I Tell a lot of people like what's the worst thing that's going to happen. The job's going to say no. Well then you move on what's going to be the worst that happens. That boy or girl says no, they don't want to go on a date with you.

What's the worst thing that's going to happen? You're going to make 50 videos nobody watches and you're going to do something else. Like people create this fear of judgment that doesn't exist. Hey everybody. Uh, welcome to another episode of the Garyvee Audio Experience.

Uh, been really trying to be selective and creative with our guests. Uh I think we've got a really good one for you. Uh, today? uh, we're gonna Yap hopefully Inspire um and uh. and and most of all get you to think and feel and so uh, I'm gonna allow my guests to introduce himself.

uh tell you who he is and two minutes about him and then I'm gonna dig right into it. So Dia I'm excited you're on the show. How are you? Hey Gary I'm great man. thanks for having me on Man it's uh, it's truly an honor to get to meet you I'm sure you hear that a lot but you're a Trailblazer and uh look man.

uh Gary Damon West here man and I'm telling you it's uh I Got out of prison about seven and a half years ago and since then I've been out there sharing my message the story of The Coffee Bean which we're going to talk about today and that message is caught fire all over the world brother and I appreciate you letting me come on your podcast today to share this message with your audience because I truly think we're going to enrich the lives of millions of people today. So let's get right into it. Tell everybody, oh you know, two three minutes on you like how'd you grab? let's go way back. like where where were you born? what kind of kid were you and then let's get into the meat of the story and then get into the meat of the message.

Yeah, I mean I grew up in this little town called Port Arthur Texas Port Arthur's down by Louisiana and Texas on the Gulf Coast Came from a great family uh had everything going for me in life. Good athlete uh, great athlete actually I got a scholarship to play division one college quarterback University of North Texas uh got injured in college and went off to work in different jobs like worked in Congress worked for a guy running for President worked on Wall Street Uh, it was there that job as a broker in 2004 that I was introduced to meth for the first time and it took about 18 months from the introduction of meth into my system to lose it all to give it all away Gary because that's what addicts do. We give things away man. I gave up my job, my home, my car, my savings account, my family, my tethering to God and I went from working on Wall Street to living on the streets of Dallas Gary And that's when I became a criminal I was a meth addict and I was the ringleader of a bunch of other methods into people's homes and that is a good place for us to launch and start the story today actually before we do that brother, because I think you know the modern technology allows people.

Obviously, that's a very intriguing starting point. I think a lot of people can pause their podcast Google your name and probably see you talk about that part. I Actually, especially knowing this audience actually want to double click into something that just caught my attention. Go talk to me about when did you think that you were going to be or when did you realize that you were a very talented athlete? and did you at any point think you were going to be a professional athlete? or how much did you being a good athlete? Define Who you were, you know, you know I'm in the athlete business with Vayner Sports I know exactly what part of the country you grew up in that Friday Friday Night Lights was a very successful sitcom.

So I think a lot of people listening not in a sports business can probably have a good sense of what being the star quarterback of a high school team. uh, in that part of the country means I Get the luxury of seeing you right now I Know a lot of people are listening, some will watch videos but I can see you so I Can tell that you were clearly also a handsome stock as a school year in high school. I Want to go into identifying as something at a young age and how big of a vulnerability that could be? So I I just yapped a lot. Let's break this down.

when did you realize you were good at sports Gary Great questions and you're getting right to the heart of it. Uh, when I first realized I was really good at sports I was about 11 or 12 years old God blessed me with a cannon for our right arm and you and you hit them, you hit the nail on the head. Man, this is Texas Man yeah Friday Night Lights Texas high school football. This stuff is a religion down here where I live man and and I was the man I was a three-year starting quarterback for a five a school biggest division it was back then.

boot chip was like the real big thing to me. it was like they have the star system now yeah of course. but um yeah. so being a quarterback was everything.

