A woman with red hair sitting in a chair near windows and white brick walls, wearing a sweater with orange fruit print, smiling and looking relaxed.

The Real A$$ Word

Hosted by Ali, founder of TheCheekyClean, a wellness brand championing intentional living, RAW dives into the meaningful journey of detoxing your mind, body and spirit.

A juicy little podcast for conscious living in a toxic world.

Resources & Show Notes

The Other Side of Addiction: How Families Heal From Loving Someone in Recovery
Mind / Personal Growth alison Thacker Mind / Personal Growth alison Thacker

The Other Side of Addiction: How Families Heal From Loving Someone in Recovery

Addiction doesn't happen to one person — it happens to everyone who loves them. In this deeply honest conversation, Alison sits down with Marisa Barber, author of The Other Side of Addiction and a Senior Manager of Patient Support Services in telehealth addiction treatment, to explore the grief, shame, and silent suffering that families carry. If you've ever loved someone through addiction, this episode will remind you that you don't have to navigate it alone.

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Live at THRIVE: Root Cause Health, Clean Beauty & Low-Tox Living — Women's Wellness in Cleveland
Body / Wellness, Mind / Personal Growth alison Thacker Body / Wellness, Mind / Personal Growth alison Thacker

Live at THRIVE: Root Cause Health, Clean Beauty & Low-Tox Living — Women's Wellness in Cleveland

RAW went live at THRIVE: A Women's Wellness Experience — and the energy in the room was proof that something is shifting in how women approach health. In four rapid-fire conversations, Ali sat down with Jen Kanaba of Root Cause Integrative Wellness, Jamie Kowit of NISH Body Care and Manifest Manicures, cancer survivor and advocate Denise Nicolay, and Rachel Kovach of Mindful Mercantile. From root cause medicine and chemotherapy support to non-toxic nail care and plastic-free refilleries, this episode covers the full spectrum of low-tox, community-driven wellness — Cleveland-style.

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Healing Through Movement: Gia Rossi on Grief, Strength Training & Building Energi Studios
Body / Wellness, Mind / Personal Growth alison Thacker Body / Wellness, Mind / Personal Growth alison Thacker

Healing Through Movement: Gia Rossi on Grief, Strength Training & Building Energi Studios

What if working out had nothing to do with how your body looks — and everything to do with how it heals? Gia Rossi, founder of Energi Studios in Cleveland's Ohio City, knows this firsthand. After losing both of her parents and navigating the shadow of her mother's eating disorder, Gia found her way back to herself through movement — and built a studio to help others do the same. In this episode, she and Ali talk grief, strength, body image, and what it really means to build something rooted in purpose.

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Hard Launch: Love, Healing & TheCheekyClean Lifestyle Detox Course

Hard Launch: Love, Healing & TheCheekyClean Lifestyle Detox Course

In this vulnerable solo episode, Alison Hite steps into a new chapter — hard launching both her relationship with functional medicine doctor Dr. Jeremy Watson and the highly anticipated TheCheekyClean Lifestyle Detox Course. Ali explores why fear is often the doorway to transformation, and why detox isn't about restriction — it's about reclaiming the version of you your body was designed to be.

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When You Change Yourself, You Change the World ft. Tony Kost on Sobriety, Recovery & Self-Love

When You Change Yourself, You Change the World ft. Tony Kost on Sobriety, Recovery & Self-Love

Nearly 10 years sober, Cleveland hospitality leader and community advocate Tony Kost is sharing the story most people in his position keep private. In this episode, Tony and Alison Hite talk honestly about addiction, rock bottom, shame, relapse, therapy, community, and what it actually means to rebuild a life from the inside out. This is a conversation for anyone questioning their relationship with alcohol — or who simply wants to live more authentically.

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The Reality of Adoption: Foster Care, Infertility & Motherhood ft. Becca Gordon

The Reality of Adoption: Foster Care, Infertility & Motherhood ft. Becca Gordon

Most people know someone touched by adoption or foster care — but very few know what the process actually looks like from the inside. In this episode, entrepreneur and salon owner Becca Gordon shares the unfiltered reality of her journey through infertility, private adoption, foster care, failed placements, and ultimately adopting twin daughters — 600 days from placement to adoption day. This is the honest conversation most people never get to hear.

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Letting Go Creates Expansion: What Surrender, Alignment, and Identity Shifts Actually Look Like

Letting Go Creates Expansion: What Surrender, Alignment, and Identity Shifts Actually Look Like

In this solo episode, Alison Hite gets radically honest about the internal shifts redefining her path — in business, health, and life. From releasing control patterns rooted in childhood, to stepping fully into entrepreneurship, to pursuing her Integrative Health Practitioner certification — this is a conversation about surrender, alignment, and becoming the version of yourself the life you want actually requires.

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