I Beat 3,000 to This Role: My Unexpected Journey | Ginjer Wulff DSH #750

Summary

Podcast Summary: Digital Social Hour – "I Beat 3,000 to This Role: My Unexpected Journey | Ginjer Wulff"

Release Date: September 23, 2024

Host: Sean Kelly
Guest: Ginjer Wulff

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Introduction

In episode #750 of Digital Social Hour, host Sean Kelly engages in a heartfelt and candid conversation with actress Ginjer Wulff. The episode delves deep into Ginjer's tumultuous journey from overcoming personal struggles to securing coveted roles in the entertainment industry. Combining elements of business advice, personal anecdotes, and insights into resilience, this episode offers listeners a comprehensive look into what it takes to transform adversity into success.

Ginjer’s Audition Triumph

Ginjer opens up about her remarkable achievement of being selected for a role out of over 3,000 auditioning candidates. Reflecting on the intense competition, she shares:

“They said over 3,000 people auditioned for that job, and they only picked, like, five primaries.”
(00:01)

During her audition, Ginjer experienced a challenging moment where her autism surfaced unexpectedly, causing her to struggle but ultimately contributing to her authentic portrayal.

Diving into Acting: Early Roles and Opportunities

Transitioning from her audition success, Ginjer discusses her entry into the acting world, primarily based in New Orleans. She highlights how serendipitous encounters and proactive measures led her to land various roles:

“I was at the gym with my son, and somebody saw us playing racquetball and started a conversation, asked if we had done any TV and film work, and I said no. They told me where to sign up. I signed up online and within less than a week, I was on a show called Sacrifice on BET.”
(02:08)

Ginjer elaborates on her background roles, including appearances in "Five Nights at Freddy's," "Life of Beth," and "Parrish" with Giancarlo Esposito. She emphasizes the rapid progression of her acting career, securing multiple projects within a short timeframe.

Personal Struggles: Incarceration and Addiction

A significant portion of the conversation is dedicated to Ginjer's harrowing experiences with addiction and incarceration. She recounts her time in prison, battling addiction, and facing harsh conditions:

“I was addicted to oxy's, trying to kill myself because while I was on bond for two years, the guilt over what I had done just ate away at me.”
(08:49)

Ginjer describes the brutality within the prison system, including violence from guards and inadequate living conditions. She details her struggles with withdrawal and the physical toll it took on her body.

Surviving and Thriving in Prison

Despite the grim environment, Ginjer shares how she navigated prison life by leveraging her social skills and engaging in entrepreneurial activities to survive:

“I was pretty good at working my way into whatever social circle I wanted to, so it was pretty easy for me to pick up pretty quickly on most things.”
(10:22)

She discusses her involvement in selling cigarettes and other contraband, which not only provided her with essential supplies but also significant control and income within the prison community.

Recovery and Emotional Healing

Post-incarceration, Ginjer emphasizes the importance of healing and personal growth. She credits her involvement in the sobriety community and 12-step programs for helping her overcome addiction and address her trauma:

“I have to look at what did I do to put myself in these positions and how have I hurt other people in the ways that I have been hurt by people.”
(22:21)

Ginjer highlights the transformative power of vulnerability, accountability, and supportive communities in her journey toward recovery.

Embracing Purpose through Podcasting

Transitioning from her recovery journey, Ginjer discusses her passion for podcasting as a medium to share her story and inspire others:

“Podcasting brings me so much fulfillment because I feel like I have purpose. There's purpose. There's a message I can share that can help others.”
(30:00)

She reflects on the positive feedback she receives from listeners, many of whom credit her story with saving their lives or motivating them to seek help.

