Locked In with Ian Bick - Health Insurance Fraud Leads To FBI Arrest & Stint In Federal Prison | Nelson Rodriguez Jr.

Episode Date: April 23, 2024

Nelson Rodriguez Jr. reveals how cutting corners landed him in the crosshairs of the FBI, resulting in a federal prison sentence. Through his story, we explore how Nelson transformed adversity into opportunity, ultimately forging a fresh path toward redemption and personal reinvention. Hosted, Executive Produced & Edited By Ian Bick: https://www.instagram.com/ian_bick/?hl=en https://ianbick.com/ Creative direction, design, assets, support by FWRD: https://www.fwrd.co Connect with Nelson Rodriguez Jr.: https://link.me/montanamethodmindset?fbclid=PAAaaN6S_ZmTlfxYPvb2-v7H70WvbsFvYesFgWqi5wnGslIU670y5hcJl-XIk_aem_AfwDcycXJyZOAKiVnlmrEaIiwzeSSHgiyjfiAtEG5vjXx2LKVyRTfGSSHrp3pr2mWOA Buy Merch: https://lockedinbrand.com Use code lockedin at checkout to get 20% off your order Timestamps: 00:00:00 - Intro 00:03:22 - From Prison to Podcasting 00:06:45 - A Personal Connection to Scarface 00:09:51 - Growing up in Miami's Cuban Neighborhoods 00:13:03 - High School Memories and Fighting 00:16:19 - From Sales Rep to Medical Marijuana Clinic 00:19:42 - The Gravity of Illegal Activities in Miami and Cuba 00:22:59 - A Night of Arrest and Betrayal 00:26:14 - Arrested and Losing Everything 00:29:23 - Trump's Significance in Prison Reform 00:32:58 - Life in Prison and Puerto Rican Prisoners 00:36:32 - Working in the Warehouse at the Prison 00:39:54 - Meeting Rick Ross in Prison 00:43:26 - The Benefits of Prison 00:46:37 - The Supportive Relationships After Prison 00:50:19 - Consistency and Personal Growth 00:53:40 - Connecting with Nelson Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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Five in the morning. A phone number out and recognize. Man, I turn off my phone and I go back to sleep. My aunt, I live in an apartment. My aunt is my landlord. She comes and knocks on the door, and she's speaking to me in Spanish. Hey, la bolucita, out of the cops are outside. They're looking for you.

I was like, the cops, what are you talking about? The same phone number calls my phone. I was like, all right, I got to answer now. Nelson Rodriguez? Yes. This is agent such and such with the FBI. You have five minutes to come outside. Click.

Dude, I walk outside my house. There's two undercover FBI cars with four agents pointing for the 15s at me. There's four city of Miami cops block in the road, four city of Miami cops block on the road. Welcome back to Locked In with the InBIC podcast. On today's episode, I have fellow entrepreneur and podcaster Nelson Rodriguez to reveal how a health insurance scam landed him in a federal prison camp. This is a good conversation I had with Nelson, and I'm so excited to share it with you guys today. I hope you sit back, relax, and get ready to lock in with Nelson Rodriguez. Nelson, you made it, man.

I made it, man. It was a long trip. Yeah, well, thank you so much for coming. We've been talking about this, doing this for a little while now. We connected first on Instagram, I think, right? Yeah. And you go by the name, what is it, the Prophet? Montana the Prophet.

Montana, the Farmer. Where does that come from? I was curious. So, after I got indicted, I had to really think about my life. I was very identified to who, what I did, right? I thought what you did in life was who you were. And at the time, I was an entrepreneur. I owned a company.

So that went away overnight. And I really had to think about what I wanted for my life. You know what I mean? So for me, my indictment, my arrest, my prison sentence, it was more about reinvention than anything, man. And I tell people, Nelson went into prison, but Montana came out, you know? Like, it came out a new guy. And I was reading that that was, you got that inspiration from a movie?

Yeah. Was it Scarface? Scarface, yeah. Never watched Scarface. Oh, man, you're missing out. I just finished somewhere. I'm almost two episodes done with a way from finishing Sopranos. Oh, all right.

I'm catching up on all the old stuff. Yeah, yeah, yeah, so I'll get there. But you're also the author of a book. You wrote a book. You have the book with you, right? I do. Yeah, I brought you a special copy just for you. The Montana Method.

Montana Method. It's just what I hope to leave behind, you know. Yeah, that's awesome, man. We'll get into all that in the episode, but people could buy your book. On Amazon, yeah. Okay, cool. And we'll have the description in the bio for people too. And you can get the audiobook on Spotify, all that stuff.

Is that free the audiobook? Or do people have to pay for the audio? It's like in seven bucks or eight bucks or something like that. So you could buy that on Spotify? Mm-hmm. Oh, I've never seen like for purchases like that. Yeah, yeah. Spotify does, they started doing audiobooks recently like last year or so.

That's probably a killer market. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Yeah, probably really like high quality. Spotify is killing it, dude. Yeah, they really are. I mean, I see what they, they've been pushing us out there now and doing all this cool stuff. So it's really awesome.

What was it like when you went to New York? That was the Spotify headquarters. Yeah, so I was there in New York and then I went to L.A. to start filming episodes. We're going to be going to L.A. like once a month to film episodes. That's awesome. It's so cool.

It's like so big. There's not really anyone working there. Like they have a lot of people work from home. Yeah. But their offices are sick. It's just a really cool environment, cool workspace. And, you know, we're very appreciative of the partnership performing with them. That's awesome.

Where they're going to help us get guests and we utilize their studio. And, you know, push us out there. Bro, I'm super happy for you, man. Thank you, man. I really am. I'm a fan of your work. The crazy story about how I found your show, so I guess we'll get into it. I get out of prison May 25th the last year.

Oh, this recently. Yeah, recently. Okay. So I'm like on house arrest, and I managed to get an internship at a studio, right? So I get to keep, so actually, let's rewind a little bit, so let's go back. So I get indicted, I get sentenced, all that stuff. I write my book and I start podcasting. So this is why I'm out on bond, right?

I'm out on bond, I start podcasting. I start like really getting a little bit of a rhythm. And I'm like, man, I could do this podcasting thing. It could be a good thing. But then I get sentenced. And I'm like, shit, how am I going to podcast? So what I decided to do was right before I went to prison, I spent three months podcasting, like recording nonstop.

