Locked In with Ian Bick - Ex Latin King Leader Reveals What Gang Life Is REALLY like | Melvin Negron

Episode Date: December 10, 2024

Melvin Negron, a former leader of the Latin Kings, shares his firsthand account of what life in the gang was truly like. From the internal hierarchy and strict codes to the dangers and consequences of living in constant conflict, Melvin sheds light on the harsh realities of gang culture. He opens up about his rise within the organization, the choices he made, and the turning points that led him to leave it all behind. #LatinKings #GangLife #TrueCrimeStories #ExGangLeader #StreetGangCulture #BreakingFree #GangViolence #LifeBehindTheGang Thank you to MINT MOBILE for sponsoring today's episode: Get your new 3-month premium wireless plan for just 15 bucks a month by going to https://mintmobile.com/locked DISCLAIMER: $45 upfront payment required (equivalent to $15/mo.). New customers on first 3 month plan only. Speeds slower above 40GB on Unlimited plan. Additional taxes, fees, & restrictions apply. See MINT MOBILE for details. Hosted, Executive Produced & Edited By Ian Bick: https://www.instagram.com/ian_bick/?hl=en https://ianbick.com/ Connect with Melvin Negron: Website: https://gangstersgonegodly.wixsite.com/gangstersgonegodly Email: [e-mail] YT: https://youtube.com/@gangstersgonegodly4118?si=BprIdD0Iv_NUA64P FB: https://www.facebook.com/share/19JC9hC6zp/?mibextid=LQQJ4d TiKTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@hogmobggginfinite?_t=8s3ZTZ4kufm&_r=1 Presented by Tyson 2.0 & Wooooo Energy: https://tyson20.com/ https://woooooenergy.com/ Buy Merch: https://www.ianbick.com/shop Use code lockedin at checkout to get 20% off your order Timestamps: 00:00:00 Melvin's Life Story and Book Release 00:04:47 Overcoming Past Choices for Positive Change 00:09:57 Joining the Latin Kings: A Search for Love and Belonging 00:14:58 Intrigue with the Latin Kings 00:20:16 The Influence of Fear and Loyalty in Youth Recruitment 00:25:18 Reality Check in the Trial 00:30:16 Rise to Power: Becoming a First Crown 00:35:13 The Impact of Global Communication 00:40:08 Leaving the Latin Kings: A Personal Journey 00:45:48 Turning Point: Surrender and Faith 00:50:25 Expansion of Gang Networks in Prisons 00:55:48 Life in the Game: Hustling and Leadership 01:01:33 Returning to Leadership After Prison 01:05:59 Transition to a Different Life 01:10:58 Embracing Life's Journey and Purpose 01:15:51 The Power of Secular Podcasts 01:20:14 Podcast Collaboration and Networking Powered by: Just Media House : https://www.justmediahouse.com/ Creative direction, design, assets, support by FWRD: https://www.fwrd.co Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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Restrictions apply. Melvin, welcome to Lockton. Thanks so much for coming today. And thanks for bringing gifts. You wrote this book right here? Yeah. If you want to plug it in at the top of this episode. Yeah.

A book of my life story from the very beginning. from birth all the way up until probably last year, maybe. It's gangsters going galley. You can get it on Amazon. You can get it on Barnes & Noble. Oh, I even got a note, too. That's cool. Yeah, I signed it for you.

That's awesome. Thank you so much. I love when guests bring a memento, kind of like other story. And I, like, put it, like, in the office, and it's cool. It's like, it's building this place up. Mm-hmm. Not definitely. Like I wrote something just for the simple fact that I really appreciate that even you bring someone like me because this was not my life.

Like I didn't like any of this stuff prior to coming home from prison. You know what I'm saying? So it was like, this is not me. But the more I'm able to share my stories, the more I'm able to talk about the things that I've done and be open about it, I see a lot more people making that same change, you know, and trying something different. And to know that you're someone that came from that, you know, that did time and everything, it's even more empowering to me. Thank you, man. I think it makes a guest more comfortable to open up because I'm not like some random white kid from the suburbs,

try to ask all these questions. And then also, is this merch for sale? Because this hoodie is so cool. It's great quality. I love the red and the yellow on this and the black. Everything, like, everything's custom-made. So when you go on the site, Gangsters Gone Gaudly website, you can actually, they're sold as, like, a blank canvas.

And then you choose the color, you choose the design, and it gives you different options of different logos, things like that from Gainesville, Go on Gaudley. Awesome. And we'll have your links to everything in the bio of this episode. Yeah. Now, you were speaking at prison yesterday, or? No, it was a.

program halfway house. Okay. Yeah, out in Bridgeport. Just, it's, I don't want to say it's a halfway house.

What it is, is a bunch of guys that had done time or, you know, been to drug programs. And now they're in a home, but it's all homes of, like,

former gang members. And the reason I was asked, Jimmy, he's, PX production, he's one of the other guys that are on my team, he always does events and stuff and he gets all these events schedules so we connected with somebody in

Bridgeport and he was like you got to meet this guy he's you know um his story similar to yours things like that so i said all right i'll check it out got into talking and he invited me up so and that's typically how it happens you know somebody always invites me after we get to talking a little bit because I won't do everything with everybody. I'm real picky about that. And it's not because I think I'm either better or I don't believe where they came from. It's just that I've learned just like when I was in the world that you can't rock with everybody, you know, you really got to like let discernment kick in and then be a good judge of

character as to say, you know what? Are they really about what they say they're doing? or are they just doing it for clout? You know? And I'm not one to just jump on people just for clout. You know, I don't care if you've got five followers or 5,000 followers. At the end of the day, if you're really doing it because you got a passion for it, I'm with you. Yeah, and it's amazing, like, what networking can do in today's world.

And that's why I'm so responsive in my Instagram DMs because that's where the good stories are, the people that have never gotten to tell their story and that DM may. It's crazy because I knew your story from when you had the cookoff. Yeah, that's when I first started seeing it. And then I started following you through Instagram and stuff and TikTok. But my sister was the one that reached out to you initially because I always would talk about it. I was like, yeah, it would be all right if I could say that I could jump on his cookoff show. But I only provided the food.

I never really cooked. I'd probably be smashed real quick, you know. But it's a cool, you know, I like the idea. And then to see how the platform kept growing, I was like, yeah, that's dope. Because there's a couple people that you had on the show that I know. I've either done time with them or I know I'm on a personal note. And I'm like, okay, I see what he's doing. That's dope.

It's different, you know. Yeah, it's crazy how so many people have. so many people are connected, whether they did time. Like, it's a big world, but it's a small world in a crazy way, too. That world. Yeah, really. And everyone shares something in common, whether, you know, you get along with that person or not, everyone has, like, a commonality among each other.