Future Endeavors and Personal Growth

In the latter part of the episode, Ginjer talks about her upcoming projects and her commitment to continuous personal and professional growth. She expresses enthusiasm for reconnecting with her roots in Destin and exploring new artistic avenues like circus arts:

“Boxing and doing circus arts like aerial silks and Lyra and Pole have been a good emotional and physical healing platform for me.”
(24:47)

Notable Quotes

• Ginjer Wulff on Overcoming Adversity:
  “I just couldn't hold anything down. I was so sick.”
  (09:43)

• On the Power of Vulnerability:
  “Intervention allowed me to show up authentically in a way that I had never shown up in public before.”
  (21:30)

• On Finding Purpose:
  “If somebody else sees value in my story and my experience, maybe there was a reason why I had to walk through the things that I walked through.”
  (30:00)

Conclusion

Sean Kelly and Ginjer Wulff's conversation is a testament to resilience, self-discovery, and the relentless pursuit of one's passions despite immense challenges. Through her candid storytelling, Ginjer not only sheds light on the darker aspects of addiction and the prison system but also illuminates a path toward healing and purposeful living. This episode serves as an inspiring reminder that with determination and support, it's possible to transform life's trials into triumphant successes.

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For those seeking inspiration or grappling with their own struggles, Ginjer Wulff's journey offers valuable insights and hope. Tune into Digital Social Hour to hear more compelling stories from industry experts and visionaries.

Transcript

[Ginger Wolf]

They said over 3,000 people auditioned for that job, and they only picked, like, five primaries. And I was wondering, holy crap. In the middle of the interview or the audition, I was like, trump grabbed the pussy, and that's the American dream. I was supposed to be on a rant, and I was like, oh, my God, why is my autism kicking in at the worst moment ever?

[Unknown Male Host]

All right, guys, Got Ginger Wolf here, man. You were taller than I thought. How tall are you?

[Ginger Wolf]

Five'eight five'ten Damn.

[Unknown Male Host]

Yeah, five'ten One of the tallest girls I've ever met.

[Ginger Wolf]

I think the last girl was pretty tall.

[Unknown Male Host]

She wasn't 5 10, though. You got tall, tall parents, huh?

[Ginger Wolf]

Yeah, my dad's tall. My mom's kind of short. Mom's like five foot four.

[Unknown Male Host]

Whoa.

[Ginger Wolf]

But my dad's like, six two.

[Unknown Male Host]

Oh, that's not even that tall.

[Ginger Wolf]

Yeah. I mean, I don't know, maybe your.

[Unknown Male Host]

Great grandfather was like, a giant, maybe seven foot player. Damn. What's new with you, though?

[Ginger Wolf]

Not a whole lot, you know, out here for this, doing a lot of different projects right now. I've got, you know, four projects that I'm working on within the next 30 days. I'm pretty excited about those. Yeah, yeah. TV and films kind of picking up for me.

[Unknown Male Host]

Okay.

[Ginger Wolf]

So it's exciting. The first one is called Attractive People Can't Be Funny, and my friend actually wrote and produced it, so I'm very excited about that. I'm on two seasons of that.

[Unknown Male Host]

Is that a comedy or.

[Ginger Wolf]

Yeah, it's gonna be a comedy. A lot of. Well, you'll see. You'll see when it comes out. I want to give.

[Unknown Male Host]

Can't spoil it, right?

[Ginger Wolf]

Yeah, yeah. There's another one that's gonna be 10. Basically signed on for 10 episodes. We're gonna pitch it to Netflix, and it'll essentially be on one of those platforms, whoever buys it. But it's. I am a radio personality who is friends with a woman who's, you know, very affluent and is like a big CEO businesswoman who's having an illicit affair, and it's kind of like falling. Making her life kind of fall apart. So I'm a good supporting role for that.

[Unknown Male Host]

Okay.

[Ginger Wolf]

Really excited about.

[Unknown Male Host]

Let's go.

[Ginger Wolf]

Kind of the direction of all of this. Yeah, exciting. And I'm actually on another film, a feature film. It's called Our Voices Cry, that's based on a true story about a mother that ends up homeless with, like, mental health and addiction issues.

[Unknown Male Host]

So how did you get all these acting gigs? I heard it was a tough Space.

[Ginger Wolf]

So New Orleans has a lot of opportunity right now, and I kind of fell into TV and film. I did a little bit of modeling in Charleston for the eight months that I was out there. And then when I came into New Orleans, I was actually at the gym with my son, and somebody saw us playing racquetball and started a conversation, asked if we had done any TV and film work, and I said no. They told me where to sign up. I signed up online and list. Less than a week later, I was on a show called Sacrifice on bet.

