What do you tell someone drowning in excuses when you've been locked up 24 years and 10 months, then walk out and start building in under 60 days? Tyrus C. Potts answers with one word: focus. Keep the plan. Keep the vision. Keep the standards. Lose focus and you lose everything anyway.

Carlos sits down with Tyrus, founder of Tyrus C. Potts LLC, poet, and returning citizen, to unpack "My sky has no limit" and the difference between resources that are around you vs. resources that apply to you. You'll hear his poem "Black Brutality," the power of mentorship and education inside, and the moment pride had to die so growth could start.

This episode will challenge you:

- Are you focused, or just busy?

- Who belongs in your picture frame?

- Will you pursue your purpose, or keep your excuses?

Chapters:

00:00 No Excuses, Only Focus

06:30 “Aim Higher or Stay Stuck”

12:40 Compton, Survival, and a Life Sentence

18:45 Prison Reality: Violence, Codes, and Choice

24:30 When Structure Is the Difference Between Chaos

30:05 The Mentor Who Changed Everything

35:45 Education, Words, and Rewriting Identity

41:10 Forgiveness, Family, and Becoming a Man

46:20 Walking Out: Freedom Isn’t Instant

52:30 Purpose Beyond Prison

Links mentioned in this episode:

Follow Tyrus on Instagram

Follow me on Instagram

Get a free PDF of my book “Warrior in the Garden: 7 Rules for Men”

My Confidence Masterclass: https://carlosvasquezofficial.thinkific.com/products/courses/building-confidence-masterclass

My new book: The PRICE Method: How I Turn Pain into Purpose

https://amazon.com/dp/B0BXMRB613

Thank you to our sponsors for their support!

For more information about them, visit:

Legendary Foods

Youth Champions

Alchemist

Boxing Union

What if the reason you don’t have a tribe yet… is because you’re being called to become the man who attracts one? In this unfiltered conversation, Carlos shares how brotherhood isn’t found - it’s forged through inner work, discipline, humility, and courage. After starting over with nothing post-prison, he learned that manhood isn’t defined by money, status, or comparison, but by what remains when everything is stripped away.

Carlos reflects on leaving old tribes behind, intentionally choosing environments rooted in forgiveness and growth, and allowing himself to be a student again - learning how to live, lead, relate, and dream in a new world. From church pews to weight rooms, mentors to men’s circles, he reveals how the right men entered his life when he showed up honestly and consistently.

This episode challenges men to put ego aside, listen to their heart, discern wisely, and take responsibility for their own evolution. Brotherhood multiplies strength - but it starts in the mirror.

Tune in as we dive into:

00:00 No Tribe? Start With Becoming the Man

01:04 Go Fast Alone, Go Far Together (The Proverb That Changed Everything)

01:21 You Become Who You’re Around

03:07 Leaving Prison and Losing My First Brotherhood

04:24 The Moment I Realized I Could Win Out Here

05:46 Why Church Was the First Door I Chose

07:06 How Telling My Story Attracted My Tribe

10:25 Discipline, Mentors, and Earning Brotherhood

12:27 Ego Down: Becoming a Student of Life Again

28:41 Brotherhood Only Works If You Do This First

Links mentioned in this episode:

Follow me on Instagram

Warrior in the Garden: 7 Rules for Men – Book PDF

The PRICE Method: How I Turn Pain into Purpose

Be A Better Men - Cornerstone Men’s Retreat

Download my Confidence Masterclass

Register for my upcoming free learning session on EDUCATION

Big shout out to our sponsors for their support!

For more information about them, visit:

Legendary Foods

Youth Champions

Alchemist

Boxing Union

What happens when fear shows up right before the moment you’ve been waiting for? Poet, speaker, and teacher Angela Aguirre shares a childhood story -standing in front of mariachis, terrified to sing - and the lesson her dad gave her: feel the fear, and do it anyway. From being “born into recovery” in Narcotics Anonymous rooms to finding her voice through Def Poetry Jam, Angela unpacks what it means to be seen, to follow through, and to turn pain into purpose. She reads a powerful poem from Confessions of a Firework, reflects on family, identity, and legacy, and talks about the projects calling her next - poetry, teaching, and screenwriting. If you’ve been holding back, this one is your nudge to step forward.

