Ryan Dusick

Maroon 5’s founding drummer Ryan Dusick tells his inspiring story of resilience, heartbreak, and redemption. Spoken from his current perspective as a psychotherapist, mental health advocate, and author of the roller-coaster memoir, Harder to Breathe: A Memoir of Making Maroon 5, Losing It All, and Finding Recovery, Dusick’s harrowing tale offers highly impactful themes of overcoming obstacles, facing personal demons, and dealing with failures on a path to ultimate fulfillment.

Having worked for a decade to build the worldwide fame and success of Maroon 5, Dusick suffered through his darkest days when a physical and psychological breakdown forced him to walk away from that life and career. But he refused to let that disappointment define him, finding new passion and purpose in a deeply fulfilling career in mental health. Dusick’s journey will inspire hope within audiences that recovery is possible and astounding things can come with it.

In this meaningful address, Maroon 5’s founding drummer Ryan Dusick inspires his audience to walk toward anxiety rather than run away from it. Speaking from his current perspective as a psychotherapist, mental health advocate, and author of the roller-coaster memoir, Harder to Breathe: A Memoir of Making Maroon 5, Losing It All, and Finding Recovery, Dusick shares the insights he has gained both as a mental health survivor and as an associate marriage & family therapist with an MA in clinical psychology from Pepperdine University.

Having overcome anxiety disorder, perfectionism, self-doubt, impostor syndrome, and alcohol abuse, Dusick speaks from the knowledge that growth happens in discomfort, and often the things that scare us most are the very things that bring us the most learning, growth, and fulfillment. Stop living in fear and start seeing the possibilities that come when you walk toward the anxiety!

In this presentation, Maroon 5’s founding drummer Ryan Dusick shares his inspirational message of creating meaning and purpose in a fulfilling life and career. Spoken from his current perspective as a psychotherapist, mental health advocate, and author of the roller coaster memoir, Harder to Breathe: A Memoir of Making Maroon 5, Losing It All, and Finding Recovery, Dusick tells the story of how he gained connection and purpose by following his passion for music.

While the life of an artist was fulfilling, that career ended tragically when Dusick was forced to walk away from Maroon 5, just as they were reaching the highest peaks of success. Heartbroken and coping with a total loss of identity, Dusick went into a tailspin due to the lack of purpose in his life. Recovering from his challenges, he found new passion, purpose, and meaning in the field of mental health. Going back to school to earn an MA in clinical psychology, writing a book to share his inspiring story of redemption, and venturing into the world of advocacy with a platform of awareness and hope, Dusick imparts profound lessons he has learned about the importance of fostering connection, creating purpose, and ultimately finding meaning and fulfillment in one’s life and career.

In the nineties, Ryan Dusick and his friends Adam Levine, Jesse Carmichael, and Mickey Madden dreamed about making it big… and against all odds, they did. Harder to Breathe is the inside story of Maroon 5’s founding and their road to becoming Grammy-winning megastars, told through the eyes of former drummer Ryan Dusick. He takes readers behind the scenes of the band’s meteoric rise to success—and the grueling demands that came with it.

For Maroon 5, fame came with a platinum debut record, jam sessions with Prince in his living room, and encounters with celebrities such as Jessica Simpson, Justin Timberlake, John Mayer, and Bono. But for Ryan Dusick, stardom came to an abrupt halt with the devastating loss of his ability to play drums due to chronic nerve damage. Personal struggles with anxiety and alcoholism followed his departure from the band.

Alongside Maroon 5’s story of camaraderie and pressure, Dusick interweaves his own narrative: a decade lost to liquor and antianxiety medication, his ferocious commitment to recovery, and his current perspective as a professional counselor. With a candor that will speak to anyone who has struggled with mental health, Harder to Breathe moves beyond celebrity to examine the nature of human heartbreak and resilience, and to buoy anyone facing similar challenges.