Chad Bell | Following Fear to Overcome Addiction and Achieve Entrepreneurial Success
Chad Bell, founder & CEO of Achilles Coffee Roasters, recounts his inspiring journey of overcoming drug and alcohol addiction and becoming a successful entrepreneur. He shares the story of his personal transformation and how he learned fear is a catalyst for growth, a sign he’s challenging himself to reach his potential, and how following fear led to him becoming someone unrecognizable to his younger self. He shares his storied journey to sobriety, filled with setbacks and steps forward, and how addiction prepared him for the wild ride of entrepreneurship. Chad’s story is a testament to the transformative power of self-awareness, determination, and choosing to be present for oneself and others.
Show Notes:
Listen to Scout Sobel’s “Here For Me” episode, Navigating Bipolar Disorder by Harnessing Emotions & Entrepreneurship
Learn more about Jake Cronenworth, San Diego Padres first baseman (#9)
-
Nicole: [00:00:03] Welcome to Here For Me, a podcast about the power of choosing yourself. I'm Nicole Christie, and I'm honored you're joining me for stories and conversations about life's disruptions, derailments, and transitions.
On this podcast, we talk about navigating challenges, walking through fire, and along the way, learning to show up for ourselves. Because, just as we say “I'm here for you” to show we care for someone, saying “I'm here for me” to ourselves is the best form of self-care.
Today I'm talking with Chad Bell, an entrepreneur, husband, father, and former teacher who battled drug abuse for nearly 15 years. Originally from Columbus, Ohio, Chad spent his twenties in the throes of addiction, selling drugs, getting arrested, living in multiple cities with multiple attempts at sobriety. In his early thirties, he got sober for good, finished college, became a teacher, then earned his MBA and started his first company.
Along his path to sobriety, Chad discovered the art of coffee, and when he and his family moved to San Diego in 2014, Chad saw an opportunity to bring artisanal coffee to the city. The following year he founded Achilles Coffee, a specialty roaster and rapidly growing family of cafes. We'll talk with Chad about his journey and how addiction prepared him to navigate the wild ride of entrepreneurship, pandemics, and parenting.
Chad, welcome to Here For Me.
Chad: [00:01:40] Thank you. It's good to be here.
Nicole: [00:01:42] So glad to have you here. I'm glad we're having this conversation because I have been an Achilles fangirl since I moved to San Diego in 2019, and we've chatted here and there when I've come into the shops.
But I only recently learned about your battle with addiction, and it's an intense one, it's a winding one, so we're going to get into that. And then to go from that to where you are now, running a successful business loved by San Diegans, multiple locations. You're roasting, you have a beautiful family. It's honestly a heroic journey. Or if I can borrow the Achilles mascot, it's a warrior journey. So kudos to you for being a warrior. And thank you for coming on to share your story.
Chad: [00:02:27] Thanks for having me.
Nicole: [00:02:28] So I want to start at the beginning because I'm in listeners' heads right now after hearing your intro and I know they are wondering, how did you start using drugs and what do you think led you down that path?
Chad: [00:02:41] One of the things when I start talking about the past and my addiction, it is such a huge chasm between where I am now and and that person. So I frequently just drop these random stories to my wife and they pop up, Oh yeah, this is what I used to do. And she still is like, I can't believe it. I mean, that person that I was then and now is like night and day, and hopefully my wife and my kids never get to know that person.
So, I go to 12-step meetings still regularly. So I always say, whenever I'm sharing my story, that my dad smoked and he drank. So naturally, I did what my dad did. I say, you know, if he were out with a baseball practicing in the batting cage or shooting hoops or something, that's what I would have done because I want to do what my dad does.
So naturally there were cigarettes around and beer in the fridge. So I started smoking. I started drinking in grade school. I don't know exactly when, interesting about the age that my son is now, he's 10. I remember saying to him just the other day in the car, I started smoking when I was about 10.
I don't know if I was inhaling, but I was getting the cigarettes out. I was lighting them and I was at least trying to do what I saw other people doing. And I drank some beer about that age, tasted terrible, I didn't like it. But that's how it started.
It was around, so I didn't have to go and, and seek it out. And there was a full liquor bar at our house, and when I discovered that, then it was over at that point.
Nicole: [00:04:12] How old were you when you discovered the liquor bar?
Chad: [00:04:14] I think the first time I actually really hit the liquor and got drunk and felt it, I was about 11. I still remember it, clear Bacardi rum, and I blacked out, threw up. My mom came down, I had a friend over, and she was like, what's going on down here?
And I remember we had a fireplace and there was like, the fireplace poker and shovel, and I was trying to clean up the vomit and get it into the trash can.
That's how it started. And it basically continued like that for another, probably 12 or 13 years, I think. I was 25 or 26 when I first kind of really got sober, and that was it. And it just progressed, and I just thought I was partying and having a good time.
