Vic Vela

Colorado native Vic Vela is an award-winning journalist, broadcaster, educator, public speaker and fierce advocate for addiction and mental health recovery. Vic joined Aspen Public Radio in July 2026 as the host of Morning Edition and reporter covering education issues in the Roaring Fork Valley.

After graduating from the Metropolitan State University of Denver in 2000, Vic launched his journalism career as a sports anchor and reporter for an NBC affiliate in West Texas. He’s also worked in newspapers, including as an investigative crime and courts reporter for the Albuquerque Journal, and covered politics and state government as a member of the Colorado Capitol Press Corps. For nearly a decade, Vic was a news and podcast host and reporter for Denver’s NPR affiliate, Colorado Public Radio. He has also taught aspiring journalists as an affiliate journalism instructor at his alma mater, MSU Denver. Vic is a 5-time Edward R. Murrow award winner and was named the 2020 Colorado Media Person of the Year by the Public Relations Society of America.

Vic is a recovering crack cocaine addict and often shares his recovery story in public. He has inspired countless people who struggle with addiction and mental health issues through his advocacy work as a public speaker and through his podcast, "Back from Broken", which features comeback stories of people who have overcome the biggest challenges in their lives. “Back from Broken” has won several awards – including back-to-back wins for Best Podcast by the Colorado Broadcasters Association – and has helped thousands of people along the road to recovery. In 2022, Vic received the prestigious Larry Tajiri Media Award from ACLU Colorado “for honesty and compassion in sharing stories of substance use and recovery.” In 2025, Vic launched the Back From Broken Foundation, a nonprofit organization that aims to help people in recovery through storytelling.

Vic has interviewed a diverse range of guests on the “Back From Broken” podcast, including Hunter Biden, Jim Belushi and The Lumineers. Throughout his career, Vic has interviewed many prominent names in politics and entertainment, including Nikola Jokic, Don Rickles, Jay Leno and the Grateful Dead’s Bob Weir.

Vic is a fourth generation Colorado native and was the first person in his immediate family to attend college. He comes from a large Chicano family that’s deeply rooted in the American West. On his mother's side, Vic's Indigenous and Spanish ancestral roots from New Mexico predate the earliest New England colonies. Vic's grandparents on his dad’s side were raised in southern Colorado, relocating to Boulder County, where they worked long hours picking vegetables in beet fields. His Grandpa Vela was a boxer in the Marines and a coal miner. Vic's dad is an Army veteran and a longtime Chicano rights and community organizer in Longmont. Vic was named after his great Uncle Vic of Longmont, who won a Purple Heart for fighting in the Battle of the Bulge during World War II.

Vic is an enthusiastic supporter of animal rights and often helps to raise money for rescue groups. He’s also a huge fan of the Grateful Dead, even naming his rescue dog Rider after one of their songs.