Zach Bryan Opens Up About Sobriety Journey

Country music artist Zach Bryan, 30, discussed the turning point that led him to sobriety during an interview with Matthew McConaughey, uploaded to YouTube on Friday, October 16. Bryan recounted a solo motorcycle journey across the country that culminated in a moment of clarity at a truck stop outside Seattle.

Bryan explained that he had planned to travel with friends for a month but ended up going alone. During the trip, he visited national parks and stopped at local bars. "I was stopping at all these bars and drinking myself to sleep," he told Celebrity News: Latest Celeb News & Pictures - Us Weekly. "Waking up every morning, getting on my motorcycle thinking I was on some sort of soul journey."

The journey ended in Seattle, where Bryan had an epiphany at a Pilot truck stop. "After all this beautiful scenery, all these nights, all these bars I've been to, all this s*** that I've done, I was at this Pilot truck stop right outside of Seattle. I'll never forget this for as long as I live," he told Celebrity News: Latest Celeb News & Pictures - Us Weekly. "I go into this Pilot and I grab a 40 Budweiser and I'm sitting on the curb with my motorcycle in front of me. I'm drinking [the beer] and I'm thinking 'What the hell was all that worth? Why did I do any of that? I feel emptier than when I left.'"

Bryan confessed that he felt like he "wasted 30 days" of his life trying to "chase this big moment" and began to question his drinking. "It was just me in a f***ing truck stop parking lot. And that's when I said, 'Why am I drinking right now? What am I celebrating?' That's when I kind of looked in the mirror," he told Celebrity News: Latest Celeb News & Pictures - Us Weekly. "I'm not the f***ing sober type either."

Despite his initial reservations, Bryan discovered that sobriety suited him. "Quitting drinking has been really great. I've had a lot of fun," he told Celebrity News: Latest Celeb News & Pictures - Us Weekly. "I enjoy writing again, I haven't felt [like this] since I was 17. I feel like a kid again. I wake up and I'm ready to go, I want to jump in the pond. I want to play with the dog. I want to do everything."

Friends have also noticed a positive change. "At night time, after I quit drinking [my friends were] like, 'Dude, you're funnier now,'" Bryan told Celebrity News: Latest Celeb News & Pictures - Us Weekly. However, he admitted that weddings remain a challenge. "At weddings when everyone is talking s*** on everyone and there's all this romanticism and everyone is dancing and stuff. Man, I'd really like to drink right now," he told Celebrity News: Latest Celeb News & Pictures - Us Weekly.

Bryan's story highlights the personal struggles behind the music and offers insight into his journey toward a healthier lifestyle.