Nightmare Success In and Out

What happens if your worst fear becomes your reality? Brent Cassity was a successful CEO working in a family business that grew to a national company that was recognized by the media of being the pioneers in their industry. Brent had it all and lost it all. He found himself standing at the gates of Leavenworth Prison to serve a 5 year sentence. Brent’s podcast explores the stories of inmates who were in and now out of prison. What was life like before they went in, life inside prison, and life now that they are back home. These conversations are deep, sad. often funny, but always interesting.

Latest Episodes:

Real Estate Guru gets 10yr sentence- Mike Morawski Mar 09, 2023

Show notes

Could you build a multimillion dollar company...go serve a 10 year federal sentence, and get out and start building it all back? Yes, because that is what Mike Morawski has done and it still doing today. This is a story of grit. This story deals with early addiction, getting clarity, and learning how to build a real estate company that controlled over $285 million in transactions over a 30 year period. He fell hard with the Great Recession in 2008, and it went from bad to a 10 year prison sentence. A sad divorce transpired months after becoming an inmate. Mike went through depression until another inmate said he had to get his act together and to not waste time regardless of where he was. He began to use his time for planning to come out for his big do over and rebuild. Mike hit the ground running when he was released. He is now an entrepreneur, author of the book "Exit Plan", real estate trainer, public speaker, and Chief Investment Officer of two multifamily hedge funds. He has coached hundreds of people to fulfill their dreams in the real estate world. It would have been easy to give up at any point along the way. You can really feel Mike's story as he walks us through his journey. If you like an old fashion comeback story of grit, overcoming, and tenacity then this episode is for you.

20yrs prison- helps rebuild community with policy changes - Tony Gant Mar 02, 2023

Show notes

If you had to serve 20 years in prison would you come out beaten or a force for good? Tony Gant was incarcerated for a violent crime within the Michigan Department of Corrections for 20 years, from 1995 to 2015. Gant said he knew it was vitally important while serving his time to better himself with education and skills that would improve his life upon release. Tony says he doesn't want anyone to get the wrong idea that any of this was easy, especially getting out of prison after 20 years. He gives a lot of credit to his wife who he married while he was in prison that he knew growing up. She had gotten on the right track in her life, and she helped Tony stay on track both in and getting out. There was a lot of frustration with getting employed when being freed. Tony shares how he didn't give up and things started happening for him. He is now making big strides using his experience to help change the laws in Michigan for the previously incarcerated for housing. He is the Director of policy and programs operations at Nation Outside, a non-profit organization that advocates for the rights of formerly incarcerated persons. Tony says, “we are always looking to advocate for laws that lower barriers for people with criminal records. We want to break down barriers to housing, employment, or even access to higher education, anything that addresses the collateral consequences that impact people with convictions.” Tony is also a father, author of the book (Midnight Whispers), and a business owner Gant Lawn Care. Tony is an inspiring guy who does a great job of telling his story. It is inspiring to see someone with Tony's experience adding such a strong voice to people who may not have one... creating real change in their lives.

Homeless, prison, then builds National Co. Helping Justice Impacted- Harley Blakeman Feb 23, 2023

Show notes

Could you go from homeless, to prison, to founder and CEO of a National Company? That is exactly what Harley Blakeman did with his life. I first saw Harley's story on a TEDX Talk a couple of years ago before this podcast started. Harley had tough childhood. His mom had a drug problem and left the family, and his dad died in a tragic motorcycle accident when Harley was 14. With the both parents being the black sheep of their family's, Harley had no connection or help with relatives. He became homeless just bouncing around doing whatever to survive. He has one heck of a story with how he goes to prison. In prison the relatives from Ohio reach out and the aunt says to come live with her when he was released. This was a game changer for Harley in his life. He enrolls in Community College and gains confidence and and gets good grades. He applies to Ohio St. and ends up graduating at the top of his class. He has a hard time finding a job because of his past. Harley decides he is going to help solve a problem by finding investors and creating the nation's largest fair chance employment platform named Honest Jobs. There are about 70 million people with some type of history. Honest Jobs works with over 1300 companies to help give these people a real second chance. I love it! I love the passion Harley has for creating a better space that we live in. Harley took a leap of faith leaving everything he knew, and moving to Ohio into the unknown. Look what happened when he changed his people, places, and things. A real life inspiring story!

