Reality TV, Fame, and Drinking Culture w/ Carl Radke of Summer House
Hey there, and welcome to another episode of Journey to the Sunnyside. I'm your host, Mike Hardenbrook, and today's guest has a story that hits close to home for so many of us. You might know Karl Radke from Bravo's Summer House, but his journey with alcohol goes way beyond what you saw on screen. From his early drinking days in college and fraternity life to how alcohol played into his role as a reality TV personality, Karl's story is raw, real and relatable. In this episode, we're diving into the first chapter of Carl's journey.
Speaker 1:The experiences that shaped his relationship with alcohol and set the stage for a transformation you won't believe. Let's get into it with Carl Radtke.
Speaker 2:Carl, thanks for coming on today.
Speaker 3:Thanks for having me. It's good to be here. Happy holidays. Merry Christmas.
Speaker 2:Hey. Happy holidays. Man, you've had such an amazing journey, and one of the things I love is that you're really public about all the your entire journey, all the issues, all the ups, the downs. And so we're gonna get into that, some of the really exciting projects
Speaker 1:that you're working on right now.
Speaker 2:But I kinda wanna just start at the kind of rewind. And can you take us back to the beginning of your relationship with alcohol?
Speaker 3:Yeah. I mean, it goes, I think, far back. You know, I wasn't a big drinker in high school even though, you know, I grew up. I'm 39 years old, so I am a millennial, on the other end of the spectrum, I guess. But, you know, we didn't like, my high school, I'll just paint a picture.
Speaker 3:I didn't have a cell phone until my senior year of high school. You know, cell phones weren't a thing in, you know, mass like that. You know, it was an Nokia, like, phone that had the the snake app. You could change the colors of the app. You know?
Speaker 3:Anyway, so my, you know, my growing up binge drinking was popular, I guess, in high school. You know, some kids would do that. I was very focused on my academics. I was focused on athletics. I will you know, and I had, you know, a family member, my brother who also struggled, and that was almost what I didn't wanna do is kinda do the opposite of what he was doing.
Speaker 3:So, you know, I did drink a tiny bit in high school. You know, it'd be like an after party after, like, a school dance. But I actually remember the one of the first times I drank was a Milwaukee best light, or as we call it in this in Pittsburgh, beast. Yeah. The beast.
Speaker 3:And I got really sick. You know? It was, like, in someone's basement at a party. I had a, you know, a can of warm Milwaukee best, and I remember thinking this is horrible. Who would actually drink this stuff?
Speaker 3:And I was ill. But that was probably the first time I ever, you know, remember drinking, let's say, or, you know, partaking, but I didn't like it. It wasn't something that I loved and I didn't feel great, but obviously it was a social thing and other kids were doing it. And then I think college, I went to Syracuse University was where, you know, that's college campuses. That's where it really the drinking picked up and where I learned, you know, more about just the fraternity life and socializing on campus and then you getting in a, you know, getting into the bars when you're under 21 at school.
Speaker 3:So, So, yeah, that was one of the things I think when I first, you know, started looking at at booze, but it wasn't until I think my time at Syracuse University is when I really started to partake in having, you know, drinking and having fun, you know, or at least what I thought was fun.
Speaker 2:Yeah. It's, you know, it's so funny because everybody has, like, a different journey to alcohol in some way or another where they start to question it. Like, some just come out of a cannon in high school. I kinda did to an extent, then I dialed it back. Then I went to University of Arizona, so I probably kinda mirror a little bit of your story.
Speaker 2:Like, that's really when the drinking career kinda started. You know, so it's funny how it's your own story. It's totally personal. So as you go through college, how did that how did your relationship with that progress?
Speaker 3:Yeah. I mean, I I joined a fraternity my freshman year at Syracuse, which, you know, probably was probably wasn't the best decision overall just because it was I had a lot of fun. I'm I'm still friends with some of my brothers, from that time, but, you know, it was kind of a crash course in binge drinking. I mean, even the pledging process, I remember they actually had duct taped a handle of Jim Beam to our hands, and we had to finish the handle, which I remember basically crawling home from the fraternity back to my college dorm room and just being a disaster. But yeah, I mean, it was in that time.