You know, there were many interventions along the way. I was expelled from school and I saw an alcohol and drug counselor at school, and I went to a psychologist for a little while. So yeah, there was definitely lots of interventions, courts, probation along the way. But I was just having a good time hanging out with my friends.
Nicole: [00:05:16] That's how it started. It was like a slippery slope from the Bacardi incident.
What was it about that that you just continued to do it? Like, you were just like, it felt good, it numbed you out. I'm curious.
Chad: [00:05:28] It felt good. You know, I like the effect that it produced, and I chased that and then kept chasing it more and more and more. Now I know, and I believe I subscribed, that I have an allergy, somewhat of an allergy to it.
So I didn't know then that I actually didn't have the ability to stop and to stay stopped. I didn't know. So the compulsion, the thought would arise, oh, I want to get high, I want to drink or whatever it may be.
I thought it was voluntary. I thought I was operating under my own will, you know. Oh, I want to do this. I want to go hang out with my friends. I want to party. I didn't know that I was not able to, even at that early age, to stop. The train already left the station and it was not going to stop.
Nicole: [00:06:15] How did it transition from the Bacardi party? Sliding into drugs, because I know it's been a winding path, starts with alcohol, and then you get into other things. Talk about that trajectory and how you got into ultimately hard drugs.
Chad: [00:06:32] I mean, it's just like somebody introduced to something. I start smoking weed and then somebody had some pills, and I was like, oh, pills are so much easier. I don't stink. Nobody can smell it on my breath. It's faster. And it's just, you know, somebody has something new. For a while it was really like alcohol, smoking weed, dropping acid, taking mushrooms.
And then somebody was like, hey, you want to try some coke? So it's like, oh yeah, let me try. Let me try that. Oh that's good try. Um, mushrooms. And then it went into more pills. I liked Valium and Xanax with alcohol. That was good. And a little bit of weed. That was great.
One thing that I discovered is I liked mixing things. I like a good cocktail. And whether that started out with smoking weed. My original cocktail was alcohol, weed, and either mushrooms or LSD. That was the great combo for me when I was a teenager. And then ultimately it progressed into I liked mixing cocaine and heroin and maybe some pills, some Valium in there as well.
Nicole: [00:07:36] What is the effect of that on you? Right. Because you hear about like alcohol is a depressant or Xanax or something is going to bring you down from something or help with anxiety. Other things are going to give you tons of energy where you're like up for days.
So how did that work for you with the cocktails? What was it about the effect of that?
Chad: [00:07:53] Well, it's always a balancing act. It's like I remember I was probably 20 by the time I started injecting drugs and using coke. And it's like, okay, I'm really high. I got to go to work. I was delivering pizzas or something, and then I was like, well, I need a little bit of coke to get me through so I can get my tips.
And then it's always a balancing act. If I do too much, then I'm all strung out on the coke and I need something else to like. Bring me down, so some more heroin or Valium.
I heard somebody say once and I totally agree with them, I found a cure for my alcoholism, which was heroin. Because once I started using a lot of heroin, I didn't really want to drink alcohol anymore. I just wanted the drugs. It still was there because if I had nothing else, I would, I would drink.
But by the time I was 20, 21, for sure, it was just drugs. Unless I was trying to not use drugs, then I would turn to alcohol and try to be what I seem like a normal person who just went out and drank.
Nicole: [00:08:51] Were you able to do that?
Chad: [00:08:53] No, never. I tried all kinds of stuff.
I started going to detoxes and treatment centers somewhere at like 19. Probably started that. First one was I was 15, but that was because I was forced in.
But then I needed a break. So I would go into a detox and they had all kinds of things that were going to help me when I left not use again. There was like, you know, they still use some of the opiate blockers. And I was like, well, no, because if I do decide I want to use, I don't want it blocked. And then there was another one that was going to reduce my cravings for cocaine. So I would take that.
And then there was antabuse, you know, you drink it, you get sick. And I was like, no, I don't want to do that. Because if I do decide to drink, I don't want to get sick. But I was always trying something for a while. I was like, okay, I'm not going to use needles anymore. I'm just going to snort. Yeah, but that would last, you know, a week, maybe a day.
Nicole: [00:09:47] It's like bargaining with yourself, right? Like, if I don't do this or I do this and and you hear about addiction programs, which you're very familiar with, of not trying to give it all up at once. So how do you try to play this balancing act?
Chad: [00:09:58] I didn't know at the time I was really doing that. I didn't know, Oh, I'm bargaining with myself. Oh, I'm it just was like, oh, I'm going too hard here. Let's pull it back.
And I'm surrounded by people who are like, hey, man, that's a little too much. Why don't you just drink and, you know, sniff coke? Why do you got to do that?
And then other people, it's like, oh, it's much safer if you're going to use heroin and cocaine to use them together because they balance each other out. And I mean, this is what I'm around.
