JOMO Club Founder Gemma Mills sits down with CleanCo Founder Spencer Matthews.

Spencer Matthews’ story is a surprisingly relatable one. It certainly is for me, and speaking with many JOMO members, I know it will be for many of you reading this.

I won’t go into it too much now, as I’ll let Spencer share that with you. However, for those that don’t know already, here’s a small introduction. Spencer became well known for his appearances on British TV and adventure sport feats, and is now the founder CleanCo, the alcohol-free spirit in JOMO Club’s November Box today!

Their range is one of the most comprehensive out there featuring non-alcoholic variations of Gin, Rum, Whiskey, Vodka and Tequila! So, without further ado, pour yourself a cheeky Clean G Pink & tonic and let’s get stuck in.

Hi Spencer, welcome to the November JOMO Box and thank you for sharing a personal favourite of ours, the Clean G Pink. Can we start by talking through what is in the November JOMO?

Absolutely. This is our take on a pink Dry Gin, which is packed full of punchy strawberry and raspberry notes with that all-important pink peppercorn and juniper kick to round things off. It’s a great choice if you’re after something a little bit more elevated than your standard Gin.

I’m really proud that we’ve managed to create a drink that genuinely tastes as good as the real thing. So good, you’ll be questioning if you’ve got your bottles mixed up! Hopefully you all feel the same. I’m equally proud to say the team have managed to pull it off using only natural flavours, and completely no sugar. It’s a win-win for me.

What is your favourite way, occasion and setting to enjoy this spirit?

Despite being one of our fruitier options from the range, the Clean G Pink is actually really refreshing all year round. With those winter months coming in, it takes me right back to the balmy nights of Summer.

I love mine paired with a great tonic, slice of lemon, wedge of strawberry and a couple of mint leaves!

Taking our members back to where it all begun, what was your relationship & journey with alcohol?

I was a very heavy drinker from my late teens through to my early 30s. I was doing a lot of television back then, so it was the norm to socialise, go to parties and drink heavily all the time – finding jobs where I could party and entertain was all part of the package.

It was actually when I found out that I was expecting my first child with my wife, Vogue, when I realised that my drinking was promblematic, and I felt that I could do with drinking less.

I’m very all-or-nothing, so I decided to ditch the alcohol for good, which led me to feel more focused, driven, creative and able to achieve the goals I wanted to – which is a big part of my personality.

It was during that time that I realised there’s got to be a better option out there than a sugar-filled soft drink, juice, or plain water, especially when you’re socialising. That’s really what inspired me to create the best-tasting non-alcoholic spirit in the world. I wanted to have the same social experiences I knew and loved, just without all the negative consequences.

Social pressures and reactions to not drinking still baffles us. We shared a video we took of Robbie Williams and his journey with sobriety on TikTok a few months back and the keyboard warriors were something to behold (while being embarrassingly predictable). How did you find people reacted to you not drinking at the beginning and now?

I’m lucky to be of the mindset where other people’s opinions or words don’t often get to me – I guess that goes hand-in-hand with being on TV! But equally I’m very well aware, from the stories I’ve heard from friends, family and our very own CleanCo customers just how intense the social pressure to drink can be. But I’m so happy to hear stories about how that’s changing, only the other day one of our customers was telling me she hosted a party where of the 50 guests, over 50% actively chose not to drink!

In the beginning, I would say my social life was impacted slightly as I wasn’t going out to the clubs as much. Simply because you would be the guy stood at the bar with a water or Coke – you stood out. There weren’t the options we have now.

With CleanCo being available in so many premises now, from big restaurant groups like TGI Fridays and Carluccio’s and even some really cool establishments like Hakkasan & Nobu, I now have the option to drink Clean and enjoy my favourite cocktails just as I would before. In fact, only the other week Hakkasan told us that 1 in every 8 cocktails they now serve are Clean!

We’ve heard you say before how dirty being called an ‘alcoholic’ is. We couldn’t agree more and know many of our members have had their own unique journey with alcohol. How would you like to see attitudes change?

