STEPHEN HILL

Stephen Hill—founder of Speak Sobriety and Young Moment Speakers, young person in recovery, best selling author, recovery coach, and defense attorney—is a renowned national speaker on substance use prevention & mental health with a truly inspiring comeback story that everyone must hear.

He has presented in front of thousands of people for over 1,000 schools, drug free community coalitions, and organizations across the country, sharing his cautionary tale of addiction to recovery and beyond.

But before Stephen had these accolades attached to his name, his reputation was filled with stigma—junky, dropout, felon, failure. A once promising student-athlete barely graduated high school, dropped out of numerous colleges, was arrested several times, struggled with substance use disorder for a decade, in and out of countless treatment programs, lost friends, and cost his family severe emotional and financial hardship.

Just when it seemed like there was no hope for Stephen, he finally began his journey from drug & alcohol addiction to recovery when he entered an extended care treatment program on September 30, 2012. After 180 days in treatment when Stephen started thinking clearly, he made a choice to give himself a real second chance at life. Through inner strength, patience, hard work, and support from others, Stephen began to mindfully build a life worth defending—a life worth staying sober for.

Today, Stephen teaches people to be resilient by not only maximizing their strengths, but also taking what most people perceive as a weakness or negative experience and turning it into a life lesson for personal growth—turning a mess into a message. This shift in thinking is how Stephen overcame a severe substance use disorder, began working in the field of addiction prevention and treatment, started his own speaking and coaching company, received his bachelor's with honors in Criminal Justice, earned his Juris Doctorate from Brooklyn Law School, passed the bar exam, and published his memoir A Journey to Recovery—a #1 New Release on Amazon.

Stephen officially started Speak Sobriety in June of 2016. His primary focus as a speaker is youth prevention, early intervention, and promoting restorative practices. Today, Stephen lives a meaningful, healthy, sober life with his family and friends. Some of the personal experiences Stephen shares are difficult for him to talk about, but he knows it's worth it if his story helps just one person every time he speaks.