[Unknown Male Host]

Wow.

[Ginger Wolf]

So I did three episodes of that. And this is all, like, background, right? Starting out, and it was amazing for me because it was a great way to segue into am I. Is this the job for me? Because a lot of people don't understand the work days that come.

[Unknown Male Host]

They're long, right?

[Ginger Wolf]

Yeah. And, like, I get a call the day before sometimes. Can you come to set sometimes? Day of, I worked on five nights at Freddy's and got booked the day.

[Unknown Male Host]

Oh, you were in that.

[Ginger Wolf]

Again, background. But I got booked for that. And, like, the day of, I had to literally leave what I was doing and go straight to set.

[Unknown Male Host]

That was a good movie. I watched that one.

[Ginger Wolf]

Yeah, it was cool. You can see my back in, like, seven minutes.

[Unknown Male Host]

Your back was.

[Ginger Wolf]

There's me. See my little hair clip?

[Unknown Male Host]

I would count that.

[Ginger Wolf]

I did. I did. I was in. I was on the. Oh, what is Amy Schumer and Michael Cera on Hulu? It's like, Life of Beth. Life and Beth. Like, of Beth. I was on the New Orleans.

[Unknown Male Host]

I'm not a Hulu guy, so I haven't heard that one.

[Ginger Wolf]

I was on Parrish with Giancarlo Esposito. And again, these are all background, but I. I. Yeah, I did all these jobs within, like, six months. My first job that I auditioned for that as a principal, was a Super bowl role. It was the He Gets Us campaign. I'd never auditioned for anything. And there's something called Ecocast now, which is where you, like, slate and do your whole audition alone in your home, and you send it in to your, you know, casting director, and they choose you or they don't. But, like, I'm a personality and, like, an interpersonal relationships type person, so it kind of kills it for me. But this was the only job I had ever actually auditioned for at that point, and it was the only one that they said they had had since COVID that was in person.

[Unknown Male Host]

Wow.

[Ginger Wolf]

They said over 3,000 people auditioned for that job, and they only picked like five primaries.

[Unknown Male Host]

And I was, holy crap, 3,000 people.

[Ginger Wolf]

Yeah, it was funny because, like, in the middle of the interview or the audition, I was like, trump grabbed the pussy and that's the American dream. Because I was supposed to be on a rant, like, and I was like, oh my God, why is my autism kicking in at the worst moment ever. Like, I was so embarrassed. It took me three weeks to tell me I booked the job. So I thought I didn't get booked. So I was like beating my. I cried in my car in the way. I was like, why would you say that? This is. It's like a. It's like a, a public service announcement. Why would you say that in, like, the other voices? Because I got a bunch of personalities in here, right? So they kind of duke it out. And the other one was basically saying, bro, they said they wanted to rant. When people rant, they don't know what they want. And they say stuff that makes no sense. You. You did the job like what you're supposed to do. But it's. It's just interesting.

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[Ginger Wolf]

Because with jobs like that for me, my head gets in the way a lot of times. And the jobs that I'm always like, this is it. This is the one. Nothing. Never get a call back. And the ones where I'm like, bro, I shouldn't even submit. They don't want me. I'm not what they're looking for. It's a waste of my time. Waste of their time. Those are the jobs I book. And they've been pretty big jobs.

[Unknown Male Host]

Wow. Reverse psychology.

[Ginger Wolf]

Yeah. Yeah, it's really interesting.

[Unknown Male Host]

We got to get you an Orange is a New Black dude.

[Ginger Wolf]

That would have been the best show for me because my prison experience was literally Orange is the New Black.

[Unknown Male Host]

You would have been able to tell. Tell them how it really was. Like, yeah, you know, how accurate was that show, you think? Did you watch it?

[Ginger Wolf]

Yeah. Oh, yeah. I was obsessed with that show. I started watching it, like, right when I came out.