And I scheduled all of it to premiere while I was gone. Holy shit. So a lot of people were watching my podcast while I was in prison. And people that I didn't tell I went to prison thought I was still on the street. So when I got back, some people were like, yo, what the fuck, man? I'm texting you, trying to tell you like, yo, the podcast is great. You never answered. People think of being a dick.

And it wasn't that. I was just, I was doing my bid. That's actually really smart. Yeah. You know, there's some people that try to podcast actually in prison. Like Billy McFarlane from Firefest got caught like recording shit. I mean, I feel like if God forbid I ever had to go back to prison because I have the show now, I would have to,

because you know, in the content game, consistency is everything. You can't just take time off. 100%. So I would have to, like, sit there and record hundreds of episodes and just have them all scheduled out and edit. That's what I did. I scheduled out six months worth of content. Yeah.

Because my bid was eight months. So I figured I might get out a little early. And then when I got out, they were still premiering. So you've done a lot since you've gotten out. Yeah, yeah. And are you still on probation? I am, yeah. their complications with travel and whatnot?

Yeah, this was a work trip. It's really the only reason I could travel. Yeah, but it's no big deal, you know. It beats being in there, you know. And you do the podcast full time? No, I actually, I worked. So during, you know, the crazy story, right? So I get back to podcasting as soon as you get out because this is like, man,

this is what I want to do in my life. So I start pumping out episodes. And I end up getting a job with a shout out to Nick Delgado. We've become good friends. and he hires me at his digital marketing firm. I invite him on my podcast, and he's so impressed, he just decides to open a podcast studio

and let me run it. Wow. It's crazy. Yeah, how that came together was nuts. Yeah, timing's everything. Dude. You know, I imagine he did that while you were in and, you know, you didn't have that opportunity.

It's crazy how life works. Yes. I mean, we're sitting here today because of that. Like, I didn't have this six months ago. Maybe it was seven months ago. Like, we moved in here in September. That's awesome. And then just even as of December,

started taking everything over by myself. People show up and they're like, where's the team? No, that's what I was telling you. I watch this every once in a while. So I'm expecting for you to have like an engineer and an editing guy. And then I walk in here and he's like, hey, what's up, man? It's me. Holy shit, that's awesome.

Yeah, you're looking at the whole team right here, the marketing, the engineered. I like to learn. I don't like to be stuck depending on someone because when you're in the nightclub business like I was, you're stuck. And it sucks to be just like depending on the artist showing. up depending on the production. Like there's so many components. At least with this, the only one I got to depend on is me.

Is you. And the guest, but we have some in the tank if a guest doesn't show up. Right, right. But now it's at the point where like before when we were starting out, guests would bail. Now you get like one out of 20 that would bail. Yeah, because of course you're building a name and, you know, so it's different.

It's beneficial for people to come on and share. Especially I always encourage bring like a book, a product, anything like that. Definitely. Because it goes out to so many people. Something I love about what you do, man. You give like normal people a shot to really like get to get their faces out there. So I respect that about what you do. Most people who are in the podcast game, they're looking for a lot of clout.

And they're looking for people, oh, if you don't have followers, I don't want you on my podcast. It's bullshit, you know. But I'm more, you and I think share something where I'm all about the story, man. Yeah. If I could get a good story, bro, I know that thing will go viral. So I just, I'm fascinated with a good story, you know, like good stories change the world. Absolutely. I feel like people are traumatized by the whole not having enough followers because I'll get DMs.

They're like, I know I only have a couple followers. I'm like, dude, I don't even look at people's followers. That's awesome. If you have a good story or just a story in general, come on, share it, and we'll make the numbers go. Yeah, man. We got that far covered because the world wants to see different stuff. They don't want the same celebrities every week telling the same stories. Yes, that's what I love about your podcast, man.

It's really, and it's people knowing what I mean? I do the same thing on my podcast. I interview people, no one would really interview. Yeah. And you talk about things that people don't really talk about, you know. I'll get out to Miami this summer. I got to do a Miami trip. Yeah, now we're talking.

Yeah, I'll get out there and film an episode for you. Definitely, man. Awesome. So we know how the story ends. Let's jump into the beginning. Sure. Were you born in the United States? I was born and raised in Miami, Florida, yeah.

I'm Cuban on both sides. My mom and my dad, my dad, he actually escaped Cuba in 1988 with a fake Venezuelan passport. He flew into Panama. I stayed in Panama for a little while, and then he crossed the Mexican border over to Texas where my aunt was waiting for him. My mom came a little earlier. One of the reasons I have such a personal connection with Scarface is

my mom came over in the Mario Boat Lift, so I don't know, you've never seen the movie. So for those of you that have seen in the movie, there's a scene in the beginning where they show how Tony got to America and this big story about this big Cuban migration in 1980 called the Mario Boat Lift, where Fidel basically used it as an excuse to, like, empty his jails and get anybody he wants.

wanted out of Cuba. And in that, you had people who really escaped and got with their family in Miami and stuff like that. So my mom was one of those people who escaped in one of those boats. And it's the same way Tony got here. So there's a scene where you see Tony living in a camp. My mom was one of those people. Wow. So I have a really personal connection to the story because it's a part of who I am, you know. So that's how my mom got here. That's how my dad got out here. They met up in Miami at some point. I was born in 92. So we were born and raised in Miami. Miami. Miami, is a special place, man. It's near and near to my heart. I can't live anywhere else. I've tried. It's so different. It's so cultured. You know, Cubans are almost non-existent outside of Miami.

So it's, I'm very tied to my roots. Like in my neighborhood, no one speaks English. Really? Yeah. You go to Publix. You go to the gas station. You go to a restaurant that don't even, you know, like when you come down, it call me, we eat lunch or something. I'm going to have to order everything for you. You're going to laugh. You're like, dude, where are we? That's why I call it the independent country in Miami. So it's all Cubans. Yeah, yeah, mostly. And what's a language?

Spanish? Spanish. Yeah, yeah. Is it like a different type of Spanish? Like I know there's different variations. Well, in Spanish you have something interesting, right? Because it's all the same language, but each country uses different words. So, for example, Cubans call a car car car car car car, but Argentinians call a car coche.

And for us, our coche is a baby carriage. So. But we all speak Spanish and we all understand each other, but we just use like different. Like, I guess you could compare it to like a New Yorker and a Californian. And like a Floridian, we all use, we all speak English, but we just use, you know, slang and different things like that. Did you have siblings growing up? Yeah, yeah, I have one older sister. She lives in Louisiana. Louisiana. Were you guys close growing up? Yeah, yeah, real close. What's the age difference?

