'I quit booze and it was the best decision - you couldn't pay me to have a pint'

13 January 2024 , 09:00

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Andy says he is 'proof that you don't have to hit rock bottom to go sober' (Image: Andy Blackman)

Every month is Dry January for Andy Blackman, who decided to stop drinking booze 17 months ago and says it's the best decision he's ever made.

The 37-year-old grew up in a culture where heavy drinking was normalised and found himself at the pub or football grounds most weekends, having pints with his mates. At university, he binge drank and later got into 'high-end' drinks like red wine. Going alcohol-free wasn't something Andy considered - in fact, sobriety was a topic he'd joke about with his pals.

But when the global pandemic hit, the dad-of-two noticed he had gained weight and contemplated going teetotal. He did 30 days sober, then a three-month abstinence, until finally, he took his last sip of liquor on September 9, 2022. "I was never addicted to alcohol but society loves a drink. I'm proof that you don't have to hit rock bottom to go sober," he told The Mirror.

The dad-of-two hasn't drank alcohol for nearly 500 days and says he's a different person now (Andy Blackman)

He's saved £3,500 in a year and a half - 'not including taxis, kebabs or McDonald's in the morning' (Andy Blackman)

Andy, who works as a senior mental health nurse, said alcohol was always part of his life, whether it be having a glass of red to calm himself after a long day of work, or knocking back a pint watching Manchester United. "I come from a family of heavy drinkers and my social circle loves to drink," he explained. "After we settled down and had children, I bought myself a decanter and got into wine. When I look back now, I was masking symptoms of anxiety. I buried my head in the sand."

At the beginning of the Covid-19 lockdown, Andy started thinking it was time to quit booze and saw a post on Facebook about Annie Grace's alcohol experiment. "I bought her book and stopped drinking for 30 days. But I celebrated that month with a drink," he said. "Then I read The Unexpected Joy of Being Sober by Catherine Grey and quit for three months. I felt the real benefits after."

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The Mancunian lost around 4 stone in weight, noticed his skin cleared up and felt more energised in the mornings. "I was proud of myself but I just went back to the pub again after. Then on September 9, I stopped - but this time, with no end in sight," he said. At first, he got a lot of slack from those around him.

"People would say things like, 'You're boring. Let your hair down. You can just have one, can't you? You can't come to my party unless you're drinking. Never trust a sober person.' I remember saying that myself years ago. But over time, the biggest drinkers have been the ones to tell me they're proud of me and ask how I did it."

Andy made steady progress as the months passed and learned to navigate social situations without booze, not drinking at Christmas and breezing through January. "My well-being improved significantly," he said. But then a close family member died in summer 2023 and Andy struggled to cope. "The grief was extremely raw. I was going to drink at the wake after the funeral - as everyone does," he said.

Andy trained as a sobriety coach and now runs AF.ter Party events to support 'grey-area drinkers' (Ben Harrison)

"But I remembered a piece of advice I'd heard - 'If you're going to have a drink, always have a non-alcoholic drink first'. You can always have the alcoholic version after. So I decided that was what I'd do. Then I never had that second drink. There was something so empowering about being able to feel all those emotions and not drink."

Andy began to feel passionate about his new lifestyle and started training as a sobriety coach. "I wanted to help other people who had thought about giving up drinking but weren't alcohol-dependent or an alcoholic," he explained. He developed AF.ter Party, an event group for people who see alcohol as a problem in their lives.

"The aim is to support grey-area drinkers who want to give abstinence a try. There's a gap in the market for men to access that support. We want sobriety to be accepted and celebrated, instead of glamourising alcohol," the nurse explained.

Andy, who shares two children, Lula, five, and Henry, six, with long-term partner Ellie, has passed on his advice for those wanting to continue Dry January. "Don't see it as a challenge. I never use the words 'giving up booze' because it's more about what you gain. I've given up one thing and gained a whole host of other benefits," he said.

Andy tracks his sobriety on an app and it calculates the money he's saved by not drinking. "I've saved £3,500 - and that doesn't include taxis, kebabs or McDonald's in the morning," he said. "I'm much more present with my children which money can't buy. Alcohol is a time stealer - it steals your evenings, sleep and mornings. When you're gifted all of that time back, you start to become your authentic self. Now, you couldn't pay me to have a drink. I just know alcohol doesn't serve me."

You can learn more about AF.Party on Andy's website and book tickets for the next January event.

Do you have a health story to share? Get in touch. Email [email protected].

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