Tune in as we dive into:

00:00 Fear of being seen: the mariachi moment

05:18 Who Angela is: writer, speaker, caregiver, calling

06:31 Chingona Fire: defining womanhood on your own terms

10:02 Parents, culture, and being born into recovery

13:17 Why recovery only works when you’re ready

16:27 Finding her voice by watching her father speak

17:39 Authenticity, fear, and the speaker vs. messenger shift

24:55 Poetry as medicine (from notebook to the world)

31:04 Legacy, redemption, and telling her father’s story

46:21 What’s next: rewriting identity, screenwriting, and follow-through

Links mentioned in this episode:

Angela on Instagram: https://instagram.com/millennialmija

Angela's website: https://millennialmija.com/

Follow me on Instagram: https://instagram.com/carlosvasquezofficial

Warrior in the Garden: 7 Rules for Men – Book PDF: https://carlosvasquez.systeme.io/warriorinthegarden

Download my Confidence Masterclass: https://carlosvasquezofficial.thinkific.com/products/courses/building-confidence-masterclass

The PRICE Method: How I Turn Pain into Purpose: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0BXMRB613

Thank you to our sponsors for their support!

For more information about them, visit:

Legendary Foods: https://instagram.com/legendaryfoods

Youth Champions: https://youth-champions.org/

Alchemie: https://alchemiespa.com/

BoxUnion https://boxunion.com/

Strength isn’t built in comfort; it’s forged when everything familiar is stripped away.

I sit down with Shirin Hejazi for a raw, honest conversation about what strength and self-discovery really mean. I reflect on solitary confinement, trauma, and the ongoing battle between ego and healing, and how suffering became the doorway to awakening.

Drawing inspiration from thinkers like Carl Jung and Eckhart Tolle, I share why learning to observe your thoughts, practice real gratitude, and reconnect mind and heart changed everything for me. From surviving prison to mentoring at-risk youth, I explain how walking through darkness led me to peace and a responsibility to help others find it too.

Tune in as we dive into:

(00:00) Leading with heart and mind

(04:13) Brotherhood through shared struggles

(06:55) Understanding yourself in solitude

(12:02) Shared healing through vulnerability

(14:36) Finding clarity through solitude

(17:51) Processing pain in solitude

(21:23) Fascinated by the human mind

(23:49) Ego, redemption, and destiny

(28:19) Closing thoughts and links to free resources

Links mentioned in this episode:

Shirin Hejazi’s Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/shirinhejaziofficial

Follow me on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/carlosvasquezofficial

Warrior in the Garden: 7 Rules for Men – Book PDF: https://carlosvasquez.systeme.io/warriorinthegarden

Download my Confidence Masterclass:

https://carlosvasquezofficial.thinkific.com/products/courses/building-confidence-masterclass

The PRICE Method: How I Turn Pain into Purpose: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0BXMRB613

Thank you to Legendary Foods and Youth Champions for their support of this podcast. For more information, visit:

Legendary Foods Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/legendaryfoods

Youth Champions Website: https://youth-champions.org

Bryson McCalley is the founder and CEO of LAST OF A DYNG SEED, an author, filmmaker, and mentor shaped by hard-earned experience. Raised amid violence in Long Beach and later serving 15 years in a Level IV California prison, Bryson chose growth over defeat.

He shares how trauma and environment pushed him toward incarceration, and how prison became the proving ground where he built discipline, educated himself, and rediscovered his creative edge. From strategic thinking to authentic communication, those skills fueled his success after release.

In this conversation, Bryson and Carlos Vasquez unpack discipline, creativity in the age of AI, life inside high-security prisons, and how to build a meaningful legacy… no matter where you start.

Tune in as we dive into:

(00:00) Consistency and resilience matter

(03:13) Legacy, growth, and identity

(09:22) Born a creator with boundless imagination

(10:17) Language, the streets, and creativity

(14:10) Creating art from lived experience

(20:17) Growing up surrounded by violence

(23:13) Lessons in mentorship and personal growth

(26:08) Life inside a level four prison

(32:25) Trauma bonding and self-destruction

(34:28) Youth struggles and modern challenges

(39:56) How prison saved and transformed me

(43:44) Understanding value, discipline, and growth

(46:00) Respecting the process of transformation

(48:28) Values-driven leadership in business

(53:24) Using movie scenes as life lessons

(56:27) Obsessive preparation for long-term success

Links mentioned in this episode:

Bryson on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lastofadyngseed/

Bryson’s YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@LASTOFADYNGSEED

Warrior in the Garden: 7 Rules for Men – Book PDF: https://carlosvasquez.systeme.io/warriorinthegarden

Download my Confidence Masterclass:

https://carlosvasquezofficial.thinkific.com/products/courses/building-confidence-masterclass

The PRICE Method: How I Turn Pain into Purpose: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0BXMRB613

Thank you to Legendary Foods and Youth Champions for their support of this podcast. For more information about them, visit:

Legendary Foods Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/legendaryfoods

Youth Champions Website: https://youth-champions.org

In this episode, I candidly explore my evolution from the chaos of gang leadership and prison to building a life rooted in authentic inspiration, empathy, and self-mastery. Drawing on my lived experience, insights from my book, and my original PRICE Leadership Framework, I break down what it truly means to lead yourself before you can lead others.

