Episodes

  • Against All odds with Jordan Holdaway

    Against All odds with Jordan Holdaway
    Nov 24 2024
    The third man we will be interviewing in also very impressive. This man, like our other two guests, was on a roller coaster that was leading to a very rough life. He pulled it out and became a man that today makes a difference in many lives. Allow me to introduce you to Jordan Lee Holdaway. Raised by a single mom, and lacking any respect for authority, Jordon was rebellious and a thrill-seeker from a very young age. Basing his life off a mindset of testing any and all boundaries, he found himself drifting into a life of drugs and criminal behavior during high school and continuing on into adulthood. Anti-social tendencies and an addiction to methamphetamine led to his first felony charges at the age of 23. This marked the beginning of many years in and out of prison as a career criminal and drug dealer. All told, his choices cost him 11 years of his life incarcerated with unimaginable damage done to his family and the community. This path changed for him in 2016, when he applied for an interview at The Other Side Academy, with a 15-year prison sentence over his head, and was accepted. Upon arrival at TOSA, Jordon came in with the mindset of an ex-convict and spent many months battling his old beliefs, and nearly threw away the opportunity to save his life. However, the choice to stay for nearly four years, own his behavior, face the damage that his choices had caused, and learn to put his community first, has given Jordon the determination and purpose to spend the rest of his life putting the world together rather than tearing it apart. Jordon has graduated from The Other Side Academy and has been hired to manage the Academy’s Property Management and Construction Departments as a licensed general contractor. He has regained the trust and support of the community and cherishes the opportunity to help other broken individuals do the same
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    29 mins
  • Second Chance Foundation presenting Dylan Gibson

    Second Chance Foundation presenting Dylan Gibson
    Nov 18 2024
    The second interviewee that we will be talking to is another man that has had a challenging life. With the help of the Other Side Academy and many loving and supporting people, he has changed his life in such a dramatic and amazing way. Allow me to introduce you to Dylan Gibson. Meet Dylan Gibson, Program Staff, Born in Salt Lake City, UT. He is the youngest of 4 brothers and always strived to be like his older siblings, no matter what it took. Dylan constantly struggled to fit the mold of his older brothers and started compromising at a young age to look good rather than be good. "At the young age of 8, I witnessed emotional, mental, and physical abuse between my parents, my dad put my mom through a glass window, soon thereafter they divorced. The family dynamic split up, I was raised by my mother, who was struggling with her own alcoholism and barely putting food on the table. My older brother started experimenting with drug abuse, and my circle of influence was completely rattled and I started compromising at a young age. My mother was soon bankrupt, and my older brother was in rehab. My Dad saw this happening and took me back in. At this time, I had structure, responsibilities, was active in school, and began playing extracurricular activities, which I excelled in. State soccer champion, active in various school activities, I had my life on a good path. At the age of 15, during a seminary class, I offered the opening prayer and was completely embarrassed, and instead of pushing myself to do the hard thing, I chose the easy way out and dropped out of seminary. This pivotal moment changed the trajectory of my life. Soon thereafter, with the friends I had chosen to be involved with, I injured my back snowboarding and was prescribed oxycontin, and for someone like me, that turned to heroin really quick. Because of the people I was influenced by, I was able to compromise. Once I became addicted to heroin, everything and anything I had accomplished in my life were shattered. In between 52 jail stays, 3 prison terms, totaling 9 years incarcerated, and 9 years living on the streets, I was facing another life sentence, and while being locked up and at my very rock bottom, I had heard about The Other Side Academy. After soul searching and prayer, I knew this would be the hardest decision of my life. I wrote the letter and was accepted to The Other Side Academy. Since being here, I have learned to make hard decisions. Today I am a man with integrity, honesty, boundaries, making it about others, I am currently a hired program staff member, with many responsibilities. Today I dedicate my life to saving others who were just like me, broken and lost. I make it my life mission to constantly be around a positive circle of influence, surrounded by great leaders."www.scfut.org
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    46 mins
  • Dave Durocher Other Side Academy

    Dave Durocher Other Side Academy
    Nov 11 2024
    I am proud to announce we will be performing our inaugural podcast interview with three very special guest this Monday. The first is Dave Durocher Executive Director of the amazing program, The Other Side Academy. This program is saving lives. Dave has done an amazing job turning it into something fantastic but he has a history that, like mine, is not great. He turned his life around in such an amazing way and has made a huge impact. Here is a little about Dave. I will publish where you can listen to this podcast when it is put on the platforms. The following information is directly from the Other Side Academy's website. Dave Durocher was arrested for the first time at the age of thirteen. By the time he was 38, he had been to prison four times for a total of fifteen years. Dave was arrested yet again, and this time he was facing a twenty-nine-year prison sentence. In what the judge called “the chance of a lifetime” he afforded Dave the opportunity to go to Delancey Street instead of prison but reminded Dave in no uncertain terms that if he didn’t complete his commitment at Delancey Street he would be spending the rest of his life in prison. Not only did Dave complete his initial two-year commitment, but he also stayed for a total of eight years and became the Managing Director of Delancey’s Los Angeles facility for five of those years, overseeing two hundred and fifty residents and a multitude of vocational training school businesses that funded the operation and provided the training ground for residents to learn how to live a constructive and meaningful life. Dave oversaw a 300% increase in revenue during his tenure over the facility. Dave is tenacious, interpersonally skilled, a good manager, and an inspiring public speaker. He had helped countless others regain their dignity and their lives before he moved on to enjoy his own success as the person he had become. Now Dave has moved on to the next chapter in his life as the Executive Director of The Other Side Academy, in Salt Lake City, a two-year Life Skills Academy similar to Delancey Street, where men and women can come to learn about honesty, accountability, integrity hard work, and self-respect. All the traits that will insulate them from a life like the one Dave had and enable them to become the kind of person Dave is today.
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    48 mins