In 1985, when I was five years old, my mother, per the custody agreement, sent me to Hawaii to spend the summer with my father. Instead, once I landed, my father made an off-cuff decision and took us to Alaska with no plan, no gear, and without telling a soul. Walking into the wilderness, we were laughably unprepared for the wolves, the knife fight, the months of homelessness, and that horrible afternoon we were trapped by a murderous trucker.

 

For better or worse, the events that summer defined the man I am today. 

 

In 2019, after decades of stuttering when discussing these events, I discovered that many people, including my best friend and girlfriend at the time, were questioning if this story as well as my many felonies and indiscretions were even real.  It was a wakeup call to how different my life is, and it lit a fire under my ass to document the childhood I remember, and prove who I am. I started conducting these video interviews with friends, family, and accomplices to corroborate these stories, including 6 extensive interviews with my dad, to cross-reference dates and events.

 

Initially, the sole purpose for recording these interviews was to preserve my memories and document that these events truly happened.

 

But there was an unintentional reflex to all of these emotional conversations: introspection. Topics I’d always avoided were suddenly triggered a wave of pure dark therapy. Cocaine, adderall, alcohol, and sleep deprivation for months. Frantically digging into my past, reliving old traumas, and breaking down behind my keyboard.

 

Thanks to my bull-headed attitude, I pushed forward and decided to share my stories with others.  The videos you’re watching have become the foundation for The Real Story, a true and transparent chronicle of my time in Alaska, my relationship with my father, and my stab at redemption after a life of violence, drug smuggling, womanizing, alcoholism, mortgage fraud, and a million other little dark, weird, dumb, comical things that make me tick.