[Unknown Male Host]

And did you feel like it was pretty good representation?

[Ginger Wolf]

For sure. Yeah. I went. I was in Florida. I was at Lowell Correctional. So it was like the largest women' prison in the country, the most notorious for, like, violence against inmates from staff, like, all and violent. I use the term violence loosely, right? Like sexual assault, harassment, you know, physical violence, mysterious deaths, things like that were kind of like, commonplace level.

[Unknown Male Host]

Geez, you witnessed some, like, weird deaths.

[Ginger Wolf]

Take place, so I didn't witness any deaths. There were a couple that happened while I was there, and then there was one where a girl was beaten on the way to confinement.

[Unknown Male Host]

Holy crap. So by other girls or by the prisoner guards? Yeah, by the guards.

[Ginger Wolf]

Yeah. When I got out, like, we did something with the Miami Herald. Julie Brown, she'd like the Epstein expose too, before they did, like, the documentary, but she did a lot of prison work. And 13 of us kind of like came forward and were telling our story to her. And then afterwards, we were all approached and we kind of did a lawsuit. And then the lawsuit triggered the Department of Justice to launch an investigation into the prison. And within like a year of them doing the investigation, they released like a 35 or 36 page report that said that essentially all the claims that we had made were true, that it was commonplace. The things that we were talking about that were going on, sexual abuse, assault, you know, basically deprivation of human rights was just, like, commonplace out.

[Unknown Male Host]

Lol.

[Ginger Wolf]

And that the officers that wanted to help were in danger and that most of the inmates were in danger, and if they weren't in Danger from like, physical threat, the mold, the rats, the lack of medical care. And the medical care that was accessible was not adequate, you know? Yeah, all of that was just a big melting pot for just a lot of issues.

[Unknown Male Host]

Jeez, you had mold in yourself.

[Ginger Wolf]

Well, yeah, I wasn't in a cell most of the time. I was only in a cell for maybe six months. I was in an open bay Dorm with like 80 other women. Yeah. Holy crap. Mice.

[Unknown Male Host]

So it's just an open room with 80 other woman there.

[Ginger Wolf]

Yeah. And that was my first jail experience. I was sentenced from bond, so I didn't do any jail time. I was sentenced on Tuesday and I was in prison for Thursday night. And I was detoxing because I was hooked on oxy's at the time. I was on like a thousand milligrams oxy. I was trying to kill myself because while I was on bond, I was on bond for two years. And like, the guilt over what I had done and then not being able to really take accountability for it, like, socially, you know what I mean? It just ate away at me. Right. So by the time I. I knew I was already going to prison. My brother was in prison at the time or had just come home, I think, actually. So, like, I knew the reality of my situation, you know, And I just was like, it'd be just easier to die. I'm not gonna survive prison, you know, like. And then I had a totally different experience from what I anticipated having going in.

[Unknown Male Host]

You only had two days before you went.

[Ginger Wolf]

Yeah. And so. And I detoxed. I went through withdrawal and like, kidney and liver.

[Unknown Male Host]

You could die from that, right?

[Ginger Wolf]

Yeah, I went to kidney, liver failure.

[Unknown Male Host]

Oh my gosh.

[Ginger Wolf]

I just couldn't. I couldn't hold anything down. I was just so sick.

[Unknown Male Host]

And they probably couldn't even help you that much in there, right?

[Ginger Wolf]

No, they had to send me to like outside medical. They black box me because I hadn't even been classified.

[Unknown Male Host]

What's a black box?

[Ginger Wolf]

So it's where they chain you and shackle you and then they put a box over it.

[Unknown Male Host]

Holy.

[Ginger Wolf]

So you can't. Yeah, you're not going anywhere.

[Unknown Male Host]

What?

[Ginger Wolf]

Yeah, I was chained to the bed. I was in the hospital for three days with a central line through my leg.

[Unknown Male Host]

Oh my God.

[Ginger Wolf]

Yeah. Cuz I couldn't get a stick on me. I looked was horrible. I looked as I was all junkied up, you know, had track marks. It looked. It looked bad.

