Conversations with Alyx Gold

Today we’d like to introduce you to Alyx Gold.

Hi Alyx, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
To keep this short will be a challenge, but I’ll do my best to condense it to what’s most relevant.

So, I’m 32 years old now, but when I look back, my story really starts as a young girl with insecurities, and struggles, just like many kids have. My parents divorced, we moved several times, and from an early age I felt like individuals in our world didn’t love each other the way they should. Very profound thinking for a young girl. Even though I couldn’t name it at the time, the perspective, it’s one that, reflecting, I know always hurt me deeply. I didn’t understand that I was a hurt person, I just knew that I carried heartache and wanted to feel alive, and whole.

So anything that could take me outside of myself, I grabbed onto. I found the crowd that took risks, pushed limits, and lived dangerously. It started with making the seemingly small decisions to “party”, but the substances weren’t the problem, my thinking was… and I didn’t know how to tend to that. By the time I was 15, I was using heroin intravenously. That choice opened a door to a decade of darkness I could never have imagined.

Over the next 10 years, I cycled through more pain that I’d ever have imagined possible. I was arrested more times than I can count on both hands and feet. I accumulated seven felonies (all now sealed) and countless misdemeanors. I was in and out of treatment centers so many times I lost track. I was sexually trafficked, raped, abused, degraded, and left broken in ways I didn’t think anyone could come back from. For 15 years, I lived in addiction and for eight of those, I lived without a home, from place to place, running not only from life at this point, but from who I had become.. the woman I’d come to know as myself, and I didn’t know how to love her. Toward the end, I was empty. I didn’t know who I was or what my life was worth.

People often ask what changed. The truth is, it wasn’t a dramatic moment, it was exhaustion. I was tired.. and I was tired many times over, but for whatever reason, the cards fell correctly this time. I made a quiet commitment to myself: “I’m going to do everything I can to turn this around., and if I’m supposed to be here, it will.. if not, I’ll go back to what I know” And from that moment, it became about one small step at a time.

I started learning something not only beautiful but extremely significant through that next year, that humans are far more resilient than we believe when we’re at our lowest. That lesson stuck, and thought by thought, moment by moment, I began rebuilding.

I started small. I worked in behavioral health treatment (at first, only because I didn’t think I’d be accepted anywhere else, and frankly had no job experience). I helped others however I could… elderly with their groceries, recovering addicts with rides when I finally had my car and license, every little thing I could do to give back to the world that I felt took from me for so long… I did. That shifted my mind from blame to solution. I shared my story in meetings, programs, and community events. Every time I saw someone else light up with hope, I knew I wanted to help in a bigger way. I went to school, earned my degree in social work. I obtained a life-coaching certification, and branched out to learn about any and everything I could to elevate my life, and I started combining my lived experience with professional knowledge.

At one point, after really studying the power of my own thoughts and realizing how much influence I had over my thinking, my actions, and ultimately my outcomes, I felt a pull to create something of my own. I didn’t know exactly what it would look like or how it would scale, but I knew I wanted something that represented who I am and how powerful words can be. Words have always mattered to me; I’ve always loved to write, to speak, and to sing, and I began to see how they were manifesting my life. That’s how Speaking Gold LLC was born. Gold is my last name, but it’s also symbolic of value, truth, and authenticity. Speaking Gold, to me, is about speaking true to yourself and making every word you say count. It’s also about using our words, our stories, and our hope to uplift others.. which is, I believe, what we were put here to do… essentially, to love people. What began as a simple idea became a platform to reach more people, share my story, and step into speaking engagements that continue to grow today.

After working in various roles in treatment centers over several years, from support staff, to residential/housing staff, to clinical staff, administration, consulting, I was asked to take an opportunity building partnerships and helping individuals get the help they need, on a larger scale. Today, aside from my own initiatives with speaking, life coaching, and uplifting by whatever means possible under Speaking Gold, I serve as the Director of Outreach & Admissions at Forward Health, a treatment organization in Ohio. In the past three years, I’ve built out our Admissions Department, our Business Development team, and relationships that span across the state and beyond. I’ve helped open new locations, expanded recovery housing reach and census, and developed partnerships with treatment facilities, court systems, hospitals, and and other systems, including correctional facilities. Those that once locked me up now partner with me to help others.

