While the Clink goes on break for the summer, enjoy some classic episodes
Ben Salgao has spent some time in some of Australia's worst prisons but now out on parole he is moving on to become a succesful business owner and motivator for people trying to manage their physical and mental health.
Check out his work at www.bfitsecrets.com.au
Hey guys, Sima here from the Clink.
Well we take a short break over the Christmas period, We're going to drop a couple of episodes, some of our favorite of twenty twenty four, so you don't miss out and can continue following the Clink. This episode has been proudly brought to you by our longtime sponsored supporters Sideways Surf.
Thank you for all your support for the record.
I don't try and make you out comfortable, Photo record. You ain't trying world and stand for.
Your photo record.
Lab on me going harder way photo record. Ain't trying to link, no trying to wish stuff for.
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Rap Welcome back to the Clink. It's two thy and twenty four. Happy new year to everybody out there. Thank you to everybody who tuned in to season thirteen, and to everybody that's just started listening to the Clink. We see you, we hear you, all of you going back and coming right through our seasons.
Can you believe it? Season fourteen. This season is massive.
We're aiming and we will hit three million downloads and that is all because of each of you. Cannot thank you all enough. I'm super excited.
I hope you are all well.
And a big shout out to Sideway Surf once again being a massive supporter of the Clink. We wouldn't be able to deliver these wonderful stories of redemption without.
The support of Sideways Surf.
So make sure you get into any one of their stores up the East coast of Australia and get in there and tell you tell them the Clink sent you today's guests. Wow, what a story we've got. This man is doing amazing things in his life today. He was a man who was known for his notoriety. He was a soldier, He was someone that you didn't want to cross paths with. He was a part of an outlaw club, done a lot of jail and was involved in a riot in gold and one of the biggest and as far as I'm concerned, most dangerous jails in Australia.
Then, Sagado brother, welcome to the Clink made. It's an honor, it really is.
We're only just chatting a minute ago, and it was an unsure thing that you know, having you on the clink and well, look it's in God's hands and here we are, and thank you very much. You're here, and today's chat is number one for season fourteen and I'm proud to have it.
Thank you.
Yep. And you use the word redemption before just in that intro, and I was like, actually, is like I'm here now, and I feel like it is redemption because I was in it. I've been through shit places and I've been the mind frame. I'm still the same person I was back then, but just my priority is a bit more changed a lot, So.
I love what you just said.
Then I'm still the same person I was back then. You know, out of all the guests we have on here, I think people get a little bit misconscrewed to the changes we make in our lives from who we were. We're still the same men. We still are able, willing, and very capable. But then we put our energies, time, compassion, and everything that we want to do and have lived in experience and positivity giving back. The whole purpose of the Clink is because of stories of redemption, which originated, you know, initially from my story of where.
I come from and about my life.
And I never thought that I'd be here nearly three million downloads later with the smile I've got on my face and hearing your story, another wonderful guest one hundred and thirty three hundred.
And thirty four and everybody's story.
I'm just so honored to be able to deliver on this platform. So I truly want to say, brother, thank you, and your time, I know is precious and welcome. So for our listeners, there will be a lot of new listeners out there that wouldn't be familiar with who you are. I'm sure there's a lot of people out there that are looking forward to hearing your story that do know you and know me, And yeah, I have definitely reached out to both of us.
Knowing that you were coming on the clink.
So let's take everybody back to I guess early teenage years.
That was just a bunch of drugs and alcohol. Back then, it was just like I did not have a purpose, I didn't have anything. I just like I was looking for it. So I was like in age years, was like smoking bongs and drinking alcohol and going sneaking out of the house and just going and party and jumping people, bashing people, like just all the shit stuff you do in Mountjoy.
So how was it like growing up? I mean, we we've had a few of our guests that have come from the hood and the good old Mouni County made it. It's a proud place and even today, what a lot of good is coming out of what was always seemed to be very negative.
And when I grew up on the.
Other side of the fence Campbelltown, you know, we were sort of very similar and in our areas and how it was culturally and multiculturally, but.
There was always the dark side.
I've never been asked, actually, what was it like growing up Mandre. It's like now I'm trying to think of it as just like that's home, Like it's that's I'm comfortable home of the brain. Yeah, that's right. It's actually pretty cool. Like what's what's been happening with the boys out there? Like that some of them have like done some really good stuff. That's pretty cool. And it's like a cute community events happening, Like there's some boys that are doing that. That's I love seeing that stuff.
We'll get into that because you're a massive part of that and and you know you're working with some some amazing people.
You're working at a level of an elite level with elite athletes.
You you know, you're you're representing you as a man, your family and what you're doing today is phenomenal. And I can't wait to get into that part of our chat. I think for now, let's let's let's get into the real nitty gritty of Ben and who you were and how you then you know, got into the life of crime, which then obviously led.
To too many years jall.
And you know, we'll touch on what that was like for you obviously to get the gold and you were no slouch.
Yeah, well, the very first time I was arrested, like I went to Juvi overnight A couple of times, Like I couldn't even tell ya, like how many times they've been arrested, Like I seen my charge sheet before, and I was just I was looking at try to figure out when did this happen? When did this happen? I just like it was too too much drugs, too much alcohol. Couldn't remember when I get arrested. Just just a shit head.
But it's just it was.
Normal back then. It was like you just have to you just want to go out and run a mark and try not to get caught doing what you're doing. But when I first went to jail, like it was when I was eighteen, I went to jail for a home invasion to witness. That was I was real young, So I wasn't a people say, were you scared to go to jail when you were eighteen? I wasn't really scared because I don't think I had purpose as it was, so I wasn't like I had nothing really going on, so I had nothing to lose, So it was like, yeah, it was just another like it seemed like another chapter in my life. I'm just entering in it and going to see what's happening. So I went to jail.
How was How was the family life for you though? But I was at home so Mum and dad.
Yeah, yeah, like all my brothers and sisters and my sister. They none of them got mixed up with like crime or some of them, like they go out and have parties and stuff like that that happens in the area. But I think everyone does. None of them broke the law, like especially the way I was doing it, Like it was, yeah, it's pretty Then I went to jail learned some new tricks to the trade and come out and just like when crazy.
And how did that go down?
For your coming from a family, I mean, I guess what we do see is a pattern generally through our interviews with a lot of guests and a lot of stories.
Come from you know, a lot of a lot of trauma, a lot.
Of abuse, physical sexual abuse within the home, family breakups and violence. Obviously see from the way you speak, you come from a loving, hearing home, a good environment.
I think that's good. I think that's like one of the main reasons why I've been able to redeem myself myself in my past, Like I've come come home after this was my longest lag. I've only been out six months now and that was my longest lag in almost seven years.
Was that that was the bottom?
Yet I'm still a broad now, still two and half his role I think some yeah something like that. Yeah, so yeah. Because my family showed me so so much love, so much support. It just like it was a lot easier to to just focus on my goals and like set goals in the first place. Because I had support, I didn't have to worry about maybe some of the other stuff that other people have to worry about, like where you're going to leave when you get out, like I had a home, had to bed, how to had food in my stomach, like they didn't have to worry about That's so I just had to worry about getting working on myself as a person and getting my head right and being happy. There's that's the ultimate goal at the end of the day, is being happy. Like everyone's looking. Everyone goes to work, tries to get money, they're looking for happiness. That's that's pretty much. And security security brings happiness too.
So well, yeah, well said I know as a father, you know I have three young I have four children, but three young children at home, and you know, as a dad and someone who's really sort of trying to do the best I can, I agree with you.
Your your morals and your values. They're one. It really is. It's it's a tough slog, you know.
