# MMA Fighter Justin Wren on Addiction, Recovery & Fighting for Congo's Forgotten Pygmy Tribe

Page: https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-giving-game-7858698/mma-fighter-justin-wren-on-addiction-recovery-fighting-for-congo-s-forgotten-pygmy-tribe
Text version: https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-giving-game-7858698/mma-fighter-justin-wren-on-addiction-recovery-fighting-for-congo-s-forgotten-pygmy-tribe.md
Podcast: [The Giving Game](https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-giving-game-7858698)
Published: 2026-07-17T21:03:43+00:00
Episode link: https://api.riverside.com/hosting-analytics/media/2a118347d811901d54613848b27dc2c2a8c1e2d24ee6e3807b5b055b73792440/eyJlcGlzb2RlSWQiOiJjNTBiZjVhYy1iNzU1LTQ4ZjEtOWFjMC1mNTAwYTZhZDNiZjQiLCJwb2RjYXN0SWQiOiIxNjA5ZGIxZi02NTRjLTQxMGQtYTUzZC01YTE3NzY2M2RmM2MiLCJhY2NvdW50SWQiOiI2OWM1YWE1YWJjOGY2ODU4ZDQ2ZGMyNWUiLCJwYXRoIjoibWVkaWEvY2xpcHMvNmE1YTk4YWYxOGMyOTZiZmIxNzczNjUzL3NvcGhpYS13aGl0ZXNlbGxzLXN0dWRpby1jb21wb3Nlci0yMDI2LTctMTdfXzIzLTMtNDMubXAzIn0=.mp3
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Duration seconds: 3420

## Resource

What happens when an MMA fighter stops fighting against people and starts fighting for them? In this episode of The Giving Game, host Sophie Whitesell sits down with Justin Wren — former MMA fighter, keynote speaker, and founder of Fight for the Forgotten — for a conversation that goes far beyond the cage. True to the show's rules, there's no sports talk here. Instead, Justin opens up about hitting rock bottom with addiction, surviving two suicide attempts, and the sunrise that changed everything. Justin shares how he was adopted into the Pygmy tribes of the Congo Basin rainforest — the Mbuti, Efe, and Batwa peoples, among the oldest and most marginalized people groups on Earth — and how that second family inspired a nonprofit unlike any other. Fight for the Forgotten has helped secure over 3,000 acres of land rights, brought clean water to more than 100,000 people through 200+ sustainable water projects, and recently opened a critical access hospital with a thriving maternity ward. Every donation to Fight for the Forgotten during this campaign will be TRIPLED thanks to two matching gifts. Give at the link below and turn $10 into $30. What We Cover (00:00) The sunrise that saved Justin's life (02:02) The 3X matching gift — every donation tripled (02:54) What is Fight for the Forgotten? Justin's adoption into the Pygmy tribe (05:01) Why 230,000+ water wells in Africa are broken — and how to build ones that last (07:53) "Slow down and listen": the problem with fly-in, fly-out charity (12:02) Sophie's Ugandan colleague on "patronizing" Western aid (19:31) Voluntourism vs. expert volunteers — and the new Base Camp project (21:38) Rock bottom: addiction, treatment, and how the mission found Justin (22:59) Andy Bo's story: the $1 pills that could have saved a child's life (2…

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## Transcript

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