Marcus Capone spent most of his life drinking through military culture, then woke up one morning and quit for good. In this episode of Conversations with the Capones, Amber asks how he did it without a program, a group, or a single relapse.

WHAT YOU'LL LEARN

Marcus and Amber Capone talk through what changed when Marcus stopped drinking after years inside a SEAL culture built around alcohol. Marcus describes waking up after one bad night and deciding drinking no longer served him, and why that decision held when two-week and two-month attempts never had.

You will hear how sobriety reshaped his sleep, his workouts, his work at VETS and TaraMind, and his relationship with Amber and their kids. Marcus tracks the change on his Apple Watch and Whoop, and names the deep sleep and REM gains he saw once alcohol was gone.

Amber brings the spouse vantage: what it is like to support a partner through sobriety when alcohol was part of the hardest years of a marriage, and why she was afraid to even ask about it. Together they walk through concrete steps for anyone weighing sobriety and for the partner standing beside them.

EPISODE SUMMARY

Marcus opens by naming alcohol as the number one killer and something many communities accept without question, while making clear he is not here to preach. He and Amber trace the role drinking played across their marriage, from his 21st birthday to college fights to the tough years that alcohol touched.

Marcus grew up around parents who hid their drinking, then leaned on it once he began deploying. Alcohol followed him into the SEAL teams, where he describes it building tribes and camaraderie, giving people a way to open up about their deepest issues. Amber names Danny's, a dive bar where SEALs gathered, and the argument Marcus once had there about whether a bar is the place people should be working through what they carry home from deployment.

The turning point came after Ibogaine in 2017 stopped his desire to drink for over a year, then a return to wine pulled him back. One morning after a bad hangover and a fight, Marcus said out loud that drinking did not serve him anymore, and has not had a drink since. He credits no class, no 12-step program, just the decision that Amber and the kids mattered more.

Marcus is honest about what he misses: the bar conversation, the camaraderie, watching football with friends over drinks. He also names what improved once it was gone, from deep sleep and VO2 max to a softer face and a clearer relationship with his kids where ego no longer runs the room.

Amber presses him for concrete guidance, and Marcus lands three things: fill the gap with something positive that gives you the same rush, do not believe your life is over, and get a group, a therapist, or a 12-step program if you need one. Amber adds the supporter's side: keep an open dialogue, never shame, and encourage. They close on VETS and its work supporting veterans through their own sobriety journeys.

MEDICAL DISCLAIMER

VETS employees, staff, volunteers, and Ambassadors are not practitioners; all psychedelic-assisted therapy treatment takes place at vetted, third-party facilities that are monitored by medical professionals.

TIMESTAMPS

• 0:00 — Why alcohol is the number one killer
• 1:33 — The moment something had to change
• 3:48 — How Marcus quit for good
• 9:36 — What sleep and metrics revealed
• 14:53 — Alcohol in SEAL and military culture
• 23:43 — Three things to do right now
• 33:34 — Three things for the supporter
• 37:13 — How VETS supports the sobriety journey

If this conversation reaches someone weighing sobriety, share it with them. Subscribe to Conversations with the Capones for new episodes each week, and leave a comment about what helped you or someone you love turn things around.

LINKS & RESOURCES

• VETS: https://vetsolutions.org/
• TaraMind: https://taramind.com/

#ConversationsWithTheCapones #veteranmentalhealth #sobriety #alcoholusedisorder

Amber and Marcus Capone answer the questions they get asked most about psychedelic-assisted therapy, from real risks to responsible access.

In this episode:

• How ibogaine, ketamine and psilocybin differ
• What regulated access screens for
• The aftercare and integration many clinics skip
• The real cost and access picture, plainly
• What a session looks like from preparation to integration
• What has to change for legal access in the United States

In this episode of Conversations with the Capones, Amber and Marcus sit down for an honest Q&A drawn from the questions that fill their inboxes every day. They walk through the differences between ibogaine, ketamine, psilocybin and other modalities, what these treatments cost, where they are legal today and what it takes to pursue them responsibly.

The conversation gets specific about safety. Marcus explains why he preaches regulated access, the screening that separates vetted providers from well-meaning amateurs and the emergency preparation he compares to skydiving training. Amber describes a space where promising compounds are moving through the FDA while standards of care do not yet exist in the United States, and why aftercare and integration matter as much as the treatment itself.

Amber and Marcus have spent eight years building VETS, Veterans Exploring Treatment Solutions, and supporting military families through this exact terrain. They answer plainly, including where the research stands, what remains unproven and why neither of them believes any single modality is right for everyone. For anyone weighing this path for themselves or someone they love, this is the informed starting point.

For veterans, military families, couples, first responders and anyone navigating healing, growth and reinvention.

Subscribe for new episodes every week. If this conversation helps you, share it with someone who needs it.

DISCLAIMER: VETS employees, staff, volunteers, and Ambassadors are not practitioners; all psychedelic-assisted therapy treatment takes place at vetted, third-party facilities that are monitored by medical professionals. VETS does not advocate for decriminalization or legalization of psychedelic modalities, but rather the monitored, clinical use of psychedelic-assisted therapy.

CONNECT WITH AMBER AND MARCUS

Website: https://thecapones.com/

VETS (Veterans Exploring Treatment Solutions): https://vetsolutions.org/

Free VETS education e-course: available at https://vetsolutions.org/

Watch In Waves and War on Netflix: https://www.inwavesandwarfilm.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thecaponespodcast/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/marcus_amber_capone/

ABOUT CONVERSATIONS WITH THE CAPONES

Amber and Marcus Capone are the co-founders of VETS (Veterans Exploring Treatment Solutions). Marcus is the Co-Founder and Chairman of VETS and a former Navy SEAL who served 13 years, including multiple combat deployments. Amber is the Co-Founder and CEO of VETS, entrepreneur, and a leading voice in mental health advocacy and human transformation.

Conversations with the Capones is a space for honest conversations about relationships, healing, leadership, identity, and growth.

Rooted in lived experience, this podcast is for anyone committed to evolving — no matter their past, present circumstances, or where they are starting from. Through real conversations, hard-earned lessons, and the questions people have been asking for years, Amber and Marcus explore what it truly means to level up in life, love, and purpose.

This is about doing the work, becoming unstuck, and building a life aligned with who you are meant to become.

#PsychedelicTherapy #VeteransMentalHealth #Ibogaine #ConversationsWithTheCapones