Nicole: [00:10:25] So I'm curious about your life, especially through your twenties. You were talking about multiple attempts to get clean, which started. It sounds like maybe when you're 15, the first attempt at a rehab program.
Chad: [00:10:34] But that was not voluntary. I came to school drunk and for the second time, as a requirement to be able to come back to school, I had to go to a treatment center for 30 days.
Nicole: [00:10:44] How long did that stick?
Chad: [00:10:45] It didn't. In fact, I was asked to leave the treatment center a couple of days early, because one of my friends in there had snuck in some weed, I think, in a shoe, and we had commandeered a phone from one of the adult rooms. So we were like calling our friends and smoking weed. And we got caught. So they're like, okay, you've already been here 28 days. There's no reason to stay another two, so let's go home.
So it didn't stick. I had no intention, no desire to. And it's funny because there were other kids that did. But for me, I didn't have any desire to.
Nicole: [00:11:17] You just were too much into the feeling of it?
Chad: [00:11:20] I didn't think I had a problem. I just said, I like the party. That's what I like to do. I'm just having fun. Yeah, you.
Nicole: [00:11:26] Yeah, you don't see it as anything. You feeling like you can control it, especially if you're like, Oh, I can do this and that, or I can do this and that. It feels like the illusion of control over something.
So talk about this winding journey. You're doing multiple drugs, selling drugs, getting arrested. You made multiple attempts to get clean. Ultimately, you did talk about that journey to sobriety.
Chad: [00:11:51] I do remember the day that I was like, okay, I want to stop. Which every once in a while would happen. Usually when the drugs were gone that's when it's like, okay, I want to get clean. And then maybe that would last for a day or two or weeks.
But I was in San Francisco and I had been going to do a methadone detox, the methadone clinic, I don't know if it's still there. It was on Geary and Van Ness area. So you go every morning and you get in line and you get your dose, and then you come back the next day. And it was like 15 or 20 of us waiting in line to get our dose. And I'm almost at the end of the dose. So I've been withdrawing and I'm like, okay, this is not what I want.
It was just one of those moments, you know, I just felt gross. And it was like one of those cold, foggy mornings in San Francisco. It's in the Tenderloin. I was like, I don't want to do this anymore.
It started from there and I ended up in a treatment center in Tampa, Florida. My parents were living in Florida, so I went to Tampa and went through a treatment center there. And then it kind of stuck.
I met a guy who I'm still friends with today, who came and picked me up from the rehab, took me to a 12-step meeting, and then I went to a sober living house, and it just started from there.
I felt better. It helped that I went from cold fog Tenderloin to like sunny Tampa, Florida.
So it was just like, oh wow, sobriety is great. The sun comes out like literally the weather's better. It's warmer as soon as you get sober and clean and sober. I was like, this is great.
About a year in, I went through the sober living, and then I got an apartment, and then started going to a community college and just learning how to live, not using drugs. But I was in the sober living house and I had no friends.
I'm in Tampa, I don't know anybody there, so I don't have any friends. All of my childhood friends and all of my party friends. They're all gone. Spread out. Some of them have died, in jail.
So I didn't have any friends, which I think for me was actually a good thing. Everybody I was associating with were trying to get clean and sober. Or I met them at community college and they weren't into drugs.
I was riding this beat up Huffy bicycle to work. Because you're in the sober living, you got to have a job. And the guy who ran the sober living house, I remember him joking and, there were two bikes. There was a nice bike, and then there was a beat up bike. And he was like, you get the beat up bike because I don't trust you.
If I give you the nice bike, you're gonna go sell it. And I don't know if I'd have done that, but there is some truth to that. All it takes is one bad day and it's like, oh yeah, I can get ten bucks for this and start all over again.
Nicole: [00:14:32] How old were you when you were in Tampa?
Chad: [00:14:34] I was 25.
Nicole: [00:14:35] So beyond that, was there a falling off of the wagon that happened?
Chad: [00:14:40] Yeah, but it was like, 5, 4 or 5 years later.
Nicole: [00:14:42] So you managed to stick with it and you were in community college working. What were you doing?
Chad: [00:14:46] So I mean, I did everything from like delivering appliances to I remember one of the guys in the sober living house said, Oh, I sell solar heating for pools. And it was cold calling. And so he got me a job. I showed up. That was awful. Hearing no, no, no, no, no. I literally did it for two hours and I said, Can you show me where the bathroom is? And I left. I never went back. I was like, this is horrible. I don't know how you do that. He didn't, it didn't bother him. I was like, I feel horrible about myself. This is terrible.
And then I worked at a restaurant as a server or a waiter. And then I worked in a kitchen and then I delivered pizzas and I delivered food.
I think I had 10 different jobs in two years. Partly because I'm 25, I've never really ever held a job. I don't know how to function like that. So I did end up getting a job delivering food, I think lasted like six or eight months and I told him I was going to leave and I'm moving. And so I was learning slowly how to act like a human being.
