Alex Rochlitz
Hi, I’m Alex.
Father of 3. Founder at ScaleX.
Human. Based in Detroit.
Most of my life, I’ve been trying to understand what was wrong with me—and chasing the love and acceptance I couldn’t give myself.
Through grit, shameless ambition and a lot of luck, I built a life that looked pretty good on paper. Living inside it was another story.
I’m a guy from Detroit with ADHD, a fucked-up sense of humor, and a lot still to figure out.
At 31,
I wasn’t okay.
Shortly after my son was born, I felt hopeless and paralyzed by anxiety and depression. I was ready to check myself into a psych ward. That wasn’t what my life looked like from the outside.
My son’s love gave me a reason to start therapy. At first, I showed up out of desperation. Sometimes twice a week. It became some of the hardest and most worthwhile work I’ve ever done.
Divorce, fatherhood, and years of therapy have changed how I see myself. I’ve had to let go of a lot of the person I thought I was supposed to be.
I’m grateful for the life I have. I also still struggle with anxiety, depression, and an ADHD brain that doesn’t reliably cooperate with the plan. Both things are true.
How I got hereIt helps me
make sense of things.
Writing makes me feel good. So does the idea that somebody might spend five minutes reading something I have to say. There are probably less selfish reasons, too.
I write about happiness, burnout, ambition, and the things I’m still trying to understand about myself. If somebody recognizes a little of their own life in it, that means something to me.
Some things I’ve written.
How to be “happy”
On figuring out what matters to you—and what you actually do with the hours in your day.
The axis of burnout.
On stress, responsibility, and being honest about how much you’re carrying.