I remember I had three years pro after doing six myself, and it's you're.
Expected to fine. The odds are stacked against you one hundred percent.
You know, you're just a product of the system, the environment, and you are realistically, with a long term.
Parole, you are set to fail.
There is not where we are one percent, we are one percenters of success in the long term parole.
This is what my fo my fourth time on parole, and the first time on parole lasted three months, then four months, and then sixteen months and then like I'm not going back to jail this time. There's no chance, zero percent chance. But you're right, it is we are set up to fail because even now I've been out almost six months, I've got my own business. I'm training people, full time athletes, normal people, mums, people wanting to like do beginners boxing, people that just want to know how to do a machine. Tomorrow, I use a machine. Tomorrow I'm going my first boot camp class. So I'm running two boot camps a day from tomorrow.
So yeah, congratulations for that too, because I know you said, you know, just before Christmas, you were finishing your sections of what you would do. Willing to allow you to do these wonderful things and give back and congrats.
Crazy some of the stuff that I've been doing too, Like I never thought that'd be able to get permission off counsel to train people in the park and then let alone how people want to get trained in the park by me, But like I know, like I'm confident in my training skills. I know how to train people like I know because I trained myself for years and so I've studied, studied, come out done the course. Like in fourteen weeks, I was qualified. I already knew a lot of the stuff. I just needed to ticket.
So I got to say and look, as I said to you, we will get further into that. That chattered a little bit later because you are a phenomenal athlete and I really I'm not pissing in your pocket here. I mean, I'm for anybody that wants to go and check out his instagram, go and go and.
Have a look. It's Bali, Bali, what is it?
Bally Up bally Up Center?
Yeah, Bali where the Dad cup?
Seventy people me where that comes from? Just like okay, when I said it was like just before Christmas, and I thought this is a g up for sure, and then the ballyt Up, I'm thinking, oh I get that part of it, but the bally Up Santa? Did you do a stick up as a Santa?
So ballly Up is just like something I used to tell people back in the days, like where your bally Like of course your valley. There's cameras everywhere, but and it's sort of like it's I'm not ashamed of my past. Still, I'm not ashamed of my past, so I still like I keep The name. Santa is just a name that a few mates gave me because when I used to I don't know, you'd have to ask them. I don't really like talking about it. But they were talking amongst themselves, I think, and then they were asked because I used to be generous with them, I used to give them your presents and stuff. So they used it as a code name, say o Santa, and they just knew who was. Some members a sort of stuck, but no one calls me saying, oh, actually a couple of people do, but no one, no one, No.
Thank you for sharing that, because I get it now, I completely get it.
And look, I've got to be honest here.
Back in the day when you know you're making money and your yearns I was very similar if you know you're a so called mate, which, if we really be honest, there's not many of them left because when reality kicks in and we start to realize what life is all about, there ain't anybody there.
You're on your own mate.
So you know, you can give all that you want and have gived or you wanted to give. But at the end of the day, there's not going to be too many that are still there beside Jane.
If you are, then you are blessed.
That's It's just I can just say that I feel blessed, like.
The amen to that, brother, because yeah, what a beautiful thing. I want to I want to for the listeners that I really want to go back into life for you in jail. So how was it for you? Like, let's talk about that, go back and walk us through. What was Jarlie, what did you get up to and what was the charge that you first went in and how long?
Yeah, that was home invasion to witness that was what six years on top, three years, three months on bottom or sixties three months on top? Three is three months.
So your first whack at eighteen, that's what you got given.
Yeah, yeah, yeah, which was like I remember the judge saying, I'm worried about giving you it too much time because you're going to get influenced by people in jail and become worse. He literally said that, and he goes, but I'm also worried about giving you not enough time and the DPP appealing against it and get a lot more. So he gave me that sentence and it was funny enough. The last the last year of that sentence was when I met some outlaw motorcycle gang members and then become one myself.
So, and how did you find that coming out and being a part of an outlaw motorcycle club?
Loved it. I loved her.
Yeah, I was good. Yeah, yeah, I loved it. Like you got treated like a like a brother, like they showed me a lot of love. They used to come like I was at Wellington. They used to come driving all the way to Wellington like something a family would do just to visit for the day.
See that's rare.
And yeah, look that's not bullshit anybody out there that thinks that. And look, like I always say, I've got the utmost respect for the brothers that I shared the colors with when I was when I was involved, and I've got nothing negative to say about it. But I don't, obviously today have any connection or involvement with club life. And to be honest with you, I wouldn't. I wouldn't be the choice that I'd make. It was very very different. You know, not to say too much, but just the style of I guess, the way things are, the politics, the laws, and it's just there's nothing good that comes from it.
But you know, like as you say, back then you could have a brother.
There were brothers that were genuine and law and you know I would drive out and visit.
I mean that day, that's huge.
Like you said, it's very rare. But that's when I've seen that happening. That's what drew me to becoming and our lasso an outlock pretty much. Yeah, so that's if that didn't happen, I wouldn't have been a biking back then or become a bikey. But because I seen that brotherhood, I was like, this is mad. I want this in my life. I was still looking for my purpose as well. And even so I still don't regret making those decisions. Like people ask me, I was like that was a shit decision. I was like, yeah, it is a shit decision, but like look at me now, like all that stuff happened for a.
Reason, Like and that's the thing, Ben, And I'm going to be really really frank about that. There's not one guest on the clink here that hasn't felt the same way. Like we never ever sit here and glorify our crimes or you know, talks this is the Clink's never been about that.
But you have a story, as does every other guest that's.
Been on here, and it's important that the listener gets to know where you were, how bad things were. You know what I mean, what it was truly like for you because to the man you are now whom I'm looking at, the man we've never physically met, but I've gotten to know style of person you are from what I see, and I get it. Look, we don't always portray ourselves to be everything that we want everyone to see. We're going to keep a few things close to ourselves on our medias and stuff. But you as a man and how you come across and what you represent as a family man, as a professional mate, I hold you in high regard. I truly wish I could be in the area to work with you.
You know, I think it'd be phenomenal. But you know, like like I say, I think.
It's important that we do share our history and you can't regret where we come from. We are who we are, and we're here because of that and our lived experience is what enables us to give back and help others.
Yeah, definitely what Well, look, my hardship, the worst part of my life is what actually changed me. That was like when I was in jail. The last time I thought I'd lost everything. I was in segregation, which wasn't which wasn't uncommon for me, Like it was I was in segregation like all the time. But this time I'd lost. I'd lost so much, Like I lost my son's mum. That's where my dad died, which like that literally that was the main reason why I just made a decision. This is like that's it, Like I'm I just wanted to like be out with my family because at one stage that COVID was happening and I was in jail, I didn't I actually made it to my dad's funeral. I think I was like one of one of the first, if not the first one to go to be a given permission to go to the funeral. I don't know how I pulled it off, but I think because I'd done so long in jail, like I knew some governors and I just started writing letters. I was writing letters to read about ten letters and just send them all off. Then I had my family ring it up pretty much said like if if you don't let me go, like that's going to be it. I'm going to like I was sweech like, it's not. I didn't threaten nobody. I didn't say I was going to kick off. I was just say, this is an opportunity for me to redeem my like be with my family, Like I knew that this was what did my friend say? It's like a fork in the road, like it's either left or right. It's like if I think that that one decision that they let me go to that funeral was what turned me like they like touched my heart and.
Beautiful and you know what, what a blessing, bro, because at the end of the day, it's enabled you to be the man you are.
Like how good? Yeah, how good?
And and I'm sorry to hear that that that happened.
And look.
