Sucht & Süchtig - Live 2024 - Man seeks feelings

The podcast SUCHT & SÜCHTIG is an ongoing documentary about the recovery process of its drug-addicted protagonists. By speaking naturally and openly about their addiction, Hagen Decker and John Cook succeed in creating an engaging and enlightening dialog. The friends developed the idea for SUCHT &SÜCHTIG during their drug treatment and the first episode was broadcast in October 2022. In September 2023, Hagen and John then took the step from the studio to the live stage with SUCHT & SÜCHTIG - with an overwhelming response.2024 will see the continuation of SUCHT & SÜCHTIG live under the motto "Mensch sucht Gefühle" (see dates below).

It wasn't all that long ago that Hagen Decker and John Cook met at a Berlin addiction support center. The two men had never seen each other before, but they clicked straight away: "We talked for hours on the very first day," recalls Hagen Decker.

Decker used to direct music videos for artists such as Tim Bendzko, Juli, Jennifer Rostock and Madsen, as well as commercials for VW, Deutsche Bahn and Zalando, among others.John Cook is a graphic designer, grew up in a sheltered home and came into contact with drugs as a teenager. They are both addicts: "We both have children, our drug of choice is cocaine, we come from Berlin, our overlap was 98 percent," says John Cook.

Shortly after their first meeting, the two wrote the concept for a joint podcast: SUCHT & SÜCHTIG was to be an ongoing documentary about their recovery process with all its ups and downs. Ten episodes are quickly planned and are recorded during therapy. "We simply realized that it helps us to talk about everything we've experienced and what's bothering us," says John Cook, "podcasts are the ideal medium for this."

So there was no clever business concept here, no target group analysis, no commercial considerations at all. It was all about survival. Two friends engaging in an open dialog in the most natural way imaginable, but despite the gravity of the topic, they didn't completely lose their sense of humor. SUCHT & SÜCHTIG is not a lecture on addiction theory, it is not a lecture, but a low-threshold, direct and immediate report from the deep abyss of addiction. That's what makes this podcast so good and intense. "We talk about things that we are ashamed of, but that you unfortunately do as an addict," says Hagen.

The therapy was successful for John and Hagen; at the time of writing, the two have produced almost 22 podcast episodes. Over the months, SUCHT & SÜCHTIG has developed into a podcast for recovering addicts, addicts who want to get clean and, of course, everyone else. The response has been tremendous: John and Hagen receive hundreds of emails and letters, the number of views of SUCHT & SÜCHTIG increases from week to week, Olli Schulz and Klaas Heufer-Umlauf have praised the podcast. "Initially, we thought that if even one person questioned their consumption patterns as a result of this podcast, we would have achieved a lot, but now we can hardly answer all the letters we receive," says John.

Hagen Decker and John Cook have managed the therapy, but they are not cured. There is no cure. Addiction is a chronic illness that has to be overcome every single day, always "just for today", every single day. SUCHT & SÜCHTIG helps on the way there. Just how good the podcast is was also demonstrated at the "Deutscher Podcast Preis 2023" award ceremony in Berlin: the second season of SUCHT & SÜCHTIG was named the winner in the "Best Independent Podcast" category! The podcast duo has now confirmed that they will be going on tour in March, May and October.