[Unknown Male Host]

Damn.

[Ginger Wolf]

But I got through that experience and then just kind of had to figure out what the Basic operations looked like, you know, within the prison system. Yeah, I'm pretty. Pretty good at, like, working my way into whatever social circle I want to, so it was pretty easy for me to pick up pretty quickly on, like, most things. I did do some stupid stuff, but it was all, like, funny, trivial stupid. Like, stuff you saw in Orange is the New Black.

[Unknown Male Host]

Yeah. So was there a hierarchy system in there?

[Ginger Wolf]

Not in the way that the men have. There was no, like, cars or gangs that I really saw. And I don't know if it's because of location or just because women, but the women are more like pseudo families where, you know, like, we try to rely on each other because a lot of times the women go in and, like, they don't have much of a support system, and they end up getting pen pals or, you know, they try to hustle while they're in there. And I did a combination of both. To be able to survive.

[Unknown Male Host]

Oh, to sell stuff for money.

[Ginger Wolf]

Yeah, yeah. Cigarettes, you know, makeup, perfume, or, like, you. Like, you don't want to do contraband, then you can do, like, a hustle where you sew. And technically it's contraband, but, like, it's not a big deal to have stuff like that because there are programs within the prison where you can acquire those things versus, like, you can buy free world makeup, and you can't buy perfume and, like, stuff like that off commissary or cigarettes. Towards the end beginning when I went to prison, you could get cigarettes. And then, like, I don't know, maybe a year into my sentence, they removed them from the compound. So, like, one. One box of cigarettes is worth, like, 400 bucks.

[Unknown Male Host]

Holy.

[Ginger Wolf]

So the math on it. Right. Sign smoke. So a lot of sense to me. So I was like, well, if I can bring in a carton and I have a person that holds it and a person that helps bring it in, I walk it through. Then that's 400 bucks for each pack. Like, a carton's got, what, 10. 10 packs of cigarettes in it? So, like, between the three of us, we make $4,000 if you don't smoke. A year. Profit. Yeah. It got to the point where it was, like, ridiculous.

[Unknown Male Host]

That's big money.

[Ginger Wolf]

Yeah, it was good. It was good. And, like, I kind of up because I was undercutting people that were, like, lifers, and I was a short timer. I had three years.

[Unknown Male Host]

Yeah.

[Ginger Wolf]

And I had, like, a year and a half left in my sentence when I was doing this. So basically, people started to hate me because I could give you A better deal. Like, if you and I were friends and you wanted a pack of cigarettes, I say, hey, you send me 75 bucks on my books right now, I'll give you $75 worth of canteen for one pack. 75 bucks on my books now. I'm gonna give you one pack now. And then when the. Basically front you a pack, and then when the money drops for the other, I'll give you a second pack, and then you run the canteen.

[Unknown Male Host]

Got it.

[Ginger Wolf]

So. And then they. Everybody ate. It worked out great.

[Unknown Male Host]

Yeah. You were spotting people.

[Ginger Wolf]

Yeah, yeah, it worked out great for everybody. I mean.

[Unknown Male Host]

But then the lifers got upset at you.

[Ginger Wolf]

Yeah.

[Unknown Male Host]

Because they were selling it too.

[Ginger Wolf]

Yeah. Somebody told on me.

[Unknown Male Host]

So you got in a fight.

[Ginger Wolf]

No, we didn't know I fought, but it wasn't over that.

[Unknown Male Host]

Okay.

[Ginger Wolf]

I had two fights in prison that were. One was I was halfway through my time, and I was just kind of starting to lose it.

[Unknown Male Host]

Yeah.

[Ginger Wolf]

And the girl was just dumb and kept. Kind of kept on. And the second time, she owed me 300 bucks. A different girl owed me 300. And I was actually getting called to move to the main unit, like, while I was trying to handle it. But it was more like principal. It was never about the money. She just kept lying, saying, the money. There's like, bro, there's no money. And the way it was, she was able to get away with it for a couple weeks was because my account had been frozen. Because when I went to confinement, because I was told on. Right. I got put under investigation. I was in confinement for, like, 47 days.

