‘Dancing Weatherman’ Nick Kosir on viral fame, social anxiety, and sobriety

believe it already came out a year ago, and you can all go listen to it, add free by subscribing to the binge podcast channel. What podcast, Karen, tell us. Oh, it's called Blink, Jake Handlestory. I created it about a man named Jake who I met, who is the only survivor of a terminal brain illness brought on by heroin use, but there is a lot of mystery and medical malpractice and true crime elements that are very shocking and surprising, and even some supernatural elements.

So this is definitely an amazing story as very unique did such an incredible job telling the story

and sharing it with a world. So if you have not listened to it, my goodness, wherever you been, because Blink is so freaking good. Thank you. Search for Blink wherever you listen and subscribers to the binge, we'll get the entire season ad-free. Plus you'll get exclusive access to the over 60 other true crime stories on the binge podcast channel. Hit subscribe on Apple podcasts or head to GetTheBinge.com. Infamous is the gossip show that's smart. We talk about Tyra Banks and bringing down top model.

We talk about Jenna Jamison and how she dominated the 90s. You know, she's horny and she's in charge. She just was very smart about marketing herself. We talk about celebrities who maybe shouldn't be celebrities like the Beckham guy. Brooklyn is their first kid. He's had a little bit of the Neppo baby curse. We investigate orgasm cults. A woman's erotic power can unlock many other powers in her life. And of course, we discussed people who have gotten into lots of trouble.

My name is Malima Bluffin. I am one of Jen Shaw's many victims. She was defrauding

“the elderly and her tagline was the only thing I'm guilty of is being sharp. Amazing!”

Listen to Infamous, the gossip show that's smart. The show's called Infamous.

Hey guys, I'm Carl Rad. He is welcome to more life. I've got an incredible guest in a special

episode for you guys today. We've got Nick Coaster. He is a Fox weather meteorologist. You might recognize him as the dancing weather man. He's an incredible guy. I can't wait to talk to him more about his personal story. He's sober. He's bent through a ton of stuff coming in today to soft bar here in Green Point, Brooklyn. Nick Coaster, welcome to more life. Carl Radke, thanks for giving me more life. You are certainly embody the more life mentality, which,

appreciate it. Which you may recall because you've seen summer house before. Yes. I used to say more life all the time. Yeah. Yeah. I still live in embody this kind of mentality and this mantra. And it's one of my favorite things. So I'm curious though, do you Nick Coaster have a favorite saying or mantra that you repeat daily like I do or like mine would probably be whenever my co-workers say what you, how you doing? I say just put one foot in front of the other.

“I wish I had something more flashy and cool. No, that's what I've got for you here.”

I want to see that's good stuff. Okay. That's how I try to, you know, live my life. It's just one. Thanks for hammering me on that one. You're, you're very present. Yes. Yes. It's truly a pleasure having you here. Like it's an honor to be here, mate. I want to bring our audience and our watchers up to date on how we got to meet each other and it was at a very special mission impossible movie premiere here in New York. Yep. I got an email and it said Tom Cruise

is going to be there. Yeah. And that's all I need it here. Same. I've been fortunate to get invited to different movie premieres here in the city, but this one was different. Everybody know Tom does his own stunts. Yeah. And I was like this seems to be probably his last one, potentially. So I got to go. I saw Tom, but I got to meet one of my favorite people. I've been seeing you pop up on my Instagram and TikTok over the last few years. I love rap music. I love

dancing. Yeah. Watching you dance in Times Square. Watching you dance in the studio. It's entertaining.

“It's fun. It's awesome. But what I didn't, I didn't know you until I think you came up to me”

at the premiere. Yeah. And you were excited to meet me. Yeah. I'm excited to meet you. Yeah. And we bonded very briefly and not to give away your story. But you were like, I don't drink either. And I'm like, what? The dancing of other men doesn't drink. So instantly I knew we were going to be friends. Same. Same. And by the way, I do got to say you were one of ethos events. A lot of

influencers. I don't know. It's very, there's an energy. A lot of people don't want to be the first

person to go up to anybody to say hi and say, oh my gosh, I'm your fan. But I just knew that my publicist actually, D. D. Marie. She immediately, because you're a tall guy. And I was like, that's Carl. You just stood out. Because you look like a freaking star. You know, you're dressed all cool and dressed pretty well. Thanks. And D. Because yeah, you want me to introduce you to them.

creator influencers celebrity guy. So it was nice to meet another cool, relatable gentleman on the

red carpet. You know, yeah, of course. Did you end up like in the movie? You know what? I never

stayed. Okay. Thank you for admitting this because guess what? I had beef because a lot of the influencers left. Yes. And I want of them by the end of the movie. Well, actually Tom came into one of the theaters. I heard about this. So I was sitting in the seat and I had this moment where I'm like, am I going to stay? Because I saw the people leave. Yeah. I'd get up to go the bathroom. And it was going to be like a fake Irish exit. Oh, yeah. So I'm walking out and I could see the security guard

coming toward me very quickly. And sometimes, you know, like the energy of a room, like someone told him to just feel it. The chips. And I hear a guy go, Tom's coming, Tom's coming. So I'm like, Tom's coming. And I just turned it back towards the theater. As I'm walking back towards the

theater, like a rush of just wave of security. And then Tom comes in right behind. Yeah. And he spoke

to the theater. I'm like, all right, Tom just told me I got to watch the movie. No, I'm going to watch the movie. How was it, by the way, phenomenal? Yeah, I still haven't seen it. I got to, I should really. It's really good. Now, before we get into your story, which I'm excited to talk about, you know, I know fair amount about you, but obviously I'm looking forward to talking to you more. Before you became the dancing weatherman, like who is Nick Koser? Who's this person underneath

this persona? I mean, like, how would you describe yourself to someone without mentioning your dancing

“me? I'm just, I'm just a pretty average chill dude, honestly. I feel like I'm pretty authentic.”

I haven't really changed a whole lot. My whole adult career, my whole adult life, I've been meteorologists,

so a lot. Did you always know you wanted to be? Actually, no. I sort of stumbled at the end.

