ABOUT ME
Ian Young: my story, from addiction to recovery
I’m an addiction specialist, originally from London, who uses my own experiences to improve the quality of other people’s lives. But it wasn’t always like that.
I’ve been working in the private sector of the addiction and behavioural health industry since 2003, successfully touching the lives of thousands of people and their families — showing them a new way to live and encouraging them to rebuild their lives without their destructive patterns or influences, once and for all.
But in early 2001, aged 29, after 13 years of chronic drug addiction, alcoholism, homelessness, unemployment and living as an outlaw — outside of the law, outside of society even — I discovered a permanent way out of that debilitating lifestyle. Through hard work and a strong vision, I rebuilt a new world filled with the riches and royalties life has to offer, addiction free. I’m often heard saying my quality of life is beyond anything I could have dreamed of previously — beyond my wildest dreams.
THE CAREER
From patient to professional
My professional career in addiction treatment began by returning to the clinic that had helped me recover — initially in a support role, and over time becoming responsible for front of house at the only young persons’ 12-step residential clinic operating in Europe at the time, in South Kensington, London. It was there I became therapeutically trained, with an interest in working with family members alongside the patient — to breed enthusiasm and appropriate boundaries, and to prepare loved ones for treatment.
I went on to build my reputation within the national and then international addiction treatment industry, founding two large addiction treatment facilities in the UK in 2004 and 2006. Later I built two more rehabs in Thailand — Chiang Mai in 2018 and Phuket in 2020 — before the pandemic closed the world down.
The outlaw years — me, around 1990.
SOBER SERVICES
My private practice, since 2008
I’m perhaps best known for my private practice, Sober Services, launched in 2008. It helps people attain and maintain recovery from addiction — typically alcohol and narcotics — through bespoke packages of treatment for individuals and their families, revolving around two primary services:
1) Sober Interventions — a process that helps families assist their loved ones or colleagues, typically unwilling at first because of denial, into residential treatment. Intervening on someone you care about can be the toughest part of your role as a parent, but through tough love you can really make a difference.
2) Sober Companions / Recovery Coaches — working intensely one-to-one to bring about positive change in behaviour and lifestyle, including sober transportations nationally and internationally. Typically companions operate as support post-residential treatment; sometimes as an alternative to residential care.
Sober Services was pioneering: the first non-North American company offering sober transportations, with a bank of staff serving as companions and coaches. I was also one of the very first non-North Americans formally trained in interventions — and I’ve since served families around the planet with it.
TEACHING & COMMUNITY
Sober Academy and EARS
In 2015 I established Sober Academy to support others wishing to work intensely within the professional addiction treatment industry — with signature programmes in Certified Sober Interventions and Certified Recovery Coaching, plus Sober Practitioner and Sober Transporter trainings. I’ve delivered trainings in the UK, Holland, Sweden, Italy, Ireland, Spain, Russia and Thailand.
I’m one of 7 founding members and the first chairperson of EARS — the European Association of Recovery Specialists, born in Rome in November 2017, which today has members in 16 countries. I was also honoured to be one of 35 founding members (2012) of the Network for Transformational Leaders — membership required positively affecting the lives of over 6,000 people.
THE BOOK
“It’s Not About Me!”
My full life story — and my journey into and through addiction recovery — is in my published autobiography “It’s Not About Me! ~ Confessions of a Recovered Outlaw Addict, from Living Hell to Living Big”. It’s an easy-reading page-turner: the depths of my addictions while travelling the world as a DJ, the three years of trying to clean up, and the practical and spiritual lessons I’ve learned helping others since. And yes — you can read it free.
TODAY
Managing Director, Holina Global
In 2021, at the end of the global pandemic, I signed a deal with Yossi Zubari to co-create Holina Global, beginning in Koh Phangan in February 2022 — my 5th rehab. Holina Village for young people in Cyprus, my 6th, opened May 2023. Holina Israel opened in April 2024.
As Managing Director I manage all the Holina brands in Thailand — including Holina Addiction & Trauma Recovery Centre, Holina Detox and Holina Trainings — with strategic input on Holina Israel and Holina Village Cyprus. I lead from example, and I’m the most likely person you’ll speak to if you call Holina with an enquiry — essentially front of house and ambassador.
My personal mission is to co-create a green and harmonious world, through laughter and love, bringing a better quality of life to all who cross my path — one person at a time. I live between Koh Phangan and Koh Samui, and I still enjoy ecstatic dances (sober raves) and dinner with friends.
Get in touch
I’d love to hear from you
Every message lands with me personally. Whether it’s about your own situation, a loved one, or a professional enquiry — start the conversation. I read everything, and I reply myself.