3yrs of Solitary Confinement doesn’t break but transforms his life- Carlos Vasquez Feb 16, 2023

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Could you do 3 years in solitary confinement? Carlos Vasquez did and it changed his life in year 13 of his 20 year sentence. This is a riveting story about a complete life transformation for the good. Carlos life started off fairly normal, good neighborhood, good grades in school, great baseball athlete. His life changed when his dad suddenly left the family. Carlos's life spiraled into dark places. He became homeless at 13, joined a street gang that became his family, his best friend died at 16, and he was convicted of arm robbery at 19 years old with a 20 year sentence in a maximum security prison. Carlos used his natural leadership qualities to become the shot-caller on the prison yard. A Chaplain visits Carlos the day he was contemplating suicide while he was in solitary. That moment of someone caring and believing in him changed his life. Carlos gets released back to general population, and becomes a force for good and change. He gets educated with his high school and college degrees. He forms a group for men in prison to discuss strategies for creating the right mindset and winning one day at time. Once released, Carlos became a sought after motivational speaker, a screenwriter, and life coach. There is no way to listen to this and not walk away just feeling good!

10yrs in prison becomes LA Real Estate Guru- Danny Navarro Feb 09, 2023

Show notes

Could you go from a 10 year prison sentence to being an LA real estate guru? Yep, Danny Navarro did just that. If you're into comeback stories where you hear, in real time, how the right mindset can change your life....the Danny Navarro Story is packed with everything you want to hear. Danny was a product of his environment. He came from a broken home with his dad using crack, and his mom desperately trying to keep the family safe and fed. All he knew were the gang streets of LA growing up. At 18 years old, Danny receives a mandatory minimum 10 year sentence for selling drugs. Half way through his sentence, an old inmate gave Danny the book "Think and Grow Rich" and it changed his life. He began reading all the books...Les Brown, Zig Ziglar, Tony Robbins, and others. When he was released Danny leads us through the struggles of living as an ex-felon, but he found a path to become a real estate agent, and sought out a great mentor that showed him the ropes. It took 18 frustrating months to finally get his real estate license because of his past record, but he never gave up on his new life and new plan. The way Danny shares his story, you are drawn to his authenticity and raw emotion of how he stepped through it all to totally free himself. Danny hopes by sharing his story it will inspire others that a second chance is really possible.

10yrs in prison for selling bath salts- Justin Smith Feb 02, 2023

Show notes

Can you get sentenced to over 10 years in Federal Prison for selling bath salts? Yes, Justin Smith was one of the largest suppliers out of Florida. These bath salts mimicked the effects of cannabis and ecstasy. HIs attorney warned him that he was walking down a dangerous path even though it was not a scheduled drug. Justin had become intoxicated by the ocean of money that allowed him all the material things with this lifestyle. Justin had success in business early on. At 13 years old he created an internet dial up service. He took his creative smarts to the real estate world to much success until a very strange thing happened. Always looking for opportunities his friend had a chain of smoke shops. Their best selling products were spices and bath salts. Justin saw an opportunity figured out a supply chain and took off. He shares with us how a program in prison changed his life. Justin returned home and did not let the ex-felon tag slow him down, He owns a very successful national company that is called Contractor Plus that is teamed with companies like Home Depot. Justin's story is about learning from mistakes but never giving up your tenacity to accomplish what some would deem impossible.

