In 2019, Scott Stapp credited his family with playing a crucial role in helping him achieve sobriety after years of struggling with alcohol, Xanax, and Percocet abuse.
“My wife and my kids were instrumental in helping me get sober,” he told Meltdown of Detroit’s WRIF radio. “It got to the point where it was either get sober or lose my family, and that was rock bottom for me. It doesn’t get lower than that. They were a big part of my recovery.”
Stapp acknowledged that the rock-and-roll lifestyle was a major factor in leading him down the wrong path. “I had so much in front of me, but being naïve, I didn’t know how to handle it. It just took over,” he explained. “Around the same time, I had my first experience with depression. When you combine that with self-medicating—alcohol and whatever else—it’s a recipe for disaster. It took years to understand what was really happening. I had to get to the other side of it. And it’s such a relief to be on the other side of what was a wild ride.”
In a recent interview with Stereogum, the CREED frontman, who has been open about his struggles with addiction, was asked if maintaining sobriety was challenging while performing on the band’s two sold-out “Summer of ’99” cruises earlier this year. Stapp responded: “No, not at all. I create my own world, my own environment. I had a massive 5,000-square-foot cabin, and I brought my sponsor along—not because I was worried about drinking, but because he’s a friend. I also had a few close friends with me. That’s how I handle it—I build my own sober environment.”
He went on to say: “At this point in my life, drinking just isn’t an option. That’s my mindset. I have reminders on my phone that keep me on track throughout the day, and I stay in touch with my sponsor. I also make sure to surround myself with others who are focused on sobriety. Because of that, I’ve only had two or three slips in the last 10 years, which is huge progress from where I used to be. I’m hoping that in the next 10 years, there’ll be no slips at all.”