Universal nudged me into this, this career. I always wanted to be around cameras and microphones and stuff, even at a young age. Back when we were coming up, coming of age, everybody didn't have a cell phone with editing capabilities and 4K video. So I remember one, my dad first rented a camcorder. Remember those? They were like, of course. One of the shoulder. And then we got better with the one that opened out. Yeah, the LCD screen. Yeah. So when my dad first brought one of those home,

I thought it was awesome. And I couldn't stop playing with it. And so that's kind of want to realize, oh, I like communications media. So I ended up majoring in business and organizational communications and college. You got into the news right out of college. Yeah. Yeah.

“Did you immediately work in news? Job or did you go right into like meteorology stuff?”

Immediately, I did general news reporting, which I was bad at. My boss after about a year, sat me down. It was like, dude, you suck. What? How do you quantify someone's sucking at? Like, I just clearly didn't have a passion for it. And that was, did you like fumble your lines? I mean, no, but I just wasn't going the extra mile to dig and get the story. I was just sort of, I just checked the job of you being like Ron Burgundy. Yeah. Yeah. I was reading

the teleprompter wrong. That certainly happened, but not not on purpose. But once our our weather girl took a vacation, they had me fill in for her. And that's when it clicked. I go, oh, I didn't realize I could major in meteorology and make money off of doing it. It's a little lighter. News is pretty hard for sure. Weather's a little lighter. And so I went back and I got my degree in meteorology from Mississippi State University. That was in 2008. And I've been doing it ever

since. Wow. Yeah. So the person underneath all the weatherman and meteorology, who is Nick? Like, oh, family man. Family guy. Yeah. I hang out with him. Honestly, I'm the most like extroverted introvert, you know, that. Okay. But this is something we're going to get into. Yeah. Because you and I actually were invited to the same event. Which one other than the Tom Cruise thing? Other than the Tom Cruise thing, millennial entertainment. Oh, yeah. I was there. This isn't embarrassing. No, it's not. This

is actually really important. Because this is something I was highlighting at the beginning of this, right? I'm going to give you an example. I've since I got sober January of 2021. There'll be times

“where I don't feel confident going out. Yeah. I'm sober. That's great. That's the best thing for me.”

However, when I'm at an event or party or birthday or whatever is going on, I sometimes feel out of place. Yeah. And early on in my sobriety when I would go to a party right before I leave or about to leave. I'm like, I don't want to go. No one's even going to know. There. I don't I'm going to be awkward. I start psyching myself out. There was periods of time in my early sobriety and even two, three years in. I would just not go. Yeah. Last minute. For whatever reason, just that

feeling of fear. And I don't know. Just didn't want to do it. But over time, I've started just like, that's when you go is when you really are feeling like you don't. Because usually on the other side of it will be someone I meet or a conversational have, which will be inspiring or be helpful. I'll take a step further. You know what I used to do at work. I did this at Lumberboy. I don't anything Kyle Cook knows this. I would be working in Long Island or driving my car around and pitching

Lumberboy. I would sometimes get to a store that wasn't aware I was coming. I had to go in and like

You'd be there. I was sitting in the car. Yeah, that sounds familiar. In the parking lot of the store and would psych myself out or just get into a place where I'm like, I don't want to do it. Interesting. And I would go not just. Okay. So why? The why? If you're a rejection, fear of just feeling comfortable. Yeah. I had been told no in other situations. So I was like, you know, this guy's probably going to say no. I'm just going to say, you were just in your head with it in my head. Yeah.

Yeah. Now, not just your thunder. Can you talk to me through? I thought you were going to that event.

But I later learned that you were there, but never went inside. It's exactly what you just said.

That was, and that's okay. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. It's all yeah. If you talk to me about that. Yeah. No, I drove there. I saw all the people in the bed. You would work the full day though, right? Yeah. I did. Okay. Give yourself some grace here. Okay. I'll take it. That's a good excuse. That's a good act. The time did you get up in the morning at day. Oh, man. It was probably like 4 a.m. or so you're up early. You're going to sue. You're working all day. You're broadcasting. You're doing weather. Yeah.

You then are heading downtown to try back up to this event for this party. I got there parked in everything. Saw all the people crowded around the bar. And I got, man, I don't want to go to this. So I stood out and I actually, I was looking for you. I knew you would stay. I got a little way. I was coming from. If I had a senior, I would say, if you saw me in turn around, I didn't recognize anybody that I knew. And I don't know. I just, even though I'm eight years sober, I still, if I'm

near a bar, and there's drinks, you know, it's just one of those things where I don't love to put myself in a position to fail. Not that I missed drinking at all, but I just was like, you know, I don't know if this events for me. So I turned around and went home. And I called you the next day. I was like, do you go to that thing? You're like, yeah, it was great. And I said, oh, man, I wish I would have went now. And then I later saw it. Listen, I have so much respect for you opening up like that.

Yeah, it's important that people are really honest. Appreciate it. And even in the little clip I saw like, that made me feel so much better about how I felt. Okay, good. Before, because even with that

“party that night, I also had apprehensions. Yeah, it was a Tuesday night, I think. Yes, it was like week”

night, school night as people say, yeah, of course, I'm not drinking. I have no desire to drink anymore, but when I'm at a bar in Tribeca, a cool bar and a bunch of people. We don't know a lot of people exactly. I was they, and they're all drinking. So they're all socially lubricated. And they know who you and I are absolutely. But it's still intimidating. Yeah. I can do a room like that. And I totally

have been there. I always hate when people know me or know of me and I don't know them because I

feel like, well, that's a jerk. I feel like that's a big part of your life though now. Huge. And I've been doing it for a while. And I'm not great at it. And I thought, I figured there'd be a lot of that going on there. And then then then I would become extra awkward, you know, because then I'd try to play it off like I knew them. And sure. That never usually goes well for me. And so I didn't make it. I didn't make it. And that's okay. Yeah. But like you have millions of people that know you are.