But my work isn’t just operational. It’s deeply personal. I know the desperation in a mother’s voice when she calls at 2 a.m. I know the fear of walking into a courtroom alone. I know the courage it takes to try treatment again after failing before. And I know the pain of loss. My little brother Zachary died of an overdose, five years ago (September 19th, 2020). His absence left in ache in my families lives that nothing can heal, but this along with my past, drives me every day to make sure another family doesn’t have to get that phone call, even if I can just help one person. In his honor, I’m aim every day to set a higher recovery standard, a Gold recovery standard, for Zach. Recovery doesn’t just apply to addiction… it’s just life, and all the healing, growth, and change that comes for each and every one of us in some way.

Parallel to my executive work, stepping into the public speaking and life coaching through my platform, Speaking Gold, has been something I’m extremely passionate about. I have committed to sharing my story, even where painful, so that I can offer both raw honesty and practical hope humans that, for many reasons, so desperately need it. My goal is to inspire individuals, guide families, and train organizations on what it means to truly meet people where they are. Whether it’s addiction, leadership, or resilience, my message is the same: people are not their worst day, they’re their thoughts, and their very next decision.

Today I’m a mother to my two-year-old son, Liam. He is the center of my world and my greatest motivator. Everything I do, from developing treatment systems and partnerships to speaking to strangers on the internet, is grounded in creating a world where love, safety, and second chances are possible, not just for him and I, but for everyone I cross paths with.

And, like I said, while addiction was my personal storm, the lessons I’ve learned apply far beyond that. Hardship looks different for everyone. Sometimes it’s grief, trauma, divorce, failure, or simply the weight of being human. The tools I’ve gained are not just about recovery; they’re about resilience. My mission now is to use what I’ve lived and learned to uplift large groups of people, people of all walks of life, because no matter the hardship, the principles of hope, resilience, and human connection remain the same.

I’ll finish my (not so brief) response with this – I often share two acronyms that I developed several years back, and often feel like messages from my brother himself, reminders that apply to any challenge life throws at us:

PAIN: Perceive, Accept, Intend, Nurture. We have to perceive what’s really going on, Accept the reality of your circumstances, intend to move through them with purpose, and nurture ourselves in that process.

and

CHOICE: Change, Honor, Open, Invest, Commit, Elevate. Change begins the moment we realize it’s a choice. We have to try with everything in us to honor our pasts and our hardships. I recognize the difficulty in this, believe me. Then.. we need to open our hearts and minds to new perspectives. From there, we invest in ourselves and the people who bring light and value to our lives. We commit to the new paths we’re choosing, when we finally find ourselves there. And in doing so, finally, we elevate – our lives, our relationships, and our futures.

Those two words, PAIN and CHOICE, sum up a large majority of what I’ve learned, and how I navigate helping others, and growing in my own life today. We all face pain, and we all have choices. I’ll never discredit the impact pain can have, but when we choose to move through that pain with intention and nurture, when we honor and elevate the life in front of us, we discover that the same story that once broke us can become the story that heals us… and if we’re lucky, it can help heal others, too.

Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
Has it been a smooth road? Absolutely not. Even on this side of life, there have been plenty of challenges. Some of them are universal… financial struggles, relationship challenges, grief, and just the weight of being human. Others are more internal, like imposter syndrome. There have been so many moments where I questioned whether what I had to offer was “enough,” or whether I belonged at the table I found myself sitting at. I’ve faced judgment from people who only knew my past, and I’ve also carried the burden of my own self-judgment. Grief has been a constant companion since losing my brother Zach, and there are days where it feels heavier than others.

There have also been the practical struggles, navigating single motherhood, balancing work and school, building financial stability, and creating a career in a field that demands so much heart without always offering the same back, especially while I’m taking my own initiatives in different directions alongside a full-time career. There are times I’ve felt defeated, stretched too thin, or unsure of my next step.