Joined by co-host Shirin Hejazi, we challenge common myths around power, unpack the daily battles of self-leadership, and explore the difference between being driven by ego versus guided by purpose.

Tune in as we dive into:

(00:00) Leadership vs self-control

(05:10) Growth and accountability in prison

(09:08) Natural leadership in groups

(10:23) From powerlessness to despair

(15:03) Writing through pain and hope

(19:15) Turning pain into purpose

(22:20) From victim to happiness

(24:06) Define success in your own way

(29:14) Closing and links to free resources

Links mentioned in this episode:

Shirin Hejazi’s Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/shirinhejaziofficial

Follow me on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/carlosvasquezofficial

Warrior in the Garden: 7 Rules for Men – Book PDF: https://carlosvasquez.systeme.io/warriorinthegarden

Download my Confidence Masterclass:

https://carlosvasquezofficial.thinkific.com/products/courses/building-confidence-masterclass

The PRICE Method: How I Turn Pain into Purpose: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0BXMRB613

Thank you to Legendary Foods and Youth Champions for their support of this podcast. For more information, visit:

Legendary Foods Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/legendaryfoods

Youth Champions Website: https://youth-champions.org

Growing up in a neighborhood marked by violence, addiction, and the constant pursuit to fit in, David Moore takes us on a raw and honest journey through his early years – navigating gang life, substance abuse, and the heartbreak of losing his brother at a young age. He shares how his desperate need for respect and belonging led him down a dangerous path, culminating in being shot at just 15 years old.

But that’s only part of David Moore’s story. Today, he’s a committed father, husband, and advocate in recovery, serving as the Community Engagement Director for the Impact Drug and Alcohol Treatment Center. David Moore opens up about his journey of redemption, pursuing higher education at USC, building a legacy for his children, and using his hard-won wisdom to inspire hope in others battling their own demons.

Tune in as we dive into:

(00:00) Healing through community and reflection

(06:06) Impact House legacy since 1971

(09:01) Impact's recovery-based workforce

(09:49) Struggling to fit in

(14:13) Regret and emotional conflict

(18:57) How recovery requires ongoing effort

(23:20) Work, hustle, no healing

(28:53) Mentorship, impact, and educational pathways

(31:48) Surviving grit through hardship

(34:19) Rock bottom and redemption

(38:57) Mentorship and youth support solutions

(40:04) Empowering formerly incarcerated through change

(45:54) Nonprofits, ego, and fatherhood

(46:35) Balancing life's demands and family

(51:39) Reframing perspective, embracing possibility

(54:51) Closing and links to resources

Links mentioned in this episode:

Impact Drug & Alcohol Treatment Center: https://www.impacthouse.com/

Warrior in the Garden: 7 Rules for Men – Book PDF: https://carlosvasquez.systeme.io/warriorinthegarden

Download my Confidence Masterclass:

https://carlosvasquezofficial.thinkific.com/products/courses/building-confidence-masterclass

The PRICE Method: How I Turn Pain into Purpose: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0BXMRB613

Thank you to Legendary Foods and Youth Champions for their support of this podcast. For more information about them, visit:

Legendary Foods Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/legendaryfoods

Youth Champions Website: https://youth-champions.org

In this Carlos Unfiltered episode, I sit down with my co-host, Shirin Hejazi, to talk honestly about anger – how it once protected me in prison, and how I’ve learned to transform it.

I share how my anger started in childhood and became a survival tool in a world where it felt like currency. Over time, I realised it didn’t just destroy, it held energy I could redirect. Now, instead of reacting, I use tools like the STAR method (Stop, Think, Assess, Respond) to create space before I act. Co-host Shirin and I also discuss the routines, like daily workouts, that keep me grounded and support my mental and emotional well-being.

