Why Quitter Meets Matter | #44

The Importance of Quitter Meets – Episode 44

The Kill The Can Podcast
Recorded: June 24th, 2024

Good morning, ladies and gentlemen, and welcome to the Kill The Can Podcast.

It has been a minute, and I apologize for my lack of putting episodes out.

If you remember, on the last episode I mentioned that I wasn’t feeling well. In fact, we had to reschedule that conversation with Aquaman. I hope you enjoyed that episode—I know I did.

If you remember, I was dealing with what I thought was an upper respiratory issue. Well, long story short, that still persists.

The pollen here in Cleveland has been off the charts this year. What started as an allergy attack progressed into a sinus infection, then an ear infection. That was treated and got better, but then I developed another full-blown sinus infection, which moved back into my ear. It’s been this whole back-and-forth thing.

I feel like I’m in the third grade.

I’m finally getting to the point—it’s been over a month now—where I can hear out of my right ear again. This entire time it felt like I had water in my ear. It was just no good.

If you’ve ever experienced that, you know how miserable it is.

Hopefully this means I can get back into some sort of routine with the podcast.

Of course, I’m heading out of town next week for a baseball tournament in Nashville, and I’m hoping to see some quitters while I’m there.

Pennsylvania Quit Together

The reason I wanted to jump on today is because this past weekend we had what I believe was the 14th Pennsylvania Quit Together. I’ll call it annual—we took a couple of years off because of COVID—but the 14th Pennsylvania Quit Together, hosted by Theo3Wood and Boker62.

Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to attend.

I believe this is only the second one I’ve missed out of the fourteen, and honestly, it ripped my heart out that I couldn’t be there with my brothers.

I wanted to bring this to you today not only to remind quitters how important accountability and brotherhood are, but also to show you how these men have developed a bond that goes well beyond Kill The Can.

I think that’s very fair to say.

Brotherhood & Accountability

In a minute, you’re going to hear some other voices. This will be a relatively short episode because what you’re about to hear is the live roll call from Pennsylvania this past weekend.

You’ll quickly hear who was there and how many days each of them has been quit.

You’ll also realize that this relatively small group of quitters represented almost 150 years of quit time.

One hundred and fifty years.

I’ve talked about it before on the podcast, but quit meets are, in my opinion, one of the most valuable tools you have in your arsenal against addiction.

When you get together face-to-face—whether it’s sharing a beer, grabbing a cup of coffee, going to a ballgame, visiting someone’s house, or simply having a meal together—the bond you form, or the bond you reinforce, is something I simply can’t put into words.

These people truly become your brothers from another mother.

They’re no longer your “internet friends.”

They’re no longer just a name on a roll call.

They become real people.

Why Quit Meets Matter

The next time you’re thinking about caving, or thinking about going back to your addiction, you’re going to remember those people.

And suddenly it becomes much harder to throw it all away.

Not because you’re quitting for them—we always say you can’t quit for somebody else, and I still believe that—but because you’re not going to want to let those people down.

You’re still quitting for yourself.

But you’re also quitting alongside them.

That brotherhood makes your quit stronger.

It’s an incredibly powerful tool.

If you’ve never had the opportunity to meet another quitter, go out of your way to do it.

Please.

COVID took that away from us for a while.

COVID is over.

Now it’s time to get back together.

It doesn’t have to be a big meet like the Pennsylvania Quit Together.

It can be one-on-one.

I promise you it will have an immensely positive impact on your quit.

It’s an honor to be quit with you.

The next voices you’re going to hear are the quitters from the 2024 Pennsylvania Quit Together.

Cheers.

Pennsylvania Quit Together Roll Call

Big Brother Jack: 11,250 quit days. Original No Chew Crew.

Uncle Bubba: 7,455 quit days. February 2004.

L from SD: 5,872 quit days.

Theo3Wood: 5,866 quit days. Originally quit with the November 2008 Mighty Lumberjacks.

S-Man: 4,969 quit days.

Scotty: 4,943 quit days. March 2011.

Boker62: 4,317 quit days. December 2012.

Monster Medic: 3,766 quit days. June 2014.

Carl H2O: 3,302 quit days.

Together, these nine men have collectively been quit for 142 years.

That’s roughly half a million dollars not spent on tobacco.

The average quit length among the group is nearly 16 years.

One observation we made is that we’d love to see more newer quitters attending these events. It’s important that the next generation of quitters experiences this same brotherhood.

Carl joked that after more than 3,000 quit days, he’s still considered “the new guy.”

We’re all incredibly proud of him.

Remembering Russ (Franpro)

Before wrapping up, the group took a moment to remember Russ, known to many of us as “Fran.”

Theo shared that Russ was the first face he encountered in a quit room that convinced him he could quit tobacco.

“If he can do it, I can do it.”

Russ may no longer be with us, but his impact on this community continues every single day through the people he inspired.

Rest easy, Russ.

Thank you for everything.

Closing

Thanks for listening.

Stay strong.

Stay quit.

We’ll see you next time, quitters.

Cheers.