Brandon Novak became a household name in the early 2000s after becoming a fixture on the hit shows Jacka$$ and Viva La Bam. But despite the success of fame and professional skateboarding he lived a dark life full of crime and drug addiction. After two decades he's gotten clean and found his calling in life; helping others. Brandon joins the show to tell us all about his life and road to recovery. Support Brandon's Work and Recovery Homes! Website: https://brandonnovak.com/ Novak's House: https:/...
Sep 09, 2023•2 hr 38 min•Season 1Ep. 51
Cookie Hood grew up in both the US and Nicaragua. At a young age she was a socialite and became close with the people that would not only fight in Nicaragua's revolution, but also traffic drugs to help the CIA fund a proxy war that ended in one of the biggest scandals in American history. When she became a journalist for CBS during the Iran-Contra conflict, those old contacts came in handy to help expose secrets of both the American and the Nicaraguan governments! Subscribe to Cookie's Platforms...
Sep 02, 2023•2 hr 20 min•Season 1Ep. 50
Salvatore Polisi was a young kid in New York City when we started doing jobs for the Colombo mafia. He came up with guys like John Gotti and ACTUAL characters from the classic film GoodFellas. He went from loan sharking to dope dealing before really taking off planning heists. He tells us all about his time in the mob, the moment he knew he wanted out, and how he was able to take down a corrupt judge as a state witness. Check out Sal's book: https://a.co/d/5RttFuQ Support our sponsors! Mood: hel...
Aug 26, 2023•2 hr 5 min•Season 1Ep. 49
This is a full release of a previously Patreon exclusive episode! Roger Reaves grew up as a small town farm boy in the south. After discovering a passion for flying and a need for money he quickly fell into the world of international drug smuggling, leading him to work directly with Pablo Escobar. His life story is a wild one, including being shot out of the air twice and several prison escapes! Support our sponsors! Manscaped: https://www.manscaped.com/ Promo Code: CONNECT20 Mood: hellomood.co ...
Aug 19, 2023•2 hr 57 min•Season 1Ep. 48
Before he was a standup comedian, Richard Villa grew up in Compton where at the age of 8 years old he worked his dad as a drug dealer. Richard joins The Connect to talk about his upbringing in Los Angeles, the trauma of being involved in crime at such a young age, and how he turned his life around and became a successful comedian. Support our sponsors! Mood: hellomood.co Promo Code: CONNECT20, CONNECTFREE Support the Patreon: patreon.com/theconnectshow Learn more about your ad choices. Visit pod...
Aug 12, 2023•1 hr 24 min•Season 1Ep. 47
Explore the mysteries of humanity's origins, the construction of the pyramids, the influence of the occult, and the fascination with extraterrestrial life in this deep-dive with Esoteric Eddie. Tracing the path of human evolution, societal control, and the role of consciousness, this video challenges commonly held beliefs, sharing thought-provoking theories from ancient civilizations to modern times. Eddie, a multifaceted artist, and mystic historian share his views on aliens, inter-dimensional ...
Aug 05, 2023•1 hr 26 min•Season 1Ep. 46
As a young man in college, Eric Canori, quickly built an empire that landed him directly in the belly of the smuggling underworld. He devised a sophisticated network that brought thousands of pounds of bud from Canada into upstate New York. Despite having hubs all across the eastern seaboard and making millions of dollars a month, he remained anonymous to almost everyone he worked with, allowing him to operate for over a decade. His downfall involved famous athletes, paying the feds in gold bars...
Jul 29, 2023•2 hr 41 min•Season 1Ep. 45
Chad Marks shares his incredible journey from a 40 year prison sentence to becoming a jailhouse lawyer and running a successful paralegal business that helps inmates reduce their sentences. Chad discusses the need for rehabilitation in the prison system and his contributions to federal prison reform. He delves into the challenges Chad faced before and after his imprisonment, including his strained relationship with his drug-addicted father and the poverty and crime in his neighborhood. He also d...
