We were lucky to catch up with Ryan Whittaker recently and have shared our conversation below.

Ryan , appreciate you joining us today. One of the most important things small businesses can do, in our view, is to serve underserved communities that are ignored by giant corporations who often are just creating mass-market, one-size-fits-all solutions. Talk to us about how you serve an underserved community.

People need help now, like never before.

Have you recently looked at how much it costs to rent a 1 bedroom apartment in America?! Let alone, buy a house..

Currently, the US housing and rental market is at an all time high and is the number one barrier for people getting themselves off the street or out of their cars (that they live in!).

Sober Water’s Mission: End Plastic. Help People.

We are contributing a huge percentage of profits to housing the unhoused and newly sober. We started selling our Natural Spring Water and Carbonated Water in 2024 and we have decided to not only open up our company to shareholders, but to anyone who wants to help and you can be that person while we continue to build our water company. Our task is big but we are not doing it alone.

Our first goal: building a rehabilitation center and renovating or building three sober living homes. We have 40 acres in South Central Colorado devoted to this initial goal.

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) today released its 2024 Annual Homelessness Assessment Report (AHAR) Part 1 to Congress, revealing an 18.1 percent increase in homelessness across the nation. The biggest driver of the crisis is the widespread lack of affordable housing. In 2024, median rent was 18 percent higher than it was in 2020, and the National Low Income Housing Coalition estimates there is a shortage of 7.3 million units of affordable and available rental homes in the country. One of the most harrowing data points from the report is that family homelessness rose by 39.4 percent. This is unacceptable and continues to demonstrate that the needs of the most vulnerable are not being met. This crisis drives people into homelessness every day in America and makes the work to rehouse them far more difficult. (https://endhomelessness.org/media/news-releases/hud-releases-2024-annual-homelessness-assessment-report/)

Of this number, the National Coalition for the Homeless states 55% of homeless people are alcohol dependent, and 25% reported being dependent on other harmful substances. Many of today’s homeless are also vets.

The fastest-growing age group of people experiencing homelessness in the United States, if you didn’t know, are people aged 50 or older. Nearly 1 in 4 people experiencing unsheltered homelessness are over the age of 55.

Our dream is to help people move on from addiction, hard times, loss of income, medical emergencies and temporary set backs while getting them off the streets to help them reclaim their lives and on their way to where they need to go.

We know this task is absolutely possible but only if we band together!

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

For folks who may not have read about you before, can you please tell our readers about yourself,

My name is Ryan Whittaker and I have been sober since I was 15, a choice I made in order to live. I was stuck, helpless, suicidal and thankfully realized that I was a drug addict in need of recovery at an early age. I was not about to go to prison on my 18th birthday, but that is exactly where I was headed if I lived long enough or if I had not made the decision to get clean and stay clean. Long term sobriety is part of my story and I am grateful for every moment of it. Not all of my friends or family made it out of their addiction alive.

how you got into your industry

I got into the water business because another sober friend and I decided to start a business together and I wanted to start a meaningful business, a life-changing business full of opportunities to impact people and help them in this life. I also was not happy with the continued use of single-use plastics in the world of bottled water. Not cool.

what type of products

Sober Water only uses infinitely recyclable aluminum and glass. Offering up delicious natural American spring water and triple-filtered Rocky Mountain carbonated water that we’ll keep you coming back for more time and time again.

what problems you solve for your clients and/or what you think sets you apart from others.

Our biggest task is to house the unhoused and the newly sober. We are the only beverage company with 4o acres reserved for the purpose of building a “sober ranch” treatment center.

We are extremely grateful that we have an opportunity to be a water brand for all, to be able to help hydrate and help people. Water is the most sold beverage in America. We have an opportunity to use our profits to aid and give when there are so many people in need. Not using single-use plastic while fulfilling a social mission is our dual-sided mission -heal the people, heal the planet.

We’d love to hear about how you met your business partner.

I met my cofounder, Dr. Mark James one year before we started Sober Water. We both met within the rooms of 12-step recovery. I had a shoulder injury on my right side at the time and I could barely lift my right arm. I had just moved to Durango, CO where the company is now based and I needed help moving my furniture into my new apartment. Mark showed up! We became friends that day and we have been friends ever since and even closer friends after starting Sober Water together. There are many people in this world who would not otherwise mix, but the rooms of recovery have a way of bringing the world together for those of us who find our home there.

Any stories or insights that might help us understand how you’ve built such a strong reputation?

We all know someone who has been affected by addiction or we are someone who has been affected by addiction. We all know someone who has experienced housing insecurity or we are someone who has experienced housing insecurity. Corporate greed in the bottled water industry is rampant. Bad tasting water is truly a thing, especially if it is stored in plastic. Sober Water has a reputation of going against the flow without using trendy marketing themes to get you to buy our water. We have great water and put people first, water second.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://drinksoberwater.com
• Instagram: soberwaterco
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61556757367959
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@SoberWater