It's how I identified in life and because I was such a good athlete I got away with a lot of things in life Gary Yeah, a lot of the rules didn't didn't apply I'm sorry, yeah, a lot of the rules didn't apply. to me. Gary I I Was able to skate by with things my behavior never really got checked. and I'm not blaming anybody for that.

but that's just what You're not blaming that. you're not blaming the school. You're not blaming your parents. No, absolutely not the coach.

There's nobody. But you know what? in hindsight, being the byproduct of that, let's just jump because I want to make this very valuable for the parents that are listening at home right now who either have a straight A student and that's the religion who have a great, you know everyone. The Alcaraz match just happened. So tennis is on a lot of people's mind.

have a great tennis player and that's their religion. Football, you know, Whatever it is. How much do you now realize that creating boundaries is obnoxiously healthy? Oh, it's it's incredibly healthy. And here's what I realized about about that now.

and I didn't pick up on this when I was a late teenager or in my 20s because you were the beneficiary of it at the time. you were pumped that you could skip class or you could drink with your buddies or whatever the you're about to say. But now you understand like nobody holding you accountable led to you subconsciously and then consciously realizing you could get away with. Oh yeah, and it's Gary even more than just cutting class I mean I mean I got pulled over drunk I got all kinds of things happened to me that would have put somebody in the criminal justice system long before I went in there when I was 33 years old man.

But but because I was the quarterback because I could throw a football you know my identity Gary was wrapped up in being a college football player and and the danger about this. and I'm talking to all the parents and even young people out there is that when you attach your identity into something external, something you can attach to, you're setting yourself up for a enormous failure. Gary You know this man. you you can't attach yourself to a job, your your athletic ability.

the Cardinal job you were. you were so kind to me before we got on camera and then immediately repeated it like when I tell you that I have no feelings towards my professional success, you'd be baffled I'm on the other side of the fence on this I don't give a that I'm Garyvee I don't give a that I'm good at making money as an entrepreneur I think none of that means anything and no one should treat me in any shape or form different because I have a lot of followers or I'm good at making money or I say nice things I I just know and I've known since I was 10. this is why I was a bad student I was a bad student because I didn't feel attached to needing to get A's and B's I Love that you're going down this path. It's I This is why I'm double clicking on this like I know that you're about to say a bunch of great, but I also assume because you've had a lot of success that we can see a lot of that on the internet because like it's the same with me, that you can see my core principles out there every day.

What we're talking about you and I right now is actually going to change the course of five or six people's lives out of the hundred thousands that are listening right now or over the course of the next couple years because it's those early days of attaching to something. It's not just the Star Quarterback This is why I'm so scared of school being an Ivy league student. Those kids are failing left and right every day as well in their 20s and 30s because all they wanted to be was a straight A student. Go to Ivy League and then you're 22 and now what? Yeah, absolutely and you're and you're wise Gary in your life to not attach yourself to anything that's going on in the world that you've created with your successes Because man, that's not what it's about.

look. Gary I have this healthy perspective now on what a bad day looks like and I think that we all have perspective when a bad day looks like. But when we're wrapped up in this world, we don't even live in a reality when we're attached to this fake identity that could be coming from social media it could become from the sports we play. and look I speak to college football teams all over.

America I've met a lot of your players, man, you've got some great guys that you represent and and I think that the the danger of that is is that when you attach yourself to something external, you set yourself up for enormous failure in my life today. Gary Every day that I wake up and my feet don't hit the cold concrete floor of a prison cell. I'm winning I'm gonna have a good day and it doesn't matter if I'm out there speaking on some stage or or writing books or doing whatever I'm out there making a positive impact. but I didn't understand that.

Gary when I was when I was in in the middle of it man. and whenever I'm going through this living in Texas everything is available to me that I want to do. but on on September 21st, 1996 Gary the entire world changed for me. I Call this a fork on the road in life And and life's about these fork in the road days.

These very pivotal days where you get knocked down, you get back up, you dust yourself off. but you're going to make a decision. At the fork in the road. you're either going to make the right choice and go the right way or the wrong choice and go down the wrong direction.

