We Recover Loudly – Personal Recovery and Mental Health Stories · Shell Righini

S2 Episode 015 - Mickey Bakst - From Isolation in Addiction to Kinship in Sobriety

·50 min·2 clips

Two servers in one restaurant. One restaurant in 24 hours. Drink or drug themselves to death.

In-depth interview between Shell (host, We Recover Loudly) and Mickey, 40-year hospitality veteran and co-founder of Ben's Friends, exploring how addiction became normalized in restaurant/bar culture and why standard recovery models fail hospitality workers. Mickey details 1982 restaurant loss to addiction, 38 years of sobriety, and co-founding Ben's Friends (2016) as addiction-support nonprofit specifically for hospitality. Discussion covers: industry-wide death statistics (two servers/24 hours in Charleston, four workers overdosing on single shift), cultural barriers to seeking help (macho mentality, fear of manager exposure, religious objections to AA), and systemic issues (occupational stress, paid-shift alcohol access, lack of workplace mental health resources). Episode highlights recent progress: 1996 magazine featured Mickey's recovery with no follow-up; today 12+ organizations collaborate on hospitality mental health initiatives. Emphasizes addiction transcends front/back-of-house roles, challenges perception that only executive chefs struggle.

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