Something definitely bad, but like something good come out of it, I guess. But I still would rather have my dad back here and probably be back in Chail, to be honest, that's for sure.
Yeah, And that that would be hard.
I always worry I'm at the moment fighting in big blue habit done for the last few years. Been on Supreme Court bar for only three years over something from fifteen years ago. And you know, at the end of the day, if it goes south, and you know, I've got a dad who he's getting older and he's not the best of health.
That's that's one thing that scares me. It does. It does fear me that.
If I'm taken away from my family and for these charges that you know, at the end of.
The day, these things are things that are very real and ken and will happen. And you know, look, I yeah, and you.
Don't think, don't You don't feel like they're going to happen until they do happen, and you're like, I didn't think this would happened to me.
Yeah. So which Charles, where you mainly at because if you're in you know that's that sort of segro environment.
I mean, obviously do you j STG and lyft Goo. Nah.
I didn't spend time in STG.
In Liftgo.
I went there for segregation for a bit.
Was that mainly because of they did it with the club clubs, mixing clubs between transit and stuff like that.
Ah No, it was just a fucking just ship, just mucking up and just a menace. Yeah, just like sphones everywhere people, Oh.
You're the zub guy.
Slide it under the door for the ye.
I had.
I had that sort of lift, didn't I till Ittle went the ship sliding nonder the door with the old odies.
Yeah.
Boys, the boys had a good crack down there, that's for sure. Yeah.
So you you obviously been at Golden and I mean Golden as I said, and I'm very serious about it. You can speak for it. You've been there is far a loom concerned the most notorious. Well, it definitely was back down anyway, and the years prior to that killing yards you know, like let's talk about that because only someone that's been there can speak of it.
Yeah, well it was like it's very dangerous, Like there was times where there was months like like you have to have a blade, Like you have to have a blade. And when you go downstairs from the top, there's always screws there. I'll call them screws because that's what I'm used to calling them. They are, so they're down they're down there to do bag searches every single morning. So you get lead out. You have to hide your blade or you have to cheek your blade. Yep, but you have to have it on you because if you don't, you get caught slipping and that's the day you're going to get you and you don't have it.
So it was that bad in there, that pretty well, you can be guaranteed everywhere everyone was armed up.
Just at times everyone's like one percent of the time there was like what thirty thirty people in our yard, and one hundred percent of the time at least one third of the yards bladed up. Like that's one even when everyone was getting along, which was a lot of a lot of the time everyone was getting along. But then there's still like, look there's drugs in the yard. People we get a polytics?
Yeah, yeah, which yard? Which yard? Which one would you win? Where were you?
I was the islander yard?
I was the islander And did you actually sort of have a lot of connection with a lot of the brothers that you've grown up with around it at Mount Druitt and stuff like that, or.
There were people that come through. Yeah, but look, I went to jail when I was eighteen, so like I met heaps of people in jail, Like I knew pretty much everyone there straight away. Plus the boys in the club were in the same yard, so then I had that connection too. So that's what first bring me to the yard. But look, Mandrew is full of Islanders. Like I'd rather be in that yard over any other yard anyway. So but that's the ardut I ended up and like, actually, like it's funny. I got so many memories and I actually had fun there. But then I think, I'm like some hairy situations like scenes and fucking like big stuff happened and I was involved in some big staff. It's yeah, it was. It was fun back then, but I would never go back. It's like, I'm I'm too focused now, Like.
It's oh, look at it.
And I think once you realize that and we get to a point in our life, look, jail is not fun.
I'm gonna put it.
Look back in back in the day, Back in the day when you really didn't care too much, you didn't have children or support. I don't know, there was a different thing your mindset. It was like I don't care whatever, Yeah, got a whack. You just did it, and you went through the process.
You knew the drill you've been going like it was just one of them things. All right, where am I going? Chief? Oh ship? Well, you know, getting on that bus you go and here you going there.
You're hoping that you get sent to this one, but then you might get shanged under that one.
You know, like it's just you.
You adapt, and unfortunately it becomes everything because outside of those walls, you've got no control of anything, and you really have to just be on your game, don't you.
Yeah.
Yeah, it's funny because my son was actually born while I was at Golden.
In mine was when I was in Segro at silver Water too. Yeah. It was yeah, for first.
Get one of those little notes notes under the door.
Under the door, yeah yeah, but it was it was a day late.
Oh yeah, yeah it was the next day.
Yeah, yeah, it was. It wasn't when it was should have been. And the pipper came through with it.
And then you know, like I seem Simpson got and it was just like Chief, can I get a carn?
Maybe maybe later?
And when you know, when you when you're at Silk Water and you're on Segra, you get fu especially when they shut up the screws, you know what I mean, Like it's just the boys and it is what it is, but yelling out, yeah, yell the old, the old sort of bunch in the backyard, and you throw on the lines up and down and.
The pigeons on the wall. Yeah.
You wake up in the morning at nine o'clock or eight o'clock, whatever time that goes, and you're just waiting for the screws that come to home if you get in the back door or not.
That's what you're waiting for for one hour or two hours, and then maybe you might get a phone call if you're lucky. Yeah, can we can we just just for a second, because this is this is something that like I understand it, and a.
Lot of people will. But for a lot of people that listen that would never have been to jail, let's pull it apart a little bit.
And give them a little bit more of what it actually really happens.
So for those that are just listening, you would have heard.
Ben say muster, So musters generally were we you know, you get called, everyone gets counted, you get sent in, whether it's lunch or lock in, whatever it is.
So where your numbers count, your head count, you're gone.
Now generally the yard goes in, the yard goes in, But on this obviously particular day, the yard as a.
Whole wasn't going in.
So when we're talking about that, that right there, that's it, especially in a place like Gold And quote me if I'm wrong. The zero tolerance from the squad and the way that the squad's coming in and how they treat the inmates, it's it's surprising that there's not more inmates that are killed.
Yeah, well at that stage, like at that stage at Gold and no screws would come into the yard none. Right, So when that happened, they literally just let as much gas as they had off into the yard. So they were just like literally boys were passing out from the gas. But they still didn't come in until like the boys are pretty much like on the ground passed out, like no one was standing. There was one there was one bloke that's sort of walking through it. Like I won't say his name, but he's done a lot of he's an older bloke and he's done a lot of a lot of Supermax and stuff like that. But it is just used to the gas. But everyone was on the ground like it.
Just gas Metah. Yeah, wow, that that says a lot.
So they didn't come into the yard. They just and I remember after it, one of them said to somebody, one of the screws said to one of the boys that there was something. There was heap, the whole heap of gas canisters that were going out of date. So the the security manager told them, like, next time, just release everything. So they they were just using the gas because it was going out of date. So yeah, that was true.
Out that would in other words, it would have been potent or completely potent.
That wasn't the only one that actually happened. There was another one where one of my other mates he got shot in the head by one of the gas canisters, like they like literally pointed out straight out his head, like twenty centimeters away and shot him straight in there.
That was what from like in the circle to the yard.
Yeah, yeah, yeah, he was like going off of the yard and the just shot him straight in thehead with the gas kind of stuff. And then that kicked off another little riot that was that was that was our yard that had that riot.
There was two.
There was two little little riots in our yard and then that bigger one in a different yard that we joined.
So with the one that happened in your yard, let's talk about that one. What what kicked that off? What was that all about?
Just some I think one of the one of the main boys, good bloke, he got taken He got taken by by the screws. I can't remember what for, but.
As in shang eyed like he was getting getting.