Jul 22, 2023•2 hr 45 min•Season 1Ep. 44
In this captivating video, we hear from Fernando Puente, a former member of the Tijuana Cartel who turned his life around to become a music producer for narco corridos. Fernando shares his experiences, giving us a firsthand account of the cartel wars in Tijuana. From growing up in the 90s when crossing the border was easy, to witnessing the militarization of the streets during the cartel wars, Fernando provides valuable insights into the world of cartels. Follow Fernando! IG: https://www.instagr...
Jul 15, 2023•2 hr 43 min•Season 1Ep. 43
Tim McBride, a man out of South West Florida, went from working odd jobs and crab fishing, to leading the largest pot smuggling business on American soil from for a decade. He joins the show talk about his humble beginnings, his rise to the top of a criminal empire, and how he turned his life around after his eventual fall. Support our sponsors! SURFSHARK: Get an exclusive Surfshark deal! Enter promo code CONNECT for an extra 3 months free at https://surfshark.deals/CONNECT Join The Patreon For ...
Jul 08, 2023•2 hr 3 min•Season 1Ep. 42
Gil Carrillo, the homicide detective that solved the Night Stalker case, talks about his love for hunting murderers, the effects it had on his mental wellbeing, his relationships, and how dark his investigation got. He breaks down the life of a murder cop and how the force has changed since he has retired. Support our sponsors! FREEZE PIPE: https://thefreezepipe.com/ Promo Code: CONNECT for 10% OFF!! Mood CBD: hellomood.co Promo Code: CONNECT20, CONNECTFREE Support The Patreon: https://www.patre...
Jul 01, 2023•2 hr 46 min
The world’s top expert on narcos in Latin America, Luis Chaparro, drops in to give some of the biggest news in organized crime that NO ONE IS TALKING ABOUT. From the current state of Mexican Cartels and the most active war zones throughout to country, to a potential all out fracture of Sinaloa, and shocking news about mega cartels taking over in Colombia and Spain (and it’s not who you think it is)! Follow Luis! Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/luiskuryaki/ YouTube: Website: https://www.lcha...
Jun 17, 2023•2 hr 33 min•Season 1Ep. 40
A California surfer bro tells Johnny about his days running a cocaine smuggling operation from Southern California to Australia. Starting off as a small-time pot dealer, he graduated to selling cocaine on college campuses and the finally, to smuggling whole kilos to Australia, where he made millions of dollars and eventually, got caught in a federal sting and spent 4 years in an Australian prison. Support our sponsors! Mood CBD: hellomood.co Promo Code: CONNECT20, CONNECTFREE Support the Patreon...
Jun 10, 2023•2 hr 53 min•Season 1Ep. 39
Former hustler and drug dealer Coss Marte comes on the podcast to tell his epic story of going from small-time corner boy to making $5 million a year delivering high-end cocaine all over Manhattan. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Jun 03, 2023•2 hr 45 min•Season 1Ep. 38
Al Lindbloom comes on the show to talk about his years as an associate of a Detroit mafia family. He breaks down all of his rackets from selling weed to heroin to steroids, boat theft, burglary , and extortion, and finally- robbing a bank and taking Detroit PD on a wild high speed chase that landed him in prison for 13 years. SUPPORT OUR SPONSOR- "HELLO MOOD" : https://hellomood.co/ Promo code: CONNECT, CONNECTFREE Support the Patreon: patreon.com/theconnectshow Learn more about your ad choices....
May 27, 2023•2 hr 41 min•Ep. 37
Johnny interviews JC of the @wrongtostrong network on YouTube about growing up as a gangbanger in Chicago, trafficking pot for a Mexican Cartel and spending 4 years in a brutal Mexican prison, getting released and starting his own interstate pot empire, serving time in the Feds in America, and finally-- changing his life and becoming a legitimate businessman. Subscribe to JC's page! https://www.youtube.com/@UC-oR-qYEcpN1LocXRm0dHSQ FB: https://www.facebook.com/wrongtostrong Support our sponsors!...