And then I got taken on a tangent because when I was at the community college, I met this girl from Brazil and she was only there visiting and then she went back to Brazil. We stayed in touch. So I ended up going to Brazil and then I ended up staying there for almost a year or more, a little bit with her. And then we stayed friends, but kind of went in different directions, but that totally changed the trajectory of everything.
And I stayed in Brazil and then I traveled through South America. I started to learn Spanish and I learned Portuguese, so I felt like I was starting to wake up. This is way better than what I was doing, and I always thought what I was doing was so exciting. But I'm standing in line at the methadone clinic. That's no fun.
So now I'm like, Wow, this is a lot of fun. I learned to surf when I was in Brazil. I got a surfboard and traveled around and met people and I was like, Okay, this is kind of living.
So that's momentum to continue down that path. And the whole time I'm still doing 12-step meetings. It's always been a part of my life.
And I was in Rio most of the time. And there were meetings there. And I got a job teaching English and then got my own students and I started working for somebody and most of my clients were downtown and they're professionals and a lot of them just want to sit around and speak English with somebody who's a native speaker.
They were like, they didn't want to learn any grammar. I put the grammar book away and they're like, just, let's talk. And then they would say, well, can I just pay you? So I was like, yeah. So then I had my own clients and I wasn't working for anybody.
Nicole: [00:17:28] Now entrepreneurship is happening. Here's your journey.
Chad: [00:17:30]. So again, I'm not a good employee. That guy was mad. I forget his name. Miguel. He's like, you took, you weren't supposed to do this. I told you, you know.
Things started opening up. I went back to San Francisco after that, and I was going to City College in San Francisco. I didn't know what I wanted to do. I was taking journalism classes and Spanish classes. I got a job driving a cab, and then there was a slip.
Now we're like 2001. And I think what started to happen is that I kind of flatlined and it's like, Oh, I'm just kind of going to the community college. I'm doing the same thing.
Nicole: [00:18:03] Yeah, it feels boring maybe?
Chad: [00:18:04] Yeah. I wasn't pushing myself. I wasn't challenging myself. It's like it comes easy.
And here's a sign that I'm not heading in the right direction. There's two tracks out of City College of San Francisco. It's San Francisco State or UC Berkeley. And I remember meeting with a counselor and she was like, Okay, one more semester and you can go to San Francisco State. Two more semesters and you can go to UC Berkeley.
And I was like, yeah, I'm going to take the easy way, and I'm going to go to San Francisco State. That's challenging. I was intimidated at the time. I was like, Berkeley was like this big thing. I didn't do well in high school. I didn't have good grades. And so that was like, that's not my people.
So that was the first sign that's like, Okay, I'm not challenging myself here. And then I did end up going to San Francisco State and continued to drive a taxi. And along the way people were like, why don't you go try to do something within whatever you're studying? I was studying Spanish and like, why don't you become a teacher?
Again, I stayed driving the cab. That was the safe, easy thing. I didn't want to give it up. There was a lot of freedom in it. And it's always complex. It's not just one thing.
But one day, my roommate, who was also sober and in recovery, had injured his ankle or his wrist or something, and he had been prescribed Vicodin. And I think he took it for like 1 or 2 days. So the prescription was in his room and I had a migraine.
So I asked, could I have some ibuprofen? He had some. He was like, it's in my drawer in my room. I went in, there was the Vicodin, there was the ibuprofen. So I chose the Vicodin. I was like, well, this is a no brainer. This is much better.
And that just triggered everything. I was using heroin again probably within weeks, months. And just right back to standing in that line in that very same methadone clinic almost five years later.
One of the counselors was still there at that methadone clinic. So I'm doing the intake again, and they keep records for a long time. It's like 2003 now. And she's like, you were here in ‘97. What are you doing back here?
I was like, I don't know, but this is not where I want to be.
So I started all over again. I got sober, rode my motorcycle down to Central America, and started living. Okay, this is why I quit using drugs. Because I'm alive now. Took my surfboard, put it on the side of my motorcycle, rode down there. Met friends, rode back.
Then it was like I got to do something different. I got to start challenging myself. Went to get a teaching credential, became a high school Spanish teacher. All these things I resisted. I didn't want to do that.
So in the back of my mind, since about that time, it was like I had something that motivates me, which is trying to reach my potential. And that only comes about if I'm challenging myself. I know when I'm challenging myself because I'm scared.
I'm like, I don't want to do this. This is scary. So as long as I'm doing that, I mean, obviously not to the point of I'm doing things that are paralyzing me in fear. But, you know, obviously, I know I'm on the right track. It's like, okay, this is scary. This is new, this is different. I don't really want to do this.
When I'm doing things I don't want to do, when I'm doing things that scare me, then I know I'm growing. I know that I'm challenging myself and that if I'm going to reach my potential, whatever that is, that's the only way to do it.
So I still use that today, 20 years later. I still think about things I'm doing that are going to scare me.