September 21st, 96 Gary we're playing against Texas A M It's a beautiful Saturday in College Station Texas I'm 20. I'm the starting quarterback for a division One team at 20 years old period. I'm driving my team down just for fun. Who was this who was the opposing quarterback I don't remember who the opposing quarterback is I can tell you who the opposing linebackers were Keith Mitchell and that Winn Yeah yeah, oh I played against.

That was the game that I played against that weight in fact that tackled me on a couple plays before this third play of this game Gary I'm driving my team down the field against the Aggies in College Station Packed house beautiful Saturday afternoon and one little boy growing up in Texas doesn't even want to want to play for these guys or against these guys right and there I am driving my team down the field. Third play of the game: I'm down on the ground and don't get back up. it's a career in an injury I separate my shoulder that day and I never played college football again. and when I get up to this fork and rodent life at 20 years old and football is gone at my identity was Gone with it and Gary I'll get through for a lot of people listening.

a lot of sports fans. a separated shoulder in 96 is different than it is today. first of all, modern medicine. but second of all, I assume that means on your right shoulder, your throwing arm or you know and what? it just didn't heal well or did you not rehab properly? Break it down for me.

Yeah, here's what happened. so I separated my shoulder and my dad was a sports writer for 50 years down in Port Arthur Texas Jimmy Johnson is also from Port Arthur Texas My dad Jimmy are best friends and so Jimmy sent me to the NFL quarterback surgeon a guy named Dr Vanderbeer in Dallas Texas and Vandermeer goes in. they they cut my collarbone out, they're just still clavicle because it's popped through. It's got a third degree separation and I start healing and coming back in the spring and the off season and then June of the next year I I cut my achilles 10 in half so I never got to play college football again Gary that game against Texas A M I thought I could make a comeback and and I was coming back in the in the in the quarterback room in the spring.

but the next summer I sever my achilles tended in half and did you? Did you? did that mentally Again, As you know, even the mid 90s one could conceivably come back to that. Or are you telling me after all the work you put in right, you're in the QB room, you're 20. You're staying away from the fun. you're focused.

it was that Achilles that was like this. you know I would I'd like to be able to say I stayed away from the fun and I was focused. But honestly man in my story and and my autobiography talks about this, the change agent we talk I talk about in there a lot. uh I was a wild guy back in college Gary I partied I was in a fraternity I you know I did the fraternity thing when I was in there.

yeah and when that happened it broke me man. I was done with trying to because the rehab to come back from Achilles injury. it just seemed like a path too steep for me. You were just like it.

I'm just gonna be a college kid and have fun I'm gonna make money. But the good. The good news is that the coach kept me on scholarship. man he didn't have I ran into Gary the other day I run into my old college coach in the airport a guy named Daryl Dickey he used to be the offensive coordinator at Texas A M and now he's a uh he's an analyst at University of Georgia he runs into me at the airport man.

I take a picture with this guy. he's like my hero because this guy keeps me on scholarship for the next two years. He doesn't have to. That's a valuable scholarship for a school like.

North Texas Man, we're dude. We're planning to get some of the biggest guys in the country. Alabama LSU All these schools and he keeps one of those 85 scholarships from me who lives a less than a desirable life. But he understands that if he cuts me loose that there's no telling what happens to Damon West back in 1997 or 1998.

So he keeps me on scholarship until I graduate and I'm Gary I'm I'm a kind of a pitiful person at that point. I've got a lot of talent obviously. God blessed me with the ability to talk to people and and get out and and get out there and get good jobs. Like I said: I worked in the United States Congress after college I work for a guy running for president United States Raising money I was a political fundraiser raising money all over America You not only had a Canon right arm, you also had Gift of Gab and Charisma which was good for a lot of fun, but was also good in those early 20s in that transition to set you up for opportunities because that is a massively god-given Talent By the way, to all the kids that are listening right now, your charisma and ability to talk is a a monster monster talent and sometimes you guys and girls downplay that Don't Obviously, you've got to back it up with the stake to that.

