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

S2 Episode 024 - Tony Kost - From Shadows of Addiction to Shining in Sobriety

·59 min·1 clip

I developed a pretty sizable addiction to crystal meth at a very young age, which is not something we talked about last time, when kids in high school were doing normal things, I was going to raves.

This episode features host Shell interviewing Tony Kost, a Cleveland-based restaurant industry veteran and addiction recovery advocate. Tony has worked at iconic spots like the Metropolitan Cafe and spent a decade with Iron Chef Michael Symon, eventually becoming a general manager before alcoholism derailed his career. He now works as a bartender and lead bar manager at Immigrant Son Brewery while also serving as a peer support counselor and running a local Ben's Friends meeting. Tony describes being "born in the industry," with both parents being severe alcoholics and his mother working at a dive bar where he started as a busboy. He developed a significant addiction to crystal meth as a teenager within Cleveland's rave culture, losing friends to drug use, though he later shifted away from hard drugs while alcoholism persisted. His drinking escalated within the restaurant industry's culture, where post-shift drinking felt like an expected "hazing" ritual. Tony got sober on September 5th, nearly eight years ago, after checking himself into a detox hospital at age 33, a point where he felt he had "nothing"—no money, self-awareness, or hobbies. He recently helped a friend of 20 years, who had damaged his career through alcoholism, by taking him to the same detox facility. A surprising insight is Tony's observation that society celebrates alcoholism differently than other addictions, calling it "the only disease people celebrate." He notes the industry's stigma, recalling that when Cleveland's Ben's Friends chapter launched, no local restaurants or bars shared the promotional article, perhaps to avoid associating the industry with addiction. Tony argues that crystal meth is perceived as scarier than alcohol, yet both lead to similar destruction, with alcohol addiction often causing a longer, more painful decline. He emphasizes that early recovery in the hospitality industry is terrifying because people often tell you to leave your career, but his father advised, "If you're gonna not drink, just don't drink," since alcohol is everywhere. The conversation is raw, confessional, and emotionally direct, balancing personal storytelling with advocacy. Shell and Tony share the same sober date, adding a layer of personal connection to their discussion. Listeners in the restaurant or hospitality industry grappling with substance use will find Tony's journey and insights profoundly relatable. Those seeking a strictly clinical or academic analysis of addiction might find the intensely personal and profanity-laced tone less appealing.

As heard by us

Sobriety, regret, and the uneasy pull of old chaos.

Tony Coast begins in restaurants, bussing tables for his mother at a dive bar before moving on to places like the Metropolitan Cafe and a decade with Michael Simon and his wife, Liz.

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Why you'd press play

For when sobriety still carries the weird ache of missing the old chaos.

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