4yrs in a Mexican Prison- survival story- JC Almanza Jan 26, 2023

Show notes

What would it be like to survive 4 years in a Mexican prison? JC Almanza did a lot of time at several different prisons. He grew up on the hard streets of the southside of Chicago. The way JC tells his stories it feels like you have stepped into a movie of his mind in a place you probably have never been. Since JC got out of prison 6 years ago, he has created a movement "Wrong to Strong." He has over 85,000 subscribers on YouTube and 55,000 followers on Instagram. Why? It is his message. It is his humbleness, vulnerability, and gratitude for where he is today. This is an interesting story because there was not a magic wand transformation. JC's journey happened in small steps...improving himself with each event even though he may take a temporary step back. The hardness and then the vulnerability keeps you hooked to JC's story. He is now fueled by the difference he is making in people's lives by sharing his experience helping others get to the other side. Wrong to Strong is a real movement. You feel it when you listen to JC.

From Leavenworth Prison- to Mayor of Leavenworth- incredible! Jermaine Wilson Jan 19, 2023

Show notes

Could a guy go from an inmate at Leavenworth to the Mayor of Leavenworth? Yes, Jermaine Wilson is that man! This incredible story has been on Good Morning America, The Sunday CBS Morning Show, and others. Jermaine grew up in Leavenworth. He lived in a tough neighborhood and ran with a tough gang of people dealing in drugs and mischief. Jermaine became a leader in that world. He eventually was sentenced to 3 years at a Leavenworth prison. He began believing he should use all his talents and leadership qualities for a force for good. When he got out of prison he began a non-profit that creates positive events for law enforcement and the community to unite and communicate. One day a friend said you should be Mayor. He didn’t really take it seriously until his wife said he should run. The rest of the story is simply incredible. Jermaine is so positive when he talks he just puts a smile on your face. I love what Jermaine has done, and I love his story. Look for his book coming out soon…”From Lawbreaker to Lawmaker.”

From Psych Ward, to Prison- to Successful Entrepreneur-Zach Babcock Jan 12, 2023

Show notes

Could you have survived being put in a psych ward at 9 years old? Zach Babcock not only survived that but has become a big success with Empowerment Underdog Podcast and Speaking. Zach's dad died when he was 7 years old. He had a hard time with that and was constantly told he was not good enough and couldn't focus on tasks. This low self esteem led him in out of trouble with the law. When he was taken to prison he missed his twin boys being born. While he was in the "hole" he received a 30 second phone call you would never want to receive in prison. That he survived all of this makes his second chance story all that more powerful. Plus, Zach is so likeable, vulnerable, and authentic with how he shares his story. He went all in on becoming an entrepreneur. His story of being totally in makes you a believer with what it means to be committed. Eventually, it has all worked for Zach. He has a great wife, new home, coaches his twin boys, and has a booming successful business. This episode has all kinds of nuggets of wisdom spread throughout. Grit, overcoming, tenacious, Zach Babcock.

Country Boy from Thayer sells Bank for $400 million- ends up in prison- Shaun Hayes Jan 05, 2023

Show notes

How did the Country Boy from Thayer Missouri eventually sell a bank for half billion dollars and eventually go to prison? Shaun Hayes had a persistent goal in his mind growing up...he wanted to be a millionaire. He bought his first bank at 29. He was the CEO of a big bank at 32, and running a public company by 35. At 44, he sold Allegiant Bank to National City for half a billion dollars. Eventually, after the sale, Shaun lost his way buying up smaller rural banks, along with, real estate investments that went sour that led him to a bank fraud conviction sentencing him to 5 years in Federal prison. Along the way, Shaun's story is captivating about the rise and fall of a very smart man. He is now building his second chance with his new book "The Gray Choice." He is also telling his story as a public speaker about the things to do and avoid when building a company. Shaun has several nuggets of wisdom he sprinkles throughout this episode. Shaun says, "if you never give up, you will eventually win." Shaun would love for you to go to his website www.shaunhayes.com or click this link Home and pre-order his book "The Gray Choice." Shaun is a masterful storyteller that makes the book a great read!

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