El Tucsonan EP05 — Mike Curry

This week I sat down with Mike Curry — a Tucson native who spent years lost to addiction, prison, and three years homeless on these streets, and who now works one-on-one as a sobriety and mindset coach for entrepreneurs and high-level executives. We talk about the moment everything turned — a walk away from a robbery, a $8 yard job, a sandwich from Safeway — and how he built a life and a business on the other side of it: engaged, reconciled with his daughter, and coaching founders through the belief that 90% of business is mindset, and that the business owner is usually the bottleneck.

We get into his own influences (David Bayer, Zig Ziglar, Earl Nightingale), why he coaches from lived experience instead of theory, "hangxiety," and what it actually means to surrender. And we talk about Mount Lemmon, where his mom's ashes are, and Tucson — the city he loves enough to wish it grew more of its own businesses.

Watch the full conversation now. — Gregorio C., El Tucsonan

🔔 New episodes every Tuesday — subscribe on YouTube.
This episode includes sponsor/ad messages; timestamps above.

⏱️ CHAPTERS
0:00 Cold open
1:59 Coaching men on sobriety & business
5:21 From car salesman to coach
8:44 Prison, pharmacies & the descent
10:19 Rock bottom: homeless on these streets
13:45 The day it turned: a yard, a sandwich
15:18 Who addiction really comes for
17:39 His brother, and "hangxiety"
25:15 Identity, your circle & resiliency
32:49 His mentors: Bayer, Ziglar & Nightingale
37:03 Faith & a spiritual awakening
49:38 Love, letting go & how she showed up
55:14 Becoming a coach & speaker
58:36 Why coaches need coaches too
64:25 Better humans, not just better businesses
71:04 Freedom, Mount Lemmon & loving Tucson
75:14 Tools to beat addiction (producer Qs)
79:30 The root of addiction: trauma & soul contracts
84:26 Guest picks & goodbye

🔗 LINKS
El Tucsonan — eltucsonan.com
Become a supporter (full uncut + early access): eltucsonan.com/supporters/sign_in
Sponsor the show: eltucsonan.com/pages/sponsor
Instagram: @eltucsonan · TikTok: @el.tucsonan

Mike Curry — coaching: mikecurrycoaching.com · Instagram: @mikecurryofficial • https://www.youtube.com/@SobrietySpiritualityandSales

Episode 1 with Rey: https://youtu.be/D4L5OEVrY4M
Episode 2 with Q — Part 1: https://youtu.be/XZUkSfR43T0
Episode 2 with Q — Part 2: https://youtu.be/Hx3Xx68CQ9E
Episode 3 with KP: https://youtu.be/PHa9r1Uorj8
Episode 4 with Eva: https://youtu.be/IoTjFBDN8sI

📚 REFERENCED
- Mind Hack — David Bayer
- See You at the Top — Zig Ziglar
- The Strangest Secret — Earl Nightingale

🎬 NAMES MENTIONED
David Bayer — mindset coach, led the year-long program Mike went through
Zig Ziglar — motivational author (See You at the Top)
Earl Nightingale — "The Strangest Secret"
Bob Marley — "Redemption Song," which Mike calls the ultimate redemption music