Episode 123: Matteo Esposito, Lived Experience and Founder of InvisibleChallenge.org

Written By Susie Gurley

Kicking off the spring season is an amazing conversation with Matteo Esposito, who very vulnerably shares his story of addiction, bipolar disorder, and loss. Matteo chronicles his journey as a high-level hockey player who played junior hockey post-high school and college hockey. Matteo shares his experience with mania, a serious health diagnosis, inpatient hospitalization, and ultimately inpatient treatment after hitting what he calls his rock bottom. Now three years sober, Matteo is a certified Addiction Recovery Coach and a Certified Recovery Peer Advocate as well as the founder of Invisible Challenge (https://invisiblechallenge.org), a movement driven by the need to end stigma around mental illness and addiction. Make sure to check out the Invisible Challenge website as well as Matteo’s other resources referenced in the podcast episode: 
Letter to My Younger Self: https://invisiblechallenge.org/pages/just-promise-me-you-ll-read-this-letter
TEDx: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vetfAJ1DvQQ

Susie Gurley

Susie Stapp Gurley was born and raised in Bartlesville, Oklahoma. She married her college sweetheart, Dan Gurley, shortly after graduating from TCU with a degree in advertising and public relations. In her first career, Susie worked in college admissions and academic advising. Simultaneously she pursued a master’s degree from The University of Central Missouri in sociology and then worked for the Sedgwick County, KS Department of Aging as a case worker. Susie stepped away from the professional world in 1997 to become a stay-at-home mom. She spent the majority of the last 25 years as a wife, mother, and volunteer, primarily in her church and her three children’s schools and activities.

Susie became a mental health advocate after her youngest son became a teen spokesperson about his battle with depression, anxiety, and suicidal ideation. In 2018, at the age of 15, Will founded the You Matter Festival, a music festival promoting mental health awareness and suicide prevention. Will shared his personal mental health struggles with the 1,000-person crowd, which started his role as a local KC teen advocate for mental health. Because of Will’s involvement, Susie recorded a video #Zeroreasonswhy (https://zeroreasonswhy.org), a Kansas City area organization working to end teen suicide in the Johnson County, Kansas area. This video was viewed over 10,000 times, which was the impetus of the Just A Mom podcast. Susie decided that she needed to follow the brave trail blazed by her son and became an outspoken advocate for parents of children who struggle with mental illness. The Just a Mom podcast launched in September of 2022 and encourages parents to know that they are not alone and there is hope.

Susie served as the Executive Director of the You Matter Festival and is currently on the Friends of Johnson County Mental Health Board. Susie has grown three children, two daughters-in-law, and a son-in-law.

Next

Episode 122: Holly Swenson BSN, RN, Wellness Blogger, Award Winning Author, and Mom