Like a year and eight months. Oh, so very close in age. Yeah, yeah. Did you guys grow up poor, wealthy, middle class? I have an interesting story. So at first when I was born, my parents were dead broke. And then they did well when I was like a toddler. They made some good money, you know, in the, street pharmaceuticals. Street pharmaceuticals, like drug dealing? Is that what you've been? Yeah, I've never heard someone call it street pharmaceuticals.

Yeah. That's so funny. That didn't last so long. They did really well, but that didn't last so long once they came to their senses, and they were like, oh, we got kids, we can't be doing this shit. And then my parents divorced and it went all the shit. My mom was really broke. She worked really hard to raise us and stuff.

But yeah, we didn't have a lot of money growing up. It gave me, but it gave me, like, ambition. Like, growing up poor, I think gave me a lot of hunger. It gave me the ability to envision a better life, you know. Like, I'm big on vision. I'm big on envisioning where you want to be and, and hold, like, make sure, you have to see it before you see it. You know what I mean?

So that, growing up like that is what actually gave me the ability to actually see things, like to see a better version of my life of where I wanted to go and things like that. So it was a blessing. And where'd you go public schooling your own life? Yeah, yeah, pretty much. I went to regular republics. I went, I was in and out of a lot of schools. Like, my parents moved around a lot when I was a kid. I lived in a whole bunch of different. That when people in Miami asked me, oh, what part of Miami are from? I'm from everywhere. Because I grew up everywhere, you know, man. So I grew up in, like, Carroll City, which is like pretty much an all-black neighborhood for a little while. Before that, I grew up in, you know, the Cuban neighborhood. I can have a conversation with pretty much anybody. How would your friends describe you back then if we had them here today? Hmm. No one's ever asked me that question.

My middle school friends might describe me as like the fat kid who wanted to play video games. In high school, it was more the always busy working guy. Like, I worked in high school, I actually moved out my senior year. I lived on my own. So I actually had to work from 3 o'clock in the afternoon until 11 at night And then I'd wake up at 5 in the morning and go to school the next day until 2.30 and it was like every day So I was like the kid who was always working, you know? Were you bullied and picked on?

Not really. Yeah, that wasn't really a thing. Funny enough, now that I think about it, I didn't even get into that many fights I got into like two or three fights in high school. You know how everybody always has those stories of like when they either got beat up or they beat up a kid? Yeah. I have one, I can tell you this one story in high school. There was this kid who really pissed me off because he was like, he would pick on other kids, but I was bigger than him. So he would never, he wouldn't try to tell me anything, right?

He actually would try to be my friend, funny enough. And then one day, he's on the opposite team. We play softball. We beat the fuck out of him like 12 to 2. We beat the shit out of these. So I'm talking mad shit because I can't stand this fucking kid. I'm like, ah, fucking home run, you fucking pussy, like all that shit. we get back to the locker room

and then he's like, yo, shut the fuck up. And I'm like, bro, don't say that again. Fuck you, bro. I'm going to say whatever I want.

We won. Dude, the kid swings at me. Fwa. Like, what was that word? Fra. Fwa. That's a cute.

That's very Cuban. Fla! Like straight in the face. Dude, I, like, he's kind of, he can't believe

he even hit me. So I look at him and I'm like, are you serious? So I just start wailing on him, dude. And then the funny thing is, we got separated, like,

right before the teacher's showed up so we never got in trouble or anything. It was pretty funny. Yamava Resort and Casino at San Manuel is California's number one entertainment destination for the biggest shows this summer. Catch vocal powerhouse Christina Aguilera July 21st. Rock out to Imagine Dragons July 23rd

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Yeah, yeah, yeah. So senior year you moved out. Yeah. Do you go to college? I went to one semester of college, yeah. And then I realized that you don't really need to go to college to pursue what you want in life. So I dropped out. If I would have known, like, college wasn't a thing.

I never would have went. What were you going for? Like, what was your goal? I honestly didn't know what I wanted. I was just going to college because it's what everybody else was doing. And I thought it was, like, the right way to go. But then I met some entrepreneurs at age 18, like people who want businesses were doing really well. And I started to learn how to run a company, what owning a business was like.

Like, oh, shit, okay, I don't have to go to college to become a businessman. So that kind of started happening. And things aligned. I met the right people. I had good mentors and things started going well for me. And so when you dropped out, what did you get into right away? I owned a franchise of a telecommunications business. So at first, it was really hard. It just like bit any business, you know, you got to learn from scratch. And I imagine I was an 18-year-old straight out of high school. So I didn't really have much to offer in the business world. But like I said, luckily, I was around some really successful guys, and they showed me the ropes.

I was around guys making millions of dollars a year. So they were able to show me, like, the telecommunications game, how to sell, how to talk to people, how to present yourself, stuff like that. You said franchise. How do you have the money to buy end of that? Well, luckily, it was more like a line seat. Like, I attached myself to somebody's license. It's like an intricacy.

But, yeah, I didn't have to put up much money. I basically became, I first started off as a sales rep, and then I worked my way up. So I got really good at selling And that sales changed my life too Like learning how to sell a product And real and like that profession Of just being able to go out and sell and make a lot of money

It taught me a lot It taught me a lot man That was in your early 20s Early 20s yeah Early in mid-20s So for the most part You had a pretty normal experience Yeah you know growing up

You know you were a hustler Entrepreneur like you've been saying That we have a lot of similarities And I definitely see That entrepreneurial sense and stuff I got into trouble a little bit younger than you, but you're older than me too. So you just recently went to prison and got out and went through all that.

So did that happen in your early 30s? Yeah, so I got indicted July, 2021. So I was 29. It was a month, not even. It was like two weeks before my 38 and my 29th birthday, actually. So I got indicted when I was 28. And then I actually ended up going to prison in January of 2023. So I was I was 30 when I went in. Yeah, so my early 30s, yes. So what happened over those nine years that from 20 or on top of the world? Things are going well. And then nine years later, you got a federal indictment. Yeah. So I end up, so that business kind of falls apart because the guy who put it all together had a really bad drug habit. So he was kind of like the core leader motivating all of us and stuff. Once he disappeared, there was no one to really like cement us together and glue us and like most.

motivate us and teach us. So all of us just went our own ways and everything kind of fell apart. I ended up having to go back and get a corporate job. I ended up working in health insurance for a nine to five, you know, just like everybody else. But I was fucking miserable. Like my soul was dying, man. Sounds miserable. I hated that job. I hated everything about it. I hated having a boss. I hated having to do what people told me to do. And then one day I get approached and funny enough, one of my good friends started opening a medical clinic. This isn't why I went to prison. He's adding context to the story. So he opens a medical marijuana clinic in Florida, but he needs help. And I have the

business experience, so we kind of partnered up and things started kind of like moving, but I was still working my day job. And I was struggling. I wasn't really making much money. Some guy approaches me, he's like, hey, man, if you want to make a couple extra bucks, I know these clinics that'll, you know, should choose some money if you refer us a couple of patients. What am I thinking? I'm like, Cool. Everybody I worked, where I worked, had like good insurance or whatever. So I started referring a few people, nothing crazy. It was maybe a handful of people.

