Speaking through the prison phone, Eric sits down with Martin and Andréa for an intellectual

conversation detailing how his life went from youthful trouble to a 25-year-to-life prison sentence to recently completing his PhD from Liberty University in Counseling.

Eric does not hesitate to take full accountability for his costly actions that landed him in prison for a life sentence but also makes a point to expand the lens by giving listeners his perspective of what caused him to find himself in a position to take one’s life in the first place. He impresses with his keen insight into abnormal human behavior and what is needed to remedy it – starting with his own rehabilitative efforts.

This interview is shorter than most due to time constraints within the prison but lacks nothing in deep reflection, inspiration, and truth. It is one that will leave listeners asking how they can improve their own lives – wherever they are.

Monique Kelley was 27 years old when her life drastically changed with a life-threatening event that left her paralyzed and having to not only relearn how to live for herself but care for her 5-year-old son. Kelley takes us through her emotional journey and the exact horrific moment where her life hung in the balance: “And I remember being in the ambulance and knowing that this was going to be my last opportunity to say good-bye to my son.”

Turns out she would not say good-bye to her son but hello to a purposeful life that involves her enjoying a level independence no one could have predicted. She took up surfing and now creates opportunities for access to our beaches for those who are paralyzed. Monique Kelley shares how she got here and what it feels like to have taken her rock bottom and transform her own life, inspiring hope in others like her.

Known for his rigorous workout routines he punishes new coming members to his gym with, Amar Dosanjh flips the script and exudes raw emotion and passion in this sit-down interview. He opens up about the difficulties he faced as a kid with origins in Indian culture growing up in small town America and how his identity formation process quickly set him on the wrong path while searching for inclusion and acceptance.

Despite the positive correction from his uncles who tried to channel Amar’s inherent physical ability into body building, Amar still craved the adulation that came with selling drugs and being “the man” – so his criminal activity led to an incarceration that finally turned his life around.

From a man who clearly has discovered his life’s purpose and uses his talents to help thousands of people across the globe, Amar offers listeners nuggets of wisdom that shifted his mentality from a wayward youth to the prosperous, purposeful life he now enjoys.

Andréa, co-host of Rock the Bottom podcast, shares how she navigated her own rock bottom and the critical life lessons she learned along the way.

Beginning with an excerpt from her book, also entitled Rock the Bottom, Martin Lockett opens the interview with reading the moment when everything changed for Andréa. She then picks it up and takes listeners through the agony – mentally and physically – that gripped her life and led her into a dark valley and a suicide attempt.

With nowhere else to go, Andréa learned what it truly meant to show up in life and began to put together a life of meaning and purpose. She explains: “It took having to show up; it being a compulsory course I had to show up for every single day, in every moment, that allowed me to really see what this whole thing was potentially about and answer the question of ‘why me?’

Martin Lockett, spent 17 years in prison for DUI manslaughter. Also a co-host of Rock the Bottom, Martin is the first interviewee and does not disappoint as he takes listeners through the despair he felt when he was told he’d been responsible for two innocent lives while also staring at nearly 20 years in prison! Martin, interviewed by his co-host, Andrea Vawda, opens up in heartfelt candor about what it felt like to carry the weight off his recklessness and how it impacted families he had never met, his own family, and the community that would miss those lost.

Martin invites listeners into the mental and spiritual process that enabled him to turn this tragedy into a direction of meaningful purpose. He talks about self-condemnation that plagued him and how he overcame this to vigorously pursue his passion and mission.

Now released from prison for several months, Martin confidently and proudly talks about what he is doing to live out his purpose and continue to make amends for the harm he caused his community. Inspiring and moving testimony is what Martin gives listeners in this powerful interview, making us all feel that we can overcome our own rock bottoms. (Note: Martin’s book Palpable Irony has been republished as Prison to Purpose Pipeline). Credits: Darrel Pope - Music, Risa Rae - Announcer

Andréa and Martin introduce themselves in a conversational piece that explores how their unlikely journeys converged and how their common thread of struggle and overcoming led them to create Rock the Bottom podcast.

Both hosts outline their harrowing journeys of hardship and how they forged a friendship that neither could predict due to their stark life differences. They openly share about the grief of their individual rock bottoms and what it took to conquer them and truly “rock the bottom”!

Andréa and Martin invite you to join them in discovering how we are all connected through our pain and struggle and how we can likewise find healing in our common bond. They promise to deliver compelling, inspiring and uplifting stories on their platform.

Credits: Darrel Pope - Music Risa Rae - Announcer

Something unthinkable happens that strips you of all you thought you knew.  

No way to hide from it, no way to erase it and no way around it.

One evening, one decision, two tragic deaths.

A catastrophic health crisis leaving life to hang in the balance. 

No way....except to face it, to feel it and to find greater purpose because of it.

That's just what each of our hosts did. 

ROCK THE BOTTOM!

Join Andréa Vawda and Martin Lockett as they celebrate humanity and connect with inspiring people who have overcome their own stories and found purpose in the process.

Credits: Darrel Pope - Music

Risa Rae - Announcer