Yeah, most definitely. But, I mean, not for nothing to see where a lot of them have made changes in their lives and they're doing something different, something positive, spiritual, whatever the case may be. it's definitely good to see that we're not who people automatically remember us for, you know, and that's what I love the most, you know. We didn't choose to do the things that we did, or let's put this way, we chose those things. We weren't made to do those things, you know. I say it all the time.

Like when I was a kid, I didn't think I was going to be spending, you know, two-thirds of my life in prison. I didn't think I was going to be a gang member. I didn't think none of these things. But when I did make those choices, I embraced it wholeheartedly. So when it was time to change, it was like, okay, now I got to embrace that. And that's hard. It's really hard.

You know, but again, platforms like this and seeing other people that have similar stories or similar background and seeing that they can change can help others to change, it's a great thing. Absolutely. So where did you grow up? I grew up in Vineland, New Jersey. Vineland is South Jersey. It's the largest city in New Jersey, area-wise, but it's not the most popular.

It's not like it's Newark or Jersey City or anything like that. 20 minutes away from Camden and another 20 minutes away from Wildwood. So it's like right in the middle of good and bad, you know. But it has a high, a lot of, how can I put it? Cumberland County has a lot of, a lot of drug dealers. A lot of people that were in the drug game that really made it known, you know. And I grew up seeing that, you know, because I, like, I came from a messed up home anyway. you know, my mother father was separated when I was a baby.

So I had a stepfather or her boyfriend and he was abusive. He was like, he was the type of guy that if I opened up the refrigerator, I'm getting smacked in my face. You know, my mom, she was so scared of him that she allowed these things, you know. So I don't hold nothing against her, but maybe if things had been. a little bit different, I wouldn't have been looking to the streets for that love and attention, you know. My father was in my life, but my father was also, you know, because of the difference between him and my mom, he was a weekend father, a birthday father, holiday father, things like that.

So when he came around, he was my superhero, you know, but he wasn't always around, you know what I'm saying? So I was looking for the rest of the time. And I found it on the streets, you know, especially when everything in the house was chaotic. I mean, like, when I say abuse, it went from physical, mental, emotional, to verbal, to even sexual, you know.

And, you know, I share that story with everybody. I'm like, listen. And the reason I share too is that he not only abused my sister, but he sexually abused me as well. And I always used to want to hide that when I even told my story. It was like, I'm not going to talk about that because you have this bravado thing. Like we got to be so machismo about who we were and where we came from. But I learned that a lot of gang members came from that same background.

You know, they were hurt physically but also sexually. They just never talk about it until one person opens up and now they feel comfortable to open that story up. So I started telling that part of my story. And it was years after I got saved that I was able to go ahead and change that story. You know what I'm saying? And just be like, I'm not only known for being a gang member. I mean, that's what everybody's seen. But there's a foundation to everything.

You know, there's a root to everything. And that foundation and that root started with what was going on. in the home and I was a scared kid. Like I didn't join the Latin Kings because I was scared. I was just living in fear for everything else. I joined the Latin Kings because I seen love. You know, so it, I started off at an early age, you know, and Jersey didn't have, like North Jersey had it,

but Violin didn't have that. Violin had, like I said, everybody was drunk. drug dealers. Everybody was individual, like, neighborhood gangs. I got introduced to the Latin Kings, you know, when I was 14. But I had already been introduced to the street. I started doing time at 11. I did two and a half years at 11 trying to kill my stepdad. Oh, wow. Yeah. So, um, coming home from that and meeting other Latin kings that came from other jails from other cities to Skilman it was like yeah that's what I want and that same old cliche that everybody looks for in that life is the money power and respect you want all three

I had it at an early age I wanted it all I tell everybody I wanted to be king blood I wanted his power but I wanted to be what you call it John Gotti's respect like I had all these different idols and none of them were good so I just took a little bit from everybody and said this is how I'm going to do it

you know and I ran hard I gave it 150% in everything and when I say everything like I'm an open book literally there's nothing I wouldn't do to get it you know, from drug dealing to violence to be in a shot caller and calling hits on people,

didn't matter. I didn't care. It is what it is, but I'm going to get there. Not realizing that all that was getting me more time in prison, you know. With big wireless providers, what you see is never what you get. You know the drill. You walk into the store, see a great deal, sign up thinking you're getting one price, and then your first bill shows up.

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It's simple, affordable, and exactly what wireless should be. Now let's get back into today's episode. When do you think you first became, you know, passionate about wanting to join a gang like the Latin Kings? Well, I started doing time at 11. And I want to say like at my first year in, I started seeing other kids from the big cities. and hearing about the Latin Kings. Back then, there was no bloods and cribs. The only thing you knew about them

was what you've seen in the movie colors, you know, in the East Coast it wasn't that. But you heard about Latin Kings, you heard about Nietas, you know, and I would see these kids, and I would see the unity. I would see how they, no matter what, they stood up for one another, all those things that I was actually looking. for. So when I came home, I hadn't joined, but I was intrigued by it. And then I want to say

when I was like 13, 14 years old, a guy named Youngblood, that he was a Latin king from Trenton. He had family in my city. He took a liking to me immediately as soon as he met me and started giving me lessons and manifestos all as a Peewee King. you don't have that. You don't get those lessons. But he was giving it to me. So I was like, even though I was a kid, I was getting the same lessons that the ones that were 18, 19 years old were getting.

And I was studying. I would like all the time talk about it and get locked back up. And now I'm a part of it, you know, but just as a Peeley King. It wasn't until I was 18 that I became a full-fledged king. and that's when it just it just blew up it went out of control. Do you think if you had a stable childhood,

you never would have gotten to that life? Yeah, definitely. Like I tell people all the time, in fact, we were just having this conversation. I don't blame my parents. They did the best job that they could do. My mother, a worker, hard worker,

gave us and tried to give us everything she could, but she had an issue with love. She could never find love in all the right places, like they say. Her relationships were terrible. When she would choose a man, it was terrible. And I think, like, I don't blame her for the choices I made because they were choices.

Like, I knew right from wrong, even as a little kid. Like, when I committed my very first crime, it was because he raped my sister and got her pregnant. And my mother, out of fear, chose him over her own kids. So now that fear that I had growing up in all these years, it manifested in the anger. And it, like, literally, I just snapped. And everything, I had two emotions.

That's it. Either I was happy or lucky or I was always angry. And I want to say 75% of the time, I was just angry all the time. People would always be like, you never smile. You never do this. For what? What's there to smile about? I don't have a reason to smile.

Nothing's going good in my house. Only time I'm happy about anything is when I'm out here committing crimes. You know, so I know. So I know, like I said, I won't blame my mother, but I blame the area I grew up in. Was it common for a gang like the Latin Kings to recruit kids? Yeah. Even when I became first crown, I would do what they did with me. Be on the block, hustling, walking around, whatever.