I made some pocket money and then I moved on. That's pretty much it. I left it at that. And then the clinic, my medical marijuana clinic that I worked at was doing really well. So I just, I went about my life. 2021 comes around and I said by the FBI. So the referrals are the illegal part? Yeah.

Break that down. How is that illegal and what exactly did you? It's called the anti-kickback law. You're not allowed to pay out referrals in the medical industry. So what ended up happening was is that I got paid to refer these patients to these clinics. And that's like a big no-no in the medical field because you're basically paying insurance money. Like it's not your money that you're paying. It's the insurance is money.

So, yeah, that's like a huge no-no. And it's literally the only industry because it could have been anything else. It could have been, you know, you could have sold a car and I could have referred you a client. You could have paid me. almost any industry that's completely legal but unfortunately You know that at the time? I did but I didn't understand the gravity of it

I didn't know it was federally illegal You know what I mean? You knew it was illegal just offence Yeah yeah yeah yeah I thought it was like I'd get like a jaywalking ticket or something I didn't think it was that serious And then aside from that I didn't know that I don't know if you know it's Miami is the fraud capital of the world Yeah you know Johnny Mitchell No

He's a big podcaster that I'm friends with and I help him with clips and stuff he was just interviewing someone where he was like, what the fuck's going on to water in Florida that everyone that's literally fraud? Yeah. It's fraud central. It's nuts. Why is that?

A big part of it is that people come here from like Cuba and Latin America and other countries and you're used, it's just different. Like someone coming here, okay, so let me try to explain Cuba to you. Cuba is a totally, you would get this actually. You would totally get this. Cuba's a lot like prison

So in Cuba Stores, it's just like commissary You don't know when they're going to close it They'll close it You don't know when they're going to open And that's it, you can't buy stuff So what do you have to resort to? The black market

You have to resort to the guys Bringing in bags And fucking buying some shit from You know, Jose Who fucking stuck in some shit It's the same thing in Cuba It's the same exact thing The government is

There's a dictatorship So they close stores They close shit They run out of stuff and you have to resort to people who bring in stuff from outside of the country to survive.

That's exactly how... Dude, it's funny because there wasn't that many Cubans in prison. And the few Cubans... There was maybe like 500 of us at the camp I went to and maybe there was like 10 Cubans

which is weird because I would have thought the prison in Florida was stock full of them. But anyway, I told them, I was like, dude, this is just like Cuban. They're like, yeah, bro,

it's exactly like it's crazy. That's funny. So what's crazy is everything is illegal in Cuba. Everything. The government doesn't want you doing anything. No matter like crossing the street is illegal Like one time I swear I was in Cuba on vacation and I stopped we got stopped I was with somebody in a car and the cop told the person my taxi driver Hey, you should have stopped and he's like there's no stop sign. He's like no no, no, there was a stop sign there 10 years ago. You should have known that there was a stop sign there 10 years ago. So I'm gonna give you a ticket the fuck You know it's that kind of shit. It's weird. It's just it's the COs this shit the CEOs did to us like how they would say shit and you're just like you know what do you what? Anyway, so

that's that mentality of like doing whatever it takes to survive and not really giving giving a fuck about the law it comes from like latin america you know it comes from that a little way and i get it you know but not to mention unfortunately Miami gets a bad rap but there are a lot of like a hardworking honest people there and it sucks because you know everybody just gets blamed you know it's terrible how much you think you made from those referrals 15 20 grand maybe oh so it was good buddy No, but that's over the span of like a year, a year and a half. How many referrals do you think you did?

25, 20. But that was all cash? Yeah. So they just hand you cash? Yeah, pretty much. So how do you get wrapped up into this? Do they snitch you out? Or is there bank records?

Yeah, I got ratted on, unfortunately. So there was a guy who was into everything. Like, the guy was into like every kind of fraud you can imagine. He gets roped up for a totally different case. And then the guy's like, wait, wait, wait, wait. I'm into all kinds of stuff. So he takes down the case I was involved in, and it turned out to be a $7 million case, bro. You know, I didn't even, if had I known what they were doing, I never would have even

even one person. What was it, like a RICO that they wrapped that? Yeah, yeah, pretty much. You seem like such a small fish. I am, I'm tiny. Like that, you're, it's like they would have arrested you first and then you stitch on the other people. No, but they did it backwards in my case.

They got, with him, they got all the big people. And then I was like, one of the last ones, because it's funny enough, the guy got arrested before the pandemic. So what ended up happening was the pandemic happened and then no one was working. So things kind of froze and were like on ice for a bit. And then when things started moving again is when I got arrested like three years later after that guy. Were you hearing about any of these arrests happening?

Yeah, I heard about the one guy getting arrested, but I didn't think it had anything to do with me. I was like, all right, they caught the guy, you know, he was doing something up to no good, you know, whatever. And you were out of it for years. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. I never did anything with them, like pretty much as soon as he went to prison, I was like, all right, it's over.

And it's not like, you know, I wasn't making millions of dollars. Were you ever worried that it could catch up to you? Yeah, yeah. I lost a lot of sleep. Just over those years. Dude. And the funny thing is,

I'm a normal guy. I don't break the law. I don't even get speeding tickets, bro. And it fucked with me pretty bad. Like, there's nights where I lost sleep. And then it got to the point where I knew it was going to happen. That's why I say that mind is powerful. I say that I walked into it

because I brought it like upon myself. Like, Like I would imagine getting arrested in the middle night. That's exactly how I happened. I got arrested in the middle of night and I came fucking banging on my door. Five in the morning, you know, FBI agents. I'll tell you the exact story. So I'm in Columbia on vacation.

I go to vacation. Like my life was great, dude. I just get back from Columbia on vacation. I made great money legally that month. Like I'm 28. I'm living in the dream. I'm doing really well. I get back from vacation.

