A documentary about people taking a break from drinking, premiering the day after New Year’s Day.
Andy Ramage knows exactly what he’s doing.
“Going Dry,” the new film presented by Andy, the former pro footballer and City broker who co-founded One Year No Beer, premieres online Saturday, Jan. 2, 2027. Two watch times, one global audience, and pay-what-you-wish tickets starting at $5.
We’ve already put it on the Sober Events Calendar. Now let me tell you why it’s going on yours.
I Met Andy in Orlando. He Wasn’t Selling Anything.
I met Andy in January at the Ampify Sober Voices convention in Orlando. We were both guest speakers in a room with 50+ content creators that identify as being sober, alcohol-free, or in recovery from substance use disorders.
Here’s what stuck with me. Andy doesn’t talk about alcohol like a villain in a cautionary tale. He talks about it like a performance ceiling. Something smart, successful people bump their heads on without realizing it’s there.
That’s a different conversation than the one I walked into twenty years ago.
My last drink was April 30, 2006. My sobriety date is May 1, 2006. I didn’t take a break. I didn’t run an experiment. I came in already behind, and it took me years to find sober peers who looked like the life I actually wanted.
Which is exactly why a film like this matters.
The people who could have used a 30-day reset at 25 are the same people who end up needing a lot more than 30 days at 35.
Six Regular People. Ninety Days. Real Numbers.
“Going Dry” follows six people Andy calls “middle lane” drinkers through a 60- to 90-day break from alcohol, tracking what happens to their bodies, their minds and their lives.
Meet the cast:
- Todd, an Atlanta firefighter who drinks to come down from a high-pressure job
- Brandon, a Des Moines professional and father of two
- John, a 50-year-old marketing executive in England, drinking the way work expects him to
- Nikki and Courtney, a couple with two kids, where alcohol is just part of the social calendar
- Alisha, a single mom in West Virginia, a preschool teacher and musician, stretched thin
As a single mom myself, I’ll be watching Alisha closest. Single parents are the unsung heros of the universe IMO.
The teasers alone are worth the ticket. One participant’s cholesterol drops from 303 to 220. Another gets uninvited from a big rugby match because he isn’t drinking.
That second one? That’s the whole sober experience in one sentence.
Three of the six went on to retrain with Andy as alcohol-free coaches. You don’t get that outcome from a lukewarm month off.
A Cast List That Reads Like A Dream Podcast Lineup
Andy doesn’t just follow the six. He travels the globe to talk with the scientists and the people who broke ranks inside the industry.
The lineup:
- Rich Roll, ultra-endurance athlete, podcaster and one of the most famous sober voices on the planet
- Dr. Rangan Chatterjee, physician and host of “Feel Better, Live More”
- Professor David Nutt, neuropsychopharmacologist and former chief drugs adviser to the U.K. government
- Dr. Nzinga Harrison, addiction medicine physician
- Ben Branson, founder of Seedlip, the brand that basically invented the alcohol-free spirits category
If you read our Happy Every Hour reviews, you owe Ben Branson a thank-you note. Half the NA shelf exists because Seedlip proved it could.
Why a Film About “Middle Lane” Drinkers Belongs Here
The film’s pitch is blunt: roughly 2 billion people drink moderately, want to feel sharper, and almost nothing in mainstream media speaks to them.
I’d go further. Almost nothing speaks to them before it’s a problem.
This is the sober-curious on-ramp. The person who’s been eyeing Dry January for three years. The partner who keeps saying “I could stop anytime” and has never actually tried.
The most radical thing a film can do in 2027 is make not drinking look like an upgrade instead of a punishment.
The most radical thing a film can do in 2027 is make not drinking look like an upgrade instead of a punishment.
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The smartest feature on the ticket page? You can gift one. No lecture, no label, no awkward kitchen-table conversation. Just 90 minutes that does the talking for you.
How to Watch on Jan. 2
- When: Saturday, Jan. 2, 2027
- UK and Europe: 7 p.m. GMT. Get tickets
- North America: 7 p.m. ET (4 p.m. PT). Get tickets
- Price: Pay what you wish, from $5. Every dollar goes back into getting the film seen.
- Format: Live online premiere with an introduction and Q&A. Runtime is 90 minutes.
- Fine print: Spaces are limited, and tickets run through Kinema.
Want to show it to your own people? Andy’s team lets you host your own screening for a workplace, running club, book club or recovery community. You set the ticket price and keep 45% of what it takes in.
Not ready to buy? His free 30-day Alcohol-Free Advantage Challenge is where nearly everyone in the film started.
I’ll Be Back in December With the Verdict
I’m attending a private screening in early December, and my full review, Sobees and all, lands before the premiere.
Until then, I’m calling it now: this is the film the sober-curious have been waiting for someone to make.
Grab your ticket for Jan. 2, and send one to the person you’ve been meaning to have the conversation with.
Sources:
- Going Dry film page, andyramage.com
- Driving Force Podcast: Andy Ramage bio
- Hachette author page: Andy Ramage
RECOVERY PODCASTLAND: Rich Roll’s Best Addiction & Recovery Episodes of the Last Two Years (Bookmark This)
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- When does “Going Dry” premiere? Saturday, Jan. 2, 2027, at 7 p.m. GMT and 7 p.m. ET (4 p.m. PT).
- How much are tickets? Pay what you wish, from $5, through Kinema.
- Who is in “Going Dry”? Six everyday drinkers plus Rich Roll, Dr. Rangan Chatterjee, Professor David Nutt, Dr. Nzinga Harrison and Seedlip founder Ben Branson.
- Can I host my own screening? Yes. You set the price and keep 45%.