And then you'd see little kids that just, you know, be playing basketball. handball, whatever, and they're watching you. And sorry. No, you're good. And you would see them and you'd just automatically be like, okay, they were like me. They were impressionable like me. And call them over to you. Yo, little man, come here.

Give them a $20 bill and be like, yo, go get me a soda. Keep the change afterwards. And they'd be, whoa, for real. Yeah, or if anything, yo, you need anything? Little man, you want a pair of sneakers, whatever. You're buying them first before you're actually doing them. Once they start hanging around and wanting to be your little errand boy, now you're going ahead and seeing where their heart's at.

You're giving them different jobs. Now you went from going to get my soda. Now you're being a lookout. From being a lookout, now I need you to go collect money from this guy. After you did that, now I need you. to go beat this guy up. He stole something. He did that.

So as you see that happening, now you ever thought about, you know, now you're throwing the, being proud Puerto Rican. You're a Puerto Rican. You're proud of your heritage. You're proud of, you know, being a Borek, whatever.

And now we're, okay, you ever thought about being a Latin king? What do you know about the Latin Kings? Forget about what you heard. What do you really know? Well, I'm going to teach you. So they're paying more attention to me than they're actually paying attention in school. But I'm giving them history lessons like if they were in school, you know, but they're focused more because why?

I bought them. I got in their head with a couple dollars. I got in their head because I was willing to defend them. I was willing to protect them. If something was going on at their house, I got you, little man, because that's what happened with me. And I went through that. So now if you got them when they're young, it ends up being something where they're going to be loyalty for the rest of your life. And it's a fine line between are they loyal because they respect you or are they loyal because they're scared of what you're going to do because they've seen you do something to somebody else?

I would have back then I wanted the loyalty out of fear more than I wanted it out of respect. I didn't care how old you were. I wanted out of a 10-year-old, 11-year-old, you know. But now I go to the middle schools, and I talk to those same kids and let them know. And look, this is what you got to be aware of. These are what the guys are doing. And I've caught so many kids come tell me,

yeah, a guy in my neighborhood's doing this, he's telling me to do this and that. Yeah, because he's recruiting you, just like anybody. They're going to talk to you. They're going to tell you. They said, this is just like the NFL. You know what I'm saying?

They're going to offer you everything in the world, just like the devil tried to do with Jesus. Going to offer everything. You know what I'm saying? It's just your choice to make the right choice. I made the wrong choice. Don't make my mistakes. How does it make you feel now knowing that you recruited kids

to follow in your path back then? I don't want to say I have any regrets. I don't regret. anything I ever did. I mean, from the worst things to, you know, the baddest things, there's no regrets because

it made me who I am today. Do I feel bad for those kids? Yeah. Because I brought them into a world. Probably they weren't even meant to be a part of. You know what I'm saying? And I try to redeem myself

by talking to other kids. I try to redeem myself by even looking for those same kids that I recruited in. And the reason is is because if the reason there's no regrets is because had I not going through that phase, then I wouldn't be able to talk to other kids that are about to go through that phase, you know? Like I had to actually live it because it's like you said, how can I talk to you about something if I've never really been involved. Like you were saying, you're not just some white kid that's in the suburbs, you know,

whatever. You live the life so you could actually speak on it. It's the same thing as me. If I go and I try to, you know, talk to kids about God or talk to kids about, you know, changing their life or anything like that, well, they're not going to listen to me because they can listen. They're not listening to their pastor. They're not listening to their parents.

They're not listening to nobody. But they relate to me. because, oh, where I came from, oh, he was a gang member. He was a well-known gang member. He was this. He was that. Like, his stories sound similar to mine. What I'm going through now, he already went through.

So I listen to him doesn't mean I'm going to change. But the kid's consistency. You can't give up. Just because they give you, you know how many kids I get? They stand there and talk to me and their hands are crossed, shooting me, rocks. Look like they want to fight. But I'm not giving up on them. I let them know.

Look, I'm not going to give you a work phone. Here's my cell phone. My personal line. You know what I'm saying? Text me. I don't care if it's 3 o'clock in the morning. Reach out to me. You need me to come get you off the block.

I'm there. You need me to come talk to you. I've gone into so many different, what they call lines dens, and talk to the big homies so they can get certain kids out of it. Is it enough? I don't know.

I can't say I've been redeemed for all the stuff I did, but I'm going to try until my very last breath. When I go and speak in these prisons and detention centers and halfway houses, I find that the stories where, you know, are at our rock bottom, like the day we got arrested or the day we, you know, if there was an act of violence or whatever, are the most impactful because that shows the reality of what happens and how it led to where we're at now. What's a moment that you share when you go in and speak at these places? When I was sitting in trial, like, I was the worst.

I can't say that when I got arrested, I hit rock bottom. If anything, it was a badge of honor when I got busted. But when I was sitting in trial, I watched two people that I, one, recruited into the Latin Kings. and they were like family, they were like real brothers to me, take the stand and testify, you know? And I think that's when reality said in, blood in, blood out, I'll die for you.

That was all fake. My code wasn't their code, you know. They didn't make me walk away from the kings. It just made me be more cautious about certain people. but that probably was like, I want to say, like, when things started to see what it was really about, what that life was really about. Like, they always say, oh, the streets don't love you. Well, the streets love me. Certain people didn't.

That was my mentality. I want to say what made complete, you know, reality check and really wanted to start to make change. changes was my baby brother when my baby brother died um because i brought him into the game i brought him into the you know hustling getting high whatever and he looked up to me like he was probably like if if he was alive today he would have a fan page for me that's how he was when he looked at me got arrested one time and he's telling the cops, you know who my brother is and this and that? Like, he's a little kid saying all this.

And I'm listening, and if anything, it's blowing up my head. But the day he died, which was on my birthday, it hit hard. And I think that was the game changer right there. Like, damn, I could have maybe done something different for this kid. I could have shown him something different.

Yeah, I got to change my life. Things got to change. And I'm not going to sit there and act like it changed overnight. It took another eight to ten years for it to finally change. But gradually, little by little, I could see the difference in me. You know, drug dealing wasn't important to me. The gang life definitely was I. I walked, that's when I walked the Golden Gates because of him, what they call the Golden Gates back then in the Latin Kings.

I couldn't do it anymore. Like, I didn't want to see our kids grow up to do what me and my brothers did. You know, so, if anything, that was probably what really hit. That was my rock bottom. Can you break us down some of the terminology that you've been using, like pee-wee? I think there was another level like high something when you got to the higher status. So Pee-Wee King is typically anyone under 18.

