Zac Brown Band‘s John Driskell Hopkins is opening up about his ongoing battle with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, commonly known as ALS. Hopkins first revealed his diagnosis in 2022, after being diagnosed the previous December.

“It’s been a very slow progression for me,” Hopkins tells Everything Nash. “And I can still sing. I can still play. I do have trouble getting around. My breath control has been affected. My pitch has stayed pretty solid, but the speed with which I can deliver words has been severely compromised.”

The Grammy’s recently presented Family Matters: John Driskell Hopkins, chronicling Hopkins’ journey with the Zac Brown Band, along with his illness, and his family’s support amid his devastating diagnosis.

“I love the idea of letting people know how important my family is to me,” Hopkins says. “And I also have a long-running love affair with the Recording Academy. I was a governor for 10 years in Atlanta. I was a trustee for two years in Atlanta. And I know that the Recording Academy will do everything that they do with excellence. I was excited to share our story in a sort of mini series, full length platform. I feel like this Family Matters program will have the opportunity to reach millions that have not heard about ALS, or specifically my situation.”

When Hopkins was first diagnosed, he had no idea what ALS was, and had to look it up to find out more about the degenerative disease, with no known cure.

“It’s so misunderstood, and it is not rare anymore,” Hopkins shares. “It’s uncommon, but it’s not rare. Now we have one in 300 men, and one in 400 women who will develop ALS in their lifetime. And that number should increase by 70 percent by 2040. So in the next ten, 15 years, we’re gonna see a windfall of cases, and we have to figure it out. It’s coming for us in, in the form of ALS, Parkinson’s, Alzheimer’s, all this motor neuron degeneration is at the root of all of these diseases. We may learn that they’re not diseases at all. We may learn that they’re toxins. We may learn that they’re genetically incurred retroviruses. We may learn that that head trauma that you had when you were 16 disrupted something. I mean, all bets are off. And anyone with an answer is welcome.”

As soon as Hopkins found out he had ALS, he also began working on a way to help. The father of three, along with his wife Jennifer, launched Hop On A Cure, to raise money and awareness, along with support for those battling ALS.

 

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“When we were diagnosed, it became evident that we would have to — I say we, because there’s a phrase that the patient gets the diagnosis, but the family gets ALS. I have mixed emotions about that,” Hopkins concedes. “But when we were faced with this, we had to make a decision: quietly deal with this on our own, or shout it from the mountaintops and try to make a difference. We could have made a difference quietly by donating to lots of great groups, and aligning with that sentiment. But being a preacher, I’m very good at engaging with people, and explaining our message, and that felt best on our own platform.”

Hopkins admits that his wife was worried about his daughters being thrust into the media, although fortunately, that hasn’t happened to the degree they originally feared.

“I told Jen that they need to know that we did everything that we could, and the only way to do that was to use our platform and shout it from the mountaintops in our own way. We kind of killed two birds with one stone. We’re getting this message out there, but we’re still supporting so many different groups.”

Hopkins has fully accepted his diagnosis, while also refusing to be defined by it. He also is still hopeful for a cure, and willing to do whatever it takes, including recently visiting Lourdes, France, where there is reportedly healing water in a spring within the city.

“I’m embracing it,” Hopkins says. “And I do have hope for medicine. I do have hope for faith, and for meditation and for the body healing itself, and for nutrition. I don’t eat any processed food anymore. I only eat organic unless I’m on the road, and I don’t know what the restaurant puts in their food. I’m trying to order the best things that I can. But we’re in a toxic world. Our water is filthy. Especially in this country, our foods are laden with poisons and dyes and oils that are meant for machines. It’s a miracle we’re all not falling down. But hey, I’m getting back up. So to me, that’s what hope is, is that tomorrow will be better.”

Donate to Hop On A Cure at HopOnACure.org.