They grabbed him, put handcuffs on him and took him into the circle anyway, so the boys wouldn't have it. So then they kicked off and then they were like everyone like ballied up straight away and was getting stuff to throw and blade getting part surround. I guess that like yeah, so everyone was everyone was like ready to go and like everyone's everyone like everyone has to like if the boys are kicking on, and like one person says, I don't want to evolve, like you're getting out of the yard. You can't be in there unless you're with the boys. Yeah, so uh, they all went on with it, and Gascott let off in the yard. But the boys still they didn't let that much gas off. It was only maybe like I don't know four or five, six, maybe could have been like just under ten or something like that. But yeah, we ended up going on with it a little bit then, and funny enough, like they let that guy back into the yard to settle us down. Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Isn't it amazing though, Like and we talk about that, and I think that it's important for the listeners too that you know, like when when when we go to jail, we'll have gone to jail. You know that the loss is huge, you know when you're there, Like you said, you're living in the moment. It's a game of survival and everybody's vulnerable. And I don't care who you are, it doesn't matter. You'll get got if someone's. The one thing I found hard over the years, and I'll be very open about this, is the way that the politics changed.
You know.
Back in the day, you can't label somebody without producing the paperwork. These days, it's such a loose word for walking in the yard. A bloke would just say just oh yeah, he's no good, you know what I mean. Next minute he might be with a crew and the next minute you know, you've got a drama.
But the bloke that's happening.
I'll tell you another thing that was happening in there the last few years. Well, please don't want to get labeled as a dog. Paperwork would get shown and then because that guy's producing drugs or he's running again, that paperwork.
Would go missing and he'd be sweet in the yard.
Yeah, drugs like drugs rule jail like just.
Like I know that there was a few few people that literally and when I say, I mean, look, not everybody that's gone to the boneyards a bad person and a dog.
Okay, there's some.
There's some good blokes that have just unfortunately got a bad whack or whatever it is, and that's where it's just ended for them.
And it's not because they're a shit person.
Yeah, you know, but these people that I'm referring to a ship people, they were getting pulled back out signing out.
Yeah, because they were they I would have produced a bup of people more or have you?
They were sweet, brother, walk in the yards like better than half the blokes that are real mainstream blokes, and they're getting through their like kings like.
You rebels past them on TV.
And I've seen that on the back end of mine, you know what I mean, coming out in fourteen thirteen fourteen, and it was like, fuck, I just found it very very hard as an older bloke coming back into the system again doing a big whack. I found it hard just the way that the younger generation was and how loose things were said to kick things off and people were getting pumped for nothing.
Yeah, like it's it's an ugly, ugly, ugly world in there.
That's that's that's why you have like that's at times you have to just carry a blade because people get pumped for nothing. Yeah, I misunderstanding, Like one word could be misunderstood, which gets somebody's stabbed. Yeah, and then it's sorry sorry, but it's still like sorry happened, Like you're in hospital and you lost your life.
That that's right.
And then there comes the whole thing about you know, like I did he bail out and all.
This sort of stuff.
But you forget there's a duty of care now because now the way that the system is that you know whether you want to go or not, then you get put on an NA or whatever it might be. And it's not because you're a dog or you've given someone up. It's purely for the fact that that's how the system works, you know what I mean. And that good bloke that did nothing wrong because all of a sudden doing his jar hard because of bullshit politics that should never have happened.
Yeah, it's it's a very diverse world. Like it's especially like if you're getting really mixed into it. I noticed that's like problem that's Maxo because of just doing it hard and they just want some some relief, so they just like want to put someone else down to get themselves up a bit. So my last my last what nine nine months, some of that was in C class the first time I ever experienced a C CLASSO and C One's like it's like being in a Maxo, but just with a bunch of blokes that are ready to give you up. That's that's what I'll see a CE one Like get C two BA and as long as you have a routine. But there's still those people there, but it's a bit more relaxed where you can sort of like it's a bit more open, you can avoid those people. Yeah, So like that's while I was lucky enough to go to a C two and.
Well, you're right, because you can you can go to work, you can move around and you do not have to see the same faces every every moment of the day. You can sort of just you're going to see the same bokes in the units or whatever. But you're away.
You're getting away from the bullshit sort of thing for the day.
Yeah, it's open space. Like there's a farm, like you can go and work on an orchard or something like that. I had a pretty good job. I was a barber there, so I had like free rein to like just get around and when people want haircuts, like I just give him. The King said go coat your hair.
Like was that a bathist?
That that was a menace?
That was the last you've got to menace? Did Yeah?
Yeah, yeah, it's like crazy that jail.
Wow, that would have been.
Yeah, that's from one one high.
Yeah.
Yeah.
But I was so lucky to go there because like that gave me so much time to work on myself as a person and try to become the person that I wanted to be, which i'd already done work by this point. There was a program at Windsor that I have done. It's a called it's a drug it's like a drug rehabilitation Alternative Sanctions program at ASB. And I remember the facilitator there was an at Kelly. She like had like some really good knowledge and I learned a lot from her and just being locked in and that's when that's when my dad passed away. So I really just wanted to like absorb as much information as I could so I could learn and try to teach myself how to become this person that I imagine myself to be. I just I was gold driven, like really hard. I'm still I still am, so at that point, I was like really working on myself.
Can I just ask you something? And please, brother, if it's too much, just tell me to my business. But the passing of your dad was during custody. I look, like I just said earlier, that's one thing that scares me. If if my things go south and I end up doing a whack for whatever, then that's one thing that it does play on my mind. I don't know how I would personally do. I've seen men who have lost loved ones whilst I've been in custody, and it's it's not good. You channel that energy into something positive?
Positive?
Can I ask you how you did that, brother, because I think that's really important if you don't mind sharing, for someone there to understand that, because it's so easy to just go off the rails from something so traumatic and something that rich a harder part you know.
Yeah, Well, that's what I say, Like I was at that point, at the lowest point in my life, Like I was broken, and I just had some good mates that just wanted to help me. One bloke was actually helping me, helping me write a eulogy, which he came out he is back in jail and now, so I had a lot of love for him. And then my family just showed me so much love to write letters, bring people up, and then I had respect for them letting me go to the funeral, like accepting it. So I honestly think that because I was showing compassion at the lowest point in my life, that's what sort of turned me to being to say to myself, I don't want to like I don't want to be here anymore. I don't want I don't want this share. I want to see what else is out there, because I still didn't have a purpose at that point.
So I still in the club bro through that period in that okay, So now I left. I didn't that okay, So I didn't want to sort of get into that too much politics around that sort of thing and conversation.
But so you're you're.
Still in jail, you're still on the back end of your of your seven is that right?
Yep?
And you detached from.
That was before I won my appial. So I won my appeal because I got found guilty at trial. So I was I still had at that point, maybe five years to go before my pill So I'd already been in ten years in the bottom. I'd been about five years. I had five years ago something like that. Maybe six maybe i've been in four and six, give or take a year. But so yeah, so that all happened and I had to get re sentenced or go through like my I got my pill up while I was in just just before like maybe a week before my dad passed. I got my pill up. Wow, And then I had that.
Had that had gone wrong, the appeal you wouldn't have gotten.
If I if I didn't win my appill either be in jail right now that I would probably be like in the worst place, like count would be in hospital, and I'd be in somewhere and locked up in a hole.
Yeah.
So that's that's why I say, like, because I was shown compare and because I felt like I didn't the right I was sort of righted by getting my appeal up, like because it was it was ship how I got found guilty in the first place. Yes, but it is what it is. It made me. I still don't regret it. I don't hold any grudges against anyone, like I'm I'm happy.
I asked what that charge was that whack that you did? There was that.
