I know, I know, The Manic Addict is quite a bold title for a blog. I’m certain it has inspired a few double takes and some morbid curiosity as to what exactly I’ll be rambling on about in this space.

As it were, it is a label that was certainly an appropriate descriptor of my state of being at various times over the course of the past 16 years. It’s a label that has, at times, made me feel like a pariah, an outcast, a black sheep and, quite bluntly, a failure.

But it’s a label I’ve kicked to the curb with the enthusiasm of the cleanup man in an adult kickball league. That man worked his ass off to sit atop his kickball throne just as I have worked tirelessly to develop the self-awareness needed to assess my behavior and hone the tools at my disposal to course-correct when the need arises. And yes, it does and will arise.

Speaking of men wielding tools let’s use an analogy from a ridiculous yet quite successful 90s sitcom, shall we? No, it’s not Alf.

You might say Tim “The Toolman” Taylor perfectly embodied the exploits of Manic Addict Ryan. Every episode featured Tim concocting a new insane, grandiose plan to build the thing bigger, better and more powerful than ever. Every episode Tim’s grandiose idea exploded, burned to the ground, and generally wreaked havoc. We laughed and life moved on.

In real life, there’s no laughing but there is moving on.

Today I’m enjoying life at the Al Borland speed. Steady, calculated, efficient, and coloring in the lines. Mostly.

I digress. “What’s this blog about?” you ask.

Will I be regaling you with the absolutely bonkers truths of things I’ve said and done during previous manic episodes? Yes. In jest.

Will I be dropping wisdom on the things I’ve done that have and haven’t worked to help me get and maintain sobriety? Yes, also.

But the most important function of this blog is to document my new life as a digital nomad. A dream life that I stepped into on Saturday, June 27th, 2026. A life that wasn’t even a possibility until Covid and certainly not a life that anyone who manages two disabilities is supposed to embark on.

I see and hear all those bitchy little supposed tos…and I say pishposh to them all!

I picked this as the title of my blog for two reasons:

• I’ve been a professional marketer for 20+ years, and shock value is tried and true.
• I want anyone and everyone who has experienced one or both of those states (mania and addiction) to know neither are a life sentence nor a ball and chain. Embarking upon your dream life is possible. No matter what the fuck anyone tells you.

I say this with the conviction of a man who has tumbled into rock bottom a solid five different times. Each time pulling myself out and leveling up in the process.

At this time in 2024, I was in active addiction, and booze or marijuana were the only things that distracted my mind from suicidal thoughts. I even wrote notes. I put myself into the fifth detox of my life.

Fast forward a week or so and it’s the two-year anniversary of admitting myself into a psych ward for the first time.

Take another leap in time to August 19th, and that’s the anniversary of stepping into a sober living home in Chicago three days after getting out of my second residential rehab. Sleeping in a tiny twin bed my 6’3″ frame had no business folding itself into with a roommate named Art sleeping six feet away.

Art is an 80-ish-year-old man who eats more cheese than all Sicily combined. An extremely kind and gentle soul who occasionally emitted the unmistakable smell of urine in the morning.

And today is my first week living in Montreal, Canada.

Stable enough in my job as a Senior Account Executive helping advertising agencies navigate the world of Google and Facebook marketing for their car dealership clients to jump ship from Chicago and hit the road full-time.

Confident enough in my experience, awareness, tools, and resources to manage my Bipolar Disorder symptoms when (and it is when) they arise in new environments.

Jaded enough from rehabs and climbs out of cellars to never go back.

Financially fit enough to have paid cash for a used 2018 RAV4 to be my chariot across the great unknown. Fiscally responsible enough to have amazing experiences along the way while still saving for retirement monthly.

Grounded enough to realize that every new city or place I land in is where I live, not where I’m vacationing. Even if I do plan to do all the touristy things.

For example, in 2.5 weeks I’m taking a hike to a beaver dam in the woods outside Quebec City to enjoy a picnic of local delicacies and non-alcoholic beers, with goats carrying the goodies in saddlebags.

THAT is living.

I am living my dream life, traveling around North America (the rest of the world will come later), chasing beauty, nature, human connection, and every amazing experience I can soak up.

And two years ago I was spending my days surrounded by people who couldn’t keep themselves out of crack houses.

This blog is going to document all of it.

The adventures and escapades.

The mishaps and screwups.

The lessons and wisdom.

The mountains, rivers, lakes, oceans and everything in between.

The crazy weird shit that can only happen to Ryan. IYKYK

The conversations, connections and PEOPLE.

The occasional reminder that a life you once thought was completely unreachable can slowly become your everyday reality.

So buckle up.

We’re in for one hell of a hair-raising ride. Like the Tig’rr Coaster at Indiana Beach. Haven’t been to Indiana Beach you say? I’m not surprised but you are missing out on all the unintentional comedy you can handle.