While discussing his friendship/working relationship with buddy Kyle Cooke, Summer House star Carl Radke got a little “emotional.”
When he was working as Loverboy’s VP of Sales, he was never “happy, deep down” and “struggled to advocate” for himself. But he didn’t know how to relate his feelings to his “best friend” and company founder Kyle.
In addition, Carl, who has been sober for three and a half years, had a tough time reconciling his sobriety with working for an alcohol company. All of these factors made him finally submit his resignation from Loverboy in January 2023.
Return to Loverboy
Carl is grateful to his career coach for encouraging him to “take a step back from Loverboy” and explore his true passions. Meanwhile, he learned “how to communicate effectively” and to “advocate for [himself] professionally.”
Once Carl had the communication tools he needed, he was better able to explain his ideas for a non-alcoholic drink line to Kyle. Turns out Kyle was just as excited and eager to add a non-alcoholic product to his company as he was. Carl returned to Loverboy as a part-time adviser in December 2023.
“Now, I’m really just focused on the non-alcoholic part of our business,” the Pittsburgh native told Page Six. “But I’m still on the company board. I was one of the first investors.”
And his relationship with his long-time BFF Kyle is “stronger than ever.”
“I just had a lot more open communication with Kyle, [as] a result of my coach helping me feel more empowered and more confident,” he shared. “I love Kyle. He’s one of my best friends. [But] I always felt like I was letting him down. I was struggling, but I didn’t tell him anything.”
Saying he “needed more support,” Carl believes all the naysayers actually pushed him harder to bring his dream to life. Unfortunately, one of those Negative Nellies was his then-fiancée, Lindsay Hubbard.
“It’s not just her … I’ve had a lot of doubters,” he explained. After all, the non-alcoholic space is a “risky” one and hasn’t really been proven as a business model.
“I can understand people’s reservations,” he confessed. “So it’s hard for me to be upset with someone not supporting me when it was only an idea at the time. That’s where I was at last summer with [Lindsay].”
Grateful to be alive
Sadly, Carl’s motivation to finally get sober after years of abusing drugs and alcohol was the accidental death of his brother Curtis in August 2020. “He would be really proud of me, I think,” Carl said. “He is a big part of this story. I try to live with purpose, with intention … It’s crazy that I’m alive.”
But sobriety didn’t happen overnight. Following Curtis’ death, Carl embarked on a “path of destruction.” He finally hit rock bottom on Jan. 6, 2021, when he got drunk and high on cocaine in his NYC apartment, “watching the Capitol get stormed” on TV.
When Carl sobered up from that day, Kyle came to his home and offered up some tough and life-changing love.
“It kinda makes me emotional,” he explained. “Kyle is the first person I ran to when my brother passed away … He’s just been an amazing friend.”
“A lot of people make mistakes and don’t get second chances,” he added. “So I’m just grateful.”
Summer House Season 9 returns in February 2025.
TELL US – ARE YOU HAPPY THAT CARL’S DOING SO WELL? ARE YOU LOOKING FORWARD TO SUMMER HOUSE SEASON 9?
