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Ben Owen - Inside the Life of an Addict | SRS #178

2025-03-03 People & Blogs
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Shawn Ryan Show
Shawn Ryan Show
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Description

Ben Owen is an Army Infantry veteran, a father to eight children, graduate of the University of Alabama, and American Patriot. From startups to Fortune 500 companies, Ben has excelled in leadership, strategy, raising brand awareness and sales. He is the President of digital media and data intel company Black Rifle Co, co-founder of We Fight Monsters, and CEO of Flanders Fields, where his mission is to stand up as many Flanders owned clean living facilities as possible to get veterans clean and off the streets through volunteer missions in the United States and around the world. As a previously homeless and addicted veteran, Ben has seen some of the worst the world has to offer. In this episode, he shares his story of rising above the extraordinary hardships he’s faced in order to bring hope and help to as many people as he can. Join this channel to get access to perks: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCkoujZQZatbqy4KGcgjpVxQ/join Shawn Ryan Show Links SUBSCRIBE: http://www.youtube.com/@ShawnRyanShow Sign up: https://shawnryanshow.com/pages/newsletter Support the Show: https://www.patreon.com/VigilanceElite Download Free Content: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1lF-8_5jwRc5eAhzDkqqCOp-6yvd05vAw?usp=sharing Listen on Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/shawn-ryan-show/id1492492083 Listen on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/5eodRZd3qR9VT1ip1wI7xQ?si=59f9d106e56a4509 Follow on TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@shawnryanshow Follow on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/shawnryanshow/ Follow on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/shawnryanshow/ Follow on X: https://twitter.com/ShawnRyanShow SRS Podcast Playlist: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL4pqo9Uoh0WuUKxw0BmaK1yrg9Kd7E4lk #vigilanceelite #shawnryanshow #veteran #military Ben Owen Links: Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/therealbenowen/ LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/therealbenowen Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/p/Ben-Owen-100077606762984/ Black Rifle Co - https://www.blackrifle.company/ Flanders Fields - https://flandersfields.org/ We Fight Monsters - https://wefightmonsters.org/ Once American - https://onceamerican.com/ Shawn Ryan Show Sponsors: https://ShawnLikesGold.com | 855-936-GOLD #goldcopartner https://amac.us/srs https://meetfabric.com/shawn https://americanfinancing.net/srs | 866-781-8900 | NMLS 182334, www.nmlsconsumeraccess.org https://hillsdale.edu/srs https://helixsleep.com/srs 00:00 Introduction and Setting the Scene 00:21 Life at Rock Bottom 01:34 A Journey to Faith 21:25 Childhood and Early Life 44:50 Abuse and Trauma in Rehab 46:28 Life in Utah Treatment Facility 48:55 Struggles with Addiction and Family 54:09 College and ROTC Challenges 01:06:09 Enlisting After 9/11 01:34:43 Struggles with Addiction and Relationships 01:39:27 Finding Purpose and Career Challenges 01:41:40 Entrepreneurial Ventures and Family Growth 01:53:26 Health Scares and Pain Medication 01:58:04 Building a Business and Family Life 02:17:42 The Electronics Business Model 02:18:19 Transition to Firearms and Drop Shipping 02:19:56 Balancing Business and Family Life 02:29:24 Life in South Memphis 02:34:52 Legal Troubles and Attempted Recovery 02:51:15 Reconciliation and Relapse 03:07:58 Rebuilding Bonds with Kids 03:11:54 New Beginnings with Jess 03:19:07 Jess's Perspective 03:29:08 Facing the Past and Moving Forward 03:48:49 The Beginning of the Downward Spiral 03:49:57 The Impact on Family 03:51:01 Living in a Trap House 03:52:51 Homelessness and Desperation 04:00:58 Kidnapping and Escaping 04:09:06 Violence and Addiction 04:14:29 Turning Point and Recovery 04:45:47 Memphis Mission and Unexpected Challenges 04:52:23 Turning Drug Dealers and Addressing Addiction 05:09:24 Expanding Efforts and Future Plans 05:19:38 Psychedelics and Mental Health 05:25:03 Final Thoughts

Top Comments (10)

@RyanMcLaren1981 2025-03-03

Im 251 days clean and sober off fentanyl and all other mind altering substances! Havent been clean for this many days in 30 years. Thank you Ben and Shawn for sharing your story. God bless 🙏🏼

946 130 replies
@ronnycarroll1977 2025-03-03

OD’d May 13th 2004 Sober since May 14th 2004 All of you inspire me. God Bless

578 18 replies
@Sleyva44 2025-03-04

17 years addicted to meth and opiates. lost everything I ever loved including myself and my sanity. God pulled me out and I have been clean for almost 7 years now. He restored my family and my health and has given me more than I could've ever asked for

404 19 replies
@BWellsFPV 2025-03-03

Haven't watched a SRS show in months because of life and just haven't been on YouTube, but drank last night and then just started praying. Then all of a sudden I get on youtube and this video pops up in my feed. I had my son 20 months ago and had a nasty split with his mom and started drinking too much and just survive everyday and try to be the best dad i can be but im most certainly a better father sober. I'd like to think the 444 hat was a sign to me as well and the whole bit they did about allowing something you did to be your identity and struggling to move forward really hits home for me. There truly is no other podcast like this on the planet.

313 29 replies
@IsaiahKemp-qx1od 2025-03-03

3 years clean now. There's life after addiction! Don't give up!

304 13 replies
@vicwei4302 2025-03-04

45 years sober by the grace of God. My sponsor introduced me to Jesus in 1980 and I have had victorious life ever since.

220 5 replies
@Crustapher 2025-03-03

As someone who is almost 7 years clean of heroin/fent and alcohol it is good to see by the grace of God we can be healed.

178 5 replies
@Retired_5-0 2025-03-04

Retired cop here. Worked the main hub for heroin and fentanyl for 9 years. The trap houses they talk about are 100% accurate. They watered them down in terms of graphic description, but they are terrifying and destroy everything around them. I was a pill head thanks to college football, nearly died 3 times. Been in recovery for 20 years. Used to drink a handle of Jack every 2 days. No support from the department, hid a lot from the wife, did terrible things to terrible people, had 3 failure to fires with my duty pistol after my OIS in 2018, thought suicide was the only option. After 3 failed attempts, I was first through the door on everything high risk, kept spinning that chamber hoping to catch a bullet. All of this while my family had zero idea what was going on with me and my little brother was in his NFL prime down in Tampa with Tom Brady. This show is extremely inspiring and I love every episode. Now my brother and I are looking to create a veteran/first responder retreat on his ranch in evergreen, to give those who serve a safe, isolated place to spend time either alone or with their families, to simply just “be”, especially after an extremely traumatic event. We want to spear head this topic right at the source. I know 100% that if I had something like we’re trying to do, my fall out would been a much softer landing. 650 acres surrounded by 21k acres of national forest. It truly is a one of a kind place and if we can get the right support from legislators and companies, I know we can save thousands of lives and families. Police/Fire/AMR/VA fail their people over and over and over again. And being someone who’s had to turn my gun on another citizen and seeing shit daily that you’d see overseas, destroys one’s mentality. Hopefully we can find the right folks to help get this off the ground and point us in the right direction so that we can serve those who have and are serving us now.

162 21 replies
@ShawnRyanShow 2025-03-03

Gain exclusive access beyond the interview with a full documentary inside the streets of Memphis: https://bit.ly/thestreetsofmemphis

125 23 replies
@ninja-qh6hu 2025-03-04

This is why Shawn's the best. He made Ben's wife feel so included. Such a cool move to tell her to get into the seat, obviously not planned and done on the fly. I love it

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