May 19, 2023•2 hr 51 min•Ep. 36
Johnny interviews Hector Bravo, a former California prison guard. He describes life working on a level 4 prison yard in one of the most dangerous and corrupt prison systems in the country. He talks about witnessing stabbings, riots, and administrative cover-ups, and reveals the reason that he had to walk away and speak out. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
May 11, 2023•2 hr 57 min•Season 1Ep. 35
Johnny visits the Haitian communities of Overtown and Allapattah, interviewing local rappers and documenting the history of the Zo Pound and their influence on the Miami Drug Trade. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
May 04, 2023•16 min•Season 1Ep. 33
Johnny interviews Apache, a Cuban-American who moved tons of kilos for the Colombians from the late 80's to the mid-90's. He talks about going from small-time dealer to major middleman, and working with Raul Castro and the Cuban government to help him smuggle his cocaine loads to Miami. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Apr 20, 2023•28 min•Season 1Ep. 32
Alex Montenez talks about what it was like growing up as narco royalty in Miami, getting into the game himself and then going to prison, and finally-- becoming the first legitimate millionaire in his family. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Apr 14, 2023•40 min•Season 1Ep. 31
Johnny interviews Alex Montenez, the nephew of Rafa Salazr, the top general for the Medellin Cartel in Miami in the 1970's and 80's. He talks about what it was like to grow up in cocaine royalty, and tells the true story of being an insider during Miami's coke boom. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Apr 07, 2023•35 min•Season 1Ep. 30
Johnny visits the Polo Grounds, east Harlem's most notorious housing projects, and gives a history of the violence of the crack era along with Unique Mecca, the former drug kingpin who was responsible for much of that violence. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Mar 30, 2023•28 min•Season 1Ep. 29
Johnny describes what it's actually like being released from prison, the difficulties of navigating in the free world, and how he moved to Los Angeles after he was released to pursue his dream of being a stand-up comedian. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Mar 16, 2023•36 min•Season 1Ep. 28
Johnny returns to the Dominican neighborhood of Washington Heights, New York City- to explore the culture of drug trafficking and to pay homage to the place that made him rich. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Mar 09, 2023•29 min•Season 1Ep. 27
Former Harlem kingpin Unique Mecca takes Johnny through Harlem and Washington Heights, and explains how he was able to take $100 he had left to his name and turn it into a crack empire worth $50 million a year. He was then sentenced to Life in prison under the CCE kingpin act, but was released in 2020 under the new "compassionate release" rules for federal inmates. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Mar 02, 2023•35 min•Season 1Ep. 25
Johnny meets up with an OG Harlem crack Kingpin @uniquemeccaaudionyc to discuss the history of hustling in New York City, as well as Unique's rise from Jamaican immigrant to street hustler in Brooklyn and the South Bronx, where he worked a trap house that made millions of dollars a year when he was still a teenager. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Feb 21, 2023•33 min•Season 1Ep. 25
Johnny breaks down the slang he used in the streets as a small-time hustler, big time drug trafficker, and then inmate. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Feb 16, 2023•1 hr 19 min•Season 1Ep. 24
Johnny talks about America's new illegal cannabis kingpins-- the Chinese, the spy balloon and the fact that China might be gearing up for war. And finally, he interviews a former enforcer for the Detroit mafia. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Feb 09, 2023•2 hr 42 min•Season 1Ep. 23
Johnny Mitchell explains how drugs are smuggled throughout the world, how he smuggled them, and the best ways to smuggle in order to reduce your time spent in prison or get away with it altogether. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Jan 12, 2023•30 min•Season 1Ep. 19
Johnny visits the Tenderloin neighborhood of San Francisco to witness firsthand the affects of fentanyl on the drug trade in one of the worst slums in North America. He interviews drug dealers and drug users to get a firsthand account of what life is really like in this infamous district. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Jan 05, 2023•20 min•Season 1Ep. 18