Sizzle But it is. Do not downplay. Charisma It's no different than being born super funny, super attractive, super motivated, super athletic. It is one of the other pillars of god-given talent.

one that Society does not talk enough about. Charisma is a big deal. Yeah, and it's it's a muscle you can work too. By the way.

Gary you 100 you can get better at it and look just a little side note: Man: I talk to people all the time. They're like hey man I You know I want to be more outgoing but I have this fear of Confrontation or this this fear to get out and talk to people listen I do things I'm afraid of so I can do things I'm afraid of the more you address these fears and deal with that, especially speaking to people and being you know out front and outspoken, the better you get at it. But I was born with that though. Gary Yes, you were born with that gift, but you also lived a life that got you to places of adversity which then put things into perspective.

I Tell a lot of people like what's the worst thing that's going to happen. The job's gonna say no. Well then you move on. What's going to be the worst that happens.

That boy or girl says no, they don't want to go on a date with you. What's the worst thing that's going to happen? You're gonna make 50 videos, nobody watches and you're gonna do something else. Like there's a people create this fear of judgment that doesn't exist. It's in their head 100 it's all in your head and that voice in your head is usually fear Gary A Lot of times that's fear I I don't listen to myself Gary I talk to myself I used to listen to myself I went down to Poor Pitiful roads because I listened to myself but you know Gary yeah, you're right I was blessed with the ability to talk to people and that was something that got me into a lot of doors like I said you know United States Congress worked for a guy running for president Wall Street Back in 2004 I Was back in Dallas training to be a stockbroker for UBS one of the biggest banks in the world but it was at that job as a stock broker in 2004 Gary that that my life and the lives of a lot of other innocent people would forever be changed and and look I was before you go there I before we go into how meth got into the system and all that that you set us up with was yours and this is so damn important.

Big moment in the Podcast was your decision to go to. Wall Street 2004 96 you were 20. So you're 28 at this point or so 2004. Yeah, 28.

was was it now. Hey I Want to make as much money as possible and wall Street's a thing. you nailed it dude. the vices man I just wanted I just wanted to I wanted to party I wanted something that would support a lifestyle of partying and hanging out making money I mean yeah at that age Gary I didn't understand the important things in life.

One of the reasons why I like your content I'm gonna back up a little bit and talk about something I've learned from you is you and an entirely different path. You Realize By the time you were young that you were meant to do something bigger, you took your dad's wine business and you blew it up. You were doing things in your 20s that now in my 40s I'm I'm able to start making those roads but I was late to the game Gary I was late to the game because I got distracted. Yeah, the good news is look and by the way for all the kids listening home I would argue I went a little too far because at 47 48 years old, there's certain things I didn't develop I probably didn't get enough fun out of the system like listen, there's a great Russian saying that translates to everything's at its best when it's balanced, right? Yeah and I think to your point I was on one extreme where like listen I'm thrilled and pumped with every aspect of my life knock on wood and one of those is why the question always becomes why why did you want to party and things you know I always think like first of all I think that's incredibly normal I think anybody of the age of 15 to 30.

has some percentage of them you know some is 10. some 100 that wants to hook up that wants to party that wants to be popular like that's normal human behavior. but when you start going through the path, unfortunately too many people want to do it because they don't have self-confidence and they don't love themselves and they need that drug of others liking them and all those vices. and then for me I think I went a little bit too far like I I'm proud to say this and I think people that go to Vcon or really know me like I think I love my parents like probably a little bit too much, right? and so for me I was obsessed with I had a sense that I had a talent as well and I was gonna milk that in my 20s to do big for my parents because I always was very grateful that they raised me well and took me out of the Soviet Union to America and I was I've been always grateful, always grateful and so um, that's kind of how my story played out.