I've got a double check at your TikTok. And you've got around seven million followers or something. Yeah. We're around there. And your Instagram is pretty dim. It's popping. Yeah. It's not crushing it. It's not bad. It's not the biggest but it's not the smallest. You have tons of people who know you are. You're energy, you're spirit, you're positivity, you have a key stand for good stuff.

“Yeah. And a lot of people really, I think connect with what you put out there.”

You've been doing this for how long, though? I didn't. Putting videos on the internet. Like, I popped in 2019, but I've been doing it for, before then, I'd started in Pride 2015. So a good 10 years at least. And even the OGOGs know me. I used to be the rapping weatherman back in 2008. An original YouTube stuff. So it's been a long time. So this has been a journey. Yeah. And what was the impetus for wanting to wrap or put dances or just? Well, like I said,

I've always been attracted to media and making. I've always kind of just been a content creator

even before that. So you were more comfortable putting a video out there. Oh yeah. Strangers. Oh yeah. A thousand percent. Then actually getting in front of some strangers. For sure. I don't know what it is. That's just how I'm wired. I think a lot of creators are kind of like that. A lot of the creators that I meet, especially in the dance community, they're kind of introverts and there's sort of maybe a little more soft spoke. And I think they just express

themselves through dance through dance or through their videos in an environment they can control. Yeah. So that's kind of more how I am. But I've always enjoyed the creative process. Some kind of a content creator, masquerading as a meteorologist. That's kind of how I do. So this is just a trick in poi just to get us to watch your dances.

“Maybe in a roundabout way. Yeah. I think that's what it is. By the way, I can”

congrats on your eight years. Thanks, brother. So inspiring. Congrats to you, too. Thank you, man. I'll be coming up on five. Hell yeah. January 7th. Hey, I'll drink to that drink to that. Cheers, my friend. Not an alcoholic drink. Yes. Not an alcoholic lover boy. Get him, get him a generic grocery store. You talk about not drinking. A couple of things come to mind just in your professional life.

probably can speak to this, too. It's much easier to stack productive days. You know, when I was

drinking, I would have I'd start strong on a Monday. Start strong on a Tuesday. Start strong on a Wednesday. You know, so I'd put three good days together. Then I'd be real proud of myself and go, you know, I deserve a drink Wednesday night. Have one too many wake up groggy Thursday and then that momentum would start to slip and then maybe I'd get back on it on Friday and then the weekend comes and it's gone. So now I'm able to, it's just being sober is kind of your boringly consistent,

but it's just like that Michael Jordan poster that was probably up in your elementary school room. You know, greatness is just can still be on your arms. Yeah. Oh, yeah. You know, the ability to

“be great is just doing the same thing over and over and over again consistently. And so that's what”

sobriety has been for me. Just the ability to show up in the same mind frame day after day and

not wave or from that. Even if even if it's a bad day, it's still better than a good day drinking, really. You know, that goes so well said. Yeah. So well said, was there a time of your life, age that you noticed that maybe the drinking was becoming a problem? Do you have a moment or a story? 100 times to be honest with you? There was like a lot of bargaining and a lot of just to find what I'm doing. Like, you know, I only do it on the weekends. I still have a job. I'm not

sure. I have a tough day at work. So I'm going to have a couple or I did something good. So I'm going to drink to that or, you know, alcoholics are the homeless guys. You see on the side of the road. Yep. The last time I'd tell everybody I quit drinking like 30 times, but, but it kept the habit kicked me back 29 times. I was just successful at quitting drinking once, which is all you need. Yeah. But the last time I realized it was a little bit much and I should probably put the brakes

on. I was watching an NFL game. I was 35. When you're 35 in your party and like, you're a college kid, that's pretty pathetic. Yeah. 100%. So I thought I was being super cool and funny and I was giving my friend piggyback ride to the bar. And my new, I was in Charlotte. People knew who I was at that point. I was locally known and it was kind of a scene. And then I guess my wife and I sort of got into it about something. I don't, I don't really remember this all that well, but I, you know, I guess

other people that weren't in our friend group started to notice. And then the next day, even my friends, who are, they're party years and they're like, I have a good time there. Like, yeah Nick, I probably wasn't a good look. It was at that point when I go, I should probably quit. Wow. So I got on the phone with the therapist that day. And that was it. I tried alcoholics and anonymous didn't work for me, but going to the therapist really worked for me. I got some,

I got some social anxiety medication and it's been good ever since. So, I mean, would you say, we had you been in any major trouble from any of the drinking at all? Yeah, I haven't really, if you don't mind, would you? Yes. Are you comfortable sharing your... Absolutely. I know it's trouble. You know what? I got to do why. I got one too. And it was actually before, I was 17. Fuck. Yeah, so it wasn't a good look. And at that point, I should have stopped at that point. But I can...

“You eyes are not cool at all. And from my DUI, I really fucked my life up. I was 22 years old, right?”

So you were young too. And I went to jail for the night. Yeah. I was arrested outside of a night club in LA on Hollywood Boulevard with three of my friends in the vehicle. Yeah. It was really bad. Actually, I had three friends in my vehicle too, which I'm not proud of one bit. You and I have lived a very similar parallel life. How old were you? You said 17. I lost my license for a year. I didn't have to... My dad came to pick me up, so I didn't have to do any time in the whole thing.

I think when you're under 18, you actually are like, not thrown in jail jail. But you're still probably got fine. Oh man, out the walls too. She's due to your license today. I do. Yeah, I have no other sense.

I've never drank and drive since then, so that was the good that came from that bad. But in this

damage, you know, Uber is huge, right? So that I think that... There's really no excuses anymore. That's right. I have friends obviously still partake and fun, but I try to be the DD if I can. There you go. But even then, I'm like, there's no real excuse anymore. Yeah, it's just not worth it. Absolutely. As far as like growing up, like with alcohol, big part of your family growing up, or...