I wouldn’t ever preach to people about their relationship with alcohol or how they wish to identify it. I’ve been very passionate about this from the beginning – everyone’s relationship with alcohol is personal to them and I created CleanCo to provide people with an option that never feels like a compromise, instead of trying to aggressively push a certain lifestyle.

I’m really excited by what I’m seeing in the sober-curious space, there are so many more conversations being had about the impact of alcohol, but also more people speaking up about their relationship with alcohol and moderation in general– especially amongst the younger generations. So I really feel that we are on a positive trajectory in changing these age-old attitudes for the better and embracing individuality in our relationships with alcohol.

Since the launch of CleanCo, have you seen a shift in behaviours and mindsets?

Yes! Like I mentioned before, I see so many more people talking about their relationship with alcohol, whether that’s being teetotal or moderating. More and more public figures and industry leaders are openly talking about their alcohol-free or sober-curious lives and the benefits it brings from the likes of Tom Holland to Bradley Cooper and Pharrell Williams. It feels like every day the conversation is evolving, it’s so great to see and hear.

Talking about CleanCo, do you remember the day you came up with the idea and what make you take those first steps toward launching CleanCo?

As I said before, I was on my own personal sober-curious journey and wanted something more than the standard soft drink options when out and about or enjoying a nice evening with friends and family at home. I didn’t want to drink but I also didn’t want to feel like I was missing out.

I knew there was something huge just waiting to be untapped in the alcohol-free space, it just needed the right dedication to innovation to make it happen. After I-can’t-remember-how-many rounds of trial and error(!), when I first tried the CleanCo products we have today I seriously had a massive lightbulb moment – we had genuinely made something that tasted like the real thing. At that moment I wanted to give as many other people as possible that lightbulb moment, and that’s been my goal ever since.

CleanCo is now international. Are UK trends/behaviours different to those in other countries? What have you observed?

Yes, it’s super exciting to of recently launched into the US, with some amazing partners like Walmart. It’s been a real pinch-me moment to see our bottles on the shelves of major retailers in such a massive country!

Whilst the US are still a little bit behind the UK in terms of general education and awareness of the alcohol-free market, its growing at a phenomenal rate. We’re seeing very similar shift in attitude towards non-alcoholic drinks and moderation / sober curiosity in the U.S. especially with the younger generation. Interestingly the main difference we’ve noticed is in the type of spirit people opt for in different countries – naturally Gin is huge for us in the UK, but in the US our Clean T (Tequila) and Clean V (Vodka) are our top two sellers.

We have just welcomed Sober October. For those that tried it out and would like to continue with Clean living, what advice, guidance or information can you share with them?

We created a 30-day alcohol-free challenge on our website with some amazing and credible partners and experts designed exactly for this. So, if you’re interested in motivation, recipes etc. check it out – you’ll get an email a day dedicated to the stage you’re at in the 30-day cycle.

But really my main suggestion would be to sit down and think about what type of lifestyle you want to live, what goals you want to achieve and then try and picture what type of relationship with alcohol would help you get there.

For some that’s the moment they realise they want to give up drinking for good. But if you aren’t ready - or don’t want to – go fully tee-total that’s totally fine too. We hear a lot from our customers about drinking “Clean in-between” – balancing the alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks they have to find the right balance that suits their lifestyle. This could simply be switching every second G&T on a night out for a Clean G&T. Small steps can make a huge difference!

If people loved the Clean G Pink today, what should they go and buy next?

The CleanCo range is available at all the major retailers including Waitrose, Sainsburys and Tesco so head down and see what catches your eye! You can also try the full range on our website, Clean.co. We’ve actually just launched some fun new bundle packages in partnership with Fever Tree – Clean G&T, Clean Rhubarb G&T, Clean Dark & Stormy (Rum) and Clean Buck (Whiskey) bundles are all available online – perfect for a party, or to stock up at home.