And next weekend I'm scared about this right now. So I'm like, I know I'm challenging myself because this is, this is big.
So my son Achilles, when he was five, he started training jiu-jitsu. He had done all kinds of things, race bikes, and we introduced him to a lot of things and he said, I want to fight. So he started training jiu-jitsu.
And, over the last like two and a half years, he started training a lot and competing and getting very good. So after watching him compete and train, a little over a year ago, I was like, okay, I'm here at the gym all the time, I'm going to start. So I started, I was just about to turn 50 and I started, which was scary.
Nicole: [00:22:22] Yeah, that’s totally scary.
Chad: [00:22:22] I never wrestled, I wasn't a wrestler. Like I've done triathlons and I cycle and run, but I've not done this before. Now, over a year later, I've still been training. And so, next weekend there's a tournament up in Anaheim.
So there's two other guys who are over 50 and they're beginners. It's a belt system. So the white belt’s the beginner. So I'm at the very end of that. And if I don't get injured, I keep training, I'll become a blue belt. So this is my opportunity to go compete as a beginner still.
But I'm nervous and I'm scared and I'm like, okay, that's not a reason not to do it. Who knows what happens? I may go out there and this guy may submit me in 10 seconds or you know, who knows?
And I want my son, I've been watching him do it now for like, two and a half years, and so now I did it kind of like, okay, I've pushed him to do it. I need to try it for myself. I'm capable of doing this so I can't push him to do it if I'm not willing to go try it myself. And the same thing with training.
There's been a few times like I quit. I can't do this. I keep getting injured. I'm 50, most of the guys are 20 years, 20 pounds heavier than me. So it's like, yeah, it's tough. And like, oh, I have to do is like go a little too hard and I injure myself. So there's been many times like, I can't do this, I'm going to quit. And I'm like ah..
Nicole: [00:23:39] But that's your sign that you're going in the right direction.
Chad: [00:23:42] Yes, I keep going because it's not like I'm breaking bones or anything. It's kind of like bruised ribs, pulled muscles. So it's not anything that's the doctor's like, you got to stop. This is dangerous for you. You're like, I'm not the last doctor I saw at urgent care, I've been a regular there now was like, oh, that's good. You should be doing new [00:24:00] things and challenging yourself. So good.
Nicole: [00:24:01] Yeah, it's a good thing to do at this point of life. Yeah.
Chad: [00:24:04] Just take care of yourself. And I can't at the same time encourage Achilles or, you know, put the pressure on him to continue to train and compete if I'm going to be like, well, I quit. It's too hard.
Nicole: [00:24:13] Especially talking about you growing up and seeing what your dad did. When you were talking about that earlier, that you want to do something for him, that you want to model that. So you're doing that.
And it's kind of that fear of, you know, sometimes, like if someone asked me to be the CFO of a company because I'm terrible with numbers, that's not the right fear, right?
That's like, Holy shit, I'm terrible. I'm going to sink this company. That's a fear of like, I don't want to do that, and I'm not qualified.
But the fear you're talking about is what I refer to as, like you're closing your eyes and going like this, like, oh, my God, I can't believe it's happening. Like, that's a good kind of fear to walk towards. And then that's how you know that you're continuing to challenge yourself in the right ways.
Chad: [00:24:48] Yeah. And in business, it happens all the time.
Nicole: [00:24:50] Let's talk about business. You moved here in 2014 with your wife, and Achilles was six months old. And you had found coffee in San Francisco, I think kind of along your sobriety path.
Chad: [00:25:03] Yeah. I mean, I was drinking lots of coffee, and then I discovered, like, real coffee.
Nicole: [00:25:08] Like artisanal, like good coffee. Is it Ritual in San Francisco?
Chad: [00:25:11] It was Ritual. And my first introduction was Blue Bottle. They were at the farmers market in Berkeley.
And at the time, it was too light of a roast for me. I was still like medium and dark roast, but I still wanted better coffee than you could get at Starbucks or whatever.
Nicole: [00:25:26] So you got into it. And you come here and you guys were living downtown and you're like, there's no great coffee down here.
Chad: [00:25:32] There wasn't. James Coffee had opened. And in fact, David, who's the owner of James, or one of the owners, I bought coffee from him when I very first started, and I had a cart. We were serving James Coffee and Revolution up in Leucadia. Yes. Yeah. So that's the coffee I was serving.
Nicole: [00:25:50] So you started Achilles as a cart downtown. And you tell the story about you were literally holding Achilles in your arms while you're making coffee, which I think is a great visual. But you weren't roasting yet.
So you've gone from a coffee cart with your son in your arms, buying coffee from other local roasters, to having your own roastery for locations about to open your fifth. Talk about that wild ride that I think you're really built for.
Chad: [00:26:15] It was just like the cart’s not enough, I want to do a little bit more. And I did buy a little roaster. My plan was I'm going to roast small amounts and I'm going to start serving it to customers, get some feedback from it. So it went well. People liked the coffee.
