Take It From Us with Kent Johns
If you're navigating mental health struggles, addiction or recovery — your own or someone else's — you'll hear what actually worked, what didn't and what people wish they'd known sooner.
Take It From Us features real people sharing their own journeys, unscripted and unfiltered. No theory, no talking points — just the honest, specific version of what recovery actually looks like.
Host Kent Johns is a broadcaster and health coach who believes everyone has a story worth hearing if someone takes the time to really listen. Each episode is that time.
Press play — you might hear your own story in someone else's.
If you need support, click here for helpful links, phone numbers and resources: https://ember.org.nz/resources/in-a-crisis/
Episodes
54 episodes
Justine & Blain: Running a 24/7 recovery centre after their own addiction
Blain Collinge was once the reason his parents started Red Door Recovery — refusing help, deep in addiction, with "no desire to change." Over a decade later, he co-leads the very organi...
Recovery isn't a straight line — Suzy Morrison on 35+ years sober
She took her first drink at 14 — and for a moment, everything made sense.Suzy Morrison chased that feeling for years, through other substances and eventually heroin, before it nearly cost her everything. She's been in recovery sin...
Jamie Summers: I thought I was invincible. Then I had a stroke at 39
Jamie Summers thought he was invincible. At 39, working in construction, high stress and no downtime felt like just part of the job.Then he had a stroke.Six and a half years later, he's still living with it — fatigue that doesn't ...
Heidi McIlroy: A book for young people who can't find the words
Heidi McIlroy teaches kids who can't make it into a regular classroom. They're too anxious, struggling with their mental health, autistic - kids who carry shame because they think they're broken.She gets it because she's been there. Year...
Kent Johns: 'I slept rough for one night - here's what I learned'
A different kind of episode this week. Host Kent recently slept rough for one night at the Big Sleepout. He bedded down on cardboard at the AUT campus, part of a group of 70 community leaders raising funds and awareness for people experiencing ...
Joe Daymond: On comedy, mental health and showing up
Joe Daymond is a Kiwi comedian who makes you laugh about the hard stuff - the things most of us hide. He talks about things like mental health and relationships on stage in a way that makes people feel less alone.He's had low times, incl...
Todd Muller: One step away from being Prime Minister - then it all fell apart
Todd Muller was elected leader of the National Party in May 2020, a tantalising final step towards achieving a boyhood dream of one day being Prime Minister. Within five days, he was experiencing waves of anxiety he'd never felt bef...
Chris Bowden: How men grieve the suicide of a mate - and what we misunderstand
Chris Bowden lost 5 friends to suicide when he was a young man. He coped badly - drinking, drugs, anger, violence, getting into fights. He was spiralling.A university lecturer noticed something wasn't right and pointed Chris toward help....
Melanie Rauth: Methamphetamine, prison and a second chance
Melanie Rauth grew up in Australia. When her parents separated at 13, she started making different choices - cannabis, the wrong crowd, trouble at school. She had her daughter and in 2010 they moved to New Zealand.Rural isolation and met...
Dave Burnside: 'The man at my prison cell door who changed my life'
Dave Burnside started drinking at eight. He was drawn into the gang scene and drugs in Auckland. Multiple prison sentences followed - he was angry, railing against the system.Then one day in Spring Hill Prison, a man from his past appear...
Shelwin Khan: 'I wanted to join the 27 Club. Instead I got sober'
In 2026, Auckland man Shelwin Khan is thriving as a peer support worker and lived experience advisor. But it wasn't always like this.Shelwin started drinking at 13. By his mid-20s he was, by his own admission, 'unemployable', had three s...
Lotta Dann: 'The world loved my skinny body - then the binging started'
Lotta Dann is a well-known author and advocate in the addiction recovery space. This year marks 15 years since her last drink.Six years ago, Lotta had a second awakening - this time about diet culture. She'd found a guru with strict rule...
Dean Clarkson: Creating safe spaces for men who've suffered family violence
Dean Clarkson established Wana Charitable Trust in 2024 to help men and their families who've suffered family violence. Based in Takanini, South Auckland, Dean provides safe housing, group therapy, and o...
Freddie Bennett: 'I had the Porsche, the Rolex.. and was falling apart inside'
Freddie Bennett co-founded Bay Paediatrics in Tauranga, and in his words, is leading the neurodiversity revolution.Less than 10 years ago, Freddie had the Porsche, the Rolex, the corporate life in the UK. From the outside, it looked like...
Kevin Hollingsworth: 16 years in recovery from Methamphetamine addiction
Kevin Hollingsworth is a clinical practitioner, addiction counsellor, and executive director of Mana Enhancing Stop Group in Rotorua. He's been in recovery from methamphetamine addiction for over 16 years.Kevin started using cannabis at ...
Kelsey Waghorn: Surviving White Island - and the PTSD that came later
Kelsey Waghorn survived the Whakaari White Island volcanic eruption on December 9, 2019. In two minutes, the volcano changed the trajectory of her life.Kelsey made split-second decisions that saved lives - staying still when she wanted t...
Liz Downes: Living with bipolar and supporting others as a peer
Liz Downes is a Peer Support Specialist and Associate Professional Lead at Counties Manukau Health, working alongside people with shared lived experience of bipolar disorder.Liz trained as a nurse. After having her first baby, she develo...
Rich Rowley & Bex Waugh: The power in being 'neuro-spicy'
Bex Waugh and Rich Rowley are self-described as 'neuro-spicy' - and they're on a mission to help workplaces understand the value neurodivergent people bring.They're the force behind Neurofusion, a...
Suzette Jackson: 'See women as people first, not just mothers'
Suzette Jackson has just submitted her PhD in social work at the University of Auckland, researching a unique drug treatment program for pregnant women and mothers at Higher Ground in Auckland.Suzette is 13 years in recovery from drug ad...
Asha Munn: On the healing power of creativity
Asha Munn is an art psychotherapist, EMDR therapist and founder of Breathing Space Charitable Trust.At university, Asha got unwell and didn't think she'd return for her final year. Art hea...
Lynda Hills: Suicide survivor on the research that's her new purpose
Lynda Hills is a suicide researcher studying for a PhD at Auckland University, and her lived experience is informing her research.Seventeen years ago, Lynda tried to take her own life. She was left with critical injuries and has undergon...
Rose Heta-Minhinnick & Arohanui Minhinnick: From recovery to empowering the next generation
Rose Heta-Minhinnick and her daughter Arohanui Minhinnik run Te Waa Charitable Trust, helping young people and their families in Waiuku, southwest of Auckland.Rose is 12 years in recovery from alcohol and gambling addiction. She knows th...
Anna Ashton: Online harm - the crisis no one's trained to handle
Ten years ago, online harassment followed Anna Ashton everywhere - she couldn't escape by changing schools or moving homes. She became agoraphobic, was misdiagnosed with social anxiety, and eventually attempted suicide.Her clinician didn...
Dom Huxley: How surfing is helping farmers combat isolation
Dom Huxley is the General Manager of Surfing for Farmers, a grassroots organisation helping the rural community through surf therapy. Since 2018, over 8,000 farmers have taken part across 25 beaches around New Zealand.Dom is a former pro...
Riqi Harawira: Rock Star, Survivor, Counsellor - on smashing the shame
Riqi Harawira's band Dead Flowers used to play in front of tens of thousands, supporting acts like Guns N' Roses and Pearl Jam. Now Riqi works at Man Alive in West Auckland, helping men build better relationships.Riqi is a ...