Four days later, I get a call at five in the morning. Five in the morning. A phone number out and recognize. Man, I turn off my phone and I go back to sleep. My aunt, I live in an apartment. My aunt is my landlord. She comes and knocks on the door, and she's speaking to me in Spanish. Hey, la bolucilla ta fuerre.

The cops are outside. They're looking for you. I was like, the fucking cops. What are you talking about? The same phone number calls my phone. I was like, fuck, all right, I got to answer now. Nelson Rodriguez? Yes.

this is agent such and such with the FBI you have five minutes to come outside click I was like bro these guys have to be looking for my dad because me and my dad have the same name so I'm like all right whatever I'll go to jail and we'll clear this up later dude I walk outside my house

there's two undercover FBI cars with four agents pointing fucking AR-15s at me there's four city of Miami cops block in the road four city of Miami cops block on the road I said, and this is right after George Floyd. So I'm like, fuck you guys, you're not killing me. So I turn around, my hands are on my head. I start backing up towards him.

I hand my cell phone to my aunt. I'm like, yo, call my parents, tell him what's going on. And I let them take me. I don't ask any questions. I just, I let them take me. And then when I got to the station is when they started fucking, I was like, oh, my God. I started seeing other people that got arrested and shit. I was like, fuck, really, bro, this bullshit, you know?

But yeah, that's pretty much what happened. And then the whole story of like my life falling apart. I didn't have a business anymore. See how life works? I built this medical marijuana doctor's office, but I couldn't be a part of it anymore because I got banned from working in healthcare for the rest of my life.

So I lost my business overnight, even though I had nothing to do with why I got in trouble. So that's when I had that existential crisis. Like, I didn't know who I was anymore, man. I went from being on top of the world and thinking I knew who I was, to having no clue what I stood for in life, you know? So, and that's why I decided to write the book

because I figured if I die tomorrow, there's proof I was here you could pick up the book. Ryan Reynolds here for Mint Mobile, the message for everyone paying big wireless way too much. Please for the love of everything good in this world, stop. With Mint, you can get premium wireless for just $15 a month. Of course, if you enjoy overpaying, no judgments, but that's weird. Okay, one judgment.

Anyway, give it a try at mintmobile.com slash switch. Up front payment of $45 for three-month plan, equivalent to $15 per month required. Intro rate first three months only, then full price plan options available. Taxes and fees extra. See full terms at mintmobile.com. You could, you know, see what Nelson was all about. Do you think that if you weren't desperate for money, like if that first business didn't explode and you were kind of in limbo not finding like the medical marijuana business yet

that you never even want to take in that health care money? Yeah. The only reason I did it is because I was kind of broke and still trying to figure my way out and I figured that'll hold me out until I get my feet under me. It was really stupid, and it wasn't even not much money. It was very little money, so. But it's funny how, I don't know what you believe in, but, you know, I believe there's a purpose and a destiny to everything.

So it put me on the path I'm on now, you know. So it's, I'm almost 100 episodes into my podcast. You know, I'm an author. I'm here with you, you know. Yeah. A lot of people don't realize that a lot of guests that come on the show, it's just that one mistake they made that sets them up, you know? it's not like they've given a hundred chances.

It's just the one mistake and it screws them the rest of their life. That's what I tell people. You'd be surprised how many first-time felons there are in the federal system. In the camp I was at, it was like half of us. So once you got arrested, how long was the criminal justice system process for you? It took forever, dude. I was out on bond for a year and a half. And luckily, you're out on bond.

Yeah, yeah, luckily because I had a squeaky clean record. So, you know, they just let me stay out on bond while they were figuring out God knows what. And then I got sentenced in October of 2022, and then I went to prison in January, 2023. You took a plea deal? Pretty much. What was the first offer? Was it what you took?

Yeah, pretty much. I didn't. They were like, here's what we're giving you, and I was like, all right, whatever. And what would they end up getting you? I ended up getting eight months. So in the federal system, some people prefer like a year and a day, because that way you could get like six months. Yo, fuck my lawyer.

Eight months you're doing every penny. Dude. Yeah. And I got lucky because there's something. When did you do your time? 2016 and 19. 19. So, oh my God.

So it was before the pandemic. Yeah. Because of the pandemic, it opened up. Yeah, the CARES Act. So I got lucky and I was able to get out on a 50% of my time. Yeah. So that's what ended up happening with me. But yeah, here's a word of advice to anybody under federal indictment.

Fuck these lawyers, bro. Wait, you only had to do 50%. Yeah That was because of Trump, right? Trump signed that. Yeah, yeah, yeah. I remember we were all listening to like in prison.

I was, it was in December of 2018 when he signed it. Yeah. And it helped a lot of people that were serving life or large sentences immediately but for all the littler people it wasn't going to take effect

for years to come because they're still litigating this and that. So I got lucky it took effect here. Yeah, that's awesome. Yeah, a lot of people don't realize that he did that and he helped a lot of the federal, He did more reform for the federal prison system than any other president.

Isn't it crazy? I don't know about you when you were in prison, but when I was in there, everybody left Trump, dude. Yeah. No, I remember when he got elected, we were watching it in the detention center. Wow. And then I remember being in the medical, watching the news just for a checkup of Hillary Clinton, like taking forever to get on stage to do her concession speech. That's crazy.

Yeah, it was just nuts. So I was in prison the whole time Trump was. in office pretty much from 2016 to 2019 and then that last year I was out Yeah you know he was that was his last year But yeah it's crazy Yeah yeah I got really lucky

And let me tell you like Obviously I had never been to prison So I didn't know there was like Federal levels and the federal system of like a camp And a low and a medium and a pen and all that stuff So I don't know what I'm walking into Everybody everybody's telling me oh you're going to a camp You're okay

The fuck does that even mean You know So I go to this camp and mind you, like, I'm just like, I had just stripped naked, the guy that fucking does the whole thing with the guard. So I'm like, fuck, man, this is going to suck, dude. You know? So I walk in and they introduce me to the other Cubans. Mind you, there's only like 10 of us. Dude, they're super cool.

One gives me a notebook because I'm a writer. And I'm like, man, can they give me a notebook? They give me a pair of shoes, a pair of shorts. And mind you, Cubans aren't really, like, Cubans are nice on the street, but they're not like a close-knit community. So it was the first time I had seen other Cubans I kind of look out for me. It was cool. And then funny, so funny, I'll tell you the story about my first night in the shower.

