The local Geelong girl headlines panel at Global Club Soda’s Mindful Drinking Festival
This weekend educational platform Sober Mates is headlining the Socialising Sober panel at Global Club Soda’s Mindful Drinking Festival. So, *non-alcoholic* drink to that!
The completely virtual event is taking place across the UK, Europe, Australia and New Zealand, over one hundred leaders in the global mindful drinking movement will come together to deliver alcohol-free drink tastings, panels and conversations in this free to attend festival.
Local killing the game – Sober Mates’ Sam Wilson is beyond excited to take part in the Mindful Drinking Festival.
“I am thrilled that Sober Mates will be included in this global festival alongside a heavy hit of talent,” says the 26-year-old.
“This is an incredible opportunity for Australia to showcase our sober curious movement.”
The relatively new venture, Sober Mates, has already created an inclusive community to support the sober and sober curious people living in an alcohol-driven culture. It’s an incredible platform where you can explore your relationship with alcohol and find all sorts of tips on cutting down your alcohol intake and understanding your drinking habits in a supportive, non-judgemental environment.
As a matter of fact, according to the 2019 Australian National Drug Strategy Household Survey report, “in comparison to 2016 and earlier years, more Australians are taking action to reduce their drinking—52% undertook action in 2019, up from 48%.”
At the festival, the Socialising Sober panel will examine the role that alcohol plays in socialising and how people respond to socialising when they stop drinking. Sam will be joined on the panel by:
- Hannah Rodger, co-founder of Sober Seekers Club;
- Leanne Claire Franks and Leisa Leon, founders of Rise Revolution;
- Annie Nolan and Bianka Ismailovski, co-hosts of We Want to be Better podcast; and;
- Caedz Hull from Sobar CBR
The panel will offer up their tips on navigating social situations sober and discuss how to empower people to feel comfortable and confident socialising without booze.
Sam is also hosting conversations over the weekend to offer up her tips on going sober, including:
- How to tell your family and friends you’re going sober – Friday 5pm
- Your Sober Tool Kit – Saturday 11am and Sunday 4pm
- Finding your natural highs – Sunday 10am
This all may sound super overwhelming at first, and you might be thinking ‘where do I even begin?’ and ‘I don’t want to give up alcohol just yet.’ But don’t fear! There aren’t any rules on the relationship you ‘should’ have with alcohol and being at a certain stage of sobriety. Just be open to learning and have fun making a new mocktail, or two!
The Mindful Drinking Festival is currently live online. It started Thursday 30 July and will end Sunday 2 August. If you want to jump on board the sobriety train, find sessions from tonight on their Facebook and YouTube.
Learn more about Sober Mates and visit their website, Instagram or Facebook.
