Ryan Dusick, the founding drummer of Maroon 5 and Pepperdine’s Graduate School of Education and Psychology (GSEP) Alumnus (’21) is a master of music and the mind. In 2022, he penned a memoir, “Harder to Breathe: A Memoir of Making Maroon 5, Losing It All, and Finding Recovery,” to chronicle his story.
Dusick was born and raised in Los Angeles, to parents Ken and Gina Dusick with an older brother Josh. Dusick said he was a reserved child, contrasting with the lively spirit of Adam Levine, a family friend since childhood. Little did he know he would start a Grammy award-winning band with him years later.
“My life looked like what most people would dream of,” Dusick said.
While he achieved massive success, Dusick said he soon faced depression and battled addiction. The road to recovery and helping others has brought him a new version of success — one that Dusick said has been even more fulfilling.
Dusick said his passions for writing and music date back to his elementary school days and melded together to form his love for songwriting.
“And that [music] was my total purpose, passion, escape, freedom, spiritual connection, everything,” Dusick said.
After falling in love with the drums, Dusick said he yearned to start a band.
Music career
In 1994, along with classmates Adam Levine, Jesse Carmichael and Mickey Madden, Dusick started the band in the halls of the Brentwood School. The four teenagers called themselves Kara’s Flowers and later renamed the band Maroon 5, Dusick said.
Being the oldest member of the band, Dusick said he became the manager. He booked shows, made flyers, sold tickets — doing everything he could to promote the band and get them one step closer to a record deal.
The band secured a record deal in 1996 and in the following years rose to world-wide success, which Dusick said he credits to the band’s natural talent, chemistry and hustle.
During this climb to fame, Dusick attended University of California, Los Angeles, and graduated in 2001 with a bachelor’s degree in English.
Maroon 5’s debut album, “Songs About Jane,” was a massive success. It earned the band two GRAMMY awards: Best New Artist in 2005 and Best Pop Performance in 2006. It also sent the band on an international tour, where they visited the Americas, Europe, Asia and Australia.
“We did eventually get to the mountaintop, which was worldwide success and millions of albums sold and GRAMMY awards and multiple hit songs and all of the things that come with the trappings of that success,” Dusick said. “But I was breaking down.”
The physical and mental toll touring took on Dusick came to a boiling point in 2006. Between shoulder injuries and the beginnings of an addiction, Dusick said he couldn’t stand the pressure.
“It [touring] was overwhelming,” Dusick said.
That year, Dusick said he made the decision to leave Maroon 5.
“It [leaving Maroon 5] was the hardest time in my life,” Dusick said. “It was the hardest thing I’ve ever gone through.”
Dusick said he fell into a deep depression after leaving the band and entered a period of “grief.”
“I was grieving the loss, not just of that career, but the loss of my identity,” Dusick said.
Everything that had defined him was gone in an instant, Dusick said. He lost the connection with his bandmates, who had become his best friends, and most of all, he lost his close connection to music.
What had defined him for decades and what was once a positive and creative place for him to express himself turned painful, Dusick said.
“Music had been my biggest passion and purpose, but then it was wrapped up with so much pain and loss,” Dusick said.
Redirection and finding purpose
After falling into the depths of depression, anxiety and the worst days of his addiction, Dusick said he centered his focus on getting clean and prioritizing his mental health.
After going to rehab and becoming sober, Dusick said he began volunteering at CLARE|MATRIX, a center for individuals recovering from alcohol and substance use.
Dusick said he helped people who were battling the same addictions he had faced. He listened to them, empathized with them and helped them through their struggles using his own experience with addiction and recovery.
“It felt purposeful,” Dusick said. “It felt fulfilling.”
Ryan’s father, Ken Dusick, said he was proud of his son and his ability to turn a bad situation into good.
“I admire his heroic efforts in addressing the challenges in his life and turning the glass from half empty to half full,” Ken Dusick said.
Dusick said he received positive feedback from his supervisors at the recovery center. They explained to him that he had a natural ability to help people.
“I was feeling I had something to offer again in life,” Dusick said. “And realizing that I had talents — other than being the drummer in Maroon 5 — that I had forgotten about or new things, new skills I had gained in my recovery, or the lessons I’ve learned in my struggles. And that just felt really empowering.”
During this time, Dusick said he also dabbled in music, even though it was a sore spot.
“I did some songwriting,” Dusick said. “Oftentimes, great art comes from deep pain, and so I did write probably some of the best songs I’ve ever written during that time.”
Dusick said his years at the recovery center inspired him to pursue a degree in psychology with plans to become a therapist. He said he applied to GSEP and was accepted in 2019.
“It was perfect,” Dusick said. “It was everything that I wanted and hoped for.”
Dusick graduated from GSEP in 2021 with a Master’s degree in Clinical Psychology with an emphasis in marriage and family therapy. He works as a marriage and family therapist at the Missing Peace Center for Anxiety in Agoura Hills.
Crystal Kennedy, Associate Marriage and Family Therapist (AMFT), is Dusick’s co-worker at the center. She wrote in a March 31 email to the Graphic that Dusick uses his natural abilities and talents to help others.
“In his life he has been driven to uncover his gifts that will provide the most benefit to others,” Kennedy wrote. “Ryan has fought to overcome his challenges along with finding new opportunities to share what he has to offer to humanity.”
Dusick’s gift of listening comes naturally, Ken Dusick said.
Dusick said he felt a calling to a therapist occupation during his time at the recovery center and GSEP.
“Ryan is kindhearted and incredibly empathetic to people,” Ken Dusick said. “He’s extremely patient with people in terms of need and he’s a great listener.”
Writing essays in graduate school reignited his passion for writing, Dusick said. Psychology papers specifically taught him about himself, as many of his assignments had self-reflection elements.
Dusick said this ultimately inspired him to write his memoir.
“It was realizing, this is a passion for me,” Dusick said. “I have a story to tell. And now it has a happy ending and I want to tell my story, because I think it can help some people that can see themselves in my struggles. And if they can see themselves in my struggles, hopefully they can find inspiration and hope in my recovery.”
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Contact Nora Moriarty-McLaughlin via email: nora.mclaughlin@pepperdine.edu