Yep, that's a large commercial supply and money and other supplies and and afraid and yeah, there's also violence, like I choke someone out in jail, so then there was that charge as well. Yep, there was. Phones were charged with phones as well, So I had heaps of charges because.
They're all mandatory too, aren't they. What's that six months, isn't it? Or nine months for a phone I got.
I'll tell you a funny story. There was two phones they got found next door, not in my cell, in my neighbor's cell. They got charged with it, but then they checked the phones and seeing that I'd made a phone call off it, so then I got charged with it as well. They got three months, six months, and seven months. I ended up getting ten months and the phone aren't even in my cell. Yeah, So that just shows you, like it's nothing in comparison, but that just shows you, like I felt like the whole time of just getting getting dicked, and then I got myle like it's yeah, yeah, I just to just get whacked.
I was just about to say.
It just goes to show when the system has it in for you, though, and it is it's it's it is purely structured to break you. The system is in no way, shape or form there to help you, you know.
Like it's it's a sad thing. And for someone that's actually done.
A lot of time, I mean even between us two just over twenty years, you know what I'm We're a young.
Man all over twenty five years there, you.
Know what I mean, And that that's we can never get a day of that back.
But you know yourself, it doesn't take much for the screws to just dislike you or like yourself. You know, if you're I guess troublesome and they know that you're going to be a handful, they'll just they'll just load you up, they'll just make your health.
It's just it's just ugly. There's nothing good of is there.
Nah, that's true. They don't care at the end of the day, they don't care about you, but.
There's no compassion.
Sometimes they're I don't know, they must get bored or something like that. So they're like, who can I poke today just to piss off and see and like, and they're ruining people's lives. That's like they think they come to coming to work and then putting someone in Segro is just like something they do at work. But like that person you just put in Segro, his family are now upset that he's in Zegro. His missus could leave him, his mum could be upset with him, be he's not learning his lesson. Like, it's a lot diverse than just coming to work and putting someone in Segra. There's shit going on in that bloke's life.
It's a life. I mean, look, you know it's something that.
We hope that you guys out there listening take a little bit of something from our conversations because you know, that's.
Something that I pride myself on with the Clinkers.
You know, we constantly get messages from people thanking you know for what we do have him people like yourself giving your time to be able to share your story and your journey, and it's so valuable and I'm just I feel blessed that men and women are able to enable me and allow me to have the mission to give your story out to all these guests. You know, like I said, you know, we're we're going to hit three million downloads this this season and that's phenomenal. You know, I'm very proud of that, and you're a part of that. So thank you. And you know, I think the message is out there, guys, it's just don't don't go down these paths.
There's so much that you lose, families lose.
It's look at us, we both you know, didn't get to see our sons born, and there's so much more that I'm sure that we could talk about.
You know, I have a time, but your opinion.
Yeah, definitely. I tell anyone that's listening, you need to be goal. You need set goals like that's you just can't like get around with no purpose. You need a set goals and wake up with a purpose. You need to know what you're going to do for the day, think about how you're going to get to that goal today or tomorrow, like before better or whatever whatever it is you're doing. Don't just live like because you don't know what's going on, Like you need like you just lose yourself. There's a purpose a lot of mental health stuff happening these days too, and like as it like, I'm a fitness fanatic, and a lot of fitness fanatics will say best way to get through mental health is physical health. You train, you get into the gym and help. Yeah, it does help you, but there's also other stuff that you can do, which that's mindfulness as it is, So when you're training, you're actually being mindful, like you're thinking about only what you're doing. Exercise. Empathy always makes you feel good, like you're always helping. When you help someone else, you feel good like and then even accepting somebody's help, like you think, I don't want to accept his help, but you can not only do it for yourself, you can do it for them because it makes them feel good that they helped you.
It is a good I find it healing, like I actually find what even this, you know, the clink I I And there's a lot of a lot I like to do and be involved with outside of this, you know, but I find it therapeutic to be able to know that there's somebody else out there that that will benefit from what we're doing right now, you know, it.
You're giving.
You're giving yourself and allowing others out there to understand they're not alone, you know, and there is people out there with.
Great advice who are successes like yourself.
You've six months, you know, you're being out and I'd like to ask you, Okay, so you're up for parole.
Let's let's move forward a little bit here. You're up for parole. You're in a C class O environment.
I mean, you've done years in the concrete jungle in the battle yards, and and it is you're you're a soldier to come through that. And I'm not saying a soldier as in you know, being a staunch, tough guy and all the rest of it. You're just you're a soldier to get through each day, to come out to get to where you are today.
You know that right there is the hardest thing.
You know, everything else with it is an add on, Like just you within yourself to be able to move forward in your life to me is so so awesome. I mean, I don't know if you've met him. I'm probably sure you have, but I grew up with Jeff Morgan from Redfern, and you know Morgs is out there doing some amazing things these days.
And you know, like we we.
Did some we did some good fucking bad shit when we're young and straight up, you know what I mean, Like we were coueies and done like. But the point of my conversation is, well, he'll tell you the same thing he's done over twenty years himself, you know, like, and all he wants to do is see people succeed.
And you're not your past. You're not your past. That's the one thing I like saying to you. You're who you are right now, Like you can do whoever you want right now. People are going to remember your past soon. You just got to think, like, just because you've done that in the past doesn't mean that's who you have to be. You're still that person, but you don't have to have the same morals. I guess the same mindset. You can mindset, Yeah you can.
Yeah.
I came out from I came out and I had three years prol and I thought, what am I going to do?
Because I couldn't. I was living in a border town.
My life was in Queensland and I had to live in yourself while I was on the border because that was where I was convicted and my time was you know, so it made it very difficult. I had an oldest son in Queens that like really they made it complicating because I was I was a federal offender, because I was under a commercial importation. So for me, you know, it was on the higher end of the scale when it come to parole. But I put my time and effort into something similar like yourself. I didn't sort of get the opportunity to educate it, but I I trained and I brother, I became the first in the world to cycle across Australia in forty five days on a pushbat from east to west, you know. And I wanted my children to know that their dad wasn't just this shit person with these ship stories and background. And I say that because it is shit as much as it's made as who we are and what it is.
But there's nothing to glorifire.
Brother, it's not the city and pump each other rap that you're the grouse because you did this or did that, like whatever. It doesn't impress man, I'm sure it doesn't impress you, you know what to.
Talk about that like story from back then, because it's like I don't want to be talking about like what I've done or something like that. It's just it's it's it's because I want to be like I want to be who I am now. I don't want to even think about that stuff. It's like, that's my past. I'm not shamed in my past and don't nothing. But unless you bring it up to me, I'm not going to talk about it.
Yeah, And that that's.
How I should be, though, because as far as I'm concerned, you know, like looking at what I see in you and and let's let's let's start to shuffle into that because it's exciting and I really spark up, you know, like talking about what I'm seeing, what you're delivering, you know, and you you're a bit of a freak when it comes to athleticism.
I got to give it to you. Brother.
There's only one other man I've seen that is truly an absolute gem when it comes to his train and that's Jeff Morgan. Again, mate, that guy, the ability he has and what I've seen him do, and you know, he's a He's a special human.
You're not.
You're not much different, brother, how you train and what you put into your efforts, and you're just you're a next level human, you know, like have you always been that way? And was it something that you sort of trained towards coming out of jail getting you parole? What was that like and then moving into that part of your life.