So I'm in the shower and, you know, I'm just doing my thing. I didn't know, I didn't get the whole slippers thing, right? So I took off my slippers at the end of my stall. Like I put them at the end of my stall and I go in the stall and I take a shower. And I start hearing, Kuwa, Kuwa! And I'm like, they're definitely talking about me.

I was like, fuck, mind you, it's this guy named Mello. Mello has a fucking scorpion tattoo on his face. So he's like, Cua! And I'm like, oh, fuck, here we go. So he approaches my stall, like, not trying to look or anything. He's like, oh, yeah, ponta la chancelta. He's trying to tell me to put my sandals on. And I put them on.

And then when I get out and I'm drying myself and shit, and I'm dressed, he's like, bro. He didn't span it. Because out of the 500 of us there, there was like 300 Puerto Ricans. It was died. They owned that place. So he was like, what, bro? You get mushrooms and you're like fucking, you know, fungus and shit on your feet.

You got to watch out. You've never been to prison, have you? I was like, no, bro. I don't know what the fuck, you know? So yeah, that was a... And you got to self-surrender? Yeah. So what was that experience like?

I said, my sister and my mom dropped me off on my sister's birthday. Wow. Yeah, it was rough. So I was there with my niece, who was eight, seven at the time. My nephew, who's three at the time. my mom and my sister. So on her 32nd birthday, she had to drop her baby brother off at prison.

It's pretty, and then it was dramatic because I walked in and everything and then the door's closing and they're driving away and we're like, we're, you know, it was... Did you have any thoughts of running or anything like that? Nah.

I'll tell you what I did have, though. That first night, when I laid down and I looked at the roof, I was like, I'm in fucking prison, man. Like, life is wild. How the fuck did I end up here? Like, I fucked up.

At least it was one of the nicest prisons that you could get to a camp. Fair enough. It's like a country club. Fair enough. I know. So funny, something I've been meaning to ask you, I went to Coleman in central Florida.

I heard that's a nice camp. I mean, I guess. I have nothing to compare it to. Thank God. I've never been to another prison. Where did you do your time? The question is where I didn't,

because I was all over. I was in multiple federal prisons. My last spot was in Oxford, Wisconsin, there. Okay, cool. Yeah. The Puerto Ricans were running wild, dude. So there was like shakedowns all the time and shit and it was wild. It was just like smuggling stuff then. Yeah, dude. So I didn't know this was what I was told when I was in there. The federal detention system in Puerto Rico is basically like overwhelmed. So they ship off a bunch of Puerto Ricans to

Florida, like up and down the East Coast, New York and Florida, because there's a huge Puerto Rican population in Orlando. So a lot of them actually. she'd get transferred to Orlando to be near their family or whatever. And then New York, too. So it was crazy, like, because they basically did whatever they wanted because there was so many of them. It was so many of them. It was crazy.

And I was also lucky because I'm Cuban and I speak Spanish or whatever. So they kind of saw me as one of them a little bit. But it was cool. It was a unique experience. Yeah. I met some great people in there. They taught me a lot. I met a Buddhist in there.

He told me some cool shit. He had read the Torah, the Bible, and the, the Quran and another book called The Compass of Zen and this guy had just done 16 years he was on a 30 year bid and like I sit there for with him for like hours and we're just talking about life and he's teaching me all his spiritual self and he and back to back to why I wrote the book he asked me this question who are you and I'm like Nelson no no no no no no who are you I'm like a prisoner in the federal system no no no no who are you like he keeps asking me these questions And it's basically like this Buddhist principle that you are not what you do and you are not your appearance. Like who you are is so much deeper and like there's so much like your conscience is connected to like this. And all of this is bigger than like just what we see.

You know, it's it's deep stuff not to get too philosophical. Anyway. Were you surprised by like the food in there that everyone was creating? Yeah, yeah, yeah. Dude, some great cooks in there. There's this guy. Shout out to Gio if he's probably still at Coleman. He made these cheesecakes, bro.

Oh, my God. I used to be the cheesecake, man. Oh, the non-baked cheesecakes. They were so good. That's awesome. Yeah, you would just put them under your bed in an ice bucket, freeze them up, cut them up, sell them for two, three bucks to slice. Yeah, yeah.

Over there, one flat was like seven bucks or whatever, so, yeah, that was our whole thing. Did they assign you a job or no? Because you didn't have much time? No, yeah, yeah, that was a work camp, so you had to work. At first, I got, like, the worst job ever working at this place called Unicorn. Oh, Unicorn. Yeah, but that's one of the best paying jobs, are you? It pays the best, but the job sucks.

What did you have to do? Because every prison has a different, yeah. Yeah, yeah. Ours was, we had this warehouse where we would get all these, basically it was like furniture assembly. We'd have to fucking put all these pieces of furniture on a shelf and, like, document how many we have and shit and then get orders and ship them out.

It was fucking horrible. You were doing a warehouse work for like $0.12 an hour. It was crazy. Yeah, slave labor, literally. Did you have like a hustle at all? Because you were an entrepreneurial type person. I was tempted to, but I really just kept it like, I was like, bro, you only got like a few months in here. Stay out the way.

Stay out of the way. Let people do their thing. There's guys in here that are in here a long time. They got to do that to survive. You'll be out of here in no time. What were you saying? But I was very tempted. Yeah.

The husser gene was like, oh, yo, you go make so much money. Yeah. Yeah. One of the biggest things at camps that are known for, smuggled or leaving the camp to go hook up with someone was that happening a lot there? So funny enough

I heard a story it didn't happen while I was there but I heard a story of a dude and I never met the guy because he was gone by the time I got there he actually paid somebody like five grand to stay there in his place

he got a dude that just looked like him and he took off for like a whole weekend to go be with his girlfriend smuggled a bit it worked it worked yeah you know I've heard stuff like that happening that's crazy

Because it's so easy. There's only like one card for the whole camp. How many inmates were there? Just under 500. Oh, so it was a big camp. Yeah, yeah. Did they have multiple guards working there or no? Like three guards, two guards.

It wasn't that many. Okay. Yeah. And what about cell phones? I mean, bro, so funny story about that too. So obviously they give you a whole thing about contraband and all this shit and, oh, you're going to a hole. So I'm thinking everybody's kind of like kosher and like following the rules, dude, the first night. I'm like, what the fuck is going on in here?

Mind you, like, so funny enough, I run into a guy knowing their name, this guy named Jose. And he kind of, he's like, yo, come to my unit at night, you know, we'll hang out, we'll talk, we'll catch up. So I go to his unit. Bro, everybody has a fucking cell phone. And I'm just like, I'm like, bro, shit, I run out of here. Like, so that it was crazy. Everybody had a cell phone. Yeah, it was so funny.

