Mara DeMauro (58:50)
You

Renée Adams (58:52)
Yes.

Mara DeMauro (59:02)
Hmm.

Renée Adams (59:05)
Yeah.

Bryttany (59:14)
⁓ But I was like, I would much rather her experience as much as possible now than be curious about that later and not have the capacity or the ability to experience those things. So like, maybe I don't sleep tonight, it's fine. It's fine.

Mara DeMauro (59:14)
Right.

Renée Adams (59:29)
Yeah.

Mara DeMauro (59:33)
Maybe I don't sleep for the next five years.

Renée Adams (59:36)
Like it's still, it's okay.

Yeah, it's fine. We're all fine. Hair's on fire, but it's gonna be fine. It's gonna be fine. That's like what my grandma said that to about like, ⁓ I think this was when I was in like high school or something like that. And I was kind of taken aback. My grandma's 98 now. So she must've been, you know, in her seventies or eighties at the time, but we were talking about ⁓ dating and like relationships and stuff like that. And she was like, yeah.

Bryttany (59:42)
⁓ it's

Renée Adams (1:00:04)
date as many people as you can. Experience life in so many different ways. I dated dancers. I dated this kind of person. So it's like the same kind of concept of like trying all these different things and not being so like put in this box of like same with entrepreneurship. You can step in and out of entrepreneurship. You can have elements of entrepreneurship. You can have elements of these things in your life. ⁓ But yeah, just like getting out there and trying these things and

coming back to that, what you were saying about perfectionism, that you don't have to do the thing to be really fucking good at it. Like you could just do it just to see if you like it.

Bryttany (1:00:43)
Yep.

I've definitely, if anybody has followed me on social media, my story, like I have definitely tried a lot of things publicly too, because I believe in just try it. Who cares if it doesn't work out, try something else. Like I've been a model. Like I was a model for a while. I still would if somebody called me and said, hey, I'll pay you to model this hat or whatever. I'm all right, dope. Like I'm not shy of doing things. I think it's so cool to like be, what do they call it? A Renaissance man.

Renée Adams (1:01:06)
Yes!

Bryttany (1:01:12)
where you just have just many interests and you've tried things and it's it's fun in social settings too when you're talking about things and somebody will mention like, oh, I was watching a crochet video and you could just be like, oh, I know how to do that. You want me to you? Being able to share those cool moments with people is beyond cool. I don't know. Yeah.

Renée Adams (1:01:13)
Yeah.

Mara DeMauro (1:01:13)
Mmm.

Renée Adams (1:01:25)
a crochet video.

Mara DeMauro (1:01:35)
Hmm.

Renée Adams (1:01:35)
Crochet club.

Mara DeMauro (1:01:36)
Yeah.

Add that to the list.

Renée Adams (1:01:41)
⁓

Bryttany (1:01:42)
Yeah.

Renée Adams (1:01:44)
Well, I am just so happy to have this conversation and to make this connection with you, Brittany. And it seems like we just all connect on so many different levels. And thank you for sharing your story, sharing with the audience. ⁓ We'll have everything linked to the little sober bar to Brittany.

all the social media where you can find the little sober bar and how you can book them for your next event. I know they also have a calendar on their website of all the different events that they do. ⁓ So yeah, until next time, Brittany, thank you. Thank you, thank you so much. It's been such a pleasure talking with you.

Bryttany (1:02:25)
Thanks for having me. Thanks for having me anytime. I'd love to just chat. We just be best friends and like every Friday, you know. ⁓

Mara DeMauro (1:02:25)
Yeah, Brittany, thank you.

Right?

We could just yap.

Renée Adams (1:02:35)
Hell yeah, I'm so

Bryttany (1:02:37)
Yeah.

Renée Adams (1:02:37)
down,

I'm so down. We'll start our own club, our YAP club. Cheers, you guys. Merp, one last cheers.

Bryttany (1:02:40)
yes! Cheers! Yay!