Today we are shining a Sober Spotlight on Chuck Norflis, who started the hashtag #soberlution on TikTok. At the time of this post, that hashtag has had over 72.5 million views on TikTok. A few weeks back at the start of the New Year, I had the opportunity to sit down for an hour with Chuck via Zoom and get to know the person behind the hashtag.
Chuck’s sobriety date is May 18th, 2020. He recently celebrated 8 months sober, which I pointed out on our call is almost the same amount of time it takes to grow a baby. Meaning, lots of change can and does occur over a 8 month period of time. As we casually chatted, getting to know each other, Chuck talked to me about the fact it wasn’t part of his plan to go live on TikTok with his sobriety. And he really didn’t foresee that within a short period of time, he’d have over 67K+* followers (*at the time of this article). His following continues to climb.
Chuck joined TikTok for entertainment purposes and to jump in on the silly dances craze. You know, be part of the cool kid club. As someone who still hasn’t figured out how to use TikTok or do the dances, Chuck is lightyears ahead of me in his TikTok video making skills. At 52 days, he did a silly dance and talked openly about his early recovery. Let’s take a look at the original dance video that went viral below that he recently re-posted in January.
The TikTok that started it all
Realizing how many people on TikTok were relating to him, a light bulb went off. He grabbed a ring light, smart LED strips, and lights from the garage to set up his TikTok studio “set”. Chuck knows how important it is to his recovery to be of service. And as we were in the middle of a global pandemic shut-down, doing videos and going live on TikTok was a way for him to be of service and stay Covid-19 social distanced and safe.
Check your motives
Chuck talked openly with me about the fact he ran using TikTok to recover out loud by his 12 step sponsor, life coach, counselors, and roommates. He was concerned about anonymity and wanted to ensure he was being responsible. Chuck and I probably could have talked about this anonymity topic for hours. We even discussed having a future live stream with a panel, because in recovery circles online and offline, this is very much a hot topic.
The bottom line is that Chuck uses TikTok like a daily journal and as a way to stay connected to other like minded people in recovery. His thoughts, feelings, and expressions are his own. It’s important to Chuck to share his experience, strength, and hope with others. It’s also helped him because it’s very much a form of accountability. Chuck went on and on about some of the great friendships he has made with people around the country and even in other countries.
At the age of 14, Chuck smoked his first joint with his mom. For him, weed was very much the gateway drug into using other substances. Like many teenagers, he continued to push boundaries. However, it was alcohol that was what finally beat him down. King alcohol is what got Chuck to a place of total desperation and ultimately led him to his surrender point.
Sober Spotlight Q&A with Chuck Norflis
AB: Talk to me about your recovery and what suggestions you might have for other people in early sobriety…
Chuck: Really, it requires a total lifestyle change. Once you embrace this, you have a really good shot. You’ve got to put in the work. (He’s referring to 12 step work here) It’s important to keep your side of the street clean. Make amends. Surrender. Stay in the middle of your recovery circles. Right now, I’m addicted to constant and never-ending self-improvement.
AB: Where did the idea for the hashtag #soberlution come from?
Chuck: It just kind of happened. I was sitting on the porch thinking about various hashtags and wondering what the solution was to addiction. I knew I wanted to come up with something cool to use that wasn’t already being used. There seemed to be the early stages of a recovery revolution springing up on TikTok. Revolution + Sober combined = Soberlution.
At first I thought it sounded kind of goofey, but then I started believing in it. So I created some videos using it, sharing my experience, strength, and hope. It just started to take off. I didn’t really have any expectations. It just keeping growing and growing. But it’s not me, it’s not even about me. It’s a “We” thing. It’s about the recovery community on TikTok rising up together. Our voice is loud. At the present time this hashtag has over 70 million views and continues to grow.
AB: What’s your go-to alcohol-free beverage of choice these days?
Chuck: Water is LIFE! I mainly drink coffee, water, sparkling water, OJ, and I love myself some Jamba Juice with a power boost. My Starbucks drink of choice is an Iced Carmel Machado with extra Carmel drizzle.
#QUITLIT & Podcasts
AB: What’s your favorite #QUITLIT book?
Chuck: Letting Go: The Pathway To Surrender by David R Hawkins I love this book and I read it often. Surrender is such a big part of my recovery, letting go of my old lifestyle. This book really speaks to that for me.
AB: What’s your favorite podcast?
Chuck: Seek Purpose with Brooke & Susanna. They’re from Canada and you kind find them on iTunes.