And you're pretty much like what they call a gopher. Go for this, go for that. You know, you're somebody's puppet. And they're molding you and grooming you until you're 18. And then when you become 18, now you're going to be what's a full-fledged king. Right.

And then you'll go through the process. of either back then you were getting beat down to get in to be a Latin king nowadays I think they don't even do the beat downs they just they test you in other ways you know um but uh yeah so you know I was a peewee king by the time I was 14 at 18 I became a full-fledged king which I want to say within a year's time of being crowned as a full-fledged king, I became the first crown. So there's five levels to leadership in the crown, which are the five points on the crown. And I was through bloodline. I wasn't part of what they call KMC, which is the Chicago one.

I was under King Blaze. King Blaze was one of a king blood second in command. He helped start the Latin Kings. So I was under him. And I want to say within a year's time, after becoming a full-fledged king, I became a second crown. And then within six months after that, I became my first crown. And I always stayed as a first crown for the next 20-plus years.

You know, wherever I went, I would open up chapters. establishing different, what they call sex, to different parts of the country, like Ohio, Pennsylvania, wherever. And if somebody already had a chapter there, again, I had this money power respecting that I needed to have that title. So now I'm a challenge whoever's there to take on that title. And a lot of times they just look, because, I was that, I want to say, I wasn't your toughest king.

I wasn't the hardest, but I was your most strategic. Like, I lived my life like a game of chess. So I would watch and see how everything was moving around before I decided, okay, I'm going to take his position. You know, so if I went somewhere to, whether it was by prison or on the streets, I'm just seeing how things are moving. and now I'm talking to all the guys that are lower, like no disrespect to this king, but things need to change.

You guys aren't doing this, you guys aren't doing that. So now it's like a democracy, you got to vote for it. But I'm over here campaigning to everybody else. You know what I'm saying? So that when he came down to it, who do you want?

Do you want this guy that is not going to get you locked up, but it's going to go ahead. and it's a lie, but it's going to go ahead and figure out ways for you to keep doing what you're doing without getting you caught up in some mess, without getting you killed, without getting you locked up. And if those things happen, your family's taking care of, your kids are taking care. Like, I took it back to where it originally started in the 1940s, where we're supposed to elevate. But at the same time, we're going to go ahead and do. Lots of places can expose you to identify.

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Yeah. Actually, I kind of like it better than it is today. More people are getting caught now. Yeah, like I, listen, I came home. I went in, it was beepers, you know. There was no cell phones. I think the only person that had a cell phone back then was a doctor and he had that big old box that he carried around in his car and that's the only

time I ever seen a cell phone. But when I came home, everybody was on the next tells. Everybody was chirping. Six months after I came home, I got locked up because of a next tell. Guy sitting there talking on the, chirping to me talking about, yo, you're going to bring that to me? And I'm just ignoring it. And he's steady just talking on there and he's coming out loud. And I'm like, so he said something like, yo, I need two ounces.

Stop playing with me. Where's it at? You see, you know, the cops are in my car. Searching the car. So now they got probable cause. I'm like, I cannot stand these cell phones. But it was so easy because everything was coded. Like, we had our own codes.

So I could write you a letter. And in that letter, it'll tell you something about, let's just say, mom needs to see you at like eight o'clock tonight. Make sure when you come, stop at the grocery store or do whatever. That whole thing literally will go ahead and be the breakdown of this person needs to see something. They need this, that, and third. Make sure you go pick up this brick from over here, do whatever. Nobody understood that.

And it wasn't until social media, any type of forms of media. started wanting to be on little talk shows and stuff that they started just throwing it out there. That's what it meant. I got busted by them two guys that were in my trial by saying they listened to a recording. So what was being said in that recording? And they broke it all the way down. And I'm like, just looking at it. Wow, you just told everything.

So my lawyer tried to tell him that, yeah, he interpreted. That's just the way he wants to interpret. But how do we really know that's what it meant? In reality, it did mean that. I can't say it didn't. But that was the way we communicated then. It could have been a kite, what they call a kite, which is a little piece of letter passed off

from one person to the next person. Just so it wouldn't be misunderstood. It's actually on paper. But other than that, everything stayed, I guess you could say, within house, it was local, you know. So now I can get a message from somebody all the way in California, you know. Like, it's weird to me.

And did you have to do a lot of traveling and have those types of communication with multiple states because you were higher up on the totem pole? Yeah. So I would actually, in a month's time, I probably hit, like here in Connecticut, I was in Hartford. I was running the Kings there. multiple times. Like within a month's time,

I want to say like seven, eight times just traveling from Jersey to Connecticut, you know? Anything more local, Pennsylvania, stuff like that, could have been twice a week. Now, Ohio, I want to say like twice a month,

you know. And the reason being is just to make sure that everybody was on point, everything's moving right, because it wasn't only just about the drugs. I think one of our main focuses was growth. We had to get the numbers up. We had to have more recruits, more people involved,

so that way we can go ahead. And one of the things that was said was, we don't die, we multiply. You know, and that's what we wanted. We wanted to keep multiplying. Now today, Latin Kings are probably the second largest gang in the world, but they're the quietest at the same time because they're, unlike a lot of other gangs, they're a little bit more structured.

But by population, I got Latin Kings that write me now, and I'm not affiliated. I did walk what they call the Golden Gates, which means that I was able to leave Scott Free. You know, well, Scott Free is it with no repercussions. or foot that way. But I still communicate with them. I still, you know, talk to them. I still try to connect to a lot of Latin kings. And I'm communicating with kings in Colombia, Costa Rica, Spain.

Like, majority of the sales from my book have come from other countries. And they're all by kings that are over there. It's crazy. But I see how they move. I see how things are going. And I just wish, you know, like some people would go ahead and change their way of thinking because it's not all that it's cracked up to be.

Like, it's cool. In everybody else's eyes, it's cool to be a gang member these days. And that's the furthest thing from the truth. It's not cool. There's only, like, what they tell you, there's three ways this can end. Prison, death,

or just being miserable looking over your shoulder and strung out and whatever the case. You don't have to always end up in jail. I tell everybody it's not always going to end up in jail. And eventually everybody dies. But how long are you going to live a certain way, a certain lifestyle, looking over your shoulder or, you know, strung out on drugs? Because all that's going to lead, you know, that gang life is going to lead down those three paths, no matter which way you look at it.

I don't care if you don't get higher or not. All right, so you don't get hired. Now you're going to go from being a kingpin or being just a leader. You're going to end up in jail because you can get conspiracy and with conspiracy you can end up with 10 years. You know, a lot of one of my cases I had,

I was just in pictures, but it was gang related. So automatically I was caught up in some charges that I had nothing to do with. But they end up accusing me of it. Now, a plea bargain, I didn't take that on my plea. I was like, nah, I'm not going to take it, but that's how you usually ends up happening, you know.