And then I just, augmenting what I had with my own roasting. And I bought a little larger roaster. I was just talking to my wife about this when I first started roasting. I rented a garage in Clairemont and roasted in somebody's garage.
Nicole: [00:26:41] Hey, that's scrappy entrepreneurship.
Chad: [00:26:44] Like, they had no idea what I was doing. I think when I said I was coming to roast coffee, maybe they thought I was just going to use a little burner and like, I don't know. Now it just seems crazy because, you know, there's a lot of smoke.
And it was only a four-pound roaster, but it would take me like four or five hours. I'd roast all my coffee for the cart, the espresso, and the cold brew and what we use for pour-over. And that's where it started. Then we opened one in Cortez Hill, and I was still roasting in the garage when we started there, but then I was able to move the roaster into that location and start roasting there, which felt like, I've arrived now.
Nicole: [00:27:21] And you source your beans now from South America, Central America. It's sort of interesting. Your life foreshadowed that, by the way, you being in Brazil and Rio and Central America.
Chad: [00:27:31] Yeah. So yeah, we have Central American, South American and African coffees. And actually I'm going to take Achilles to one of the farms that we buy from. It's a father and son that run the farm. And the son actually went to San Diego State, moved here from Costa Rica probably ten years ago, 15 years ago, and then went back to Costa Rica.
But I'm going to take Achilles to Costa Rica. We're going to visit the farm, and then Achilles and I are just going to travel around Costa Rica afterwards. It's my goal to try to do as much direct trade and develop relationships with people we're buying the coffee from as best as I can. It's hard. I mean, I have a family. I, you know, I'm very envious. I get on Instagram and I see some of these roasters, they're on sourcing trips all the time, but that's just not my life.
But doesn't mean that we can't do some of it. And most of the coffee that we buy from Mexico and Central America, I've met a lot of them because they come up here and it's reasonable to think that we're going to eventually meet them down at their farm.
Nicole: [00:28:24] I'm curious the expansion, because I discovered you at the B Street location downtown, and then I actually lived in Park 12, your third, and now you're in the Gaslamp, Solana, and Carmel Valley, where your fifth one.
So talk about your expansion strategy. Like what drives that?
Chad: [00:28:41] Economics for one, I wasn't going to be able to survive on one coffee shop. There may be a lot of people out there that you walk into a coffee shop, you see a long line, you're like, oh man, they're killing it. I'm getting into this business.
It's a tough business. It's a restaurant business. It's not full restaurant because if you're not selling food, then you're just dependent on liquids. Which coffee is a good [00:29:00] liquid to be selling, but it is a tough business.
I've seen in the time that I've been in business, seen people come and go and it's tough. And 1% of what I do is coffee, 99% is marketing, it's HR, it's accounting, it's finance, it's strategy. It's fixing things that break and like, you know, people calling off and scheduling and operations.
And now my wife has come into the business and we've partnered up. So I have more time to actually spend in coffee. I do more roasting now and sourcing. But it's not about coffee. It's running a business. And that's our product.
One thing I don't like about it is that it takes me away from why I got into it in the first place, but it's a business, so that's what drove me. It's like one is not enough.
I was still running a web design business out of San Francisco when I first started, and we got hacked and somebody stole the domain, so it totally went down. I was like, all my leads dried up. So I was like, okay, now I have to do coffee.
I ended up getting that domain back. They wanted to be paid in crypto and I was like, no, keep it, I've got another business. So eventually I had to buy it back from auction and then was able to keep the business going again and end up selling it because it generated a lot of leads. It ranked like number one search for web design San Francisco. We were like, number one. I sold it on that value.
So that was sustaining me for the first coffee shop. But if all I had was the coffee shop, I probably would have gone out of business because I'm like, I can't pay the rent. So I was like, okay, I need another one because I see the numbers we're doing here. If we had three or four of these, then this could work.
And I realized the things that make it more challenging as you grow also make it easier to manage. So it's like, oh, if somebody calls off at this store, well, I have extra team at this store. I could send them up the hill.
They call it economies of scale. And I was like, okay, we have to keep growing. And so that's why we opened up Park and then we ended up Gaslamp and Solana and now Carmel Valley. And I'm competitive and I want to grow. I want to challenge myself. And there's been many nights, like when I got the SBA loan and signed the lease at Park 12, I was like, what did I just do? Yeah, oh my God.
Nicole: [00:31:11] Yeah. I’m not sleeping for a couple nights. Several.
Chad: [00:31:14] Yeah, this is the biggest mistake of my life. What am I doing? And I didn't have that feeling with the Gaslamp Store and with the Solana Beach store. It just seemed more natural. Not that there were other reasons to lose sleep over. Then the pandemic hit and we were signing leases and and trying to grow. And I was like, I knew it wasn't going to last forever. So I was like, okay.