Training is like it's what I love. It's like just progressive overload training, like it's it's conditioning. So you start off at one level like when I first went to jail when I was eighteen, I could not do it chin up. I couldn't even do half a chin up, like like there was no point, there was no like there was no chance I could even lift myself a little bit like I was. I wasn't weak, but I just didn't know what training was. Yeah, and then when you're in there, you get so bored that I use training as a like something to do, like imus to keep entertained. So then I just started getting into it more and more and more and more. I still go and being getting in trouble and stuff like that, but then I still trained every day, and then it was like it was like a cool thing to do at one stage, like I did your train today. It's like the only thing you talk about at one stage in jail and then when I got real, I got real focused, Like I always wanted to do fitness for a career, It's just I didn't know how to. And then when I got gold driven, and then I was like, well what am I actually good at like now, and I'm like, well, fitness. So then I'm like, well, let's get fitter, like let's fucking push the boundaries here, like what what can you do? But then I'd start asking like people, what can you do? And then like use it as a competition. So then I just like keep trying to up and up and up and up and up. And I didn't have like I'll take a week off or two weeks off. I'm just going to have a cheap week this week and just eat chocolates like I see a lot of people.
Do that, oh the old biops and make your big cheesecakes and now yeah, like.
I did that, like I can cook some mass some mad jail desert.
It's Runn's fine, it's kickback. You've got to have yours.
Yeah, But I still trained, like it's still like it's just I just kept going, just kept going.
So you you you when you were applied for a prop or did you have a date for prole So.
When I at first I had ten years, so you run a s that yeah at first, yeah, and then when my pill come through, then I wasn't and then I got re sentenced nine months to go and then that went away, so then it was just normal normal parole.
Oh wow, awesome.
Because I got resentenced, so I've got a few charges dropped and then they resentenced me because I still had other charges. I thought I was going home at sentencing, but then I think I had nine months to go or something at.
Sentencing or and that was all done in the sea too. You just kick back and just got it.
Yeah, yeah, yeah, And literally I like it's funny because like I hadn't been charged for three years, the last three years of my jail, I hadn't been charged, and I gets sentenced and literally someone walks into the pod, starts mouth and off something happens and then I'll get charged. So then that was just that was just before PLUSO so charge but a charge. Yeah, and then like I went to pass in handcuffs at that point, and then I just felt like like I can't believe I'm here, Like I'm full, like on the straight and like I'm going to my last class that I'm gonna have you in handcuffs and they still get me.
See two, they must have seen the good in your butt, brother, honestly.
But that's a long time for a man like yourself, bar for a man like yourself who have done the jail that you did in the way that you did it. Let you're a high risk, simple as that. You know what I mean, You're you're high risk. You're a violent offender in the system. That's that's who you would have been known as. The squad would have just had you as a hit.
That's it.
Every time I come in bom you would have stamped you know what I mean, Like one, you don't mak around with blakes like yourself in there and here you.
Are, you know what I mean, I've changed, man.
Like that's huge, you know, to literally know that the squad's turning up at yourself normal ramp kaya which is is and C Class A jails whatever they go for you or chief sweet warm check you no dramas, no cuffed up, no aggression, no violence, no getting turtled and smashed and all the rest of it. You know, like it must have been a hard thing for you to accept at that stage too, the like you're saying, you're sitting there in cuffs when you put that effort, Yeah, one d per.
And I just felt shit the whole time. I was like, there's so much effort I put into. At that time, i'd become a mentor in that ASP program, so I was like I was mentoring young people coming into the jail, and then it's just the circumstances like yeah, I was a mentor. But then like if someone comes and like just wants to give me the way you're speaking to everyone, and he addressed everyone with some words that you can't say in jail, it's like I'm not just going to I can't sity. But then I think about it, I'm like, maybe I could have handled it a little bit different. But then like that just you get triggered and then yeah yeah, and then I ended up being in handcuffs on a class.
So from that you get a sea too, and you're able to stay in that that Sea two environment.
Obviously there was no repercussions from that charge. Yeah.
Yeah, that's truck.
Yeah that's a blessing. Another one.
Yeah, that's what. At that point, I was just like you know, like God's on my side, and and I honestly was like reading the Bible every day.
I had.
A Daily Readings Catholic that Daily Readings book where I get read that every single morning without fail. I had my Rosary, which I've still still got in my car. I prayed twice. I've done the Rosary every night before bed, I prayed in the morning. I prayed constantly. Like that's when I actually like I still got like I just I went to church this morning Sunday.
So that's a good scene Christmas to you. Also went to midnight Mass.
Like midnight Yeah, I took my son.
Yeah that's that's awesome.
And that's that's I honestly think that God's on my side. And even though like I'm still like sinning against him, he still shows me compassion and love to be like at that point, it's like as soon as as soon as that happened and I got locked in the cell, and I was like, oh, you have to go to segrad now, and I'm like a mentor in it, and I'm changing my life. I'm not going a different like mindset space. I'm like this can't happen. Like I've put so much effort into it. I just started praying again and then it just like it just happened. I was just see two jail. It's like crazy, it is.
It's very powerful.
I pray daily myself, and I must say that, you know, I see things clear or different even in my situation and my battles that I'm going through and ahead, it is in God's hands. And but you you must have genuinely have faith in God and give yourself up to the Lord and just let.
And it's hard because there's days there where we look in the mirror or you know, we have those moments. Why Lord, you know, I know, why why is this? Why? You know, like I'm being the best I can be.
But you know, even in my situation, I keep getting told, you know there's there's bigger things that God's got for you.
Well I'm okay, yeah, And I like what more can I say?
And obviously for you, you know, like your path it's bright and you know you've got the Lord on your side, and amen to that, brother, because I think you know, like you've you've really got to be able to give yourself one hundred percent and not be a fool because people see through bullshit. And you know, you and I both know that we can look at people. I'm sure you can, you know from where we've come from. And it's all a lot for me is body language. You know, the moment I look at somebody without even sort of hearing them talk, generally, you sort of to get a fair gift of where you're at or what's happened. You know, I'm when the stolen person you're around, and you know, sometimes it's a bit of a gift. Sometimes it's a little bit of it's not good, it's in trouble, but you know, like it is, it's things like that that you you thank God for because it could be that moment that saves your life as well.
Yeah, and you know, here you are out now.
Thanksgivings for God is very important too, because a lot of people when they're in a hard hard times, they turn to God and says, look, God, help me save me, get me out of this. When they released not saying that God, not saying that God does save them, like he's not just going to like he loves everyone, but it's not him. It's not him that literally saved you from that position. Like God takes sometimes decades to work.
Like you read the.
Bible, it's like things things that happen all the time straight away. Sometimes they waited fifty years later and then He free freeze these people. But because people ask for help when they're in hard times, and then when they're in a good time, they forget about God.
Correct.
So like, right now I feel so blessed and like I've achieved so much, and people tell me constantly, like and it's like it's good to hear people tell me that they're proud of me. They can't believe what I've achieved in six months of being out. But still, like, I have to give credit to God for getting me out of that mindset, because I feel like God didn't save me from jail, but he saved me from that mindset. He's the reason why, and his love and compassion is the reason why, one of the reasons why I wanted to give back to him, and so I thank him every day. I'll go to church every every weekend. Still, like you're being aroundtle.
Too for your family.
You know, you're a man, a father, you know, like this is something that you know you're now setting your family's life up through your actions. Yeah, you know, and This is what it's about for me, children, my children. You know, I'm blessed. You know, my wrongs have been their rights. I'm so blessed my children. You know, from twenty five down to nine. I have three boys and a.
Nine year old me.
I got a nine year old brother. He's my worry. God love him.
But he's just a machine. You know, he loves just he just he's a beautiful boy. He's just full of, full of anybody's the most affectionate. He's the little teddy bear. You know, where's the twenty five year olds. You know, he's independent, doing his thing. He's very successful.