Or you end up dying. Somebody, whether it's jealousy, a rival gang member, whatever, ends up taking your life. And not for nothing. It could be the person that you sat and broke bread with. that ends up doing it to you. It's interesting that the Latin Kings are supportive of you telling your story because I've interviewed a lot of like former motorcycle club members

and it's a complete opposite. Like they get excommunicated after even if they left in good standing. They get put into bad standing because they told their story. Yeah. So that's what the Golden Gates was. So all right. 28 years in, I literally shed blood, tears, sweat, everything for the Latin Kings. I would choose the Latin Kings over family members.

When my brother died, I was done with it. I had three nephews. I had my kids. I was like, they cannot go this route. Like, I can't see it happening. So I sent a letter out to where he's called. called the Supremah, and it's like the headhead of the Latin Kings nationally, asking to be, you know, to walk the Golden Gates. King Blood, when he got arrested and was sentenced to

200 plus years, he actually opened the gates, what they call opening the Golden Gates. For anybody that really wasn't about that life, they're going to be able to walk away, scoffrey but they can't talk about nothing they can't do nothing they can't even mention that they were a former latin king right then the gates got shut now the only way out was death because supposedly the ones that stayed were in for life so when i decided to walk the gates were already closed but i sent a letter to um my godfather they call and which is king blaze asking him look help me to get out. I mean, whatever takes it'll take. I'll do it. You know what I'm saying? I just want to be able to walk away because I don't want my kids or my nephews to go through the same thing. So he always,

one thing Blaze said about me was that you're somebody different. And Blaze ended up being a political prisoner. Like he did a lot of time in Leavenworth and did a lot of blogs and would send out these little political manifestos, you know, out onto the world. But he always said, and I think that's what he was talking about, not realizing that he was actually talking about what I'm going to do is more for the kingdom and for God versus the nation. But in his eyes, he always said, you're different than everybody else. You know, you're more, you're that gang member that's like a little bit more educated.

You don't speak, you don't act, you don't move like everybody else does. So I think that's something that you have a greater calling. So he actually wrote a letter from Leavenworth telling the Supremah to let me walk. I've went through this, I've done this, you know, they gave a whole resume of who I was. So I ended up having, you know, being able to leave, but I left with what they call 360s. So basically it's three guys that you put the crown above your head and you take a bunch of body shots. If the crown drops, time starts all over. It doesn't stop.

Now you're going to start back three minutes, you know what I'm saying? And it's three guys with all body shots. I walked out that 360 with five broken ribs. ribs and a collapsed lung. Well, I want to say walked out, but, you know, I left that and I was done. I couldn't, you know, I couldn't talk. I couldn't do anything. I was terrible.

And my brother-in-law grabbed me, and I remember my brother-in-law was like just so heated. Like, this is what you did this for? Look, they love you and this is what happens. But I was able to walk with the piece in my head that I knew something he didn't know. and was like, I can go ahead and do what I want and nobody could say nothing to me. My family's going to never be, have to worry because of what I do.

Now, mind you, I had no intentions that ever talking about the gang. No intentions of ever saying anything about Latin Kings. That was in 2008. In 2016, eight years later, I surrendered my life over to Christ. in Trenton State Prison.

I was in the hole. It was a hit on my life just because I used to be the leader of the Latin Kings. And they were trying to go ahead. And when I went to the yard in the morning, I was only going to be led out to the yard with like three other people. And just so happens that there's two other or three other people that were coming out in the yard with me were Nation of Islam. And I don't know if the, like I had just came back.

to prison, so I don't know if there was a war going on or what was about to happen, but their way of getting to the Latin Kings was to come at me. And I'm like, man, I walk the Golden Gates. I don't understand why it's happening. Well, it went ahead anyway. Long story, sure, the ride ended up happening. I surrendered to Christ the night before and I said, God, I'm done fighting you. I don't care what happens. If I died tomorrow in the yard, then my life is in your hands, or if I kill somebody, again, my life is in your hands, and I spend the rest of my life in prison serving you.

God got me out of that situation around 3 a.m. They released me from the hole and sent me to another prison. So I went to the other prison, and on the way going there, I hear about the riot on the radio, and the transport, and I'm like, wow, this is crazy. but I'm not correlating it that has to do a God. I'm just like I got lucky. So when I get to the other prison,

I'm talking with some other Latin kings that are over there and they're telling me what's going on, like they're about to go to war. And I don't know. I'm sitting in myself and I'm just thinking, like, I walked away from this eight years ago. This is not right. So I ended up, started just writing stuff,

down, my life story, writing things that I did, not incriminating anybody else, not speaking about anything. And then God ultimately revealed to me that when I come home, whenever it's going to be, that this is what I need to do, is tell my story to other kids, to other convicts. Like, forget about everything else, the TV shows, whatever. But to tell the story itself. so that nobody else can go through what I went through. So I wrote a letter from inside the prison saying,

look, Blaze said he's seen something greater in me, but I think what he's seen in me was that my story. Now, mind you, I'm new as a believer in Christ. So it's like my story and my testimony has to go out there and I got to be able to tell it. if I speak about anything, what kind of repercussions am I going to face? And I got the best response ever.

Talk about you. Don't talk about anybody else. If you want to talk about Blaze, then let Blaze know you're going to talk about them. If you're going to drop names on anybody, let that person know. Now, if you drop a name and that name is somebody else that you never spoke to,

then you're going to suffer the consequences. All right, well, I didn't care. about what anybody else did. I couldn't tell you what everybody else did. I know what I did. So once they gave me that authority, it started off with just telling the testimony at a church. And God was like, these aren't the people that you helped destroy their lives. It's not just the church. So I ended up taking it to other platforms. And I can honestly say, and I've been doing this now since, Since 2017, got the book out, been in a documentary, been on the news, different shows, different podcasts. And if anything, I've got a positive response back from the Latin Kings versus something

negative because I never spoke about anybody else. You know, yeah, I mentioned Blaze's name, but the reason I mentioned his is because he told me that it was okay to talk about him and what he, what part he played in my life. And he played a very big part. He was what they call the godfather. But in reality, he was like a father. You know, he taught me things that I can honestly say I never would even want it to know about myself. And being able to speak about certain things.

You know, if it wasn't for him, honestly, I wouldn't be doing any of this. today. When you were moving up in the ranks and the Latin Kings, did you know that you were bringing more heat to yourself and it would eventually lead to prison? Yeah, definitely. Like I said, I lived my life like a game of chess. So every time I moved anything that I did, I knew the consequences behind it. But with every consequence that I was willing to take and every risk that I was willing to take,

I was trying to figure out what can I gain from that risk. So whatever I did on the streets as a Latin king, well, if I end up in prison, it's just going to stretch me out. Like I had to look at how did the Latin King start? Started in Rikers Island over here, at least as far as the bloodline in Rikers Island. But how did they expand? Because a riot broke out and they were all shipped to different. prisons.