When we negotiated the lease at Gaslamp, it was like, total shutdown. And one of the guys in there was like, you got some balls. And I was like, yeah, it's scary. But I thought to myself, this isn't going to last forever. So I'm going to be an optimist here and gamble on this and say that, like in a couple of years, this will all be behind us.
Nicole: [00:31:53] And you were right. That was a gamble worth taking.
Chad: [00:31:55] I'm more of a long term optimist. Short term, I'm a pessimist. Tomorrow. I'm gonna go bankrupt, but I still will take the steps to grow down the line because I'm more optimistic about things in the far future than I am kind of like right now.
Nicole: [00:32:15] You and I talked a little bit about this earlier and also I talked with Scout Sobel on the last season who is an entrepreneur as well and has battled bipolar her whole life. But, you know, I feel like something like bipolar, in your case addiction, the roller coaster ride of that, I feel suits people for entrepreneurship and especially when you're faced with all these challenges like a pandemic.
Do you feel that way when you talk about needing to challenge yourself? Does that help you stay on track?
Chad: [00:32:42] Yeah, I don't know if that was you that I was telling the story when the pandemic hit. I was like, I'm right at home. I was on the phone with people that were panicking, it's the end of the world.
And I was like, ah, I, I remember living in this like and way more intense consequences of what we were doing. And, I don't want to say it was easy, but I really was able to stay calm. And I was like, yeah, we'll get through this. I mean, I was doing almost everything during that time. I had the van, I was shopping.
Nicole: [00:33:15] I remember seeing you running around because I was living in Park 12.
Chad: [00:33:18] I mean, I literally was working the register because people wouldn't show up. And I was doing shopping, and I was doing everything at that point, and it kept me busy, and it kept me from panicking and staying home. And just like doom and gloom.
Nicole: [00:33:32] It's something for you to do to like, keep it afloat through the whole thing.
So you're also doing some cool things on the roasting side, which I want to talk about.
And by the way, if anyone is in San Diego or visits San Diego, I need to talk about the pour-over situation at Achilles is incredible. It's, I think it's still very unique. I don't go to many places that do it. It's so incredibly good. So I'm just going to give some shout-outs here. The food is amazing. The Hillcrest sandwich on the pretzel bun, the fig jam. I'm having all sorts of dreams.
But you're doing some cool things on the roasting side. And one thing that's really cool is you have your new #9 Blend, which is, the #9 roast for folks who aren't based in San Diego is #9 himself, San Diego Padres All-Star infielder Jake Cronenworth, who is a friend of Achilles.
And I'm going to tell you, I was a little bit suspicious because I'm not much of a lighter roast person. You were talking about that earlier. I'm still getting more into that. So I was like, I don't know if I'm gonna love it. I absolutely loved it. It's such a complex and incredible flavor.
Chad: [00:34:31] So, Jake picked that one. Like, I just put some things together that I thought he would like, and a lot of them, he was like, no, no, no, no, no. And this one, he was like, yes. Good.
Nicole: [00:34:38] So talk about how that partnership came together.
Chad: [00:34:42] Well, he was a regular. Three years ago he was relatively, I wouldn't say unknown, but he didn't have the recognition at that time. I think Hosmer was in the building and like obviously Tatis. So they couldn't even show up.
But Jake could still come in. He'd always have his hat on. He'd come in on his scooter and I didn't know who he was. And then Ceci said, oh yeah, that's Jake, plays for the Padres. Oh okay. All right. And I'd see him almost every single day because I would be there working.
So we've been doing it now for a couple of years. And he's just an easy dude to work with. He's super cool and chill. And all his baseball success aside, it feels like just working with a regular dude who wants to help us at the same time. And after that game with the Dodgers, that, like, really put him out there, the next day I saw him at Gaslamp and like, his hat was down over his face and he was literally sitting waiting for his coffee like this.
Nicole: [00:35:38] He's like, I can't deal with it. I can't even imagine.
Chad: [00:35:40] Yeah. So, and that just changed everything. And then it also didn't hurt to have on the side of Petco, the giant size, you know, Jake Cronenworth shot. So yeah, he's a cool dude.
So I was trying to think, what can we do? You know, I don't want to just take pictures of him drinking coffee, right? That's just boring. And, um, it felt forced. That's not who I am. So that came up and we had some shirts created, and he was doing some signing with the shirts, and we were giving those away on Instagram. So it's been a lot of fun.
Nicole: [00:36:09] It's really cool. I was looking at the tasting notes because I have the beans of like sweetened condensed milk. It's like tamarind, concord grape. I was like, I got yeah, there's something about it, so kudos. It's awesome. He seems like a really genuine person. And so to hear that that is true is...
Chad: [00:36:24] I'm glad you're coming over to the light roast side of things.
Nicole: [00:36:27] I'm getting there. I know I'm moving away from the Papua New Guinea.