[Unknown Male Host]

Holy.

[Ginger Wolf]

They never let me out. Not once, other than shower. Yeah. Like, you're going crazy. I mean, used to it. I can adjust. Really is. I'm like a cockroach, buddy. I'm gonna survive in whatever environment you put me in. Right. So, like, definitely wasn't fine. But, like, you. You just learn how to. How to handle it. But that was my second time in confinement. But basically when I came out, you know, like, things. Things were just different than what they were before. And I could not access my money because I had so much money on my account already. I couldn't tell. They froze my account to where I couldn't buy anything for three months. So I had to send other people money in order to get basic things for myself because they wouldn't allow me to shop commissary. So it became like, a real big process just to acquire things. Right. But I couldn't check my account. It just kept saying zero or I kept saying A hundred dollars. But it wouldn't let me spend because I had. If you have over a hundred dollars in your account, which I had like a few thousand dollars in my account at the time. Every time you swipe your car, it's just going to say a hundred and. Or like if you, if you have. Let's say I have 3,000 in my account, but I spent 50 that week. If your maximum spend for the week is a hundred, it's only going to read 50 because it's only going to show you what you have for the week.

[Unknown Male Host]

Interesting.

[Ginger Wolf]

Does that make sense?

[Unknown Male Host]

You could only spend 100 a week?

[Ginger Wolf]

Yeah. Okay.

[Unknown Male Host]

And they would just sell you snacks and stuff.

[Ginger Wolf]

Yeah. Deodorant, you know, like personal hygiene items.

[Unknown Male Host]

Okay.

[Ginger Wolf]

Stuff like that.

[Unknown Male Host]

Wow.

[Ginger Wolf]

So we could never get anything like. Good. We couldn't even get solid deodorant, bro.

[Unknown Male Host]

No, I saw the show. I forget what it's called on Netflix, but even the snacks I wouldn't eat. Yeah, yeah.

[Ginger Wolf]

It's all stuff like high salt. They're trying to kill you quick, make you fat and slow so you can't escape. I mean, it's a good business plan, right? Like for real. They definitely profit off that stuff.

[Unknown Male Host]

Yeah. They charge you a lot for those.

[Ginger Wolf]

Yeah, for sure.

[Unknown Male Host]

Anyone try to escape when you were there?

[Ginger Wolf]

Not legitimately that I knew of.

[Unknown Male Host]

Okay.

[Ginger Wolf]

There were a couple times where like they couldn't count and they would lose people.

[Unknown Male Host]

Yeah.

[Ginger Wolf]

And you'd find someone be on the main unit or someone would be in the wrong dorm or whatever.

[Unknown Male Host]

Hooking up with a guard.

[Ginger Wolf]

Yeah, or with. Yeah, with a guard. Or with a girlfriend. Yeah.

[Unknown Male Host]

That was common, right?

[Ginger Wolf]

Yeah, yeah, both of those were very common.

[Unknown Male Host]

Yeah. That happens in man jails too.

[Ginger Wolf]

Yeah, for sure.

[Unknown Male Host]

I wonder if they still have male guards in women prisons these days.

[Ginger Wolf]

Oh yeah, it's predominantly male.

[Unknown Male Host]

Really?

[Ginger Wolf]

Yeah.

[Unknown Male Host]

I think they would have separated by now.

[Ginger Wolf]

No, they don't have the. They don't have the staff now to run a facility the way it's supposed to be run. Never mind. You remove all the men from at least contact jobs with women. Right. I think there were even times in confinement where they had men in there and you base men couldn't do certain things, you know, because they need women to shower us and stuff like that. You know what I mean? When they walk you to the shower.

[Unknown Male Host]

They had to shower you.

[Ginger Wolf]

Well, they don't wash you. Right. But they, they walk you to the shower. You know what I mean? Cuz you're cuffed when. If you leave, if you're in confinement. So anytime you leave confinement, you're cuffed up. And the only time you leave really or I ever left was for one appointment and then to shower.

[Unknown Male Host]

That's crazy.