Like, you see like these old guys that people you would never expect with contraband. Yeah. if you go in to use the bathroom at night and all the lights are off, you could see everyone's bump that just lit up like a fucking Christmas tree. And you're like, oh, that guy's got a phone that. Like, everyone has a fucking phone. Yeah, dude, it's crazy. The head orderly had a phone.

Yes. You know, it just everyone has it. Everyone's got their own hustle to smuggle in contraband. McDonald's, fast food, whatever. Whatever you want. Camps are a joke. Like, I don't know why we have camps. Send the people home at that point.

Yeah. And it's funny because most people associate, they think like, oh, why call our crimes that we all go to a club club fed or whatever dude like 65 or 70% of people i did time with where drug related cases just nonviolent drug it nonviolent yeah so i was in there with like street dudes i wasn't it just in there with you know the guy who committed wire fraud and the guy who did mortgage fraud it no i was in there with guys real street gangster guys from puerto rico you know and like i told you like most them like real guys you know what i mean so it was it was interesting for me like i didn't get that whole oh yeah You just went to a camp.

You're with a bunch of rich white dudes. I met some rich white men in there. A lot of rich white men. Any celebrities at all? Nah, no celebrities. Well, actually, funny enough, now that you mention it, there's, you've heard of Rick Ross, the rap, of course. So in his early days, his first album, he used to rap about this group of guys called the booby boys. The boobo boys basically were like this big drug gang that, like, made a lot of money back in the day.

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Oh wow. So I told him, I sat up and I was like dude, I wrote a fucking book report about you like back in the day and I knew exactly he was and then we actually We took on this weird like kind of like mentor thing like he kind of After that he kind of like we became buddies you know it was weird And mind you, he's like this black dude in his late 50s, early 60s. You know, this guy who's done like 17 years in prison came down from the penitentiary. So it's crazy how you meet these people when you learn things from them. Yeah.

How did guys like that react to you having such a short sentence? I mean, you were just, you're there for an overnight stay. Everybody's laughing, you know, because you guys got that, you know, how many people have done 20, 25? You know, guys that worked their way down from the pen or the medium or the line. low. Like I said, the Buddhist, he had done, he got out on the carers like two. He got lucky. He only did 16, but he was there on a 30-year sentence. When you hear about a guy who's doing eight months, you're like, bro, you know, I'll wake up in eight months. Did that make you reconsider your life and what you had going on? 100%. 100%. It made me very grateful that it was only eight months and not

more. It made me realize how short life is. You know what I mean? There's guys in there who hadn't been with a woman in 10 years, you know. And that was like, wow. Like, this guy's never going to have kids. This guy's never going to have a life. So, yeah, it made me seriously get, it made me really get serious about the things I wanted to do with my life and really lock in and get serious.

How was the food over there? Like, the regular food, not commissary. Bro, everybody talks about camp food being good. That shit was trash, bro. It was trash. It was bad. And then, funny enough, of course, because of all the shit that's getting snuck in,

we get cut off, like our commissary gets cut off. And when it went on lockdown, we can't go to the yard. So what do these street guys do? Of course, they start cutting the portions at lunch so they can sell you the fucking meat at night. We're eating half of what we're supposed to eat, which is dog shit anyway. And then they're fucking selling us the same food at night

when we walk into the unit. It's like, bro, you fucking shyster motherfuckers. Yeah, they did that. At the low is very popular to do that. And that's more easier to control because there's so many inmates. But at the camp, guys started doing that, and the portions are getting skimpy. It's like, come on.

There's only 100 of us here. So the guys started complaining, went on strike a little bit, and then they fired the kitchen guys. Yeah, yeah, yeah. No, there's no fire nobody over there where I was. So it was just like you got to deal with it. Everybody bitches and moans, but no one really does anything about it. So did you get inspired to write the book in prison? Did you start writing in prison?

No, I actually finished it right before I went to prison. Oh, you finished the whole book before prison? Yeah, yeah, yeah. So don't you feel like you're missing like a big part of your story? Yeah, yeah, yeah. I'm right. I wrote the second book. I wrote it while I was in there.

Okay. So you're going to do too. Yeah, yeah. So you've published it completely. So what is the book about, just your lead up to federal prison? Pretty much. It was just basically my, like the things I believed in in life. You know what I mean?

Just it wasn't really about going to prison or my indictment or any of that stuff. It was more like I wanted something. something that just showed who I was, you know. I just wanted something anybody could refer to and be like, all right, that's Nelson. Because like I said, you know, I didn't have anything to show for. After 29 years living on this fucking planet, you know, I had nothing to show for in my life. It's crazy. But yeah, there's definitely going to be a part two.

It's going to be very different. Do you think that those four months were beneficial? Like, did you need those four months in the grand scheme of things? Prison is the best thing that's ever happened to me. Without, without a doubt. I know I get hated on a lot People are just like bro you're crazy Are you gonna say that? It's the truth like I read 31 books in four and a half five months

I got in really good shape I lost a ton of weight I learned from really good people I meditated every day like I went in there telling myself Nelson you fucked up and you have to fix something like this version of you He was gonna die and he's gonna stay in there the person that's gonna come out of this is a different version of you A better version of you a guy who knows what he wants in life a guy with principles I actually sat down and wrote principles in there like what do I want to stick to on what am I what are the codes in my life that I'm not going to break no matter what that's what I did in there I went in there to like really revaluate my life and come out a different person what kind of books are you reading boof I mean I read all

Robert Green's books amazing mastery 32 strategies of war 40 laws of power um the artist deduction his books are fantastic I would recommend them to anybody I read the Iliad for the first time I had never read the Iliad is a huge book it was like 600 pages something like that I read this really good story about the samurai who traveled the world and learned about like western culture and taught English in Japan um I read about Abraham Lincoln I mean I read a little bit of everything mainly just learning about other people who did great things and like people who had overcome bigger obstacles than me you know how are your friends toward you about going to prison and then when they got when you got out were they supportive well funny enough

I did lose a lot of friends after I got indicted. But were they really my friends to begin with, you know? I mean, your indictment was kind of silly. Yeah, I mean... No, but even then, there's people who don't want to associate with you anymore, people who don't want to talk to you, you know? Like, do you even have a restitution? Yeah, unfortunately.