And I was born with them.
I had a daughter who was born who's legally blind as well, so you know, she's almost seventeen and she's she's doing some wonderful things. I mean my thirteen year old son as well. He's working two casual jobs in the holidays at thirteen, you know, he's walking around neighbor's gone for twenty Yeah, love and life. He's an academic. He's in Rugby League Excellence up here in one of the top schools. So you know, us as role models what we and I'm sure or that you wouldn't be one to hide who you were from your children either, you know you.
Yeah, No, I don't.
No, no, no, not at all.
I don't tell him stories that he needs to know. I just let him see me. Like it's like, I'm not going to tell him you need to do this, you need to do that. I'll show him in my actions what to do this. So I'll be the person and I'll do what I want you to do. Yeah, So I'm not going to sit back and then like I don't drink, I don't drink alcohol, I don't smoke, and like I'll make sure he knows that I don't do that because I expect him not to do that at all too.
I love that I expect And you know what pre season's kicking off up here. You know, like my son's got three weeks off before he goes back into his program and he's he's one of the top locks in Southeast Queensland for his age division. So you know he's had he's had his down times and yes he's been working on the holidays. But I've been right, come on, we've got to get out, we've got to get moving, we've got to start working together.
We've got to get your fitness up. You know, you're going to come back to that school and it's going to be full on. Bang, let's go, where's your testing.
It's going to be hard, it's going to be full Just before we've recorded today, we went out and did ten k's together, you know, and I'm running with him, and I'll be honest you, I've just had a double spinal fusion ten weeks post surgery, and I've got this nerve issue where I lose feeling in my left leg. So I'm running, you know, like four k's in and I can't film my left leg. And all I'm thinking is I have to be the lead Horsey if.
I ask him to do it.
And he says no, he's going to be right and say no what I'm sitting back, just going get out there and do that run.
That's pissing.
Now, I ain't come on and you know, like he was out there and he said, Dad, do you enjoy running in the rain? I said, I love running in the rain. It's replenishing, it's cleansing. He goes, oh, what about our shoes? I said, well, shoes get wet, you know what I mean. And it's raining up here today as you can see it back. It ain't a pretty day, you know. And we got out there and we knuckled down and we pushed through it and we did it. And that moment is what matters, you know, leading and showing you right now, and let's talk about that.
Because it is something amazing. You are leading you.
You really are going to be at the top of your game at what you do, and you've got some great support you're working with. If I may say, Bam Bam, a UFC fighter out of the Druid who's a banger of all bangers.
You know, what a great what a great thing.
I'm guessing you guys were buddies at some stage maybe or was it.
Definitely become buddies now from from the same area.
And he knows, you know, what a trainer is.
He's been around a long time and he's he's working with you and people that you've got around you just it's starting to lift lift who you are and what you're trying to achieve.
He's definitely a bloke. If he's fitting healthy, he could be number one. He would be number one.
He was fit healthy, and there's no doubt about her. He's just there's something special about him. He's charisma and everything, but he has He's just a banger. He can say no two ways.
And with this boot camp, how's that going for you? You were talking about that earlier and you've now got set up.
Yeah, starting tomorrow. So literally I was actually marketing, which is like, it's crazy even think that I would be marketing anything, Like it's over the weekend.
Smile on your face when even when you're talking about the glow in your actual your face, the look in your eyes, you know that your cheeks, it's just you're just so happy with what you're doing.
Yeah, it's like actually bringing me joy a like doing things now that I've just never pictured myself doing. But because of my goals that I've set for myself, these are the things that I have to do. I don't like doing them, but I like getting results out of them to get to my goal. Like I like where it's taking me. So it's hard work. Like I didn't get to sleep till twelve thirty because it was the writing and program for a football player. Yeah that's going into like pre season, going into training now. So I didn't get into ut till twelve thirty. But then I work up still to go to church at five am because I set my alarm a little bit wrong because I was so tired when I set my alarm, but I still I just got up and just done it. So it's hard work. Like I'm like, I try to get to sleep, but it sleeps a bit off of them. And usually I prioritized sleep, like in the past of prioriti sleep is very important. But because I'm working so hard, like I'm struggling to find time to be able to sleep. But it's it's getting to me. It's getting to be every day one step closer to where I want to be. So I'll just keep doing it.
It's at one percent in it. And that's something else, you know, embedding my children's head.
Just today, you don't have to be the greatest, Just just be one percent better than you were yesterday, and it adds up.
It just keeps stacking up. Sooner or later, you're going to be a mile in front. You know.
If you give up and you just let that one percent full behind, that's a subtraction, you know what I mean, You're going backwards and I've got to go forward. Just that little bit like you said, you know those goals, just set the goals. You have those goals, A small goal even just hit that goal, you know what I mean, that's a win.
Yeah.
How can I ask you something? And I mean this seriously because I struggled with this. When you talk about your sleep, I mean, you've only been home next to no time. Six months is nothing after what you've done.
You know.
For me, it probably took twelve months to be comfortable to come out of my bedroom. I would literally come into the house and be happy to be in my bedroom where I had my TV and the shower and the on sweet.
Like it just was.
It was like I was in a cell, but I couldn't bring myself out to sit in the family environment area.
It just didn't, I don't know.
And then the whole sleep, you know that slightest noise you know because obviously you know you hear them walk around or not, the keys and the doors crack, And just how have you done with that?
Bro? When I was inside, like I was saying before, I just worked on myself, Like I know exactly that feeling because I've had it when I would be out of jail before. Like I've literally sit in my room where I was just about to call out to sell them, but it's a room at home outside of jail. And then look at my door waiting for the screw to open the door, like it's like I can go and grab the handle, open the door and walk out the door right now. And I wasn't used to it. And I've been through that stuff, and then I've gone back to jail, come back out, felt PARANOI didn't want to go chopping centers, went back to jail like I've been through it. And then because I lived that experience, and when I made the decision to just like just get to where I'm going, and it was you don't just make the decision over overnight, Like there's someone told me, what is that ninety percent of your thoughts today are the same as tomorrow, son, So you can only change your thought that it might even be ninety five like like one like ten percent every day, but then you're still going to have those same thoughts. But if you keep progressing every single day and changing those thoughts even one percent every day, you get to a point where it's completely different. So things that don't happen overnight. But I kept working on it, and then I kept getting reminders when bad things have happened, that's another reminder. Okay, I need to get back onto this thought pattern. And then just I progressed and just keep progressing. So I worked on myself like a lot, Like it's constant work, constant work.
Like even speaking to you, you're very articulate. You're far from silly. You're an intelligent man. Have you always though, been comfortable to you know, be sort of speaking comfortably and relaxed, or of you sort of always mean a little bit more quiet, especially you know, you know, you don't walk around whole conversations with hardly anyone.
You gotta be real tight before you even.
This podcast and spin out about probably how much I'm speaking.
But like that's that's what I'm trying to say.
I could see just I've never we've never physically met, but getting to understand you that you would have been that style of bloke, wouldn't have said too much.
But here you are, you know, and you're able to freely enjoy a conversation.
Yeah.