“Yeah, my parents drank a little bit. Actually, I think really what it boils down to for me is”

because, yes, of course, my parents had their European. I'm first generation, they're both from Europe and so... Where about Europe? Italy and Slovenia. I think the thing that put me behind the black ball in terms of drinking was both of mine. Not one, but both of my grandfather's were raging alcoholics. And that certainly trickles down through your jeans. Did you clock it at a

Where are you just like, that's just who they are? I knew. I never saw my one-grandfather

quit before I realized, you know, I'd heard stories, but he could never actually saw him. Never saw him. Yeah. And then the other one, I think I was too young to clock it, but I do remember Christmas, or two. He was a boisterous gentleman. And now I understand exactly the mind frame that he was in. He was just partying. I mean, that's how I've had to make look back on my youth and child had a lot, because when I was young I didn't understand it. My grandfather drank my, you know,

ancient uncle's drank, but behaviorally there was some changes, but I just... It's my grandpa. He's... That's how they are. It's a crazy opportunity. He didn't know what was going on. No, but now it looking back to your point, like I can see what, I mean, yeah. My grandfather, you know, he was having three or four martinis and disassociating from the family, like, you know. Yeah, man, your personality changes even after one drink. When you were drinking, what did it do for you? Like,

did it give you confidence? Yeah, yeah, definitely. I realized that was... I have social anxiety,

“that's what I came to find out of therapy and so... What was up and not with that, by the way?”

Yeah, no, it's very common, actually. It's so common that I don't think a lot of people really

are honest about it. For sure, because the solution is drink. Yeah, I'll have a drink.

Yeah, it's enough. Yeah, or you got to do that inner work, which isn't a ton of fun either, but in the long run, it definitely is the best way to go, but I would, I was self-medicating with alcohol and I just... I'm not... I do struggle with self-doubt a lot and it's annoying. And so, man, as soon as I take that first sip, I swear to God, all the self-doubt goes away. And I'm just just pure, pure confidence and probably a little too much so, especially after the drink

start racking up, but I like that feeling. You know, I like that feeling and once that first sip gets in there, it feels so good that I don't want to stop, but at a certain point, I don't know, I'm kind of like a jekyll in a hide when I drink. Either I'm really, really fun and happy or... Do you become like a crazy... I get weirdly crazy or even aggressive, which isn't in my nature

“one bit, so that's how you know your truly losing control. No, for sure. I mean, I can relate to”

the jekyll and hide as well. I mean, I always convince myself for a while, I was the life of the

party, the fun guy, the hilarious, funny dude. Yes. But what was really happening was I was the aggressive kind of manic chaotic. Yes. Like all over the place and about to like start a fight. So, when you drank, did you... So, you said, you kind of feel the same way that I think I felt where you felt like you were a better version of yourself. I think a lot of people that drink feel that way. I thought I could dial in like two old fashions. Yes. Maybe a bumper cocaine and I was the

fucking man. That's how I felt. I know, right? At that time, I convinced myself that's like what I needed to perform or be likable or interesting. Of course, I wanted like attract a woman, but like what I thought I was doing was like giving myself this like amazing music. It was the opposite. I know, there's something... I think a, I think 90% probably plus feel the same exact way. And there's got to be... I haven't done any research on that aspect of drinking, but there's something something

in there that I feel like human nature needs to figure out. I mean, I would like to tap into that without... Well, it's a negative side of that. Well, it's a society around it, just the culture of drinking and art. You grew up with it. It's normalized. True. And for folks like us who now aren't

“drinking, it's becoming more normalized, which I think is good. I know, I know. But you tell us.”

You were talking about just like getting stop drinking, getting sober, took you 29 different times. Took me several. That's not a linear path at all. Yeah. Can you give us any kind of insight into that those moments that didn't work or... You know, one time I made it, I white knuckleed it for about seven months with no therapy, just quit and cold turkey. And at that point... And by the way, I love that you use the term "white knuckle ink," because that's a big term that I use. That's

true. The way it is. You're just every day. You're going on for a deal. Can I make it through another hour? Which is honestly not a way to live real. No, man. I'm sure you were probably... That it, I think, is even harder. Totally. Just like you're white knuckleing, you're being pretty private about it or just like trying to go through it on your own. Yep. That's hard. Very hard. So you were just like, no meetings, no spot like therapy. Nope. Just, just how can you do this?

Did you go out with yourself? Yeah, I would go out. What did you say to people when they go at Nick? You want to, you want to cold one? I think I made up some excuses like I'm trying to put on. It was like a gym thing or I was training for a trainer. I don't know. I don't know what it was. It was some nonsense that wasn't exactly truthful, but I remember going after seven months, I go, oh, I've got a handle on this thing. I can probably do it in moderation. So at that point,

one week and then the next week I would do it again and then after a month I would go, I could probably probably sneak some drinks in on a Friday too and then here we go again. We're off to the races and so you've been doing how many years would you say you were kind of in that? Spin in the wheels,

“probably like five, ten years from being honest. I appreciate the honesty because I think a lot of”

people think you just got a problem. And I would also go through these phases where it would be, I'm only going to drink beer. That doesn't work. I'm only going to do a few shots and then that doesn't work and then you're like, okay, I'll only do it on the weekends. I'm not going to do at one point. I thought the way to go was to just do high alcohol IPAs and just limit those to three or four, which equals a 12 pack for a way more beer. But in my mind, I'm thinking, oh, I only had three

beers. No big deal. And it sounds good on paper, but it's a horrible strategy. I relate to all of that because when I first originally was telling friends, you know, I got to get in silver and get help. I went to a therapist. I told them the therapist was like, what do you thought about moderation? And I'm like, yeah, sure. I'd love to moderate. You're like, duh. And let's try just drinking lover boy. Be alcohol one. So I tried just drinking lover boy. That lasted about three days.

And I'm drinking other, you know, I'm just going to drink gin. I went through like almost every alcohol variety. Yeah. And it was like, I'm just going to have this. Yep. And it lasted no longer than three days.