Tune in as we dive into:

(00:00) Anger hurts yourself the most

(04:59) Channeling anger into change

(09:16) Controlling anger for survival

(12:37) Learning self-transformation techniques

(14:20) Managing stress and expectations

(17:44) Be a STAR: anger management

(19:32) Speaking becomes second nature

(24:16) Closing and free resources

Links mentioned in this episode:

Shirin Hejazi’s Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/shirinhejaziofficial

Follow me on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/carlosvasquezofficial

Warrior in the Garden: 7 Rules for Men – Book PDF: https://carlosvasquez.systeme.io/warriorinthegarden

Download my Confidence Masterclass:

https://carlosvasquezofficial.thinkific.com/products/courses/building-confidence-masterclass

The PRICE Method: How I Turn Pain into Purpose: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0BXMRB613

Thank you to Legendary Foods and Youth Champions for their support of this podcast. For more information, visit:

Legendary Foods Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/legendaryfoods

Youth Champions Website: https://youth-champions.org

Welcome to episode 50! Carlos Vasquez brings together the five most-downloaded conversations from How To Battle, diving deep into raw stories of trauma, forgiveness and clawing your way back from the edge. From fractured bonds between fathers and sons to the marks we carry – inked on skin or buried inside – these guests lay it all out: the weight of childhood pain, the moment you choose to walk away from your past and the hope that comes with starting over.

Travon Harris, Bryson McCalley, Giane Lollar, Jabarri Pangelinan, Kyle Walker, Adaku Mbagwu and Travis Sanchez share what it really takes to rebuild a life through addiction, incarceration, cultural upheaval and spiritual reckoning. No filters. If you’ve ever felt lost, stuck or ready to rewrite your story, this one’s for you.

Tune in as we dive into:

(00:00) From robbery to reflection

(05:17) Tattoos and hood identity

(09:19) Denouncing and transitioning from gangs

(11:23) Power of support in struggles

(15:44) Growth through pain

(19:05) From privilege to poverty

(19:56) Resentment, reflection and resilience

(23:02) Finding true identity

Links mentioned in this episode:

Beyond the Skate Park: Turning Rebellion Into Responsibility with Kyle Walker https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1eBlpoXKS38

Tales of Tattoos and Transformation: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WUb4UC0NlJE

Seeing the World (and Work) Differently After 14 Years in Prison with Jabarri Pangelinan https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IbQxkvvIOMs

Unlocking a New Future: From Survival to Thriving with Adaku Mbagwu: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7nleSrLIXDE

Owning Your Story: Travis Sanchez’s Battle Against Victim Mentality and Addiction: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U3Kw8DbkWNw

Warrior in the Garden: 7 Rules for Men – Book PDF: https://carlosvasquez.systeme.io/warriorinthegarden

Download my Confidence Masterclass:

https://carlosvasquezofficial.thinkific.com/products/courses/building-confidence-masterclass

The PRICE Method: How I Turn Pain into Purpose: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0BXMRB613

Thank you to Legendary Foods and Youth Champions for their support of this podcast. For more information about them, visit:

Legendary Foods Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/legendaryfoods

Youth Champions Website: https://youth-champions.org

I open up about what it really felt like growing up without my father – the confusion, the anger, and the emptiness that followed me into the streets. That pain pushed me toward the wrong crowd and eventually straight into gang life. By 19, I was behind bars.

In this conversation, I’m brutally honest about the consequences of that path and what it takes to step up and break generational cycles. I talk about learning to forgive, rebuilding myself from the inside out, and redefining what it means to be a man.

This episode isn’t just about where I went wrong; it’s about how far you can go when you choose to grow, to change, and to lead with purpose, love, and sacrifice.

Tune in as we dive into:

(00:00) Protecting your child’s future

(06:35) Fatherhood, loss and redemption

(08:16) My father, my role model

(12:03) Curiosity fueled my journey

(16:25) Prison reflection and resilience

(18:39) Forgiveness and compassion transformed me

(22:51) Learning from mistakes

(26:36) Faith, purpose and helping others

(30:06) Pause, reflect, decide tomorrow

(31:32) Fatherhood, mentorship and values

Links mentioned in this episode:

Shirin Hejazi’s Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/shirinhejaziofficial

Follow me on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/carlosvasquezofficial

Warrior in the Garden: 7 Rules for Men – Book PDF: https://carlosvasquez.systeme.io/warriorinthegarden

Download my Confidence Masterclass:

https://carlosvasquezofficial.thinkific.com/products/courses/building-confidence-masterclass

The PRICE Method: How I Turn Pain into Purpose: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0BXMRB613

Thank you to Legendary Foods and Youth Champions for their support of this podcast. For more information, visit:

Legendary Foods Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/legendaryfoods

Youth Champions Website: https://youth-champions.org