Today we’d like to introduce you to Skye Hilton.
Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
I’ve always been passionate about being passionate. Since I was a kid, creativity has been my entire sense of self. Whether I was drawing, writing, or making music, I was always chasing the feeling of being lit up by something meaningful. That path led me to study at Pratt Institute, where I earned my BFA and immersed myself in visual art, design, and storytelling.
While in college, I fell into a community of artists and musicians in Brooklyn, recording in basement studios and putting on shows in small venues and DIY spaces. I started working as an audio engineer and producer, releasing my own music and performing across New York. It was a time of intense connection and creative energy, but also one where substance use was deeply woven into the culture. What started as social quickly turned into something darker, and I found myself struggling with substance use disorder in a way that shook my sense of identity and safety.
Getting sober was both the most terrifying and transformative chapter of my life. It forced me to rebuild everything, from how I created, how I connected with others, and how I understood myself. Over time, I found healing through peer support and creative expression, and realized there was a massive gap in recovery spaces for people like me – artists, deep feelers, people who see passion and a sense of purpose in life as a non-negotiable.
That realization became the foundation for New Obsession, the company I founded to support others navigating recovery, reinvention, and identity through creativity. As a certified Recovery Support Peer Specialist and Peer Support Supervisor I now get to combine my lived experience with my background in art and music to offer coaching, workshops, events and peer support services that meet people where they are and help them move toward who they’re becoming.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Definitely not a smooth road, but a meaningful one. One of the biggest challenges has been learning how to balance my own personal recovery with the work I do supporting others. As a peer specialist, our first responsibility is to take care of ourselves, because if we’re not grounded, we can’t show up in a real or sustainable way for the people we serve. It can be hard to prioritize yourself when you’re so emotionally connected to the work you do.
There have been seasons where I was holding space for others while quietly navigating my own struggles, things like self-doubt, burnout, and imposter syndrome. At the same time, I was figuring out how to start, own, and grow a business from the ground up without a roadmap. Learning to operate within systems while also trying to challenge and transform them has been a complicated dance.
And then there’s my creative life, which has never stopped being important to me. I’ve had to learn the difference between dropping a passion and pausing to realign. I used to think balance was a fixed state, but I’ve come to understand it more as a rhythm, constantly shifting, sometimes messy, but always teaching me something. The real work has been giving myself permission to evolve, to rest, and to keep coming back to what matters most.
Appreciate you sharing that. What should we know about New Obsession?
New Obsession is a peer-led creative recovery platform offering services at the intersection of healing, identity, and creative expression. Located in Downtown East Austin, we specialize in Creative Recovery Coaching, a form of peer support that blends recovery-oriented care with artistic practice and self-discovery. Our clients include people navigating early recovery, life transitions, mental health challenges, and those simply seeking deeper alignment and purpose.
What sets us apart is that we do not separate the messy parts of being human from the creative and recovery process. We honor them as part of it. Our work is not about fixing people, it is about creating brave space for people to reconnect with who they are and imagine new possibilities for their lives. We work with individuals, recovery programs, sober living homes, and community organizations to offer coaching, workshops, creative groups, and event programming rooted in peer support values: authenticity, mutuality, and choice.
We also host free Open Studio hours every week at our space, where anyone can drop in to make art, use the wifi, or meet with a peer advocate for resources and recovery or mental health support. It is one of our favorite ways to stay connected to the community and offer low-barrier access to care.
Brand-wise, I am most proud that we have created something that feels approachable and accessible, especially for people who might feel out of place in traditional recovery or mental health spaces. We are intentional about how we show up visually and relationally. Our brand reflects who we are: real people with lived experience, meeting others without pretense. Whether someone is brand new to recovery or just feeling disconnected from themselves, we want New Obsession to feel like a space where they can land without needing to have it all figured out.
At the core, New Obsession is about reminding people that recovery is not just about what you walk away from. It is about what you are walking toward. Creativity gives us access to that vision. It allows us to imagine lives that are not just sustainable, but inspired.
Are there any books, apps, podcasts or blogs that help you do your best?
Definitely! Some books I keep coming back to are The Artist’s Way by Julia Cameron, great for tapping into your creativity and healing. Love First by Jeff Jay and Debra Jay has really shaped how I approach working with people still struggling in a world full of stigma and shame. Flow by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi is awesome for understanding how to get into that zone where everything just clicks. I also have a well-loved copy of Directory of Illustration, tagged and dog-eared with images that have sparked something inside me.
For podcasts, I’m all about Creative Pep Talk. It’s super inspiring and always gives me a boost when I need it.
These are the kinds of things that keep me motivated and remind me that creativity and recovery go hand in hand!
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.newobsessionatx.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/new.obsession.atx
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/NewObsessionATX
Image Credits
Ricky Clack Photography