It was always right back to the same behavioral like overdoing it, Beijing, staying up on a

physical hall isn't running your family. It does. It was something I don't like growing up in that environment. We come from an era. Maybe that things were a little bit different back then where it was just kind of normalized men and women come home from a long day of work and have a drink. If you weren't getting wasted in college, you weren't doing you weren't going to college in our age. You're in our demographic. Yeah. And I just, my family was big drinkers. But for the most part, it seemed like love

and just connection was in the air. But then there was also chaotic behavior, intense things. But then what really shine to light was my brother who really did not only drugs, but alcohol as well. But I would say drugs were more of his challenge. So growing up, I always idolized the men in my life, my dad, my grandfather, brother. Yeah. But then I started to realize as I got into high school like these men consumed alcohol or other things and their behavior changed. So I almost developed like this,

I'm not going to be like them. I'm not like them. But wow. So you recognize that it's a pretty

young age. A little bit, yeah. But I never thought a million years that I was also having a challenge.

I'm like, I'm good. I can get this right. Yeah. I'm not like them. But what's interesting is that over the years, I would even make fun of people that originally would tell me they were getting sober. You'd be like, oh, come on. I know. And what I learned a lot is if you spot it, you got it. Uh-huh. Anybody who's uncomfortable with that, it's really, it's calling something out inside of them and they're projecting that. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. And that was something I didn't

realize in the moment. But yeah, I grew up around a lot of drinking and basically like your personality was kind of developed from from alcohol. Yeah. You mentioned something I want to

“get into, which is the social anxiety, which is something I believe it or not have doubts of”

feeling a little out of place. You'd be surprised. I mean, most people look at me and they're like, oh, you're just extroverted. He's very confident. I am to a degree, but then there's elements of out of big party at an event. I'm like, how do I, what do I do with my hands? What do I, when you got diagnosed with your, did you get, have a relief? You know, you get clarity or are you like embarrassed? I remember, I remember. Because I'm, I'm in a way, like, I'm almost like not afraid,

but like, I feel, I feel anxious in social situations sometimes, but I've never like really like,

I don't know. I've gotten diagnosed or anything. I looked at it like that. Even though I probably would have some experience. Yeah. Okay. All right. I remember, I took this test and I took it, submitted it one week and I came back in the therapist goes, yeah, Nick, you have classic social anxiety and I go, what are you talking about? Classic. Yeah. My go, she's like textbook and I thought, what are you talking about? I do TV and I talk to people all the time and then she starts explaining

“it and I was, and I identified with it pretty clearly and I just thought that's how kind of”

everybody was. I didn't realize that it was a thing that you could actually treat. I just, for so many years, thought, oh, I'm just not as good at overcoming whatever's going on as the next guy. And then she, she recommended that I try Alexa Pro. Have you heard of this? It's like an, anti-depression. Yeah, it's like a, yeah, anti-depression. So she gave me a low dosage of that and she goes, this might take a couple weeks to work. So don't, don't expect it to be working like that. So I got the prescription,

went and went and filled it, took it and then the next day, immediately I go, oh my gosh,

for the first time and that's when I realized, oh, wow, I do have social anxiety and there's

something that can cure this and so you got a lot of relief. Yes, and I'm off Lex Pro now. It actually is a curative, pill drug. So if you take it for long enough, it just, the effects last. So I don't need it anymore. Your body builds and kind of, almost has storage of. Yeah, I kind of do wires the way your brain works and the way your body responds to certain things. And I just remember going, Wow, I had no idea. I wish I would have started therapy sooner and figured this out sooner. And it was

eye opening. And so, and so I really wish and hope that other people that might relate to anything that you or I are saying can maybe go to therapy and get on the proper medication to feel that feeling. Because truly, it was, it was like peace. It was the first time I really actually experienced peace and there's nothing, nothing better than hell over you and the skirt. 35. Maybe 36. So and you've been going through all sorts of trying to figure it out. Yeah, I was almost like whitenuckling my entire

“life is what I felt like. I would imagine that made you feel like, okay, like I now have my self”

figured out. And then immediately, I was able to stack good days and one year later, my videos started to hit and I was off to the races. So it helped out a lot. Interesting. Yeah. timing of that. Yep. Jason to your pop off on the internet. It totally lines up. I wouldn't be doing what I'm doing. Today, I wouldn't be seeing you like, how do you manage your anxiety now? Like, I know therapy. Yeah, yeah. I was to be honest with you, it's funny because the level of anxiety that I had

back then is nothing compared to the situations that I'm in now. So I don't know, I'm starting to, I'm starting to look at different ways to deal with it. Sure. Well, you probably have more responsibility than ever now. Yeah, the ante has been up to a little bit. Yeah, I'm working towards,

you know, you never are at the finish line. You're always a working progress. Yeah. Which is annoying

and I wasn't that way, but there's always another challenge to figure out. But yeah, at the time,

“it was, it was great. And so now I just, now, you know, you build up tools in your tool belt,”

then you realize, oh, this is happening. So I should back off here or I should do this in response to that. So there's a lot of wisdom and kind of a strategy that you understand about yourself. And the older that you get, the more you realize what actually is real and what isn't, what you're building up in your head. So I love that you said that. Yeah, I rely on that. My intuition more than ever. Yeah, listening to your body, listening to your body will tell you,

well, like, how do you, I mean, I know you were very honest about that event that you didn't walk in. That's fine. Yeah. But how do you, I mean, is there tools you have in your toolbox or tool kit? Let's say you have an event this week for Fox weather. Yeah. You're going to go, what do you do with those events? Like, to make you so even know you might be feeling a little a little bit. How do you get through it? And those, is there drink you have? Is there sometimes

you call a friend out in the hallway? Yeah, well, yeah, sometimes I do disappear. You know, I mean, I have to. I'll tell friends. I just need, I need a 20 minute. That's it. And they're like, what? I'm like, I'm going to go outside away from the alcohol and all the other loud noises and just

do something for 20 minutes and breathe and take a second and then I'll come back in and be fine.