Sober Curator Pro Tip: We love this podcast too! Stay tuned for a future Sober Spotlight on Brook & Susanna of Seek Purpose in the next few weeks. Yours truly will be a guest on their podcast on Monday, February 15th, 7pm PST. In the meantime, check out some other recovery podcasts we’ve reviewed in our Recovery Podcastland section of the site.
What sober influencers do you admire?
AB: Talk to me about other sober influencers you admire
Chuck: @BrittneyJade___ is one of my favorites and now I consider her to be good friend. I met her through TikTok, she’s got a few months ahead of me. Her story and the way she shared it really resonated with me. She recently hit over 1.2M+ followers on TikTok and did a clothing collab with Recovery Life Apparel.
I also really like Travis @Climb4recoveryc4r62 and Sober Sammy @SoberComedy.
Sober Curator Pro Tip: We featured Sober Sammy in a previous post in early January of 29 Recovery Accounts to Follow on TikTok and you can read about them here. I’m realizing now, with the explosion of recovery on TikTok, we might need to blog monthly to keep up with all of the new recovery accounts.
Chuck: I also really like Ed Dudes @eddudez, creator of Love Slap. His merch is pretty cool.
AB: Um, Chuck…WTF is a Love Slap?
Chuck: LOL Love Slap is about sending people love and positivity. When Ed is doing a TikTok live and he sees that someone is having a hard time or is maybe new to TikTok and in early sobriety, he will send everyone in his TikTok “room” over to their room when they need it.
Listening to other peoples stories and recovery experiences is one of my favorite things to do. I also really dig Denny Wilson @_thedopehealer. He’s an award winning author and Addiction Recovery Specialist. Dawn Granger @ladysobercoach_Dawn was instrumental in my recovery.
More about Chuck
AB: How do you stay entertained?
Chuck: TikTok is my go-to platform for entertainment. You can find everything there. Have you checked out BreadTok?
AB: LMAO why no, I can’t say that I have Chuck. Do I knead too? (#seewhatididthere)
AB: Besides staying up to date on bread trends, how do you practice self-care?
Chuck: I work-out with cardio and eat clean. Did I mention water is LIFE!?! I drink a lots of H2O. Meditation practice is important to me and I love being in nature.
AB: What’s one piece of advice you would give your sober-self if you could time travel back to the first few weeks of your sobriety?
Chuck: You can achieve anything you want if you want it badly enough. If you put in the work, you can do anything. Remember that you have to fail in order to succeed.
AB: What tips would you give people thinking about going public with their sobriety on social media?
Chuck: Stay in the middle of your recovery. It’s like a merry-go-round. If you’re in the middle, no matter how fast it goes, you can’t fall off. If you’re hanging out on the edge, you’re likely to fall. Remember people will be there to pick you up and bring you back in. Just take things one day at a time. Whatever works for you on day 1 will also work for you on year 24. One day at a time. Give yourself a chance to heal.
Sober Pop Culture
AB: Favorite sober celebs – go!
Chuck: Demi Lovato, she’s beautiful. Matthew McConaughey, Anthony Hopkins, Bradley Cooper, Robert Downey Jr.
AB: Favorite movies or TV shows?
Chuck: 28 Days with Sandra Bullock and Intervention. I was so that guy. Also, “The Anonymous People”.
AB: What’s your favorite guilty pleasure?
Chuck: Documentaries. I love learning new stuff. Anything educational really. “I am Not Your Negro” is one of my favorite.
AB: What’s on your playlist?
Chuck: I listen to everything. I used to produce and write music. It really depends on my mood and the day. I love worship songs.
You know what, I forgot another movie I really like. The Rum Diary with Johnny Depp.
Sober Curator Pro Tip: Make sure to follow @soberlutionchuck on TikTok and check out Chuck’s LinkTree to see all of the places he’s at and things he’s up to. Considering all he’s accomplished so far in his first 8 months, I for one am pretty excited to see what incredible things he does next, one day at a time.
That’s a wrap!
AB: Thank you for your time today Chuck. Anything else our readers should know about?
Chuck: YES! Sobercon 2021 coming this September, which is National Recovery Month, in Atlanta, Georgia. The members of the TikTok Recovery family are organizing the 1st Annual SoberCon, a meetup for the entire TikTok recovery community!
2020 brought us together virtually and we want to create a weekend to remember! The goal is to have as many of our TikTok recovery family together with us as possible. We are fundraising to cover the costs of the meeting rooms and operations for the event. SoberCon will be entirely put on by volunteers but it still takes money for the event to come together. You can check out our Go Fund Me Page here.
We love to shine a light on all of the good things that come from choosing a sober lifestyle. Check out these other Sober Spotlights here. Email us at thesobercurator@gmail.com or DM us on social media if you or someone you know would like to be considered.
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