But I think the truth is, smooth roads don’t teach us much. The struggles have been the very things that stretched me, refined me, and forced me to keep growing. Every time I’ve questioned myself, I’ve had to return to my “why.” Every time I’ve felt judgment, I’ve had to anchor myself in my truth. Every time grief has knocked the wind out of me, I’ve had to remember that pain can also become purpose. And every time life has knocked me down, I’ve had to rise with resilience.

So no, it hasn’t been smooth. But I guess those are really important parts of the story, too.. and they’re the reason I can connect not just with people in recovery, but with anyone who knows what it feels like to carry heavy things and still keep going.

Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
When it comes to my work, I really wear multiple hats that are connected by the same purpose: helping people see what’s possible for their lives.

I serve as the Director of Outreach & Admissions at a behavioral health agency in Ohio. My role is about much more than intake or outreach. I’ve built systems from the ground up across multiple departments, creating structure and pathways that make treatment accessible for more people. I specialize in is building partnerships that expand access to care Ohio and beyond. Whether that means connecting with centers, hospitals, court systems, correctional facilities, or community organizations, I’ve made it my mission to remove barriers and open doors so people can get the help they need when they need it. In this field, I’ve become a champion for social progress and advancement, because I know treatment inside and out, The last seven years I’ve done everything within the structure from the front-line roles to administration, to consulting, to executive leadership. What I’m most proud of here is simple: being part of creating a system where someone’s life can change, and knowing I had a hand in connecting them to it.

At the same time, I also pour my heart into Speaking Gold, my LLC for public and motivational speaking and life coaching. This initiative has been interesting, and new. Speaking Gold was born out of my belief in the power of words – words that can tear us down or words that can build us up and transform everything. I’ve always loved to write, to speak, to sing, but now I see how those passions have become tools to reach people. Through Speaking Gold, I’ve had the privilege of connecting with people of all walks of life, individuals, families, organizations wanting to uplift their teams, to laugh, to cry, to be silent, to be loud, together. It’s not just about sharing a message; it’s about creating a movement in every room I step into. I believe that if someone hears the right words at the right time, it can shift their whole perspective, and with that shift, mountains start to move.. even in the smallest spaces.

What sets me apart isn’t just the roles I’ve held, but the heart I bring to them. I know what it feels like to live in darkness, and I know what it takes to rise from ashes. My greatest pride is that today, I can love well, and that love fuels everything I do. Whether I’m building systems in treatment centers or standing at a microphone sharing my most vulnerable truths, and powerful messages, I show up with a genuine heart and an unwavering commitment to see others realize their potential. There’s no amount of time I won’t spend walking someone through their pain, or standing as an example that life can be rebuilt. That’s what sets me apart: my willingness to not just tell people they can rise, but to stand with them until they believe it for themselves.

What do you like and dislike about the city?
What I like best about our city is the diversity, the culture, the creativity, and the sense of connection that comes from so many different people and perspectives coming together. It feels alive and full of possibility. What I like least isn’t unique to here – it’s the reality that so many people still haven’t realized their own potential, or are stuck in a cycle of pain. That’s not just a local issue, but a human one, and it’s something I hope to keep challenging and changing through the work I do.

Pricing:

• Life Coaching – 1-on-1 support that’s raw, real, and rooted in transformation. Virtual or in-person options with customizable session packages.
• Group Coaching – Supportive, trauma-informed group spaces designed for connection, clarity, and growth. Drop-in groups, series packages, or custom-designed programs available.
• Motivational & Keynote – Speaking From local events to national conferences. Sessions are tailored to your audience for maximum impact, with discounted rates for schools, nonprofits, and grassroots organizations.
• Workshops & Training – Interactive facilitation for workplaces, treatment centers, nonprofits, schools, and leadership teams. Available as single workshops, half-day intensives, or multi-day programming.
• Panels & Special Engagements – Participation in local and national panels, with travel and lodging covered by host for out-of-area events.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.speakinggold.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/_alyxgold/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/alyx.gold.18
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alyx-gold-lsw-lcdcii-25b379251
• Other: @real_housewives_of_resilience (tiktok)