Today we’d like to introduce you to Al Richards.
Hi Al, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us – to start maybe you can share some of your backstory with our readers?
April of 2021 I had Malory Jacobs on my podcast, AR-The Other Side of Addiction, we became instant friends. One day Malory called to share an idea she had. After she was done sharing this idea of her’s, my response was, you have got to be kidding me? Her response, so it’s stupid? Mal, I have had the same exact thoughts about the same thing you just mentioned. Months later we decided it was time to make it happen even though we had no idea how. We had zero money or experience. We decided our first event would be held in St. George, Utah. We put a team together, and with hard work and people who believed in what our mission/vision was. We held our very first HEALING UTAH SUCCESS SUMMIT in August of 2022. We just completed our fifth HUSS event this past October, 2025. We’ve been very blessed,! The support we’ve received from our past and present team members, vendors and sponsors has been simply amazing. There’s been many times Malory and I have broken down in tears because we are just in aww that it’s come this far and continues to gain momentum every single year. What we do know, none of this would have been possible if it wasn’t for God. We couldn’t of made it this far without him and all the amazing individuals he’s put in our lives. Our team is already gearing up to start planning our sixth event in October 2026.
I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
it’s definitely not been a smooth road. When you decide to put an event on without a penny in your pocket, it makes you wonder. To pull our first event off we needed around $5,000-$6,000 dollars. How in the Hell can we come up with this type of cash. Our best bet was to get others to believe in the same mission Malory and I had. Our mission is to Inspire, Educate, and Motivate individuals and families impacted by addiction, mental health challenges, and loss.
We believe there’s no single path to recovery or the process of healing—only the shared courage to begin. We believe in changing the parameters of what healing and recovery look like. Whether through faith, therapy, science, or community, healing is transformation: reclaiming purpose, restoring hope, and choosing life again and again.Together, we replace stigma with compassion and silence with truth. We celebrate every victory, honor every struggle, and stand for every journey. At HUSS, we’re not just talking about healing; It’s our ULTIMATE goal—we’re living it, and helping each story have a voice with no shame. Each individual, each family- one breakthrough at a time.
It worked, we had an out pouring of love and support. However more challenges laid ahead. Our fourth event of 2024 was like a circus. We decided to pair up with another organization, who out of respect I won’t mention. A certain individual came in and slowly started changing what HUSS stood for. To them, it was all about the money. Six weeks before our event I had a 10 minute heated conversation with this certain person. When the call was finished, I came very close to pulling myself away from the very event I help build. After some heaving thinking, I decided to stay because I want’ed to see if this person could pull off everything he said he could do. The event came and went and not one promise we upheld. He used our event to promote his organization.
When it came time to start planning our fifth event, it was a struggle at first. Many of our vendors and sponsors didn’t want anything to do with us if that other organization was going to be a part of it. It took a lot of explaining and prayers. Slowly, very slowly things started coming around just about the time the next tidal wave was about to hit.
Malory opened up about enjoying a glass of wine here and there. Someone caught wind of that and called one of our 2025 guest speakers. During one of our team calls, this certain individual questioned it. Malory was completely honest, the tidal wave was beginning. An argument between Mal and the other person went on for 20 plus minutes. This has never happened in a team call, EVER. I finally had enough and stopped the conversation. The speaker who was planning to speak said he didn’t want anything to do with an event that supports drinking and drugging. WHAT THE HELL JUST HAPPENED???? A few of our other team members were in complete shock to what they had just witnessed. With in an hour after our team call, one of our other speakers backed out. When all this went down we were just weeks away from the event. I was also being told the recovery community had all eyes on me and it would be best to ask Malory to step down. After lots of praying and one on one conversations with each team member it was decided to ask Mal to step back. While all this was happening, the two speakers that backed out started flooding Facebook with post. It was almost like they were intentionally trying to divide the recovery community.
Long story short, Malory stepped down, we found other speakers who believed in our mission, our vision and stepped up to the plate. Once again God had his hands in it all. The team of individuals that came together this past October was our most powerful teams yet. Malory still attended the event, the hosts and speakers and entertainment all received standing ovations. I lost count of how many people came up to our team letting us know the event changed their lives in a positive way. We also feel those that seemed like they were trying to divide us, actually helped us.
—
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
I manage my brother’s concrete company. However I like to say I specialize in Inspiration and Resilience. I have over came addiction, a below the knee amputation in March of 2025 and four weeks later on April 8th, the loss of my wife. I do my best to use these trials and darkest parts of my life to help others find their way back into the light. I am also an International Certified Crisis & Recover Coach. What I’m most proud of… I’m proud of the way I’ve been able to change who I am as a man. Someone others can count on, trust and feel safe to share whatever their going through. The only thing that I can think of that sets me apart. God gave me the gift of connection. I’m able to walk into a room of strangers and walk out with a ton of new friends. I don’t know how this happens, it just happens. Before long their sharing their life story, the highs and the lows.
We’d love to hear about any fond memories you have from when you were growing up?
Getting out of my body cast thet I was in for two months at the age of nine.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://Www.healingsuccesssummit.com
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/mralrichards/
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/c/TheOtherSideofAddiction
