SaskatchewanA Saskatchewan tech startup’s app is meant to help people with addictions by providing tools for mindfulness, inspired by one of the co-founder’s own experience.AlchemistOne app inspired by co-founder’s journeySarah Onyango · CBC News · Posted: Aug 10, 2025 7:00 AM EDT | Last Updated: August 10Adam Geiger, left, CEO and co-founder of AlchemistOne, with partner, co-founder and COO Chelsea Galloway. (Submitted by Chelsea Galloway)It began with moments of personal reflection.Adam Geiger had been battling a gambling addiction since he was a teenager.”I think it started innocently enough, with things like video games and whatnot,” Geiger said, who’s from Regina. “Looking back, I remember myself being very anxious, always really trapped in my mind thinking of what other people thought of me.” After decades of struggle, mindfulness and meditation helped him shift gears, allowing him to explore not just his behaviour, but the thoughts beneath it.”Looking at the nature of thought and what was going on, sort of beneath the surface level stuff,” he said.In 2024, he and his partner Chelsea Galloway two decided to build a digital tool to support others facing similar struggles.”I think Adam and I both had this opportunity at the time to really be able to put ourselves into something that mattered to us personally,” Galloway said.A year and a half later, their vision became reality with the launch of AlchemistOne, a mindfulness-focused recovery app designed to support people dealing with addictions.The AlchemistOne app has had close to 6, 000 downloads worldwide since its official launched in early April 2025. (Submitted by Chelsea Galloway)A shared mission born from experienceGeiger’s journey to AlchemistOne began decades ago, when an innocent love of video games and sports grew to compulsive gambling. “I made my first sports bet when I was 13 or 14,” he said. “All those thoughts went away and it was very easy for me to escape into gambling.”Temporary relief came with long-term consequences. Geiger said he spent more 20 years locked in a cycle of gambling addiction.Once he finally broke that cycle, the app seemed like a perfect opportunity to help others do the same.Galloway, the company’s COO, brought both personal insight and business expertise to the project.”Addiction was just something that was really present in our lives,” she said. “Adam had a really strong tech background. I had a pretty strong business background. So we came together to build the company.”The pair spent months designing what would become AlchemistOne. What started as a two-person initiative now includes six full-time team members and a growing community of close to 6,000 downloads worldwide.Adam Geiger and Chelsea Galloway were inspired to create the AlchemistOne app to help others with addiction. (Submitted by Chelsea Galloway)A 3-pillar approachGeiger said that at its core, AlchemistOne is built around three key pillars of recovery: Mindfulness and meditation. Active reflection. Physical movement. Users can access a library of audio content, including guided meditations, podcast-style interviews and personal stories from people around the world who are in recovery.The Morning Edition – SaskAlchemist One: app made by Regina couple helps people recover from addictionA Regina couple has created an app to help people on the road to recovery with addiction. It’s made by a team who all have experience with addiction. We’ll find out how their lived experience informs the app.Geiger acknowledged an irony in people using the same phone or tablet that accessed gambling sites, social media or other addictive content as a tool for recovery. Instead of turning to a casino app or a harmful distraction, users can open AlchemistOne and engage in a quick mindfulness session.”I think often our phones and our computers are the things that we use to escape into and keeps us a lot of trouble,” he said. “We definitely wanted to build that daily companion that lived in that same space that you maybe had some trouble before.”AlchemistOne is an app that offers mindfulness tools for those in recovery or struggling with addiction. (Submitted by Chelsea Galloway)Since the launch in April 2025, the response has been swift and steady the pair says.”It’s really exciting that we see new members every five or 10 minutes jumping into the app and signing up,” Galloway said.For both founders, the real win isn’t downloads, it’s impact.”We’re getting that feedback from people who are saying, you know, this is resonating with me,” Galloway said. “It’s complicated, it’s complex. And if we can just bring something to the table that helps people get through their day and potentially helps long lasting recovery, that’s really the end goal.”ABOUT THE AUTHORSarah Onyango is a reporter and producer at CBC Saskatchewan. She holds a bachelor’s degree in journalism at the University of Regina. Sarah is passionate about diverse storytelling in Saskatchewan. She can be reached at sarah.onyango@cbc.caWith files form The Morning Edition
Couple’s app teaches mindfulness to break the cycle of addiction