Chad: [00:36:30] I don't drink dark roast anymore. I used to, but now it's mostly light and medium. You know, I do all the roasting, so I roast on what I think tastes good and what I like.
Nicole: [00:36:39] What's your favorite of all the ones you have now? And people, you can buy online, we'll put all this in the show notes.
Chad: [00:36:43] Well, we have an Ethiopian coffee that I love, that's what I'm drinking at home. But we have a Zambia, a new Colombian coffee.
One of the things I'm trying to do is we're going to introduce something new every month or two, make sure we work through it, roast it, send a sample off to Coffee Review, let them score it so that we can get a little bit more rotation in the coffee. Because there's the usual suspects that we keep on the menu all the time, and these that I'm bringing in, the Zambia and the Columbia. We just did a Costa Rican coffee from the farm that we're going to.
Nicole: [00:37:14] You're going to go to with Achilles. That’s very cool.
Chad: [00:37:15] And we didn't serve those as pour-over. It's just whole bean sales on the website and on the shelf at the stores.
Nicole: [00:37:22] Constant expansion and challenge.
So as we wrap this conversation, reflecting on everything you've shared and everything you've been through, which has been a huge ride with a lot of chapters, what is the most important thing you've learned about being here for yourself?
Chad: [00:37:41] That I can be there for my kids and my wife. I think that's the most important thing. I mean, you know, I'd always hear people talk about that the kids become their whole reason for being. And now I have, being a parent, I know it.
But it starts with me. If I'm not right, then I can't be right for them. That's a lot of motivation too, to make sure that I'm there for my kids because I didn't have that. So that's extra motivation, especially my relationship with my son, to make sure that I'm there for him. So without question, that's what I've learned.
Nicole: [00:38:14] That's your why.
Chad: [00:38:14] Yeah.
Nicole: [00:38:15] I love that.
Chad, thank you so much for this conversation, for being candid about it and owning it. And I love that you're still going to meetings and telling your story and helping other people heal.
And thank you for bringing what I personally believe is the best coffee in San Diego, and a very cool space just going to the different locations. You've also created a really great culture and the people there feel like family to me as a customer, so I can only imagine what they mean to you.
Chad: [00:38:44] Thank you.
Nicole: [00:38:49] Chad Bell's story isn't just one of resilience, of overcoming. It's a story of transmuting darkness into light. Of digging deep into oneself to understand what has us in its grip and why.
Chad could easily have succumbed to addiction for a lifetime, continuing to believe he had control over it, and that he liked how it made him feel. Or convincing himself an essential allergy to it meant he had no control at all.
Instead, he changed the narrative. Rather than believing there was no hope, he found a path forward, turning what had been a liability into an opportunity, into an asset.
He recognized he's at risk when he's comfortable in life, when he's not challenging himself and trying to reach his potential. And he identified a feeling that helps him know when he is doing that: fear.
When something feels new, different and scary, he knows he's on the right track. He knows to lean into it rather than resist it. This relentless pursuit of growth has not only led to a successful business, a loving family, and personal achievements, it makes him feel alive in a way he once found through substances.
But we live in a culture that's conditioned us to believe fear is bad, that it's a sign of impending danger, that we should stop and turn around because we're going the wrong way. Yet, I believe one of life's greatest lessons is learning to distinguish the type of fear that tells us to keep out from the one that tells us to keep going.
As Chad and I discussed, it's when you know something is right for you, but you can't believe it's happening. When you squeeze your eyes shut and inch forward, one baby step at a time.
Most recently, Chad has felt this in jiu-jitsu fighting. It's an interesting metaphor as maybe it's not fear we feel when we reach for our highest potential, but the feeling that accompanies fighting for ourselves. For what we're meant to do. Who we’re meant to be. How we're meant to be seen and accepted and celebrated. Something we all desire but that's uncomfortable and that we struggle to receive.
Addictions of all sorts—to substances, shopping, perfectionism, love—distract us from that pursuit, numbing that fight in favor of temporary highs that feel good but keep us out of alignment.
Chad's story is a testament to the power of examining why we get in our own way, and figuring out how to make that work for us instead of against us.
It's a testament to the power of discovering not only why we are who we are, but why we're here. To be right for the people we love, to contribute to the world through our gifts, and most of all, to show up as ourselves, to be seen, accepted, and celebrated and receive that without a fight.
Here For Me is produced by Lens Group Media in association with Tulla Productions. As is often said, it takes a village to make this podcast, and my deepest gratitude goes out to every person in that village: our producers Dave Nelson and Stacy Harris, our audio editor, JD Delgado, designer and illustrator Amy Senftleben, and our production assistant, Sarah Carefoot. If you enjoyed this episode, I'd love it if you'd follow the show, rate, review, and share it with people you love. You can also follow me on Instagram at nicolejchristie. Until next time, thank you so much for listening—here's to you being here for you and to the power of choosing yourself.