Yeah. Yeah. But I need that 20 minute break. Then go. A lot of times, I'll just go to the bathroom for a minute and just chill out. Yeah. Hopefully, nobody is in there. So you're the guy sitting on the toilet, but not usually using it that way. Exactly. You get up or just find a quiet space and

“take a quick time out. Or I'll just honestly sometimes just stop talking. Take a, take a few conversations”

off and let everybody else do their thing or I'll go and get food or whatever. Just, I mean, I'm an eater. Yeah. Just take a time out. Really. I love that. Yeah. I've read somewhere that you said your entire Fox weather career. You didn't ever want to come to fruition. Had you not gotten sober. Definitely not. Definitely not. What do you mean by that? Or can you talk us through that? For sure. I've, so I worked in, when I was in local news in Charlotte, that's when you've been

in Mansfield, Ohio, doing yeah, I've been local. Mansfield to Texas to Boise, Idaho. I also think that that would add to some of the drinking and anxiety and not knowing people in certain cities and trying to fit in and just meet people. You know, I've been doing stuff out in local news for a long time, just trying this and that and then the dancing thing happened. And so what year was the dancing thing? 2019. That was your first dance took off. Yeah, took off. I did the slide like

this challenge and people people seem to like it. So I go, crap. I got someone internet dancer now. And I started putting videos out and things happened fairly quickly. The internet world is why. So you put the first video on TikTok? No. Actually, my first, my come-up was on Instagram. I didn't even know about TikTok back in 2019 when I was doing this. So Instagram was your first

So you're at Fox Charlotte post your video on Instagram. Yeah. When you were having your Fox, it could be Charlotte. It could be back here in New York. Did you talk openly about your sobriety at this point? It took me a little bit. I wanted to make sure. Well, I wanted to make sure that I was actually going to be like sticking to that spot. I wanted to get myself at least a

“few years. I think the first time I talked about it was at my church. I was actually one year in”

I didn't make it super duper public. I kind of softlaunched my sobriety. Hey. Shout out to soft bar. All about the softlaunched. Yeah. Exactly. But the pastor had me up on stage after a year and that's when I was beautiful. That's when I said, hey, I just wanted to see what it would be like to talk about it in front of people. How did you feel about that moment? I felt great. I felt great. And you know, I'll be honest with you. That was the first time I realized how you can truly

help people by talking about this. Because after that service, I did two services, same Sunday, early service, late service, did the same song in dance. And a few people hit me up in the DMs and they go, hey, what you said, I think is kind of my deal too. And I was shocked by that.

Yep. And even some of the people that sent me this stuff, I would have never thought about it.

Yeah. And so at that point, it clicked. And I got, I got, I got to keep doing this.

“I love that. Yeah. Because I think the surprise of some individuals that either reach out or come”

up to you in person don't look in. Yes. They don't fit the bill, man. No, I don't even thought. Yeah. I'm thinking it's going to be some haggard person off the street. And it never is. Brown paper bag and all of these. And I'm sure there's folks out there that look and feel like that. But the people that I encountered, initially, even the ones that were asking for help were like, what's just like me and very normal. What? Well, people, you're

around real deal celebrities. Has any huge high profile person ever hit you up? Yeah. Totally an

actor socks off? Well, one has hit me up, but I'm still convinced that they're never really

going to get sober. Yeah. Because it takes another level of just real digging deep and being really honest. Yeah. And it's a hard step to make to go. I'm going to call it. You're right. You're right. So I've had to reach that. There's one individual. I don't want to give their name. But they, the combos I've had with them, the monologue in my head while I'm talking to them is they need to get sober. But that's not coming out of their mouth. They're like, wow, I'm not an

alcoholic, but I'm just going to drink wine. I know. It's tough to be. It's tough to keep your mouth shut. Isn't it? And not say exactly what you think really hard. They need to hear totally. I try to operate from a place of, I'm not a doctor. I'm not a therapist. I just know what I've been through and I can offer. But you said something about just at the church that I connect with big time is just when you opened up about what you were going through, then realizing all you're doing is

trying to help yourself and trying to be honest and authentic. But then the people that came towards you. You got DMs. People in the neighborhood in the community coming up to you. Is there a moment where you were like, wow, like me just being honest about my shit is helping someone else? Yeah. Yeah. Is that a pretty cool realization for you? It's very cool. And to be honest with you, I love making videos. I like being creative. I like when people enjoy the videos that I put out

there. Because if you don't know who I am, people know me as the dancing weatherman. So most of my videos are of me dancing in a suit somewhere. When you hear someone say like sobriety's weakness or therapy's weakness, what would you say to them? Therapy's, variety's the exact opposite. I mean, it takes us, it takes us truly strong individual to admit that they have a weakness and confront that weakness. And then consistently figure out a way to combat that weakness. It's the opposite. I think,

you know, honestly being sober in this world is the hardest thing that you can do. And it

“honestly will make you the strongest version of yourself. It's hard. It's hard out here. Life is hard.”

And when you're always numbing your emotions and your feelings with alcohol to a degree or making

it easier because you're able to deal with the hard part of life by muting it. When you're sober, you feel the highs and the lows and you have to figure out a way to deal with it in a healthy way. And so yeah, if you're able to figure, and they say that people that have been addicts and then work to not become addicts are better or I guess more in tune with themselves than the average bear. Because they've done that inner shadow work. And I 100% agree with that. It's really hard to look

under the hood at your own shit and look in the mirror. Yeah. I would say, like, for me, like having reality TV, you know, I put a lot out there in the early seasons where I was drinking was using, you know, Adderon cocaine. But having that mirror back into me, I don't think I would have gotten sober.

I wouldn't have seen myself act like that. Once I realized I was behaving like that, I was like,

“I hate myself, just as much as the audience hates me. Yeah, you could almost see yourself objectively.”

Yes. And so, that's a good point. I bet you. But you have that same luxury. Was there anybody in your life personally or obviously my wife for a while? She got how long you didn't come back off 16 years. Congratulations. Thank you. Well, let's shout out to her because being in a relationship with someone who struggles is not easy. Yeah. I used to, I used to like a four local or two and she used to, yeah. So she lived through my four

local days, which was four locals, or I actually had a four local back in the day that shit is crazy. It will make you, it turns you into a demon for sure. She calls it divorce juice. Luckily,

that never happened, but I'm sure she was close to pulling the trigger. But she's been a writer

die for you and someone else. Yeah. And you know, what she actually gave up drinking too. So it happened years after. But she actually gave it up and to be honest with you, maybe she's got a

“little tinge of what I have, not to the degree. But once I got sober, then she became the wild one.”

