The Buzz Intro Interview

Richie Satori

Because Stand-Up 4 Recovery isn’t just a comedy show—it’s a shared human experience, just with better punchlines.
This show is for anyone who’s ever gone through something hard and used humor to survive it. Yes, it centers on addiction and other mental health challenges, but what emerges—greater than the sum of its parts—is connection. You’ll crack up, you might tear up, and you’ll identify at least with the emotions within the stories, if not the stories themselves.
Stand-Up 4 Recovery is an award-winning show that’s been featured on PBS and performed everywhere from some of the biggest comedy clubs to homeless encampments—and even jails.
Recovery is serious... but we don’t have to take ourselves too seriously.
They say laughter is the best medicine—and this show might just save a life, as each performance has an overdose reversal training baked into the host's set, “candy coating the medicine.” At its core, it’s about turning pain into punchlines, modeling resilience, and reminding us that we are not alone. Also, the audience and venue alike receive a free “Narcan” (Naloxone) kit, compliments of Georgia Overdose Prevention.

Festivals feel like creative lightning in a bottle—everyone shows up a little more open, curious, and willing to take a chance on something unexpected.
Which is perfect, because a sober comedy show kind of flips the traditional stand-up business model on its head. Not many people are buying six mocktails—but they are showing up for something real.
Stand-Up 4 Recovery lives in that space between comedy and conversation, and Fringe audiences are uniquely wired for that. They’re not just looking to be entertained—they’re looking to feel something different.
Atlanta feels like the right place for this. There’s a strong recovery community here, but also a broader audience that’s ready for something honest, unconventional, and genuinely human.
What excites me most is putting our show in front of Fringe audiences while they’re not necessarily coming for a “recovery show”... getting to see the material connect and land anyway.
Because at the end of the day, it’s less about recovery and more about basic human connection. As Victor Borge once said, the shortest distance between two people is laughter.

Honestly, I created Stand-Up 4 Recovery because I needed it. Its inception came after I was arrested on felony drug charges 14 years ago. I was full of paranoia and terrified that anything I shared at a meeting could come back to bite me in court. A light bulb went off: “F**k, I got to do stand-up comedy.” Logic being, if anything did come up, I could say, “Your honor, I was just kidding!”
Up until moving to Atlanta 5 years ago, I’d been out on the road going it alone. When I got here, I got plugged into Atlanta’s vibrant comedy scene, which includes some seriously talented comedians unafraid to share their lived experience, strength, and jokes. What came out of that was Stand-Up 4 Recovery. Since then, I’ve produced 20 shows, trained over 2, 000 audience members and staff how to reverse overdose deaths, and distributed enough Naloxone for everyone in the audience.
If we can laugh about it, we can talk about it. The goal isn’t just making people laugh — of course, that’s a given. It’s about reducing stigma, building connection, and giving hope without feeling like a lecture from Nancy Reagan.