The hosts of a new podcast in Cowichan aim to show that those with substance abuse problems are people, too.
Brandon Kirk and his partner Julia Balabanowicz have received a $12,000 grant though Telus Storyhive to pursue a new video podcast project titled 'Beyond Your Wildest Imagination' which will feature guests baring their souls about their own personal journeys of addiction, and life on the other side of it.
"This has been my life, I have been though addiction and had a lot of tough years and I came out on the other side," said Kirk. "When I was in active addiction and there was the alternative to continue, or getting clean, the latter didn't look very appealing to me. I thought it meant losing out on friends and fun but in my experience that is often the mindset of those living with addiction, at least it was for me.
"Since, I have done some pretty extraordinary things with my life, and I've come to realize that you can have an incredible life after addiction and I want to send out that message of hope to our listeners. It's really hard out there, and If this can help one person from going through what I went through that's why I'm here to offer the work that I'm doing here and the podcast is just another avenue to get that message out to so many people out there. I think it can also help bridge the gap between how people perceive addicts, because they are human. I was once one of them, and all they need is help, love, and support."
Kirk has not only walked this path personally but has had to witness the struggles of his loved ones as well. He has lost friends too soon, and even his brother, who was only 40.
"He just didn't wake up one day," Kirk said, fighting back tears. "He had a pretty tough life, drug fuelled and alcohol fuelled, but he was such a good guy. That's how I know I have so much compassion, anybody that is doing those things out there really doesn't want to be doing them, it's just they don't know how to feel, and process things. I lost my dad as well and it wasn't as direct as my brother but he drank as well and he had a heart attack and then his organs failed him because of the drinking and that was the end of his life."
The grants through Storyhive were open to residents of both B.C. and Alberta. Receiving these funds will enable Kirk and Balabanowicz to film and record eight episodes that will be launched in February 2025. The requirement of the grant is to support local storytelling, and is geared for amateurs who don't currently have an audience or something already in the works.
Kirk said the couple was a little late to the party, and only had three days to put together a 60 second pitch that he noted was a lot of fun and they received positive feedback. Balabanowicz said the couple's different skill sets make them a perfect fit as she was able to buckle down and get creative with the writing and will be looking at the pieces required to produce it, while Kirk will host. All eight episodes will be a half hour in length and will be aired though Storyhive on Telus Optic TV, and Kirk is looking to have it on other platforms such as Apple, and Spotify.
"Brandon’s video podcast pitch for ‘Beyond Your Wildest Imagination’ is a perfect example of the locally reflective content we aim to amplify," said Telus Storyhive, senior program manager Erin Shaw. "His podcast invites people from the Cowichan Valley on Vancouver Island to share their powerful stories of overcoming addiction and finding recovery."
Balabanowicz, who is originally from Toronto, left the east coast for the west coast in 2019, and met Brandon through an online dating site. The two fell in love and have called Cowichan Bay home since 2022 where Kirk practices Integrative Somatic Therapy out of his floating space down by the wharf. Integrative Somatic Therapy Practice integrates neuroscience, restorative yoga, mindfulness, breath work, bodywork, resilience enhancement, ceremony, sound, movement, body-oriented processing and integration. It was Kirk's partner Balabanowicz who pointed him towards this healing path where he studied under founder Ratha Check.
"Brandon has done labour his whole life, and lots of it," said Balabanowicz. "He can do anything really, but ever since I met him he has talked about how he has a greater calling, and that he wanted to help people heal and to be in service of others, and he has so much to offer because of the healing journey that he has been through. I just came across a teacher who created this practice, Brandon started studying under her, and it just all came together."
Kirk said he's always wanted to help heal people.
"I believe that the reason people become addicted is because of unprocessed trauma and the work I'm doing at my office in Cowichan Bay is to help people process trauma. These are things people can do, and if I had had those tools when I was younger, and I had learned to process trauma, maybe I wouldn't have fallen into addiction. People try drugs when they are younger, and only a few get addicted, and it's usually those who don't know how to cope with their emotions. The integrated somatic therapy that I do is helping a lot of that unresolved trauma come to surface so that we can fully feel it and release it, because it is all tied together. There are a number of different modalities involved including touch, breath-work, mindfulness, restorative yoga, ceremony, sound, and resilience enhancement; these offer a place for people to move trauma that is stored in their body and I just help facilitate that."
Kirk, who was born and raised in Lake Cowichan, recently facilitated hard conversations with the Grade 9 and 10 students at his former high school, Lake Cowichan Secondary, which he found impactful and serendipitous with how it all lined up.
"The first time I was a little nervous as kids can be intimidating but it was something that I had always seen myself doing," said Kirk. "Being on stage enabled me to speak about my own experience in open, honest, raw and vulnerable ways to these kids and they connected, and listened and responded and they came up to me to talk afterwards so I knew it had an impact and I'm planning to do more of that across the Cowichan Valley next school year and beyond."
The pair is already thinking about what lies beyond the eight required episodes for their podcast that they will be taking the plunge and recording themselves in their healing floating space in the serene backdrop of the Cowichan Bay harbour. They have even been in communication with Victoria's Sober Fest which takes place at the beginning of August each year to see how they can align, and have also been doing their research on how to host a launch party for their podcast so that members of the community may come and listen to these moving stories together. Kirk and Balabanowicz already have a couple of cool guest lined up but are still looking for a few more and will have a preliminary conversation with all potential guests before moving forward. Those interested in lending their personal stories to the 'Beyond Your Wildest Imagination' podcast can reach out to Kirk by visiting his business website www.limitlesshealing.ca or by emailing him at brandon@limitlesshealing.ca
"The other part of it for us, is for the loved ones of those who are in active addiction," said Balabanowicz. "We hope that the stories can give them hope as well, that people do heal, they do recover, and they do come back to live lives just as beautiful as their loved ones might be hoping for them."
Kirk hopes through these personal stories listeners will not only be moved by the depths of where people once were, but in awe of the mountain tops where they now soar. Kirk said he realizes how vital it is to bring to light the triumphs.
"There is a huge disconnect where people don't see that, and it's so important," said Kirk. "I hope our listeners take away that life after addiction can be beyond your wildest imagination."
