A podcast recorded in a Sunshine Coast bedroom has struck a powerful chord around the world, racking up more than 8 million downloads and earning a prestigious industry nomination.
The Sober Awkward podcast, created and hosted by Victoria Vanstone, has been named a finalist for Best Independent Podcaster of the Year at the Australian Audio Awards. What began as a “slightly chaotic side project” has grown into a global community of listeners rethinking their relationship with alcohol.
Victoria, an award-winning writer and author, says the idea for the podcast came from her own experience with drinking and sobriety.
“I was a binge drinker for 25 years – the life and soul of every party, pub and dodgy dancefloor,” she says.
“My drinking was so normalised that I never really questioned it. I just bought the next round of shots and accepted that alcohol was how you had fun.”
After becoming a parent, however, her perspective began to change.
“I began experiencing really bad anxiety and a lot of shame, especially on those Sundays when I was too hungover to properly take care of my kids,” she says.
“That’s when I started to re-evaluate the role alcohol played in my life and in society as a whole.”
Victoria turned to therapy and began unpacking her relationship with alcohol, eventually choosing sobriety.
She says the experience revealed a gap for people who felt caught between heavy drinking and traditional recovery spaces.
“Early on in my sobriety, I realised there are so many people like me, stuck somewhere between the pub and an AA (Alcoholics Anonymous) meeting,” Victoria says.
That realisation led her to start writing and podcasting, sharing a candid and often humorous account of life without alcohol.
The nomination, she says, reflects a broader cultural shift: “I really believe things are changing. People are becoming much more aware of their mental and physical health and the impact alcohol has on the nervous system.”
Victoria has observed a growing acceptance of sobriety, particularly among younger generations.
“When I first got sober, saying ‘I don’t drink’ felt like a big, awkward announcement. Now, it’s far more accepted,” she says.
“Gen Z are drinking less, choosing a healthier, more fulfilling lifestyle, and the alcohol industry is starting to feel that.”
She believes the podcast’s success highlights a quiet but widespread conversation taking place.
“It feels slightly surreal that creating a podcast in my son’s bedroom and completely winging it at first has turned into something like this,” she says.
For Victoria, the message is simple: “Sobriety isn’t about missing out. It’s about authenticity, about being brave enough to just be yourself on a night out. The dancing might be awkward at first … but I can still do a pretty mean swan dive.”
The Sober Awkward podcast is available on all platforms. Visit soberawkward.com.
