Founder of Sans Bar | Pioneer of Alcohol-Free Social Spaces
Chris Marshall is widely recognized as one of the pioneers of the modern alcohol-free social movement.
Before launching Sans Bar, Chris worked as a substance abuse counselor, helping people navigate recovery and rebuild their lives after struggling with addiction. Through that work, he noticed something that traditional recovery systems didn’t fully address: many people who stopped drinking weren’t just losing alcohol — they were losing their entire social world.
Birthdays, celebrations, concerts, parties, and nights out with friends were all built around drinking. Once alcohol was removed, the places where people gathered often disappeared with it.
Chris saw a simple but powerful opportunity to change that.
In 2017, he founded Sans Bar in Austin, Texas — one of the first alcohol-free bars in the United States. The idea was straightforward but radical: create a space where people could enjoy nightlife, connection, music, and celebration without alcohol being the center of the experience.
Sans Bar quickly became more than a venue. It became a proof of concept.
Chris’s work helped demonstrate that a large and growing number of people — whether sober, sober-curious, in recovery, or simply choosing not to drink — still wanted vibrant social environments. They just didn’t want alcohol to be the price of admission.
Since launching Sans Bar, Chris has become a leading voice in the alcohol-free movement, helping inspire a wave of sober bars, alcohol-free pop-ups, and new social spaces across the country.
Through speaking, consulting, and community building, he continues to push for a cultural shift where connection, celebration, and nightlife are no longer defined by alcohol.
In Please Drink Responsibly, Chris offers a unique perspective from the front lines of that shift — showing how entirely new social ecosystems are beginning to emerge as people rethink their relationship with drinking.
Learn More About Chris:
https://www.thesansbar.com/about-us
https://www.cnn.com/videos/tv/2023/02/27/exp-sstb-sans-bar-non-alcoholic-bar-austin-texas.cnn
https://www.menshealth.com/health/a36122036/chris-marshall-sans-bar-addiction-recovery