Episode Details

Up+Adam March 9, 2026 Sponsored by Portabidet

What does rock bottom really look like? And more importantly, what does it take to climb back from it?

On this episode of Up+Adam, Adam sits down with Nikki Mammano, author of Breaking Good: A Memoir, for a conversation that is as raw as it is hopeful. Nikki’s life story reads like something straight out of a crime drama. She arrived in Hawaii at twenty years old hoping for a fresh start and college life at the University of Hawaii. Within just a few years, addiction and survival pulled her into Waikiki’s drug underworld where she went from a struggling young woman to someone people called “boss” in a dangerous scene fueled by meth, money, and power.

In this conversation with Adam, Nikki reflects on the version of herself who once stared into a motel mirror wondering how her life had unraveled, the unexpected leadership instincts that helped her survive in a dangerous world, and what it means to live a completely different life today raising two daughters and telling her story publicly for the first time.

• Learn more about Nikki Mammano

https://www.nikkimammano.com

• Buy Breaking Good: A Memoir

https://www.amazon.com/Breaking-Good-Memoir-Nikki-Mammano/dp/B0FP5JX13F

• Follow Nikki Mammano on Instagram

https://www.instagram.com/nikki_mammano/

• Support RYSE Hawaii, the nonprofit Nikki mentions helping youth experiencing homelessness

https://www.rysehawaii.org

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