I Built Soberminds From the Life I Had to Rebuild
It was never about looking clean. It was about becoming someone I could finally respect.
Everything here — the Field Notes, the Field Guides, the clothing — is built from my own recovery, relapse, and rebuilding. Soberminds exists to help people build a life they no longer want to escape.
Last updated August 2026 — By Mark, Founder, Soberminds Lifestyle
I Didn’t Change Because I Wanted a Better Life
I changed because I was about to lose the ones I already had.
I served in the U.S. Navy and later worked offshore as a gas turbine technician. One week after arriving at my first duty station, I found myself face down on concrete in handcuffs. In 2006, the Navy sent me to detox and 45 days of inpatient rehab, followed by a year of anger management and a year of therapy.
That wasn’t the end of it. My real rebuilding started later, in 2017, when my marriage ended and my children moved four states away. Losing my family forced me to confront the life I’d spent years avoiding.
I’ve lost people to this disease. My brothers Kevin and Michael both died to it. It changed my understanding of responsibility, not just grief. That’s part of why I go hard on this now — I can’t change what happened to either of them, but I can choose what I build from it.
The moment that finally broke through for me wasn’t dramatic. It was a letter from my kids, asking me to get help. That was the moment I stopped asking why my life looked the way it did, and started asking what I was going to do about it.
For most of my life, recovery belonged to everyone except me. My family wanted it. The courts wanted it. The Navy wanted it. Therapists wanted it. But nothing really changed until I accepted that rebuilding my life was my responsibility.
My story isn’t one defining moment. It’s dozens of chapters — drugs, detox, rehab, jails and courtrooms, relapse, two divorces, losing my kids, losing Kevin and Michael, grief, Peru, ayahuasca, and countless decisions that never made headlines but changed everything anyway. Some of those chapters belong in the Field Notes. Some belong in a book, not here. All of them shaped Soberminds.
The Milestones, Not the Whole Story
Not everything that’s happened in my life. Just the moments that shaped the work you’re reading today.
2019–2021 — Building Begins
Long-term sobriety took hold. Art became an outlet, and the first Soberminds concepts emerged through NFTs. I rebuilt homes and restored cars, and kept discovering that making things with my hands taught the same lesson rebuilding had: meaningful change happens one decision at a time.
2023 — Losing Kevin Changed Everything
My brother Kevin died. It changed my understanding of responsibility, not just grief. That’s when I found my purpose.
2024 — Starting Over in Peru
I gave up everything in the United States and moved to Cusco. It wasn’t just a move. It was another act of starting over.
2025 — Relapse
After years of sobriety, I relapsed. It confirmed something I already knew but hadn’t fully accepted: rebuilding isn’t a destination. It’s a practice that requires continual attention.
2025–2026 — Soberminds Evolves
Field Notes launched. The Field Guides were published. Soberminds grew beyond apparel into a place for rebuilding identity, discipline, clarity, and peace. That work is still being written.
If this story feels familiar, start here.
Mark
Founder, Soberminds Lifestyle
I Don’t Write From Theory
I’ve been sober. I’ve relapsed. I’ve served in the U.S. Navy. I’ve worked offshore. I’ve rebuilt my life more than once.
I write from experience — either something I’ve lived, something I’m actively rebuilding, or something I wish someone had told me years ago.
I don’t write because I’m an expert. I write because I’ve lived enough mistakes to know what happens when the work gets neglected — and what becomes possible when it doesn’t.
This Isn’t Recovery Merch.
Soberminds Lifestyle began as an outlet, not a business plan. Creating became the language I used when I couldn’t explain what rebuilding felt like. The artwork became messages. The messages became clothing. The clothing became conversations. Those conversations became a community.
Soberminds is a lifestyle brand built from lived experience. It exists for people rebuilding after struggle — addiction is part of that story, so are divorce, loss, failure, burnout, starting over, reinvention. This isn’t the entire identity, and I don’t believe anyone should have to walk around advertising the worst part of their life forever. The clothing represents movement, discipline, perspective — the person you’re becoming, not a label for what you survived. You don’t have to explain the whole story. Sometimes the symbol is enough.
Everything we create is built around the same idea: identity isn’t discovered, it’s built. Discipline isn’t a personality trait, it’s a practice. Clarity isn’t comfortable, but it’s necessary. Peace isn’t the absence of struggle — it’s what you build once you stop creating chaos. Field Notes, Field Guides, and the clothing are three formats carrying the same philosophy.
Everything We Publish Is Built Around Four Ideas
Over time I realized everything I was writing came back to the same four ideas: Identity, Discipline, Clarity, and Peace.
The Principles Behind Soberminds
- Rebuilding isn’t about perfection. It’s about honesty.
- Discipline creates freedom.
- Identity is built through action.
- Peace is practiced every day.
- Your past explains you. It doesn’t define you.
- Nobody is coming to save you. That’s the good news — it means you finally get to build the life yourself.
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Shop the Collection →Frequently Asked Questions
Who is Mark?
I’m a recovering alcoholic and the founder of Soberminds Lifestyle. I write from lived experience with addiction, rebuilding, and relapse — the U.S. Navy and years working offshore are part of that story, but recovery is the throughline.
Why did I create Soberminds Lifestyle?
It began as a creative outlet during my own rebuilding — art and writing became a way to process what it actually felt like. It grew into a brand built around helping people rebuild identity, discipline, clarity, and peace after addiction.
What is Soberminds Lifestyle?
Soberminds Lifestyle is a lifestyle brand I publish — Field Notes, Field Guides, and clothing — built around the idea that rebuilding is about becoming someone, not just quitting something.
Is Soberminds affiliated with AA?
No. Soberminds isn’t formally affiliated with Alcoholics Anonymous or any recovery program. AA played a role in my own recovery, but Soberminds is an independent brand.
What does “Built From Struggle” mean?
It’s the idea that I didn’t create this brand because I had life figured out. It was built out of real struggle, and everything I publish reflects that origin.
How long have I been in recovery?
My recovery began in 2017. I relapsed in 2025 after years of sobriety, and I’ve been honest about that as part of my story — it isn’t something I consider finished, it’s something I keep choosing.
Thank you for being here.
Whether you’re one day sober, ten years sober, or simply trying to become someone you respect again — I’m glad you found your way here. Soberminds isn’t the story of a man who figured life out. It’s the story of someone who keeps showing up to build it — one day at a time.
Recovery gave me another chance. Building is how I protect it.
— Mark