But I think The balance of the two as people are listening I Don't want them to over correct into my direction because I think you know it would have been okay in my 20s to go on a vacation for a week like that would have been okay. Everything would have been still fine I Think to your point, like you, you can't have fun, but you can grow up. The best part is 40s is still young I'm pumped that you have your whole life in front of you. You know all of a sudden when you're 80 that window of 15 to 28 or to 35 or whatever window you're about to explain us.

that's going to be a small blimp right now, it's still a big percentage of your life. This is what I want I Want people to get excited in their 30s, 40s, 50s and 60s to realize when you're 90, 15 years was a small blip. You're on that path now. Absolutely.

And it's never too late. it's never too. I Turn around I was like you were I was listening one of your podcasts the other day and you were talking to the to the other guy you were talking to about. You know the stuff you're even doing.

Now you're You're looking forward to the stuff you're in 40 years from now you know I'm in such a weird place I know we're bouncing around here but like this is going to get you pumped and I think this will bring value. This is why I'm jumping in I kind of weirdly Make Pretend I've done nothing like that's how I talk to myself I'm like I love it man I do the same thing. it's called the rookie mindset I got a real mindset I'm kind of like okay, cool but like not really like it. it's all gone today's day one and like let's go Crush anyway I want to actually hear because this is sexy now like this is fun for people that like a little you know Hollywood stuff like okay, cool, you're 28 I'm kind of into this story so I want to get back to it.

You're 28. you're starting to train for it. What happens you meet the wrong guy. Is that what ends up happening? So Audrey Were you the wrong guy? No.

I Sometimes you hang out with the wrong wrong crowd. long enough you become the wrong crowd, right? Yeah, you are the wrong crowd. That's gonna happen soon in the story. but but you now that in several different points because you said you know about what happened in college I couldn't live life on life's terms Gary And that's one of the Hallmarks of being an addict, right? But but when you do something like I did you start getting into all these different drugs and alcohol a lot and you're an addict? That's a dangerous game you're playing because now you become an addict and you're in your addiction.

And in 2004 I was in my addiction I I Partied cocaine was my drug of choice back then, but it was one day at work in 2004 I'm passed out of sleep, this other stock broker comes up. He sees me sleeping and he wakes me up. He's visibly shaken and he's like he's like Damon wake up He said you can't sleep on this job He said dude, the stock markets are open. you're messing with people's money, they're gonna, they're gonna fire you he said come on down the parking garage I've got something that'll pick you up so I get up out of my desk I follow this guy down the parking garage.

It was nice little sports car. I Believe we're gonna do a little blow, but when we get into the car, he hands me this glass pipe with these crystal rocks in it. Gary I've never seen the classified before I mean what is that and he's like Damon just relax. He said it's crystal meth.

He said you're gonna love this stuff. Truer words have never been spoken Gary I Fell in love with Crystal Method It was the most evil, most destructive, most addictive drug I've ever put in my body man I smoked it one time I was instantly hooked just like that and I gave everything away for that drug because Gary that's what addicts do. Addicts give things away addicts give up their goals to meet their behaviors now and when I'm talking about addiction there for everybody listening. I'm not just talking about drugs and alcohol.

That's the obvious addiction We talk about. Addicted to anything food, money, clothing, shopping, sex, the internet, social media, whatever it is you're addicted to. If it takes you away from the most important things in life, you give away your goals to get there. but uh, you know.

So when I started giving away everything I gave away my job first. then it was how fast how fast I want to get content 18 months I was living on the streets of Dallas homeless that I heard earlier. take it back. you go in the pipe that day.

do you do crystal meth the next day with that dude? Oh I was up for four days the first time I did it I mean I was a I mean I was doing it every day after that. And and here's the deal. and how quickly did you lose that job because of it? Yeah, about a month about a month here. And here's why I lost the job too because whenever he's whenever I get introduced to meth.

I'm in the middle of studying for my series seven and my series 63. My interest exams to being a broker. Yep, man, there's no more studying that goes on. I Fail my series seven and my series 63.

