I’ve recently added three new posts to our Themes section of Recovery Voices, all coming from Gary Rutherford’s conversation with my colleague Wulf Livingston. Gary is Founder and Strategic Coordinator of ARC Fitness in Derry~Londonderry, Northern Ireland. Neither Wulf nor I have met Gary in person. Wulf heard about Gary and his recovery initiative through a mutual friend and had a couple of initial chats with him before the main conversation.
I was thrilled to view the full conversation between Wulf and Gary and very happy with the collection of films I edited. In this Theme film, Wulf asks Gary, ‘What’s the magic?’ in his recovery community. Please also check out the other two Theme films recently added to this section.
The Magic at ARC [3 Films, 5’23”]
Wulf Livingston of Recovery Voices asks Gary Rutherford, Founder of ARC Fitness in Derry-Londonderry, Northern Ireland, ‘What’s the magic?’ in his recovery community.
Gary says that the team of people at ARC have contributed to the magic and success of the organisation. All but one person have been there from the start of the journey. Team members work in areas where their strength shines through. They get the fact that ARC is an evolving and emerging organisation.
Gary points out that there was a time when ARC was trying to do everything driven by demand. However, as part of their honesty and transparency, the ARC team recognised that they either do everything by half, or they focus on what they do really well. And that meant saying ‘no’ to things, which Gary points out was sometimes difficult. Being honest with themselves has been key.
Gary gets the pleasure of hearing on a daily basis of people who have run marathons since they’ve achieved recovery, or are doing triathlons, or they’ve got their kids back from care. They may be back at school, or they are working, or they are now addiction recovery coaches with a professional accreditation. ‘That’s the magic.’