Living on the streets of Boston in the throes of active addiction, Tiffany Foster woke up one morning and leaned over to shake the man sleeping next to her. 

He didn’t move. She thought he was dead. He wasn’t. But the moment changed her. She realized then: “I don’t want to die.”

Now, over a decade into recovery, her life couldn’t be more different. 

Foster is part of The Phoenix, a national sober active community where people come together to support one another on their recovery journeys. Starting as a single gym in Colorado, The Phoenix has grown nationwide and helped over 700,000 individuals impacted by the addiction crisis.

Community activities include weightlifting, art classes, mountain biking, hiking, and live-streamed sober hangouts. The results speak for themselves — an incredible 8 out of 10 members maintain their sobriety. 

Foster’s activity of choice is CrossFit. This year she will compete in an elite international CrossFit competition — only 40 people worldwide have qualified to compete. 

But first, she spent an afternoon sharing her story with Beast Philanthropy — Jimmy Donaldson’s (aka MrBeast’s) charitable organization. As online media’s leading philanthropist, MrBeast uses his platform to inspire kindness and drive positive change among his 347 million subscribers. 

Beast Philanthropy and Stand Together share a core belief: Every person has the potential to rise above their challenges and achieve extraordinary things, which is why they’ve joined forces to shine the spotlight on The Phoenix and amplify its life-changing impact. 

The takeaway from Foster’s transformation? 

“You can feel like this without using drugs,” she said. “That same feeling that I chased for so many years has been right here.”

Addiction hits close to home for everyone — so can recovery

The cause couldn’t be more urgent. Substance addiction continues to be one of the most dangerous and least understood disorders in the United States. According to the CDC, over 105,000 people died of overdoses in 2023. 

“Over 48.7 million Americans are living with substance use disorder, and millions more are directly and indirectly impacted,” said MrBeast. “Someone close to home offered to give us a more personal perspective on addiction.” 

Beast Philanthropy’s chief creative officer, Dan Mace, has been in recovery from alcohol addiction for 11 years. 

When he and Darren Margolis, Beast Philanthropy’s executive director, first heard about The Phoenix and its remarkable success rate, Mace wasn’t so sure. 

“To be honest, before we came here, I said to Darren, ‘I don’t know how to feel about this,’” he said. 

“The hardest part is remaining clean — having to constantly remind oneself,” said Mace. “Life can look so great from the outside, but it’s a daily struggle.” 

Even MrBeast found The Phoenix hard to believe — until he spoke with Scott Strode. 

“Scott started The Phoenix as a result of his past struggles with alcohol and substance abuse,” said MrBeast. “His experience of turning his life around was sparked from converting his bad weekend habits into a healthy active lifestyle surrounded by like-minded people.” 

“My own addiction story started from the environment I grew up in,” said Strode. The Phoenix is a supportive community full of confidence-building activities that help members view themselves with hope and compassion. 

“Through sober events and activities, members bond over who they want to become — strong in mind and body,” said MrBeast. 

But the need is so great, Strode knew he needed to innovate not just his recovery methods but also his business model. 

“We realized we couldn’t get to enough people that needed support, and so we opened up the chance for folks to volunteer to start Phoenix [chapters in their community],” he said. “That’s when we really grew to scale.” 

The Phoenix has programming in 48 states and a mobile app that reaches even more people. 

“Maybe it is a way in which recovery can work,” said Mace. “That’s a beautiful thing.”

‘I claimed my name back’ 

A key difference between The Phoenix and other recovery programs is pride. Members proudly wear ‘sober’ shirts to openly share the tremendous challenges they’ve overcome.

As Strode has explained, “If we don’t put addiction out there, then it’s going to stay in that shame space, and that’s going to perpetuate it and keep it in the dark where it thrives.” 

This was a critical distinction for Jessica, who sought out The Phoenix after surviving an overdose. In other treatment programs, addiction was framed with shame, and individuals with substance use disorder were told to always identify as addicts.

“I had been in treatment for so long, and I always had to say, ‘Jessica, I’m an addict. Jessica, I’m an addict. Jessica, I’m an addict,’” she said. “I felt that I would always have to be known as that. I know what I did. I’ll never forget my past, but I don’t always have to be known for that either, and The Phoenix gave me that back. I claimed my name back.”

She and Foster now volunteer at The Phoenix so they can support others on their journeys.

“We have an ethos here at The Phoenix,” said Strode. “We’re here to lift each other up.”

“It is through volunteers like Jessica and Tiffany that The Phoenix has reached and helped hundreds of thousands of people in their recovery, through facilitating an environment built around fitness, love, and community,” said MrBeast.

Mace, who still struggles with being alone, loved the community he felt at The Phoenix. 

“All these people from all these different walks of life, all share one common problem,” he said. “And they get to help each other out with that problem every single day.”

An opportunity to be part of the solution

A visit from Beast Philanthropy is never without a few surprises, and this one is extra special. This time, MrBeast invited viewers to join in and help with the support.

For every “Together we rise” comment on MrBeast’s video about The Phoenix, Beast Philanthropy will donate $1 to the program. Along with Stand Together, it will also match donations 2-to-1 up to $200,000 and contribute $50,000 to the app to help The Phoenix reach more people worldwide.

It’s a gift that enables all of us to be part of the solution.

MrBeast and the Beast Philanthropy team didn’t stop there. Inspired, they decided to give Foster some direct support. 

“We were so moved by her unwavering determination to support those around her that we felt we needed to do the same for her,” said MrBeast. 

Foster’s upcoming CrossFit competition comes with significant costs, but Beast Philanthropy has stepped in to cover them all.

“That’s gonna be huge,” said Foster. 

Finally, MrBeast signed off with a call to action: “If you’re struggling with addiction or know someone that is, please download The Phoenix app so that they can help you on your road to sobriety.”

The Phoenix is supported by Stand Together Foundation, which empowers individuals to reach their full potential through community-driven change.

Learn more about Stand Together’s efforts to build strong and safe communities and explore ways you can partner with us.