They bring me the office and the guy that hired me got him Charlie Eldemeyer a family friend of my dad's He brought me in he's like Damon is everything okay I'm like and I'm high as a kite I'm like yeah man, everything's great Charlie he said well you failed your exams He said you're fired He said there's nothing I can do for you Damon and they walked me out of the office Gary I left that day I got into my car and I called the guy up I said I need your dealer because I just got off early today I I looked at it as getting off early man I went and got high again Gary brother let me ask you a question because I think this is a common thing you know. just listened carefully there I heard some of the stuff you know Congress somebody ran for president. Correct me if I'm wrong given the religion of sports in this part of the country which I love because I'm a sports I'm addicted to sports so I need to be. You know the New York Jets are going to put me into ruins.

Um, it sounds like your dad was able to have a lot of nice relationships that he earned over his life that he was able to really set you up with some and maybe it's your mom like I don't know. like it sounds like your family was able to create some door opening Not only was your Gift of Gab there, but it would also like Talk to me about the process of like taking your parents for granted with entitlement and when you're an addict total entitlement. Gary and I mean let's call it for what it is. I was a privileged guy Man I was one of those privileged people that you could ever meet Man I had everything in my path waiting for me.

There's a lot of different ways to grow up in America Gary and I had one of the most privileged ways to grow up. We weren't rich or anything like that, we were middle class, but man, but the relationships were there. The relationships and the relationships are everything in life. Here Are you talking with us I Talk about this with everybody.

They're everything in life. My dad had built up relationships through all those years in sports man and look, being around sports. Gary I'm a sports nut too. We learned a lot of lessons in sports and life.

Sports Teaches us how to win, how to lose, how to be part of a team. That's why it's why. I'm petrified of eighth place trophies if we eliminate the losing and how to handle it. We get kids that are scared of everything but Gary and we're going to get into this in the story.

Sports Didn't just teach me those kind of lessons Man, my dad was the first sports writer in Southeast Texas to put black athletes on the front page of sports Pages 1971 First time never happened. It was a black running back from Lincoln High School named Joe Washington Jr went on to play for the Redskins for the Colts yeah Little Joe Well my dad puts Little Joe on the cover of the sports page in 1971. People down in the Southeast Texas lost their lives over there. They broke his windows, they sit his tires, they sit and hate mail to him.

but when I was a little boy I was like eight years old. My dad goes up in the attic one day he comes down with this box with all these envelopes, these letters, it's all the hate mail. and he set me down as a kid that day and he made me read every letter of hate mail. Every nasty negative word that people said about my father and my mother because my dad puts a black guy on the cover of Sports face.

But you know what my dad told me back then he said Damon I want you to see what it looks like to take a stand and do the right thing because he said sometimes taking a stand and doing the right thing it means you're gonna stand alone. But but he said it's always okay. Do you think that your parents and again they sound so wonderful So this will be hard. but I'm desperate to bring value and I see this a lot and honestly I think it's a challenge for me.

Do you think it's easier to kind of do the right things in the world than necessarily do the right things for your children because you love them so much so you give them inches and and Miles that you don't give to others? Yeah I Think that people I said look your girl I'll tell you from what I see a lot. People reach out to me a lot because I'm a very visible person now and people know that I'm in recovery I get a lot of messages from parents whose kids are suffering from addiction issues uh, or incarceration and and I have to tell these parents the same thing every time. look I'll talk to your son, your daughter I believe that's one of the reasons why I got out of prison I'll I'll do that kind of service work all day long I'll talk to anybody that reaches out to me. but I may be here to talk to you because you as the parent, you are exhibiting addictive behavior too.

You've become an addict. You're addicted to fixing somebody you can't fix. And when parents become the addict because they're addicted to fixing their kid, it reminds me of my parents, my parents. They would do anything to help me out, but sometimes doing those things to help out a young person is not the best thing for them.