[Ginger Wolf]

Find reasons to take your shower too, so.

[Unknown Male Host]

God damn. So you're just smelling yourself in the room.

[Ginger Wolf]

Yeah, it's not fun. You take a. Take a bath on the toilet. Use you and your cup and your bar soap.

[Unknown Male Host]

Did you have books at least or anything?

[Ginger Wolf]

No. They took all your. All my property. Give you a Bible if they weren't mad at you.

[Unknown Male Host]

Oh my God.

[Ginger Wolf]

Property. Dude. The first time they put me in confinement, they give me any of my stuff because I was under AC confinement. So it was AC investigation. So I went in with whatever I had on and I was like that for like a week. Holy shit. Yeah, I went out to court and then when I came back I had to petition basically to get to property request to get my stuff.

[Unknown Male Host]

I feel like that would mess you up in court mentally. I don't know if that's fair. I mean if you're in solitary for like a week or a month before court.

[Ginger Wolf]

Yeah.

[Unknown Male Host]

Because you're not even talking to your lawyer at that point.

[Ginger Wolf]

Yeah, I didn't really have any communication my lawyer at that point anyway, because I was, I was already in prison for the one thing. So I was going back to my county for something different that wasn't.

[Unknown Male Host]

Yeah.

[Ginger Wolf]

Reflexes good.

[Unknown Male Host]

Safe. Some people have not made that save here before. You might have to fight in bare knuckle fighting with that reflex.

[Ginger Wolf]

Oh my God. They don't want me. Not because I'm good, it's because I'm bad. Yeah, I actually this morning I went and trade with. Trading with Christine, Faria and Otis. Hold on. Pimpleton I think is his last name.

[Unknown Male Host]

What a name, right?

[Ginger Wolf]

It's. It's a solid name, bro. But he is a good talker and he was really an amazing person to work with because like I tell everybody I'm like a bunny, right. Like I'm soft and I hop around a lot. But like I don't really want any smoke from anybody. I just don't want you to want smoke for me. I want to be able to get away. Right?

[Unknown Male Host]

Yeah.

[Ginger Wolf]

So I was like, like I'm basically just in here to try to work out and like feel good about like gaining strength, gaining confidence and feeling like I'm pushing my body to limits because like if I don't have growth, I die emotionally. But he was really great with like watching my breathing, watching like, my footwork and my body movements, making sure I was in the right position, because I used to, like, get excited and I get tired and I just want to hit something. It's like, no, listen, you need to do it right. So it was a great experience. I actually really hope you get Christine Faria on your show. I love that she's a really awesome human being. And her and her partner Jules, like, they're a great team. They have so much to offer for, like, not only from a bkfc, like a fight entertainment standpoint, but life, like, life perspective.

[Unknown Male Host]

Yeah.

[Ginger Wolf]

Like, I would love to tell their story for them, but I would do it no justice. So you have to bring them on.

[Unknown Male Host]

I'll definitely reach out. I'd love that. Learning a fighting style is on my bucket list. It's important to have that.

[Ginger Wolf]

You haven't done anything like that?

[Unknown Male Host]

Nah, I did karate when I was a kid, but that's not even fighting. I mean.

[Ginger Wolf]

Yeah, I get it.

[Unknown Male Host]

It's just like, I can't even discipline. Yeah. I can't remember anything I learned from that.

[Ginger Wolf]

Bro, you should go down to the Mayweather boxing.

[Unknown Male Host]

I'm down. No, I heard it helps with confidence, so.

[Ginger Wolf]

Dude, I love it. I absolutely love the hit mitts. And I. I tell people, like, I'm old. I'm 37. Like, I've never had a public fight. I had some prison fights, but I don't think they let us count that.

[Unknown Male Host]

Yeah.

[Ginger Wolf]

You know, so it's like, if I ever got out there, it would be because I had the time and the ability to, like, really dedicate myself to training, you know, consistently, which I haven't been able to do because I'm. I feel like every time I turn around, I'm in a different city or a different state.

[Unknown Male Host]

Yeah.