Speaker 3:I mean, at Syracuse, it was definitely a party school. We had big time sports. The fraternity life was was, you know, a popular thing, and then the bar scene was very popular. So it almost felt like to fit in or to be cool or accepted at Syracuse. You know, you drank.
Speaker 3:You partied. You did. The fraternity kids did. You went to the sorority events. But I also I struggled a little bit because I was there to go to school, and, you know, I went to the communications program, which was called Newhouse at Syracuse, which was the reason I went to Syracuse.
Speaker 3:I didn't go to Syracuse to drink. And I kinda reminded myself of, you know, I'm here for education. I wanted to graduate in 4 years because of how expensive Syracuse was. I was fortunate to get, you know, some scholarship money, because of academics. But if you don't graduate in 4 years, that scholarship doesn't necessarily keep going.
Speaker 3:So I had you know, I wanted to get good grades and graduate on time. So I definitely was able to kinda have some fun and then, you know, go back to school and be focused on work. I also played club volleyball in college, which actually what was a big part of keeping me off of just always partying like the fraternity guys, you know, with the volleyball team. And also I was on the women's women's, practice basketball team for 2 seasons as well. So I always was very athletic.
Speaker 3:I loved playing sports. That was a way for me to kinda stay, you know, away from all the partying all the time. You know, I'd had a Saturday morning practice, so you wouldn't go out Friday night or you'd be at a tournament over the weekend. So it it helped me kind of stay kind of on a better course in college, but I, you know, listen, that's where you learn I learned of cocaine. That's where the binge drinking I mean, you bring a 30 pack of beer to your own party because that was for yourself.
Speaker 2:You know? I know. Yeah. It was
Speaker 3:that was just what it was. You a case race was a thing. You know, you'd get your buddies. Everybody would have their own 30 pack, and you'd see who'd finished the case first. You know, that's just what it was.
Speaker 3:So, yeah, Syracuse is a lot of fun. Don't get me wrong. I had a great time, but it was definitely, you know, just normal back then where drinking all day and, and, and then you'd insert other substances like Adderall was very popular. And then certainly cocaine became a thing later on. I mean, it, I wasn't a big thing for me, but definitely a lot of kids at school did that.
Speaker 3:It was a very popular party drug.
Speaker 2:Yeah, it certainly mixes. I think it's such a commentary because what you're saying is like a lot of what I experienced in that, you know, you go to high school, you go to college and nobody really teaches you how to drink. So you show up to college, and there's just this, like, mob mentality of, like, drink as much as you can, drink as fast as you can. You know, you go to the dollar or 50¢ drinks till 10 o'clock, go and stack as many of those cups on the table as possible. Yep.
Speaker 2:And so I love that, that we're having these conversations because I think that narrative is starting to change, fortunately. I think it still obviously exists in a lot of just like traditions that are keep going on, but it is, it is just so typical, you know, that, to hear that. But before I move on on to anything, you were on the women's basketball practice squad?
Speaker 3:Yes. So I I was a good basketball player, and I would play pickup. There's a very, very competitive pickup basketball games at, like, the the the gym on campus where, you know, the even the football team would come play or, you know, other sports teams would come, and I would play a really good pickup. So one of the assistant coaches actually saw me playing pickup and said, hey. You should come try out for the men's team.
Speaker 3:And they ask a lot of kids to try out. It wasn't like I was, like, this this chosen one, but it felt cool to have one of the coaches approach me. And then I went and tried out, but I didn't make the full roster. But what they did do, they took, like, the next set of best players. And at that time, Yukon, who was probably the best program in women's basketball, they were known because they'd take some men's players from school and practice against their women's team.
Speaker 3:And a lot of the people would argue that's why their women Yukon's women's were so good is because they literally were playing against very athletic men most of the time, which helped them kinda sharpen their skills. So long story short, I was asked to be a part of kind of a men's team that would scrimmage against the women's team. I played I mean, I went to practice, like, every day for a few months during their seasons, which was a lot of fun. I mean, they played at the the Syracuse carrier dome, which is a huge, you know, arena and football stadium, which is where basketball plays. You know, it's a really cool kinda on campus experience.
Speaker 3:So I felt like I was a part of the team. I had a Gatorade with my name on it. Yeah. It kept it kept me in shape. I played a lot.
