At the age of 15, JJ '88 committed murder in an attempt to find belonging in gang life and status among his peers. In this powerful conversation, ‘88 leads us through his transformative journey through incarceration, devastation and self-realization as he discovered the inner strength to forgive himself. 

 '88 approaches every room with the awareness that he can never fully undo the debts of his past but honors his journey by sharing his story, aspiring to contribute to the improvement of others. His story is not just one of personal redemption; it's a universal call to action, inspiring us to confront our challenges and emerge stronger. 

In this episode: 

The aftermath of his arrest and the impact on ‘88’s family as they learned of his actions

His challenges while incarcerated and how he began to learn and grow

His advocacy and others that led to his freedom

The deep and powerful friendships he formed behind bars

How his father supported him through, a deeply meaningful relationship 

The profound lessons he learned about masculinity and the power of self-love


Stream JJ'88's Music and Videos: https://distrokid.com/hyperfollow/jj88/ 

For updates on JJ'88's unreleased film Songs From The Hole (coming soon) follow: 
https://www.instagram.com/songsfromthehole

This episode is sponsored by BetterHelp, the world’s largest therapy platform. Visit http://BetterHelp.com/WhatsUnderneath today to get 10% off your first month.

Catch new episodes of What’s Underneath: Masculinity every Thursday Man Enough. Watch shorter video episodes on http://YouTube.com/StyleLikeU 

New Man Enough Podcast episodes will continue to hit the feed every Monday. 

IN THIS EPISODE: 

(04:23) Interview begins 
(05:22) His style during and after being incarcerated 
(13:12) Assumptions people make about him 
(16:40) Life as a gang member, the crime he committed and his sentence
(31:28) 88’ powerful relationship with his father & music 
(35:50) Rock bottom and journey through accountability
(41:25) Learning how to release shame and his transformation
(43:45) 88’ work around masculinity with young folks 
(47:24) How he forgave himself 
(49:29) Meeting his wife
(51:33) His release from prison 
(56:43) Feeling the most vulnerable & beautiful 
(1:02) Being Man Enough

JJ’88 QUOTATIONS:

"Shame is not accountability. Shame doesn't help me be accountable... Shame makes it about me... But in the process of doing that, I'm thinking about myself, not the person whose life I've taken."
"When you're going through oppression, you can either accept that you are what they say you are... Or you can acknowledge who you truly are and stay grounded in that."
"There are no trees in prison. So for me what it was like coming home was like smelling a tree and remembering that trees exist for real, not just on TV, not just in a book."
"In order to be restored, you have to believe that you are worthy of being restored"
"Being a man looks like having integrity. Being a man looks like keeping my word, living out what I believe and doing so in a way that isn't harmful to others."
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