Who is Brett Niebergall
A letter from my friend Sam
Brett Niebergall is a writer, advocate and former restaurateur whose work challenges society’s narratives around shame, public redemption, and personal transformation.
In his early career,
Brett founded Frisée Restaurant, where he built a reputation for creativity, community engagement, and bold leadership in the culinary world. He later launched The Southern Sandwich Company, continuing his entrepreneurial drive and passion for bringing people together through food and hospitality. These ventures taught him the realities of public visibility, the pressures of leadership, and the rewards—and costs—of chasing bold ideas.
But Brett’s story didn’t follow the expected script of success. After navigating profound personal and legal challenges, he made the rare choice not to hide, but to rebuild his life in full view.
For nearly a decade, he has dedicated himself to deep personal change, accountability, and resilience. His blog has become a living archive of that journey—unflinchingly honest, defiant when necessary, and compassionate without falling into the clichés of "comeback culture."
Through storytelling, advocacy, and vulnerability, Brett has cultivated a platform that doesn't just document personal growth but also questions the larger societal machinery of shame, punishment, and exclusion.
His mission is simple but radical:
To tell the truth about survival, rebuilding, and what it really takes to reclaim a life after public and personal collapse.
To give a voice to others living through the long, messy middle between destruction and redemption.
Today, Brett continues to write, speak, and engage with a growing community of readers who see themselves not in society’s easy success stories—but in the hard, slow, courageous work of becoming something nobody one small step at a time.
-Sam A.