The same version that you see in the movie, what is it, American Me? At the end of the movie, or blood in blood out, they all ended up having to go to different prisons. But instead of it making seem weaker because now they're all separated, nah, they all grew. If I go from the streets to the jail, now I'm connected with people from all. all over the state. So there's no consequence to me going to jail. I'm gonna get plugged in.

I'm gonna get plugged in with other people from North, Jersey City, Patterson, different people from all over the state. So when I come back out, now I'm gonna connect with them. And the territory's gonna expand even more. The drug game's gonna expand more. Everything had a benefit to it. In that time in my life,

that was what I was what, I always thought about. But, you know, was it the right decision? Was it worth it? Nah, it wasn't worth it now that I think about it. But at that time, it was definitely worth it. Like, people always ask me, oh, tell me about a time you were locked up. All right.

What time do you want to know? What state do you want to know? Like, I didn't go anywhere and didn't do time. Like I, every state I went to, I could say I've been inside that jail. But it were all planned. I knew that's what the consequences and those were things that I was willing to accept because I knew what it was going to do in the long run. Ohio is a perfect example.

When I was locked up at Ross, there was nothing but MS-13 gang members there. Gangs of the site. I was like the one Puerto Rican from the East Coast that was a Latin king. It's like I was a walking Target walking around like they're going to kill me COs didn't like me nobody liked me

but within six months of being in there I went from just me being the only Latin king to being 150 strong you know and I knew that I knew the consequences behind it

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and fund an investing account for a 0.25% increase. Cash account offered by Wealthfront Brokerage LLC member FINRA SIPC, not a bank. These and eligibility requirements may apply to certain checking features of the cash account. I had it for growing in the Latin Kings. What would be some chargers you would get wrapped up for in these different states that

would end up, you would end up in prison? Yeah, always distribution. That's one thing. Like my jacket consists of other than my juvenile with a couple of simple assaults, the aggravated assault. My adult has been distribution of narcotics, leader of a drug trafficking network. a Breastle member of a drug organization. Those were the charges I had,

and they were all because they were gang-affiliated. You know, it's like I'd be in places that I've never been to in my life. And when they ran my name, all of a sudden, what could have been a routine car stop, ended up being like the whole police force just all of a sudden got behind now. and I know I'm going to jail. I know they're going to search the car. I know something's going to happen.

But it was like, wow, it was always drug-related. So I'm expecting the dogs to come. And because I'm gang-affiliated, they're going to come in major numbers. So there was never just one or two cops. And at first I never understood it. But then it was like, it became a goal.

Like I wanted that. You know, I wanted that attention, basically. I wanted them to see, like, yeah, fear me. Fear who I am. Fear my name. Fear what I can do, you know. And but that was it. Nothing else.

Just drug charges. So, everywhere. Even though you were high ranking, you still had your hands on the product and still moving it yourself to put yourself in that position to get jammed up. Yeah. Yeah, because, and I think there's a lot of people that sit there and say, oh, I was up here and, you know, I just wanted to be the person that got the money

and I had all these other guys. I like the rush. I love the game itself. Like, there were times that I could have been out of it and just sat back and collected and just lived off of what everybody else. else was doing but I had to be out on the block I had to be sitting there in the the park hustling with the guys I had to have like what they call that in the business where I micromanaged everything I had to be right there like I loved it I didn't want I didn't want to give anybody full

control over anything and just act like I was sitting in it but it that included it wasn't just with the it was with everything. If somebody owed money or something needed to be done, I might not have put my hands on you, but I would have told somebody else to do it, but I had to be there. I had to be there to watch it.

I had to be there to make sure that it got done the right way. Call it ego, which I think that's mainly what it was. That's what I chose. Like, when I say that I was really fully invested and it's no disrespect to anybody,

but I'm not like, I wasn't like everybody else. I was invested 100%. Like, you could not tell me anything. If people, like I have demon in Spanish, Demos, tattooed on my chest, because I really believed like I was a demon. Like, there was nothing that could be,

like yeah like I had to be the head guy for everything I used to sit there all jokes aside and God knows that um now who I am today is not like that but I used to say I was going to hell and when I got down there the devil was going to move over and he was going to sit by my side like that's how messed up I was in the head you know so but it was that was the biggest problem it was I had to be involved in everything. And again, in my eyes, it showed me as I'm that leader that is willing to die with you and not you die for him. And it kind of gave me a little bit more respect in that world that people started like,

yo, he's not just going to tell me to do it. He's going to be right there with me, you know. What happens to your physician when, you know, you go to prison? The position technically, that's why there's five ranking members. So if the first crown gets locked up, second crown moves up, third crown moves up. That's typically how it's supposed to happen. Doesn't necessarily, it does happen like that.

Sometimes they'll just vote on who's going to be the next one to take over. Or I can suggest, you know, this person be a successor to me, you know. And then it's they tried to form the Latin Kings out here just like the government. There was different fractions. So you got just your Inca, your first crown, your Supremia for that right there. And then there's different chapters. So like in Latin Kings in New York is almighty Latin King Queen Nation. But if you go to the Bronx, there's a leader in the Bronx.

There's a leader in Queens. There's a leader. Every little borough had a different leader. You can go up north, upstate, and it's the same thing. So there were different chapters. They answered to one person, though, for the whole state. And that's how it would be. So you end up having like, you know, okay, well, you got the president of the United States,

but then you got the governor of this state, the governor of that state. Then you got a senator over here. and you know a mayor for over here like it would all just keep growing and it's just spreading out and people held positions for their little area but in reality only one person runs the whole thing in the state and then each state runs under one group you know which ultimately is the head inca what they call suprema you know and then you of course you got your ones that They ran with Latin Kings Like I can't speak on everybody else

And other gangs or organizations But they'll say they ran with Latin Kings And they'll claim to be Latin King But they really weren't You know, there were I guess what you would call shadow gangs Like I let you say you're a Latin King I let you say you're down with the Latin Kings

Just so when something really hits the fan Y'all going to jail, I'm not You know And a lot of that took place Now, that might not have happened everywhere, but it happened with us. You know, I know when I was running as a first ground, I had a lot of people like that. Yeah, go ahead. Say you a Latin King.