Speaker 3:I loved to compete. And, of course, I I got made fun of just because on paper, it's like, you know, you're on a women's team, but our the women's Syracuse team is really, really good. And anybody who knocks women's basketball has never played against a good women's basketball player because they're very talented, very fundamental. I, I got my ass kicked a lot too. So it wasn't, it wasn't all me being I love it.
Speaker 2:No, that's a great story. It sounds like a good experience and certainly one that I'm sure that it makes for a great story anytime you drop it like that nonchalant and everybody wants to lean in and ask just like I did.
Speaker 3:So Yeah. I don't always share it. I don't always see. You got a little more Christmas gift today for that.
Speaker 2:Alright. I love it. That's good. So, you know, obviously, you're out in the limelight. You're a celebrity.
Speaker 2:And so let's fast forward a little bit past college. And what role did it play since we're on the top of alcohol, we're on the mindful drinking podcast? You know, what role did it play in your early career, in your time on Summerhouse?
Speaker 3:I mean, it was my best my next best friend. You know, I just I think in social environments, alcohol was always just what you did and that anytime you're outside of your apartment or at a restaurant, I mean, you grab a drink. It just it was just kind of ingrained in what you did. And then, you know, I think the TV part of it was we were the show is about a group of friends that are having a good time. You know?
Speaker 3:It wasn't a show about people sitting in a boardroom. Like, they were following us doing things we were already doing, which was partying in the Hamptons. So alcohol was always kind of the 12th cast member of the show. And, yeah, I mean, I just had fun and was enjoying my my time or so I thought. You know?
Speaker 3:And I don't think a lot of people have video footage of their weekends to watch back or to have, you know, other millions of people watch back and comment on it year after year after year, and then finally realizing, okay. Maybe there is something deeper going on here. But, Yeah. I mean, I I like to listen. I love to drink.
Speaker 3:I love to have fun. Alcohol gave me a personality that I thought was cool. Alcohol made me feel more confident. It gave me what I thought, like, the ability to be a better version of myself. So that's Yeah.
Speaker 3:I, you know, I mean, there's a lot of people are like that, but that was just for me. Me personally, it gave me confidence that I didn't have without, it made me feel like I was cool. It made me feel like I could talk to people and be funny and be accepted. Yeah. So that was kind of my real estate of it early on.
Speaker 3:And up until I stopped, I mean, you know, I always, I enjoyed drinking. Don't get me wrong, but until it wasn't fun anymore. And then other substances obviously were a challenge. And so, yeah, I'm kind of rambling. I'm not sure I didn't answer the question you asked.
Speaker 2:No, I mean, I like the way you said it, like the 12th cast member. It's certainly there's nobody that's gonna argue that say that alcohol doesn't make for good TV. I mean Yeah.
Speaker 3:And I, I, I don't wanna sit here and say like, I'm I'm bravo. I mean, no one ever forced me to do anything. Like, I had a great time. Like, literally, I wouldn't change one inch of what happened while I was drinking back then. I can't change that.
Speaker 3:I've just accepted. But there was no one ever going here, Carl. You need to drink this to be funny or cool. Like, I did exactly what I wanted to do, and the camera just happened to be there. There's a lot of conversation around alcohol and reality, but our show has not like, it's people don't I don't think understand.
Speaker 3:Like, the show started in 2016. It was the first season of Summerhouse, which is almost 10 years I don't think a lot of people realize when the show first began. It wasn't like a couple years ago during COVID. This has been going on for 10 years. So things have evolved a lot in our world.
Speaker 3:You know? And but the show is about really close friends who were professionals in New York City, but the show followed them on the weekend in the Hamptons partying. That's what summerhouse is. So from the beginning, I was signing up for our show about partying. But I don't think I could have ever dreamed that it would have lended itself to where we're at now, where I'm talking all all I do really my entire personality publicly is that I don't party anymore.
Speaker 3:You know what I mean? Like, that's basically what people know of me, which is cool, but there's more way more to me than just that, which has been an interesting exercise. I'm grateful that people know me for, you know, getting my life in order a little bit. But when you kind of publicly go and say what you say about your story, it's people can put you in a in a box and in a corner. So you basically are just known for the guy that doesn't drink anymore on somewhere else.
Speaker 3:I mean, that's basically all I'm known for.