Who gets that money back, though? There's not a victim in this, is there? According to the government, but, you know, it is where it is. Who are they saying the victim is? The insurance company? The insurance company? Yeah, yeah. Because the insurance company paid these clinics...

clinic and the clinics gave you a piece of that? Correct, yeah. But didn't they somewhat use some of that money for good, like for a patient? Or were they all faulty claims? Probably all faulty. Who knows, bro? I honestly don't even know. But you were referring legitimate people.

Some of them. Oh, some were just plain, you know, legitimate. No, whatever happened after I referred them, I don't really know. You know what I mean? I wasn't really like, yo, whatever you guys do, that's up to you, you know? Yeah. But, yeah, it just, it's funny. The friendships that mattered, they got closer to me.

Like, those relationships became stronger. You know, I had friends, semi-comissary money, call my mom every week to see how I was doing. Like, I lost a lot of friends, but I gained better. Like, not that I gained better ones, but the ones that stayed became, like, so much better, you know. So I'm grateful because it really showed me who was there, who really cared about me and who was just there because it was convenient, you know?

How'd your dad react to all this? My dad has done some time, so. He understood. Yeah, and he's fucked up too, so he got it. You know, my dad didn't, wasn't judging me or, like, scolding me. My mom neither. Because basically the way they saw it is like, you've been a good guy, you know, you fucked up. It is what it is.

It's all right, you know. Do you have a relationship with him now? With my father, yeah. And your mother, too. Yeah, yeah. I actually, I hated my father for a large part of my life, and it wasn't until I went to prison that I forgave him. Because I understood that the law is in black and white,

it can be pretty gray sometimes. And because I went to prison, and I went through that, and I became friends with some hardcore criminals, right? Like, I got to know them as people, and I said, I'd be friends with this guy in the street. Like, this guy's not a bad guy. I forgave my father for some of the things, done and I understand now that sometimes in life in order to really understand

somebody you have to walk in their shoes you know what I mean so like I said there's so many good things that came from prison for me like a lot of good things what about your sister what does she feel about this whole thing she had my back 100% she she's she's been super supportive she wears my t-shirts for my podcast and shit she's always like resharing my stuff I love my she's she's amazing she's been really supportive so you got out last met you said yeah was it hard to readjust after like a four-month break from society in the world it was overwhelming man because i got handed my cell phone as soon as i walked up so they had it

there no no my mom my mom came to pick me up so she handed my cell phone and i was like fuck i haven't been on instagram and like forever and i have dude i had a youtube short get 100 000 views like 30 days after i got a prison that's awesome so i'm there like fuck it's happening the way i envisioned it you know what i mean it's crazy yeah so oh so for full circle how I found your podcast. So I get out and I'm trying to figure out I get this job. You know, I started being able to move around. I'm still on the ankle bracelet.

I get off on the ankle bracelet in July 28th of last year. A couple months after he got out. A couple months after I get put on probation. I invite a guy to my podcast and at the end of our podcast, he's like, bro, have you heard of Ian Bick? And I said, no, who is that? Who whips out his Instagram and I see you telling a story? And I was like, oh shit.

That's, yeah, they used to run bags and shit, oh shit. And that's when I DM'd you originally. I was like, shit, man, yo, we have so much in common. That's cool, bro. And I just want to say, man, I really love what you're doing. It's hard to find people who kind of like have been through our experience and are doing what, like, chasing a passion in life. And funny enough, ours is the same. We both podcasts.

So it was cool to see you doing your thing and like do well. And it kind of was like, man, he can do it. You know, I can do it too. Thank you, man. I mean, yeah, I'm just like a regular guy. and that's what I just want to show people, you know? Like, I'm just like, just normal, just a normal person. I just have a good work ethic and I'm creative

and I just use that to my advantage and I just grind, you know? I respect that a lot. And that's kind of like my same message that I try to tell people my podcast. I'm not a special guy. I'm just a guy who this is what I want to do with my life and I'm going to be as consistent as possible and I try to bring people some value. Consistency is the biggest thing.

Dude. People are always like, how do you do this? I put money into marketing, this, that, no, Just be consistent. 100%. That's all you got to do. 100%. If you are consistent, it's going to pay off.

So funny enough about another story about consistency. So I decided as soon as I got out and I started podcasting again, I was like, man, I'm going to post three times a day no matter what. Three times a day. I'm never going to shy away from it. Dude, by day 90, my videos are getting like 100 views, 120 views. And I'm like, fuck, God, kill me. This is horrible.

Dude, 121 days into it, I get a real. real on Instagram with 2 million views. That's awesome. Like, consistency works, bro. Absolutely. It really does. What kind of guests do you have on your podcast? Like, what's a theme of the show?

The theme is, so I've decided my life's purpose is to find stories and wisdom and share it with the world. So a good story that is really inspiring, anyone who has some real, like, really good wisdom to share, like, something really profound, anything like that. It could be someone who's done from time in prison. It could be an entrepreneur. It could be maybe like more of a spiritual guy. It could be an actor.

it could be a music artist, it doesn't matter. I don't specify, but the overall theme is that, like, a good story or wisdom to share with the world. How do you think your mindset's changed since you were, you know, that 20-year-old hustler to now having gone through, you know, 10 years later and the trials and tribulations and the experiences? How do you think that's differed? Man, when I was 20 years old, I would have cried about a flat tire. Like, my day was over. I cried. I was in, God, why me?

That kind of shit. Like, I was paper, my skin was paper thin, paper thin. Prison has made me understand that there's nothing that can break you. The only thing that can break you is you, bro. Like, if the day you quit is the day you quit. No one can make you quit. Nothing in life can make you quit. If you quit, it's because it's you decided to.

You know what I mean? So the mental fortitude and, like, just inner peace, like, I understand what I'm made of and what I'm capable. of and what I'm able to withstand, you know? So you can't even, that's like when I talk about myself before prison, it's like a past life. You know, it's another me. I'm a totally different person.

Yeah, I know. It's crazy when you reflect back down the differences. I mean, like, we're all not the same person. We even were a year ago. 100%. When you go through experiences like that, they do shape you. Yeah. And if you come out on the other side, you're way better because of the experience.

Definitely. 100%. But Nelson, thank you so much, man, for coming on the show today. Of course. and connecting and you know i'll see you sooner than later to do your show i told you i'll do you you owe you so i got you when you're your man yeah i got you man so i'll come out there and um yeah you know we'll plug in your stuff definitely in the description and it was a pleasure to finally meet you and stay in touch appreciate jayin thank you guys and uh follow me montana the

prophet on instagram check out the book