You got suffered the consequences, whether it's through another gang or whether it's through the police officer. You know, so you had your little puppets, I guess you could say. And then when you get out of prison, do you resume that role, Do you go back to say if you left this first crown or you first crown again as soon as you get out? Yeah, yeah, automatically. As long as in the time that you had to step down because of wherever you went, you didn't do anything to disrespect that position. Like you didn't go down and you didn't rat nobody out or you didn't violate some way somehow

that went against our so-called codes or anything like that, you know, automatically they'd give you back the position. Tone went away for so many years in the feds, came right back, and he had the opportunity to take it. It's just that he went ahead and spoke about things that he wasn't supposed to speak about. And not a lot of people were happy with the HBO special that he did. You know, it's like you let what was supposed to be a secret society, you let them in. Now, it's like everybody's in, you know.

You can sit there and talk about it freely, but there's a lot of things that they don't talk about. There's stuff I don't even know because I can only talk about the past and what happened when I was there. There's stuff I don't know about today. And the kids are telling me about, you know, there's stuff I don't. the younger generation is the one telling me, oh, we're doing this and we're doing that. I'm like, dang, you know, you keep talking. You're going to get yourself in trouble.

You need to stop. In fact, just walk away because you really ain't built for this late. You better off just giving your life to Christ, you know. Now, when you're in prison, say you get to, because you went to a variety of prisons, how are you treated when you get there? By who? By anyone.

The prison guards, the inmates, because you're, you know, a leader of a notorious game. The guards terrible. In New Jersey, in New Jersey, because who I was and I came from there, I was treated fine. In fact, I was treated with more respect than anything because they knew I wasn't with the Rawa stuff. A lot of the street politics definitely doesn't apply in prison. So when I would go to prison, they'd be like, oh, somebody with a sensible hedge is coming in now. hopefully he'll get them in order.

You know, they're not going to be wilding out because there was a lot of times where I wouldn't take. Like, it didn't make sense to me for you to go ahead and start a riot, start a beef with another gang. Then everybody gets put on lockdown. You know, visits. Like, none of that stuff made sense to me. It was like, why y'all beefing over a phone?

Why are y'all beefing over? Oh, because this guy sold. is selling dope, but we run the dope game. And everybody can sell dope. At that time, it's like they say, everybody can need. You're going to suffer, make consequences, and put yourselves on lockdown,

bring yourselves the heat and the attention that you don't need. Like, no. So the cops would see that I'd be that guy that would sit there and say, no, we're not going to do it like this. That's not to say that it still wasn't happening. I was just going to do it differently.

Like I had COs in Borden Town, COs in East Jersey, that they literally would allow me to give, you know, if somebody was a snitch or somebody was, you know, owed money, go ahead, do what you got to do. Don't hit them here, don't cut them there. They would say stuff like that. And they would be okay with it because it didn't cause, it didn't make their job harder, you know,

So with the COs, it was, you know, it was just depends. Ohio, worst state ever. I walked in and they seen my tattoo and I went to the hole. I was like, what I do? You know? And same with Hartford. Here in Connecticut, they did the same thing. I was in Hartford Correctional.

I was good. I was like, yeah, this is all right. this ain't bad. Next thing I know, I'm being shipped over to the gang prison near Rhode Island. I didn't even know

where I was at. And I'm like, this is crazy. Like, I'm not used to be doing jail time like this. Now, inmates, I can honestly say I never had a problem.

Like, even on the streets, I could walk into a whole other set and I wasn't the guy that, like, they never looked at me to be that guy that was going to cause problems. Yeah, I'd definitely be into problems,

and yeah, I want to finish problems. But I wasn't the guy that caused the problems. Like, if anything, I was always, I had a different mindset. Like, that same mindset I had in prison, I had it on the streets. Why are we going to bring heat on ourselves? Why are we going to do this?

So I think that helped me, like today, to get the love and support. Like, I can walk into blood territory. can walk into GD territory and them knowing that I'm a former gang member, knowing that I'm the former leader of the Latin Kings, show me just as much love as if I walked into the Latin King territory, you know, because they know, oh, he was never really about that Rau-Rah stuff, you know. And now today, I'm definitely not about it.

If anything, I'm trying to get you out of that life. I'm trying to get you to change your life. And I'm doing it by instilling Christ. in your life. Come on now. Like, you can't get no better than that. If you're going to be a part of a gang, be a part of the real gang, which is the kingdom gang.

You heard? Like, at the end of the day, there's only one true king of kings. So, I mean, people see that and they respect that more. And I never thought it would be possible. Because I remember people that used to preach to me, and I used to look at them like,

okay, you want to bag of dope? Like, I would test, I swear to you, bro, that's why that demon's tattooed. I had a tattooed, because I'd be the one to test where you really was at. And it's terrible, but it's how I lived. And it's what I believe God allowed me to go through, you know, so that I can be that guy that people would respect when I speak today.

How do you feel about those tattoos now? Give you a perfect example. I had on my neck the original Latin King crown. five points. And I just recently got it covered, right? My name used to be King Infinite when I was a Latin king. And I just recently had it covered up. And everybody, well, why'd you cover it up with another crown?

And I was like, because that crown meant something in that world. I lived by those five points. I truly honored those five points. But I also called myself a king. I was never a king. If anything, there's only one true king of kings. I became a prince. So the whole attribute changed.

I'm no longer king infinite. I'm Prince Infinite. And the reason why is because I'll keep the name that was given to me because the reason behind the name speaks more volumes of me and my personality and what not just a person seen in me and what people see in me, but what God really called me to be. You know what I'm saying? Like, I'll go ahead and still represent the crown,

but I'm not representing it for myself. I'm representing it for God. I'm his heir to his throne, you know. So I don't have, you know, I got the crown like in four spots within my body. Only one of them represents the Latin Kings. and it says Almighty Latin King nation, and that was my peewee crown. And they asked me,

why haven't you covered that one up? That one stands out the most because it's right dead center over your heart where when you shoot the crown as a Latin king, you put it right over your chest, over your heart. And I said, because at the end of the day, that crown still has meaning, not the meaning that it had when I got it,

but the meaning that that was part of my, journey. So I have no regrets of the journey that I was on. And if I say that I have no regrets of that journey, then why would I take it away? It's part of who I am. It's what created me today. You know, remember, at the end of the day, we got choices. We made choices in our lives for the things we did. But God allowed these choices to happen for a reason because it was part of a journey that he was going to put you on. And I truly believe that he gave me these choices. He knew what choice I was going to take.

And he allowed that to happen for a greater purpose later on. It's like when you were doing the cook-off. I used to sit there and say, look at all these ingredients. And they look nasty. And they would never in a million years think they would come out to something so good. and then all of a sudden here's a birthday cake. It's like, bro, really?