And it's not like she was doing the stuff that I was doing. It just became a little more apparent. Yeah. We kind of, we kind of healthily grew together and now her and I don't do any of that. I love it. It's been great in our marriage and in our relationship has never been stronger. So I have heard that if one person in the relationship stops drinking, a lot of times that relationship will end. And that's kind of sad. Luckily, ours didn't end up that way. But at a certain point,

yeah, the scales did tip. At one point, I was the problem and she wasn't. And then it started going on.

Yeah, you're the good person. And she's the problematic one. Yeah. And so it was amazing.

Yeah. Yeah. It was interesting how that dynamic shifted a little bit. But we've figured it out. So yeah, shout out to her. No, shout out to her. It's great to hear. We're coming up to an end here. But I have one last thing that I figure out that you've said this already. But I'm curious. Just like, how do you stay grounded? And how do you protect your mental health today? Well, first of all, I'm too like Midwest to not be grounded. I don't know. I've grew up in Ohio. So that's just

how I am. And what was the second question? How do you protect your mental health? I guess at this point, now I just kind of attack life with the mentality that everybody loves me. If that's being naive, I don't care. I just assume people like me no matter what. And if they don't, it's their problem. People do like you. I can say. I've seen you on the streets of Green Point. Appreciate it. Yeah. We're coming out of their woods saying, are you the guy? They loved you.

Yeah. Not to stump you, but we started at the beginning of the interview with this. But we talked about the concepts of more life. Obviously, one of my favorite signs. Right now in your life, is there something giving you more life? Honestly, it's another cliche answer. It would be my son, who is 16. That's not cliche. It's amazing. It's amazing. I think a lot of people would say

“the best thing in their life is their family, their kids. But now that my kid is 16,”

it's cool to see him coming of age. I remember you exemplify or show you little bits of you when you were maybe saying, well, that's just what I was going to say. No. He's totally different. And it is so cool to see him growing up and making all the right choices and not falling into some of the traps that I was falling into. Because at his age, I was already doing some dirt, and at least from what I can tell. He's not doing any of that. And I don't know if it's a

combat. I don't know if it's him just being a good kid naturally or the parenting that my wife and I have raised him with or maybe a combination of the two. But it's just nice to see him grow up with a level head and he's the coolest dude. And I just want to keep being as good as I can be for him. And so that would be how I'd answer that. But if we have a couple of minutes, can I ask you a few questions? Sure. I'm sure the viewers would love this. All right. All right. So I love what a

news guy takes over the interview. No, no. I've got it. Okay. So when you found out you're going to be on reality TV. Were you nervous or like did that send you into like a like a celebration drinking

spiral? And then also when did you go from alcohol to cocaine? Because I've never tried cocaine.

Thank God. Thank God. And I know if I if I if I did it once you would have right it would have been easy. How did that happen? When the show came about it was very left-field dumb luck. I was friends with Kyle Cook who's one of my best friends now, but he was someone that they found and really loved him and they wanted to kind of follow his friends around. I was one of the friends, but I wasn't immediately in that first group. I found out about it from my dentist who's a mutual friend of ours. I'm in

the chair getting my teeth cleaned about a month before the first season is going to fail and this is 2016. I'm at the dentist office who's a friend of mine who knows Kyle or tells me your boys

I did an interview with the producers. I was like, I didn't tell anybody really in my immediate friend group. I told my parents, but I wasn't sure. I was like nervous. Yeah. I was scared of what people were going to say about me. I was worried about my professional job. I worked at a corporate company at the time in sales. I was kind of over it at that point, but I didn't like call my boss and go, hey man, I'm going to be on some reality show. I kind of was like, yeah, I'm doing a documentary

in the Hampton's a summer. So to answer your question, there was a level of fear and anxiousness because I wasn't being honest with everybody in my friend group. I got it. True story, a friend of mine, I went to lunch with him in Soho and he tells the story. He's a very funny guy. He tells the story the way I did it, but he's like, yeah, you invited me to lunch. Sit me down at Mother's ruined. It's a bar in Soho, which is one of my favorites. And you're like, picking my brain, asking me if I should,

“if you should do the show. And I tell you, no, don't do the show. And you're like, well, I already”

am already doing it. He was up seven of me that I basically asked him to lunch. So you kind of didn't,

you kind of didn't tell anybody because of the fear and shame about what could have happened from this. It's probably a good thing that you didn't tell anybody. But then I will say there was a period where I was drinking, I'd be out and socializing and the show had been out for a year. Yeah. And people would recognize me. People were like, oh, that's cool here. I'm probably, it fed the ego, big time. And that was something I was like, I craved. I felt like a level of fame a little bit.

Yes. It wasn't like this crazy fame, but just like you'd go out to the bar and girls were like, oh my god, that's like, yeah. And that was like, oh, wow. Yeah, social currency. But in those environments, drinking and using cocaine made me feel more confident and just made me. But the cocaine was a part of my story since college. So it started in college. It started in college. But really we're, what about the first time you did it? Were you like concerned? No, I was like, I was like,

nervous, like my parents would find out, even though they weren't nearby. But the first thing I thought was like a fuck, like my brother and my dad and my mom are going to hate me. If they find out, if they find out, but then the other part was like, we're in, I was in Mexico on a guy's group trip for spring break and it was like, this is awesome. Even though it really wasn't. I don't mean

“to laugh. I just, no, I think it's good. No, I think it's good. I understand how that would be the”

perfect place. It became, it became a thing socially in college. But we're always drinking when

you first started cocaine. Yeah. Yes. Okay. Alcohol was always going on when the cocaine was going on.