I think I think when I'm confident about a topic that I can maybe flow a bit. But it's like like when you start talking to me about like the past and stories from the past is like, I don't want to bring them up, Like I don't want to be treading on like telling stories from the past, Like it's a bit if you like, I haven't. And maybe that's why a lot of people back, like from from jail, are like that. It's because they hold onto secrets from from there, so they worried about saying the wrong thing and then getting themselves in trouble or getting someone else in trouble even worse, So they just hold on to it and just try to be quiet, don't go anywhere. It's like paranoia. But I think I worked on myself enough and now I have more positive things to say, and I don't like I just won't talk about things that happened in the past, because then it just might You don't realize that you might like say something that you didn't mean to say. So then it's like when you go into like when you when you get arrested, you don't go into an interview room. It's not because you're guilty, it's because that you don't know what's going to be said or what's going to miss be misinterpreted. Like there was a case that someone told me before he was in for drugs. And I don't know if you know the old saying it's old. I was just saying saying it like I'm watching the grass grow, Like what are you doing, I'm just watching the paint dry or watching.
They took that as as watching watching where he grow, watching the watching ice grow.
The bloke was cooking like he was apparently he was cooking ice and I was just saying, like he was watching the ice grow like that was like he's at all, but it wasn't at all. He's like, that's not what happened. But that's why you just got to when you when you're doing when you're doing something bad, like you just like you have to fully watch what you say. So when you when you do something in the past, even like you just got to watch what you say. So I just it's nothing to hide, it's just you prefer not to not to talk about it, which is why I think that a lot of people from jail don't want to talk about like they're quiet, they're reserved because they're worried about slipping up.
Yeah, absolutely agree, and I think that that's that's a really good way of putting it because I think a lot of people don't truly understand.
Why we are the way we are.
I want to talk about today's business, the name of the business, where's it going, what's happening, Like, give us the full run.
Down, beefit Secrets. That's that's the actual website, beefit secrets dot com, dot are you. I just created a portal like it's I'm doing market down there. Like I've got this machine where it's a body composition machine, so it takes like tells you you obviously know what it is, like, it tells you fat. It even reads your nutrition, your macros, like it tells you your macro to take down, yeah, your water and take your muscle massive skeletal muscle. There's so much stuff. So then like I had that down there, just giving people scans and then get them signed into the portal so then I can send them an email to be part of it. And it's crazy that like I didn't even know how to open a word document when I got out of jail. But that was six months ago and.
You're already actually up to date with portholes and stuff like that and doing all right.
I'm right I'm using a word document to write programs and the email them to people and actually getting paid for it.
Wow.
Yeah, Wow, I'm useless when it comes to the technom and I can use the social media's but I honestly I few you said to me, I can't need you go do a word document this, and that.
I would, yeah, I would freeze because I go to my kids and go, hey, come help that. For a second, they're like, what do you need that? Like, where do you know this?
Oh, that's just what we do, dad, That's what we do at school, you know, because everything's on their their laptops at school. You know, they've got to have a laptop in their grades that they're in. And it's kind of handy for me because I can ask them. But I get a bit embarrassed, bro, because I don't know. You know, I haven't and I've never never been in the position to be shown or put to that's I'll I'll take the ownership of that. Actually I've never put the effort in to learn. Maybe that's a better way of being honest about it, you know what I mean.
You have to love what you what you're about to learn. Like that's yeah, that's pretty much why I learned it so quick, I feel because like I've done the PT course and every day like I'm like both ears are like pointing directly at the educ he's top load too, so like he he's he really taught me heaps.
Just about.
Like I already know how to train people like I've lived at so I knew like it's progressive training, like you see where they are now and then you just progress them a little bit and then you can push them a little bit. There's but then there's things like the way you market yourself, the way you create programs. I still like I'm still not one hundred confident. I'm not saying confident, like I'm not the best on the computer still, but I know how to pull up a word document and I know how to write a program in my head, and I know how to write it in my notes on my phone. So it's just transferring it.
Yeah, And you know what I'm going to say, it's actually your your socials are exciting, like they really are. Whoever's doing or if you're doing your social media stuff, mate, far out well done.
It is captivating that it's awesome, like it really is.
And the stuff that you're putting on there, and to everybody listening, please go over and tell them all where where where can they find you?
Or your details?
On Instagram?
Everywhere?
So b A W L y U P s A N T A valley up Sander Like I'm like, I post a lot of stories the posts, not too much but a little bit. I just like posting stories because I like to show what I'm actually doing right now.
Man, What's what's what's your goal? What's your main goal? And we know that where you are at the moment. Where do you see yourself in twelve months time?
Let's just talk about twelve months.
In twelve months time. You know what I would love to do if I didn't have, like a just training proper athletes, is have what's it called you work for free?
Like a charity?
A charity. I'd love your charity too, but yeah, a when you work for someone just just for experience.
Just like a like a traineeship sort of thing.
Yeah, like a trainee ship. There's another word for I just can't think of it. Just doing that in some sort of organization, like could be a football team and just like learning off how to train teams of athletes, like not just just one athlete, Like it's in ins of athletes, and then one day it's like just I'd like to just keep training athletes. I love to own my own space and then athletes come to me and then I'll just get a fit and just writing programs and stuff like that. But that's like just that's just in my head at the moment, right right now, twelve month's time just to be established in the fitness industry and maybe have a position where I'm helping out in a massive organization.
Can I ask you would you come back on in twelve months time? Yeah, I'd love to have you back at twelve months time and just to just to just to see where you're at, brother, because you know, like I'm always inspired by people, but some people, truly, you know, there's there's just something about them, and there's something about you.
You know, like a man that's done and you've done hard time. There's no two ways about it. You know, you really have.
And it's a lonely walk sometimes to come out and turn your back on that life, especially when if you hold that little bit of you know, you walk into a yard the boys know, you get a bit of respect, you know, like it's a nice feeling and you come back into the reality of the world and as they say, just another bear bum in the shower. You know, no one really cares who you are, where you've been, or what tatoos you've got, or you just you just Joe blow like for you.
You know, some people get their back up about it, and then they give me defensive and like, exactly know who I am? Like it's in the perspected like and you want to speak to me like that, But it's like people don't know who you are.
That's right, And the reality is people are getting to know who you are through your actions in a really, really great way and that's inspiring to me.
Bro And I would love to have you back in twelve months time.
And just rehash and and see where you're at and see how the business is going, and if we can do anything in a way to help you and your growth.
I would really be honest if you're allowed of that.
It's it's it's a promise to come back. It's a challenge to now get to where I just told you where I wanted to be.
Beautiful, beautiful, I love it. Yeah, well, Bennie, I'm gonna.
I'm going to ask you this, if you were to give information, not to give information, listen to me if you're about to give someone some positive Now that sounded terrible, didn't. We don't give you information full stop, but at the end of the day, we love to give something back. If someone was in your position that's listening to this right now, and we're struggling and looking for advice, not information, looking for advice, what would you what would you say?
What would Ben say right now to that person?
Find a purpose, set a goal, take smart steps to get to the goal. When I say find a purpose, a lot of people don't know what I mean by that. It's find a reason why you wake up in the morning. It's like, what do you want out of your life? And you usually people like I don't know. I'm getting confused. I don't know what I want out of my life. So what are you? What are you good at? Or who do you want to be? It's like you think, you think I want to be that person, but then I can't be that person.
But why not?
Why can't you be that person? It's like, yeah, you can't be that person tomorrow, but in five or ten years late like five or ten years from now, if you keep taking active steps towards that, you can be that person.
Hard work, yeah, hard it, love it. Thank you very much.
There you have a guys, a fantastic story of redemption from a wonderful man. And if you're in the Penrith there all the western suburbs, make sure you're contacting.
These details are all there and we will inspire to put up a little bit of a post and then helping them.
For the record, I'm done trying to make you uncomfortable for the record. You ain't trying to grow downer, stand for.
Your for the record.
Laugh on me going all the way for the record. Ain't trying to link, no, trying to waste for the.
Record, for the record, for the for the record, for the record, for the record, for the record.
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