You become an enabler in the process and I think that's where you're going with that, my parents. That's exactly where I'm going like I fear like by the way, this is why I wrote my last book to talk about Candor I hate conflict with people I Love which leads into employees and I create I'm an enabler. You know people love me like, but you know, but the reality is I can enable bad behavior because if I love you I you know Garyvee the public figures dominant because I'm just talking to the world. so I can draw those lines in the sand and I can talk about I can talk about these things.

But as it gets closer to you know, from an acquaintance to a friend, from a friend to a good friend from a good friend to a great friend to a best friend to family, it gets harder for me. and I'm so empathetic that I think everyone listening right now can associate with what we're saying now. which is, it's a lot harder when it hits at home. and with a child, there's nothing you love more than that.

It's just the way it is. Absolutely and it's you know I Think that like I said, one of the reasons why I even got out in the first place is to be able to have these difficult conversations because it goes back to almost what you're saying about the eighth place trophies We are setting up an entire generation for failure when we don't allow people how to lose and learn tough lessons in life. But here's the trick. You can also lose and learn those tough lessons in life.

You're a Gen X guy I'm a Gen X Guy Man, We grew up in a in a generation where I mean and it's real popular on social media right now everybody's tagging that and hashtag and Gen X and all that. But but I mean look we we grew up in a in a time where you could still lose and you still had to. You had to communicate with people back when we grew up. Gary You didn't have phones.

if you wanted to say something to somebody, you had to go. You had to talk to him in your face. You had to have a little bit of human interaction. and right now, anti-social behavior is kind of like the norm of what we're going to in this country and it needs to come back to where people are communicating with each other in person.

We had the benefit of that. but you I'm saying that to say this. you can have all those things going for you in life and I certainly did. I had everything going for me in life, but you can still go down that wrong road.

It's like my dad told me with those letters I was reading. he said sometimes in life you're going to have to take a stand. That's why I want you to read these letters He said it's it's sometimes in life you're going to have to stay on the loan. but he said it's always okay to stand alone as long as you're standing on the right side of History.

So it it wasn't like I was raised by people who didn't have a conscience of what was going on. My parents were in the middle of the Civil Rights movement in the Deep South and they they understood they got it and my dad I mean my dad. He explained Sports to me at a young age. He said Damon before there was MLK there was Jackie Robinson before you integrated lunchrooms in the American South you integrated locker rooms.

Of course he said Sports has the power to bring people together like nothing else can and that's what sports does do. it's it's it's why I've always associated with it I think it's one of the great comps to real life and it's why I'm passionate about it. My brother I know we bounced around a ton and I know that that might have gotten us off track in some places in the last five minutes that we have here together. What have we not touched on that you want to get to in this story or a point that you feel will bring value to? The Listener Let's go July 30th 2008 Almost exactly 15 years from recording of this episode: I'm on the couch that day I've got my meth dealer sitting next to me and I'm telling this his name is text my dope deal and I'm my text You got to get out of here Man the cops are closing on me, The end is near and just about that time the window on my right blows out and shatters and it's a flashbang grenade.

Gary it's going across my living room floor. The thing blows up in my face and when I came to when I can see and hear again, there's a cop standing over me in full SWAT Riot Gear Man this bootles on my chest, the barrel of assault rifles digging in my eye socket and he's screaming at me, don't move, don't move and I'm like man, don't worry, don't worry And one of the cops came in screaming, We got him. We got the Uptown burglar. Gary I went from being a Star College athlete to this guy known as the Uptown burglar they took me to Dallas County Jail That day they processed me in I spent the next 10 months in County Jail waiting for my day in court and on May 18, 2009 I stood in front of a jury that sentenced me to 65 years in the Texas Department of Criminal Justice a life sentenced in prison Gary And and right after the trial was over, my mom and my dad are talking to me and my mom has this one last visit with me.

Gary Epic stuff and she's like Damon you can't go off and become someone we don't recognize. She said you owe Texas the debt of 65 years. You got to go and pay that debt. You did everything they said you did.

