Sober Psycho Challenge – The 1 Year, 365 Day No-Alcohol Challenge
So what is it?!
The Sober Psycho Challenge is the Ultramarathon of Sobriety Challenges. 1 Year, 365 Consecutive Days of Absolutely No-Alcohol. If a 30-day challenge is a 5K, this is a 60K aka 37 Miles aka Ultra!
Why? Well, I threw out an idea on New Years Eve – on TikTok. I said, “I’m looking for some Sober Psychopaths!” and I went on to explain what I meant. Throughout the year, there’s a handful of months where it’s common to go “dry” or “sober”. Dry January & Sober October are probably the two most common. But you know what? Being sober in those two months.. is really pretty easy. January comes immediately after a month of over-indulging for the holidays. And Sober October is immediately before the holidays get started. Both months are kind of inconsequential months to “take off” from drinking booze.
So in my video (you can watch it below) – I basically compare Dry January to a family 5K/Turkey Trot run. I was trying to recruit some Sober Psychopaths that want to do the Ultra-Marathon of sobriety challenges – a full 365 days/1 year of absolutely no alcohol. And.. it hit! It resonated with a lot of people. And suddenly I found my notifications blowing up as people liked, commented, DMed, etc.
So I went for it. On New Years Day, I posted a video laying out the ground rules of the Sober Psycho Challenge.
The Three Rules
Rule #1 – Anyone Can Join Us At Anytime
The official 365 day timeline started on Jan 1st, but I would like as many people as possible to be involved in this without feeling like they have to wait until Jan 1st of next year. In 2026, you can hop on any day, anytime to join the Sober Psychos! All I ask is that when you join, you commit to absolutely no alcohol until the end of 2026.
**Side-note: I’ve already started showing up on people’s For You Page on TikTok that are doing 75 Hard & Dry January and quite a few people have committed to go the full year – which is AWESOME! That’s exactly why this rule was created!
Rule #2 – No Replacement Drugs/Bad Habits
This one is simple, but important. I don’t want you to drop alcohol & pick up a smoking habit, or a nicotine addiction, or worse. Let’s just do this the right way – full detox. No replacement. Mocktails, Zero-Alcohol drinks, etc. are 100% okay & welcomed! But nothing that alters your state of mind or could become a new addiction/problem.
Rule #3 – Explore a New Hobby, Skill or Pastime
You’re about to save a ton of money (no $$ on booze) and have a ton of free time (no plans involving booze). I think casual drinkers often underestimate how much of their time revolves around drinking. Your evening routines, the dinners you schedule, the events you plan, etc. All I ask is that you do something productive with this new found freedom. Dust off that old bike or camera. Start a new hobby – just do something. And every time you think about alcohol, just go do this instead.
A little about me and where this all stemmed from…
In 2025 I completed my first 75 Hard starting on June 1st. I absolutely loved it. While it was a pretty insane time commitment to check all the boxes daily, the feeling I got from being 100% sober, and extremely active was… incredible. When it ended, I knew I didn’t want to go back to drinking quite as much as before (always a casual drinker – but I wanted it to be even more casual), so I limited myself to Fri/Sat nights & special occasions only. At the time, I thought this would be the best of both worlds. The perfect balance. Then reality set in… after a few months, it left me feeling a little empty. Internally I was questioning whether or not I should’ve just given it up back in August. With the exception of my college years, I have always been a casual drinker who up until 75 Hard last year (my current sober-streak record as an adult), had only completed a few 30-day challenges here and there. And they always left me wanting more. So I started the Sober Psycho Challenge to go all-in for 365 Days in 2026 and see what an entire calendar year of no-alcohol does for me. If nothing else, it will be an accomplishment I’m proud of. I’m 39 – I’ll be 40 at the end of 2026 (Dec 28th!). This year, I plan on running my first Half-Marathon in December, and currently have a goal of achieving a sub-6 min mile time. It hit me the other day that, god-willing, I may be in the best shape of my life when I hit 40 later this year. And that’s pretty cool.
So how do I join the Sober Psycho Challenge?!
Anyone who wants to challenge themselves to 365 days of no-alcohol, come on!
Here’s all you have to do:
1) Go follow me: https://www.tiktok.com/@heckendorn
2) Comment “I’m In!” on either of the 2 pinned posts.
3) Check-in as often as you’d like through the year. I’m currently doing daily check-ins to hold people accountable and maintain the excitement.
4) Track your progress using the official #SoberPsycho hashtag!
**If this ever changes, I’ll make an announcement – but we’re keeping it simple for now!
BTW – A quick update on the TikTok challenge I completed with my wife in December. Had I not posted every day in December, the Sober Psycho Challenge wouldn’t even be a thing. And this is exactly why you should take chances in life. You never know where something will lead.
Thanks y’all! 2026 is going to be a GREAT year!