You made a cake out of this, that, yeah. And it tastes good. Well, that's probably our lives. When you think about it, there's a lot of bunch of BS stuff that went on through our lives. But ultimately. We're almost halfway through the year, and a lot of people are running on empty

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Try Simple Green today. it was all part of the recipe to be where you're at today. Yeah, if I didn't go through my bullshit, we never would have met. Yeah, true indeed. And same thing to you. True indeed. And it's crazy because there was a guy in Texas. We did a documentary together.

When I first met him, I thought he was a cop. And I said to his big brolic white guy had the military cut and everything. Not knowing that he did 10 years in prison. You know what I'm saying? But he just, I looked at him and I'm like, nah, this is all fake. He's a cop, you know. So we got into talking. And I told him straight up, I said, you know, in my previous life, I had never talked to you.

I would have never even looked at you because I would have thought you was a cop. You're the type of person that I could never see myself associating with. Like I had to distance myself until I actually knew who you really was. You know how many people I did that and turns out now today, whether they're a cop or not, are good friends of mine? Like, it's weird. Like, whatever their life, and I was a complete 180 against their life in the past, today we're best friends. Today we're hanging out. We're breaking bread together.

We're at each other's homes. Whatever the case may be, you know. So I always say that it's all part of a plan that if we didn't. go through this, we wouldn't be here where we're at. What's something you wish you could tell your 11-year-old self before you even ever went to prison? Honestly. And you know it's crazy?

I've seen where in a couple episodes you asked some people that. And I always said to myself, I couldn't, I don't know. If he asked me that, I don't know what to say. Because, again, I don't have any regrets. If I guess there is something I could say, be more honest to yourself. than trying to worry about the others. Like, you know, be truthful to yourself. Because a lot of the time I wasn't truthful.

I hid so much of my own life and my own personal thoughts just to make everybody else happy and do what everybody else wanted me to do or thought I should do. So if that's anything that I would have to tell myself, it might have changed the way I walked. It might have changed the way I walked. It might have changed the,

the routes that I took. But then again, only God knows that. So I'm good with where I'm at. I'm good with the things that, you know, I've experienced in life because I'm here today to talk about those things and maybe shed light on somebody that needs to hear it. I love that. Well, thank you so much, man,

for making the time to come and sit down with me today. This was an incredible testimony. And, you know, I appreciate your time. and I wish you the best in the future. Man, thank you. Like I said, it was an honor for me to be here. I love seeing what you're doing. I love to see how God is actually moving in your life

and the growth that's come from it, you know, from doing a little TikTok video here and there to where you're at today. But it's all for something that is genuine. Like I said, I don't rock with everybody. I'm a man of God, listen, and I tell everybody this, I'm a man of God, and I'm a firm believer of the way.

Word of God. But just because you say you're a Christian doesn't mean that I'm a rock with you as a Christian. You know what I'm saying? And vice versa with people in the world. A lot of people question like, you're going to go do that show, that podcast? And I'm like, yeah, why? Because it's a secular podcast.

He's doing something right. He's doing, he's following a gift that God gave him. And look what God is doing. It's expanding. and it's reaching people. I read the comments. I read the, you know, after each of the episodes what people talk about

and how people open up. To me, that's something amazing. To me, that's something that, like, bro, when I could say it's an honor for me to know you, just man to man, it's an honor. It's an honor whether it's in here, in this platform right here, or if I could see you on the street

and say, yo, that dude doing something. He's doing something amazing. and he's doing it the right way. I appreciate that, man. I respect that. It means a lot. And I know that there's something powerful here when you have some of these individuals

who have been through things I couldn't even dream of like yourself, you know, like nightmare type stuff and live that life and want to come and sit down with me and get something off their chest and share. And it's my job to provide them that. Yes, sir. And be there and be that boys and not judge. Right.

And I think that's, you know, I got to run with them. it. How could I not? You know? Like everything has the universe, God has brought me here, you know? So it wouldn't have worked out the way it did if it wasn't meant to be. I like also how this is set up where it's an open conversation. It's not like it's scripted. It's not edited. It's just open conversation. Nothing. I don't cut anything. Unless like a guest asked for something to be cut. Right, right. And a lot of times I forget to even cut it. But I try, I take notes now after every episode. If they say cut that, then I'll make a reminder. But yeah, it's cool. It's just like it's organic and it looks good and it's raw.

People are like, I'll do a longer episode sometimes and like, so what are you going to cut that down to like 20, 30 minutes? No, I put that. All I do is cut the beginning when we're just talking back and forth and run with it. And it's good to go, man. You put a bow on it and it's ready and it's like, that's why Rogan's so successful because it's just that conversation. And it flows. And if you let the guest speak and get them, comfortable. Like you did 99% of the talking today. Right, right. And it just goes, you know. And then I just have to chime in. To me, that's a great episode right there. Yeah. And I'll be, listen, I was waiting for questions and I'm like, damn, just running off at the mouth here. You did great, man. Yeah. You did really well. And everyone always says after. Did I talk? I have some guys that'll text me after and be like, do you want to redo that? Because you barely ask me any questions. I'm like, no, you did great. And those are the best episodes. The audience doesn't want to hear me, yeah, but, you know, because a lot of podcasts, the host just talks about themselves. Right, right.

And what I like, too, with what you do, is that, one, you said it's organic. Also, you don't try to portray something that you're not or you weren't. You know what I'm saying? And be influenced by the guests that you have. I've been in places where I've sat down and had interviews and talked with people. And like you said, the host, though, end up talking about their story, how similar it was to them.

And I'm thinking in my head, like, when did you put a gun to somebody's head? You know what part of your life that happened? You know, but you're who you are. And believe me, that's more gangster than anything. Yeah, I think the only thing I could relate to with guests is prison and the turnaround after prison. That's about it.

Unless they were in like the nightclub business. That was the whole gangster part. The turnaround. That's what, listen, I let people, like, I don't come on to somebody's platform and give them, you know, a hoodie and book. I did that because, you know what? I respect you as a man. And to me, that's what real gangster is.

You know what I'm saying? So, yeah, I was like, yo, I told Jimmy, I was like, we got to make him a hoodie real quick, you know what I'm saying? Just so I could take it to him because he's a real G. No, I'm going to be wearing this a lot. I love my hoodies, so it's huddy season now. Yeah, I like to dress. I'm dressing more up lately, but I love just sitting in a hoodie and whatnot.

It's comfy, you know? Always. I'm jealous of how comfortable you look right now. But thanks again, man. Safe travels back. Where do you live now? In Jersey. In Jersey.

Okay, so you just have to drive back. Yeah. Cool. Got to head back to Bridgeport. I think I'm doing another podcast, but it's for a church. Awesome, man. Yeah. Well, if I can ever be of any assistance, please reach out.

You got my number. Yes, sir. And I'll talk to you soon. Amen. All right, brother.