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

S2 Episode 026 - Anthony Hammond - From Boozing in Pubs to A Pub with NO Booze!

·1 hr 15 min·4 clips

Anthony says he intertwined his identity with alcohol and drugs and identifies as an alcoholic and addict.

1. We Recover Loudly follows Anthony Hammond’s story from Australian pub culture to Pub With No Booze. 2. Shell hosts Anthony Hammond, an Aussie entrepreneur and second-generation publican, and his Pub With No Booze project matters because it puts non-alcoholic drinks inside pubs. 3. The episode asks whether Australian hospitality can change its drinking culture without losing the community role of the pub. 4. Anthony says his first memories are of living upstairs in a hotel, not a house, and playing in the front bar while his parents worked long hours. 5. He describes the 1970s and 1980s pub as a local bank, a work-exchange point, and a place with an SP bookie and the wireless on. 6. He links the decline of the Australian pub to the 1984 deregulation of the liquor industry in Victoria, when drinks could be sold outside the local pub. 7. He says the deregulation flooded liquor licenses into cafes and bars and began the long decline of the Aussie pub. 8. He compares that past with today’s competitive socialising, including mini golf, shuffleboard, darts, escape rooms, and axe throwing. 9. He says the fundamentals of hospitality stay the same: say hello, say goodbye, smile, and let people make themselves unwelcome. 10. He argues that the pandemic worsened staffing shortages because Australia relied on student visas and working holiday visas that disappeared during lockdowns. 11. He says many hospitality workers left for construction, real estate, and other jobs with better pay and better hours. 12. He adds that older mentors left the industry, and that loss removed people who had drilled hospitality standards into younger staff. 13. He says some of those who stayed are still carrying trauma, burnout, chronic illness, and addiction from working through the pandemic. 14. He explains that many small Australian hospitality businesses are “mum and dad operations” with no accountants, HR departments, or lawyers. 15. He says GST or VAT debts and financial pressure are sending those businesses to the wall. 16. Anthony later says he intertwined his identity with alcohol and drugs, identifies as an alcoholic and addict, and is in a 12-step program. 17. He says drinking was normalised in pubs, footy clubs, and hospitality, where after-work alcohol was expected and even medically joked about with a whiskey for a stuffy nose. 18. The tone moves between nostalgia, frustration, and direct self-critique, with Shell pushing the conversation toward structure and Anthony answering in long, candid stretches. 19. People interested in Australian pubs, hospitality culture, and recovery stories will get the most from this episode. 20. People looking for a light chat or quick business tips may skip it.

As heard by us

A recovery story that makes pub culture feel personal, not abstract.

Anthony Hammond comes across as a second-generation publican whose recovery story was shaped by country pubs, the first signs of trouble in 2013, rehab in 2021, and a push to change how the industry talks about drinking through Pub With No Booze.

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Why you'd press play

You want a recovery story rooted in country pubs and a business rethink around booze.

Read the full recommendation in PlayNext →

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