But here's the debt you got to pay to us. When you go to prison, you will not get in one of these white hate groups. one of these Aryan Brotherhood type gangs. You weren't raised to be like that, you weren't raised to be a racist and she said you come back as the man we raised Damon or don't come back at all Gary I'm floored man I Don't know how I'm gonna do this but but on the road waiting for my the bus to come get me I'm two months I've got to wait for the prison bus to come get me I Meet this guy in Dallas County Jail this older black man.

this Muslim guy named Mr Jackson and Mr Jackson shares with me exactly how I'm gonna do it. He said imagine prison as a pot of warm water. He said you have three choices how to respond in this potable and water called life. You can be like the carrot that turns soft and mushy and weak or an egg which becomes hard.

mad at me. You know the carrot goes in hard but it becomes soft. the egg goes in with a soft liquid inside. It's hard but the heart becomes hardened.

He said or you could be like a coffee bean because the Coffee Bean changes the pot of warm water into a pot of coffee. He said the coffee beans the only thing that will change the water because it is a change agent. And the last words this guy said to me before the prison bus is coming to pick me up he looks at me, he says West be a coffee bean and Gary I remember how I felt when he told me that I mean I could get that man I can understand I had three choices in this life and and I go to prison Gary it's a baptism by fire I mean the first two months of prison are spent fighting my butt off man and end up I end up Sports again Gary I end up on the wreck yard earning respect out there with those guys playing basketball with them and so when the violence was finally over, the threat to my physical safety was gone I got to work on myself I became that coffee bean and seven years later the parole board in Texas comes to visit me. and uh, the lady from parole interviews me in 2015.

She says Mr West we don't see a lot of people like you come through the system kind of the same thing we've been talking about Gary She said you had it all every Advantage every privilege. every opportunity she said you're you're the definition of a privileged person she said but you didn't just change yourself when you came to this prison, you changed the entire prison around you she said so I have one question for you Today she said if you could be remembered for being anything in life anything at all She said tell me what that would be in just one word go hey Gary I breathe out and relax. That's an easy question for a coffee bean I fired her answer back at her and I was like ma'am useful I just want to be useful you know Gary I think everybody wants to be useful you know and I told her I said I just want to be useful man and I could be useful inside this prison as you've already seen or I could be useful in the Free World again November 16 2015 Gary I walked out of a Texas prison now I'm not a free man when I walk out man I've got a little more time left on parole in Texas I'm on parole until the year 2073. So from the recording of this episode, I've got 50 more years on supervised release I Haven't let that hold me back Gary Meaning meaning if you do any version of a slip up, it's a wrap.

Yeah, I Mean it's They've got a short leash on me every month I See my parole officer in Beaumont Miss Braggs a pizza cup I pay a fine I answer the questions if I want to leave Texas uh I got to get permission from Texas and but Gary Look man, I'm a coffee bean. The only way this coffee Bean's going back to prison is when I go to prisons All Over America that's my passion man I Go back into prisons a lot because I'm the guy that delivers hope. In fact, the inmates in America they call me The Smuggler of hope I smuggle hope into a place that's hopeless. You know the only way I go back to prison is when I go on my own terms and I walk out the front gate of all my prisons.

But when I got out Gary I moved back to Southeast Texas I Lived with my parents for the first two years on parole and I started sharing my story around the area of Southeast Texas then uh, The Big Break happens, you got a couple more minutes Gary You're going to love this story brother and everybody who's listening is gonna be so pissed at me. Everyone who's listening just to remind you I am not a professional podcaster like some of your other favorites. I'm already eight minutes late for a client who just texted me saying basically what the so I'm not here even because I'm captivated by this brother. Listen, everybody's listening.

It's not a super hard name to look up. D-a-m-o-n Space w-e-s-t If you've enjoyed this, there's a ton of content out there. I Thought this would be a good, uh, a good conversation. a prospective gratitude, parenting, entitlement, accountability, uh, and attachment to identification I hope you took that out of it.

Damon We're cheering for you brother. Keep building. Keep coffee beaning it and I hope we cross path soon bro be a coffee bean Gary Take care mama! Thank you.