How I Rebuilt My Life After Prison – The Truth About Second Chances

What’s up, everybody? It’s Big Herc916, and I want to drop some real game on you about what it takes to rebuild your life after doing time. A lot of people think that once you get out of prison, everything just falls into place and that’s not how it works. The system is designed to keep you stuck, and if you don’t have a plan, you’ll find yourself right back behind bars.

When I walked out after eight years and 8 months in the feds, I made a decision I was never going back. I saw too many guys get out with no real plan and before they knew it, they were sitting in a cell again, wondering where they went wrong. That was not going to be me.

I had to figure out how to move differently, how to build something for myself, and how to stay focused while the world kept throwing distractions in my way. If you really want to rebuild your life after prison, this is how you do it.

Getting Out is Just the Beginning

Everybody dreams about the day they get released. Breathing fresh air, eating real food, busting female cheeks and hanging out with family. But let me tell you, getting out is not the finish line, it's just the beginning.

My first day out felt like I had woken up from a bad dream. I was free, but didn’t have my old apartment to go back to or any belongings to my name. Blackberry’s were the shit and Myspace with the big social media platform. People had moved on and I had to figure it out. The world was moving much faster and I had to take my time so I didn’t get lost in the rat race. 

My first big challenge was finding a legit job so I could get out of the halfway house. The system does not make it easy. I had no credit, no work history, no car and the second they saw that felony on your application, I was screwed. I knew I couldn’t rely on anyone, I had to navigate the best to my ability. 

Creating My Own Opportunities

Luckily I had a homie from the town that was living in Hollywood doing promotions and we were able to connect. He had an office in Studio City and wasn’t really in a position to pay me, but would say I worked for him so I could claim employment. It was up to me to figure out how to generate a check stub and pay the halfway house their 25% cut every two weeks when I got paid. I had also written a few books while I was locked up, so I planned on hustling the book in adult stores to generate some side money. Let’s be real, most employers do not want to hire someone with a record. It does not matter if you have changed, if you are motivated, or if you are ready to put in the work. They see "felon," and that is all they need to know.

So every morning I would take the public transit from South Central to Studio City and workout at LA fitness side hustling clients for training. Being in shape created opportunities for me and I took advantage of whatever legit hustles I could. I refused to be a statistic and was excited about life.

Fresh Out came about roughly five years after I got out, but had always been an idea waiting to come to life. I’d met my business partner Big Ant at LA Fitness and we had been friends for a while when I presented him with the idea of a prison show with redemption stories that show people who got out and changed their life for the better. He loved the idea and we shot our first episode in 2013 and the show took off from there on YouTube.

Cutting Off the Wrong People

If you want to move forward, you have to surround yourself with people who have the same mentality or similar goals so that you can elevate together. It does not matter if they were your best friends growing up, if they are still involved in the streets, still living the same lifestyle, it will be easy for you to get caught up

I didn’t have any friends in Los Angeles besides my one homie I grew up with, so all the friends I made were people who knew nothing about my past. I recreated myself and focused on ideas I had come up with in prison searching for my big break. I didn’t even see my family for almost a year after I got released. I didn’t want to show asking for a handout and a lot of my family I hadn’t spoken to for over a decade.

Finding a Hustle That Keeps You Free

A lot of guys get out thinking they can just "dabble" in the same hustle they were doing before, maybe move a little product on the side, hit a quick scam to get some money flowing.

 What a lot of guys fail to include in their old hustle is that technology has changed and people have changed. There are a lot more cameras and new guys in the game are cut from a different cloth. They don’t give a damn about that big homie stuff and a lot of them are on drugs of some kind. At the end of the day, even if I was just able to pay my bills, I had my freedom and didn’t have to answer to anyone. 

Producing Fresh Out, selling merchandise and trying to navigate a network deal were always hustles my partner and I had going on consistently. I also got into writing books, buying and selling cars and slanging art. 

The key is finding something you can commit to, legally. There are plenty of ways to make money out here, but you have to be willing to put in the work.

Staying Free is a Full Time Job

There are days when I get frustrated with life and dealing with fake people. On those days I have to take a step back and look at how far I’ve come and be grateful. The rise of social media has created a different mindset in a lot of people and it has become more difficult to tell who’s real and who’s not. The one thing that keeps me going when I reflect is that I’m on God’s time and nothing happens in life before its time. I think about all the things I dreamed about in prison and smile at my success. 

A Second Chance is Not Given, It is Earned

People love to talk about second chances, but the truth is, nobody is going to give you one. You have to create your own opportunities.

Cut off the negativity. Stop surrounding yourself with people who do not want to grow. Find a legal hustle. There are plenty of ways to make money if you are willing to put in the work. Stay disciplined. The difference between success and failure is consistency and don’t forget luck.

Your second chance is what you make of it. If you get out and keep doing the same things, you will get the same results. If you want a different life, you have to make different choices.

The system is not built to help you succeed, but that does not mean you cannot win. You just have to be willing to put in the work and stay focused.

Tap in with Fresh Out

If you are serious about staying free, making money legally, and leveling up, follow Fresh Out. We bring you real talk, real game, and real inspiration because we have been there—and we are not going back.

YouTube: Fresh Out YouTube Channel

Instagram: @FreshOutSeries

Facebook: Fresh Out Official

Website: www.FreshOutSeries.com

Stay free. Stay focused And always stay sucker-free.