Philip Speer is the Chef and Owner of Comedor, an award-winning Mexican restaurant in downtown Austin. Starting his culinary career at 17 as a baker, Philip moved swiftly into esteemed Pastry Chef positions at Austin’s most innovative restaurants.

After struggling through years of addiction, Philip made a profound recovery, finding a renewed motivation by changing his life habits to focus on running, healthy eating, sobriety, and honest dialogue in the restaurant community.

Philip now works as a change advocate in the culinary sphere, offering resources and opportunities for peers and employees to engage in a healthier lifestyle. Philip heads the Austin chapter of Ben’s Friends, a coalition of sober Food and Beverage professionals who share tools for recovery.  In 2019, Philip founded the Comedor Run Club with a mission to “shift the post-shift culture” and offer an urban running community tailored to restaurant professionals looking for a change.

During the start of the global pandemic, Philip and his team launched Assembly, a meal kit company with a list of clients in the Forbes Top 10.

While expanding the opportunities for Chefs and Bartenders to reach customers across the country, Assembly and Comedor have committed to sourcing ingredients from Central Texas farmers committed to sustainable farming practices.

Though you can find Philip in copies of every culinary publication through the years, he is now most excited to see each face that shows up for themselves to utilize one of the many opportunities for change he offers his community.

Instagram: @philipspeer
Website: www.chefphilipspeer.com
Support + Follow The Creative Sober - Hosted by Missing Mei
Produced by: Joel Swift and Missing Mei

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The Creative Sober Podcast is shared conversations with artists, musicians, authors and creatives alike from all walks of life who continue to create sober.

Hosted by Missing Mei

Mei McIntosh, aka Missing Mei, is the founder of The Creative Sober, where creatives have an opportunity to connect with other like-minded people who are navigating sobriety, health, and spiritual awareness through highlighted stories, art, music, and creative expression.

Mei's recovery journey consists of being sober for four years and ten months and relapsing for 2 1/2 years before getting sober again on July 1, 2019. She was born and raised in Honolulu, Hawaii.

With a background in technology, design, and the service industry, she always wanted to be an artist. Mei found this through her draw to technical theater and eventually became a DJ. It didn't take long to establish a name for herself and submerged into the party life. That all came to a halt when she decided to become clean and sober right before performing at her last show in San Francisco.

Mei stayed sober for almost five years. She decided to start drinking again the same year she lost her best friend to a sudden car accident, experienced two car accidents herself, diagnosed with having severe anxiety, depression and preparing to have surgery to remove cancer cells. It's been six years since she relapsed and came back to sobriety.

Mei's life now is dedicated to healing past traumas in her life, spiritual growth, and creating a safe space for community and connection through conscious intention guided by intuition and heart. You can find her podcasting on The Creative Sober, creating content, and DJing when it feels good.
She believes that the opposite of addiction is connection.

* Listen or read more on Mei in the links below.