Overview:
The Phoenix, a national organization, uses exercise to foster a sober community that helps addicts recover.
By Evanie Gamble and Norah Hively in collaboration with CU CMCI’s News Corps
According to the National Center for Drug Abuse Statistics, 13.5% of Americans aged 12 and up used drugs in the last month, a 3.8% increase from the previous year, and drug overdoses have killed nearly one million people since 2000. As addiction rates rise in our country, a community is emerging to combat these lethal statistics.
The Phoenix is a national organization that fosters community connections through active living on the often lonely road to recovery. Founded by Scott Strode in 2006, the nonprofit strives through its events and classes to bring people struggling with addiction together to build back.
“We’re not just dealing with a substance use problem, we’re facing an epidemic rooted in social isolation,” the gym notes on its webpage. “The Phoenix model leverages the transformational power of connection and human resilience to build a sober movement.”
The regional manager for the Phoenix, Rob Baumgartner, was looking for more than just a 12-step program. After getting into a rollover accident and scraping by with only minor injuries, Baumgartner decided to finally get sober. He started attending meetings the very next day. But there was one hang-up.
“It [12-step meetings] didn’t really resonate for me,” Baumgartner said. “You know, it works for millions of people, but there were components of it that I just found challenging.” His father’s girlfriend sent him an article about the Phoenix, a very new organization at the time.
“I had been pretty active when I was using and I was like, ‘This sounds perfect for me,’” he said. For many of the members, it wasn’t just the activities that drew them in; it was also the community of people they were introduced to.
“We’re just sort of about treating people with respect and rising together,” Baumgartner said. “And we had different ways of framing those things, but the same ideas are still around as what we now call our ethos. And I just found a new community.”
Its ethos, which is recited at the beginning of each of their events, involves four key qualities: honor, sobriety and recovery; welcoming all; striving to create a safe and inclusive place; and rising together. Research has found that around 83% of members stay sober, compared to the typical 40%-60% with other treatment programs.
The first requirement for participation in their classes and events is 48 hours of sobriety, followed by a few pages of paperwork. The only other requirement is that attendees show respect for others and their personal journeys. Once that criteria is met, the Phoenix is completely free.
Two years into the Phoenix’s creation, Sean Cahill took up the challenge. “I wanted something that was different than just meetings and so forth,” he said. “I needed something that was going to kind of roll a little different.”
Cahill was aware of his addiction from an early age. His primary addiction was alcohol, with cocaine following later in life. In college, he’d been a Division 1 wrestler but dropped out of school because of his addiction. “Alcohol and drugs had taken that away from me,” Cahill said.
At 56, he now manages member relations for the Phoenix, where he has contributed to the development of the offerings he sought. His participation started with a weekly walk around Wash Park. It then progressed to attending meetings for the Phoenix’s newly formed rock climbing program, which was held at a climbing gym in Thornton at the time.
The Phoenix events began in Boulder, meeting outdoors or in different exercise spaces by partnering with establishments around the area.
“It started as much more of a triathlon figurehead,” Cahill said. “There was mountain biking, some climbing, there was some running. But that was it.”
That was 15 years ago. The organization now has multiple physical locations, the first of which is a gym in Denver, where Cahill works.
There are a few other physical locations in the United States, including Denver, Colorado Springs, Boston and Southern California. However, many of the Phoenix’s events take place in locations unrelated to the program, such as parks, climbing gyms, and yoga studios.
The Phoenix emphasizes that they want to be open to all paths to recovery. They encourage anything that works, as opposed to groups such as Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) or Narcotics Anonymous (NA), which may not support methadone or marijuana use while recovering from an alcohol or hard drug addiction.
Funding & Research
Dr. Jacki Hillios, deputy executive director of the Phoenix, assisted Strode in the formation of the organization. She explains that individual donors and foundations provide the majority of their funding, with a small amount coming from government grants.
“I think a lot of our folks either have been impacted directly because of their own substance use or alcoholism, or through family members,” Hillios said.
Many donors want to spread the Phoenix’s healthy mindset to their own communities, particularly those who have struggled with addiction or know someone who has.
“We want to empower our donors to align their resources in ways that are impactful for them,” Hillios said. This same philosophy goes for foundations that fund their operation.
However, Heinrich says that sobriety is just a piece of the puzzle in terms of the general well-being of their members. Their research results show that their members end up above national averages in terms of overall health within their first three months of involvement with the Phoenix.
Heinrich discusses the long-term concept of “flourishing,” explaining that members’ long-term health continues to improve at a faster rate than in other treatment programs.
“Flourishing looks at multiple domains of your life: social, emotional, financial resources and things like that,” Heinrich said. “Data we collected last year showed that not only do Phoenix members flourish in their first year, it really continues going.”
Impact of Its Ethos
Mika Mumme, 32, was another member who struggled with an alcohol addiction. She explains how it began in high school and followed her into her adult years. “I say that I got through college by the skin of my teeth,” says Mumme. “That, for me, was when it was very present.”
Mumme joined the Phoenix in 2019. She began as a member, then as a volunteer, and finally as an associate regional manager in the Colorado area, where she has worked for the past three years. Mumme, who has always been an athlete, was immediately drawn to this method of recovery.
“I think my idea of recovery was that it was going to be isolating,” she said. “That is a mental model that has changed for me since coming to the Phoenix.”
Mumme particularly enjoys the Phoenix’s annual trip to Moab, Utah. She has been three times and was assigned to project manage this year’s trip. The Moab trip lasts four days and three nights, and approximately 250 people typically attend. Mumme says it is moving to see people who come to Moab for their first Phoenix event.
“They get to talk about gratitude around a fire,” Mumme said. “They get to push themselves, maybe physically, like rapelling off a cliff and finding trust in another individual. To me, that is a short amount of time to form a deeper connection.”
The most important part of the trip to Mumme is the gratitude circle. Two years ago, that is where she shared how she was thankful for the supportive Phoenix community. During this time, it allowed her to process a recent loss in her life.
“Two weeks before we left for Moab, I’m going to try not to cry because it makes me emotional, but a good friend of mine passed from substance use,” Mumme said. The Phoenix offered her a community where she felt like she didn’t have to put up a front.
Mumme describes seeing that wall come down for other Phoenix members in Moab, and how important this is to the organization’s mission. “You get to see people have that support and what we call their ‘Phoenix moment’ on such an emotional, vulnerable scale when we’re there,” she said.
Reaching as many people as possible to become a part of it is the goal. The majority of The Phoenix’s outreach doesn’t come from in-person events; it comes from their mobile app. “Anything you can think of, our volunteers have potentially run a session for that,” says Heinrich. From virtual CrossFit classes to meditation sessions to book clubs, there is a group on the app where anyone with any interest can feel welcome.
The Phoenix has now served over 500,000 members, including those in prison through its virtual programming, which was shaped by Nick Wells, whose recovery story Bucket List shared last week. Members such as Wells continue to spread the Phoenix’s message of rehabilitation to people from all backgrounds.
“Whether it’s their first time or their hundredth time, [members] are around people who have the same exact mindset that they want to be in,” Wells said. “We have all different stages of recovery; there are people that are 48 hours clean to 16 years clean and this place serves as a family and a home where people can come and feel safe.”