Episode 2 Your Environment Can Raise You, But it Doesn't Have To Define You

Episode 2

“Before the Legacy: My Backstory and the Streets That Raised Me”

"Your environment can raise you, but it doesn’t have to define you."
I didn’t choose where I was born. I didn’t choose the struggles my family faced. But I did choose what I would do with those experiences. My surroundings shaped me—but they didn’t finish me.

Everybody sees the change. The books. The business. The podcast. But what most people don’t know is what it took to get here.

In this episode, I’m going back to the beginning—Ocklawaha, Florida, where it all started.
I was raised by my grandmother and mother while my father was on drugs and in and out of prison. The neighborhood we lived in—Crack Hill—was a place most people didn’t walk through unless they had to. I saw things early that no kid should see. I felt pressure to grow up too fast.

I’ll share:

• What life was really like in Crack Hill

• How I went from honor roll to hustling

• The impact my father’s absence—and presence—had on me

• The trauma I carried and didn’t even realize

• And how the survival skills I learned in the streets later became business skills—but at a heavy price

This isn’t just about pain. It’s about the roots of resilience.

If this episode connected with you, please like, share, and subscribe to The Welcome Legacy Podcast.
Tell someone who needs to hear this. And drop a comment—let me know what part of my story made you reflect on your own.

New episodes drop every Wednesday at 7:30 PM.
This is about building legacy—one story at a time.