Speaker 2:Yeah. I mean, I can identify with that because, I mean, I decided to write a book and, you know, putting it out there. And I would it's just it's so funny that you don't know what you don't know. So, like, you had no idea as you started that show that you would be here talking about this subject because you just didn't even know what was on the other side of that or, like
Speaker 3:No. You know? We we didn't even know the first season when we signed up to do it would be ever I don't think I fully thought the first season ever even be on TV. Like, I you know, you hear all the time, you shoot a pilot or you shoot some episodes, and it never makes it. I didn't we just didn't know, and we didn't care.
Speaker 3:Like, it wasn't reality TV back then isn't what it is now. People join shows because they wanna be famous, and they wanna get a brand deal, or they wanna be the next bachelor. No one wins the summerhouse. This is not a competition show. It's a it's a really true group of friends and an actual, like, almost a documentary about their friendships and their partying and, like, in real time living with us.
Speaker 3:So it just the way it started was literally, we were just doing what we were already doing. I love to go out to the Hamptons and have fun on the weekend because when you work really hard and spend all your, you know, Monday through Friday in New York City when you're in the concrete jungle in the summer, it's it's like best to get out of the city and go spend a weekend with your friends in a house and let loose. That's like how I thought you survive in New York. You know? There's no way to just work in the concrete jungle 247.
Speaker 3:So the fact that they were gonna now follow us along, it was like, cool. We'll see what happens. And it it was every season, it kept kind of snowballing and picking up after them. But to answer, I guess, long story short, I never would have dreamed I'd even be talking to you about what we're talking about 6 years ago. Like, I just would have been like, no.
Speaker 3:Like, I I I love to drink. I didn't think I had a problem. Yeah. I was a dick and an asshole, but that that was me. You know?
Speaker 3:And but Yeah. Obviously, it took some time, and I had to really look myself in the mirror. Yeah. It's been an interesting journey.
Speaker 2:You know, you listed all those things out. Like it made me more social. I don't remember the pull list, but it it's like the typical list of everybody that lists out, you know, when why it would be so hard to go to a party and not drink. But you have a unique, scenario where you actually got to see reruns of yourself. Did you ever look at those?
Speaker 2:And did that ever, like, start to change your dynamic on how you view alcohol?
Speaker 3:Yeah. I mean, I I would argue that if I wasn't on this show, I never would have gotten sober just because I didn't realize how embarrassing and how just not the version of myself that I thought I was in those moments. And it just it wasn't it it's not me. Like, I I I watch myself. I've seen myself back on the show.
Speaker 3:And funny enough, they they used the clip from season 4, which was filmed in 2019. So that's 5 years ago. They used the clip 2 days ago on Bravo's Instagram, and it's like a funny clip, all of us hanging out at table making jokes about something going on, and I'm like, I'm literally wasted. Just wasted. I can see it on my face.
Speaker 3:I'm been drinking all day. And it's just embarrassing to still see that. But it's a reminder that not a lot of people have to, I don't know, like, it'd be one it could be weird if I didn't change, honestly. Like, you're what like, if you watch Summerhouse and see all the things that I've done and then you still see me after year after year doing this, like, it's like, this guy doesn't change. It's it's worse.
Speaker 3:So I I'm glad I had the footage. I had to dig deep and kinda look at my look in and really humble myself and go, okay. I actually that's I'm not proud of that. I don't love how I'm treating people. I don't like the version I've become.
Speaker 3:And I've also realized that I can't even manage it. I can't control it. And it was causing way more, you know, things that people weren't even seeing on the show, you know, just the up and down, challenges at work, other mental things that just were a struggle. So, yeah. Yeah.
Speaker 1:That's a wrap on part 1 of our conversation with Carl Radke. We've scratched the surface of Carl's story from his early experiences with drinking to how it became a big part of his life on reality TV. But trust me, we're just getting started. In the next episode, Carl opens up about hitting rock bottom, his decision to quit drinking and how he's now redefining what social spaces can look like. This podcast is brought to you by Sunny Side, the number one alcohol moderation platform.
Speaker 1:And if you could benefit from drinking a bit less, head on over to sunnyside.co to get a free 15 day trial. Until next time, cheers to your mindful drinking journey.
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