He Built One of Dublin's Best-Known Businesses While Addiction Nearly Took Everything. Rob Connolly on Success, Grief, Recovery and the Brother He Lost.

Rob Connolly is the founder of The Ink Factory, one of the most recognisable tattoo studios in Ireland, and a serial entrepreneur since his teens. But behind the businesses is a life shaped by addiction from the age of twelve, the loss of his brother John to suicide, and a long, honest reckoning with what success is really worth.

Ryan sits down with Rob for one of the most open and moving conversations Made in Chaos has had, about building a life while battling addiction, the loss that changed everything, and why he believes there is always a way back.

What we get into:

  • Getting into business as teenagers, from nightclubs to The Ink Factory
  • Why he built The Ink Factory around community, not just tattoos
  • Growing up in an addicted household and using from the age of twelve
  • How success became the perfect place to hide an addiction
  • Mistaking net worth for self-worth, and the hole that no business could fill
  • Losing his brother John to suicide, and the years of grief that followed
  • The conversation with Ryan that helped Rob reconnect with his brother in time
  • Why there is always a way back, no matter how far down
  • The John Connolly Foundation and the mental health work it funds
  • The loneliness and identity crisis facing young men in Ireland
  • Why Ireland's mental health system too often fails people until crisis point

Ryan Curtis is a former Irish MMA fighter who was paralysed from the neck down and told he would never walk again. Made in Chaos exists to platform guests who've turned adversity into hard-earned wisdom worth sharing.

Follow: @madeinchaospod | @chaoscurtis

If anything in this episode affects you, support is available in Ireland. Samaritans are free, 24/7, on 116 123. Pieta (suicide and self-harm support) is on 1800 247 247, or text HELP to 51444. The HSE Drugs and Alcohol Helpline is on 1800 459 459.

🖊️ Sponsored by The Ink Factory, Temple Bar. theinkfactory.ie | @theinkfactory

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