Alcohol-free drinks events a growing trend, drawing the sober curious and health-focused people

Bartender Joshua James gave up drinking for a year ‘and everything happened’. Now he’s building the bar with the world’s largest alcohol-free drink selection

From ‘temperance tastings’ to alcohol-free-drinks masterclasses, women and men in Asia and the US are trying the sober lifestyle, and finding it to their liking

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More people are giving up alcohol or becoming sober curious, and alcohol-free drinks events are a growing trend around the world.
Photo: Concubine KL

Published: 11:17am, 28 Jun 2022

Had someone told Joshua James five years ago that he would be organising non-alcoholic events and own a zero-proof bar, he likely would have laughed.

At only 18 years of age, James joined the food and beverage industry and had a career in bartending that lasted 17 years. Bartending fitted his personality. He enjoyed being behind the bar, making drinks and talking to people – and the money was not bad.

But the late-night, alcohol-fuelled lifestyle started taking its toll on James. He lost jobs, was kicked out of a house and convicted for drink-driving.

“In my mid-30s, the hangovers got worse and worse, and I decided not only to transition out of bartending – but also to give up drinking for a year to see what happened – and everything happened,” he says.

Joshua James gave up drinking for a year, and it changed his life. Photo: Ocean Beach Café

Today, James owns a 100 per cent alcohol-free community café in San Francisco, California, the Ocean Beach Café. Now nicknamed “Josh the non-alcoholic”, his mission is to disrupt the alcohol industry by building the bar with the largest selection of non-alcoholic beverages in the world.