Episode 275: Gordon Lownds - Cracking Up: From Rising Star to Junkie Despair

This is Episode #275 of The Limitless Podcast with Nick Jonsson, featuring Gordon Lownds, Canadian entrepreneur and author of Cracking Up.

From the outside, Gordon’s life looked untouchable. He built iconic businesses, achieved extraordinary success, and embodied everything society associates with winning. Inside, his life collapsed in less than 1,000 days.

In this raw and deeply honest conversation, Gordon shares how addiction entered his life after success — fuelled by confidence, invincibility, and the belief that nothing could knock him off his perch. What followed was a rapid descent into substance abuse, isolation, and despair, ending in a moment where he was forced to choose between asking for help or losing his life.

Together, Nick and Gordon explore what is rarely discussed in leadership and business circles: addiction that hides in plain sight, the unique risks high performers face, and why asking for help often feels like the greatest threat to identity — until it becomes the only path forward.

This episode dives into the three C’s of addiction — compulsion, control, and consequences, the connection between addiction and mental health, and how recovery begins with ownership, honesty, and responsibility rather than blame or victimhood. Gordon also reflects on rebuilding trust, repairing relationships, and redefining leadership beyond performance and appearances.

This is not an easy conversation — but it is a necessary one for leaders, entrepreneurs, and professionals who want to understand the real cost of achievement, and what it takes to recover, reconnect, and lead with integrity.

Connect with Gordon here:

LinkedIn: ⁠⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/gordon-lownds-4b39b24b/⁠

🎧 Find more episodes on our website: ⁠⁠⁠https://nickjonsson.com/limitless-podcast