Got it. I never once did cocaine without drinking. Oh, really? I mean, okay. Probably not, but that's the time. Most of the time it was fueled by, I'd been drinking for a few hours and I was, you feel tired and you're getting sleepy and you keep the party going. So I would take, you know, I don't know. That first hit that you did of cocaine do you remember it? Because everyone talks about it like it was in a hotel room in Occapoco, Mexico and it was like a rush of feeling

went to a nightclub that night. I wore a, I had a great tan from the beach and a button down on, you know, unbuttoned way too long on the club. We're in the jeans and the loafers. We had table service in bottles. We didn't coke. We were cool guys. That was fun then. But then as my career took it to New York City, I moved here when I was 29 to New York. Yeah. And very quickly living here. I could order drugs faster than I can get a pizza. Right. Right. Bars closed it for.

I ran and found a group of friends that just were more in that might life and were out all the time. And I developed like this persona, like just a party boy in New York. Yeah. God. That was my escape because my day-to-day life was I was a sales guy, corporate sales. And I wasn't that happy. Yeah. But I would party and create this kind of party monster persona. So you had to quit both.

Well, starting with alcohol was the most important work. Because without drinking, you wouldn't

I would never. And I've seen cocaine since I got sober. I've, you know, I have friends that have part taken here and I'm good. It's not for me. Interesting. It's kind of like how I look at some of that eats. I love like red pasta sauce or marinara, but like sausage and peppers and red pasta sauce. If I eat that, I'm going to be like indigestion all night. Yeah. So you just noticed I just like that's not for me. But like I don't want that pasta sauce. But I used to like

taste for all my cooked. I mean, when you know you have a problem is when you have all these sayings. I would be like, oh, I don't like, I don't like Coke. I just like the way it smells.

“That's how crazy I guess. Why did it take me a little too long now to get that joke?”

My next question, I guess my last question here is like, do you miss it? Do you have a missed the way that feels? It's a good question. I get this a lot, actually, from friends of mine that's a joke. Yeah. Even friends of mine in the summer house where like, we'll be out of a party or in the Hampton's having a good time and everybody else is carrying on and every so often there's a small part of my brain that's like, man, I just wish I could have a couple

and just be good. There's another part of me that the silliness and a little bit of like, I don't know, the edge that I had. I felt like alcohol gave me that. I will say that. I've been able to,

which is silly, which is a little edgy of just learned to embrace those kind of waves that I have. But yeah, I think Charlie, I heard Charlie Sheen talk about it. He said it best because I miss the

first hour of drinking. After that, it turns into a complete same. I miss that first like fun.

It's exciting. It feels good. That rise. Yep. And then it's right up a fucking cliff. Yeah,

“that's how it always happens. So now the soft bar, by the way, soft bar is amazing. First of all,”

this is my first time here. It looks awesome. I can't wait to hang out. What a good concept for people that, because now the Syracuricurius movement's huge, this generation is much much smarter than us millennials. Well, I like to say this. And this is my only way I can make sense of the shift in drinking and in our society. Cars, when they were invented in the 1900s, didn't originally have a seat belt. Henry Ford didn't think of seat belts. You just thought

of the wheels and everything else. Yeah. We didn't have a seat belt in a car legally until the 70s, which is wild. There's like 50 years of a vehicle being on the road without a seat belt. We realize over time, I mean, that it's unsafe and cars, cars in alcohol, and then combined are literally the most dangerous thing in the United States. Right. But why takes so long? I mean, I just think we're learning more about our bodies. People's wearing smart watches. You got to smart watch on.

“Yeah. The anxiety levels are higher. We're connected more than ever. Sure, yeah. So I think it's”

becoming like, now it's finally going, okay, like, let's take a look at this. So I'm just, that's where I think the curiosity of sobriety is coming from is like, we're finally realizing it. Which is great. And I think it's awesome. I wish the sobriety areas movement would have happened like 20 years ago. But anyways, well, you're paving the way in a low-key way. But I mean, you're, I think it's cool about what your story is that you show a lot of confidence. You're

still having fun. Yeah. Yeah. You dress well. You have a beautiful life and family. Like, it shows the fruits of putting in the work. Yes. And I think it's awesome to watch someone who's overcome something like you have, but showcasing, living your life to the fullest potential. Appreciate it. Which I think is so cool and fun to watch because I think a lot of times the perception is when you get sober or stop drinking, you're boring, you're lame, you're not cool.

Yeah. And I honestly, you're one of the coolest guys I've met in the last couple years. Oh, yeah. And even you being honest about the story in Tribeca, I like, that's, that's so

amazing that you're that real. Because I think a lot of people that are going to watch this and

tune in are going to feel this the exact same way you did. Appreciate it. And I think that that's where the real work comes in. So yeah, appreciate it. I mean, you know, next time you go to that party, if I'm inside, you better come in. Deal. But Nick, thank you, man. Yes, sir. I know we got to wrap things up. My team's looking at me. They're like Carl, we could go for hours. But thank you for being here, Nick. I really appreciate you. My honor. I mean, I just love these conversations

and having a guy like him and who's very public. He's got a huge public profile. You've seen him on Fox weather. He's the dancing weather man, but there's so much more to him that I just didn't realize. And he talks so much about social anxiety that I relate to big time and talking about his relationship with alcohol and his family and what it's done for his professional career.

You've seen this guy on Fox and crushing dances, but the real human being behind that is just an incredible

guy. And I hope you guys love this conversation. Just as much as I did, thank you guys for tuning

“into more life with Carl Racky. Cheers. More life is produced by any seagull and executive”

produced by Adam Reynolds and Denham Pictures. This episode was directed by any seagull, edited by Mikey Ortiz and recorded at soft bar studios in Brooklyn, New York. More life is a production of Sony music entertainment. From 70 our executive producers are Chris Skinner and Joanna Clay, a original music by function Adams, set the sign by Michael Ignacio, publicity by Caitlin Healy, additional support from Abby Sharp, special thanks to Allison Shano and Joanna Orland.

New episodes drop every Tuesday. We'll see you next time. (dramatic music)