[Ginger Wolf]

You're traveling a lot, a different project. Yeah, I actually come home for one day, and then I go to Destin, still look at a property to buy, and then I leave from there to go to Orlando for another podcast, and then I come back, and then I fly to Miami.

[Unknown Male Host]

Holy.

[Ginger Wolf]

Yeah. So, yeah, and then I'm in town for, like, three weeks for filming, and then I'm in Cancun for a week.

[Unknown Male Host]

That sounds fun. Good old Cancun. You were on the show Intervention. Yeah, I remember that show.

[Ginger Wolf]

Yeah. It's interesting. The people who watch that show are always like, people whose family was affected or, like, people who want help and usually don't have access to it. Yeah, and that was kind of what it was for me. It was like Dude, I'm gonna die. I'm gonna kill myself in my backyard if I cannot stop doing. Doing what I was doing. You know what I mean? I came home from prison, like, I was. I was an addict when I went in. I got off the drugs while I was in and then came home from prison to, like, the same scenario, the same situation. And I didn't really have a plan or, like, any real hope that things would change because I hadn't worked through any of the trauma or done any of the stuff that I needed to do to be able to heal, to leave that life behind. And, like, the people in my community and family were so enmeshed in it, it was just easier to pick it up, up and to continue with it than it was to, like, move away from it. So after I had relapsed, I was like, dude, I just can't live like this. And I was. I basically had asked God, like, hey, if you can get me treatment, like, I will do whatever they tell me to do, otherwise, I'm gonna kill myself. And I set a date. And it was interesting because intervention came the week that I was gonna kill myself after my niece's birthday and before Christmas, because my niece birthday is December 16th, and I want her birthday to be ruined by it. But I didn't want to do another Christmas. Not. Not sober. Wow. So this. My intervention date was December 16th of 2015.

[Unknown Male Host]

So that Bible in prison really helped then?

[Ginger Wolf]

Not really. I definitely have. I had a lot of resentment towards God when I came in, and I was. I'm very grateful for, like, my experience in the sobriety community with 12 step, because those people showed up for me, and they allowed me to show up authentically in a way that I had never shown up in public before. And to be vulnerable and to be able to have hard conversations with other people and to be accountable to myself and to other people and to be able to say, like, God didn't do this to me. Like, I actively participated in all that. Maybe it may have been trauma responses or whatever, but the end of the day, I have to look at what did I do to put myself in these positions and, like, how have I hurt other people in the ways that I have been hurt by people. People? Because otherwise, I never let go.

[Unknown Male Host]

Yeah.

[Ginger Wolf]

You know what I mean?

[Unknown Male Host]

For sure. Yeah. And I know you had trauma from growing up, right?

[Ginger Wolf]

Yeah.

[Unknown Male Host]

Parental stuff.

[Ginger Wolf]

Yeah. Yeah. My mom and dad had some trauma that they never really worked through, and I think they didn't have a solid life plan. And life happens the way it happens. And if you don't have the resources and the ability to be able to cope with that, then I think the. The consequences of it trickle down to.

[Unknown Male Host]

Your family for sure, you know? Absolutely.

[Ginger Wolf]

I definitely feel like they. They just didn't know what to do with me, you know.

[Unknown Male Host]

Were you the only child?

[Ginger Wolf]

I wasn't. I had two brothers. And that was kind of part of my trauma, was like, I never really fit in the way they did. They were a lot older than me. They were six and seven years older than me. And, like, as I was like the smart kid, I like to go to the library. I liked books. I was really, like, artistic. I still am to this day. Music and all. Anything art derived and plays and theater and like, all those things. Right. All the things that creative people like. And nobody else in my family was like that other than my grandmother. So I felt grossly misunderstood by the people I lived with. And then as I got older, we moved away from, like, the friends that I had, so I didn't really have anybody. And, like, the family system kind of became more toxic at that point. So I became, like, it became acceptable for me to be, like, the scapegoat and for, like, my family to essentially bully me, like, at the home and in public. It wasn't like, like, I think they thought, well, it's just. We're just teasing you, you're fat. So what? Like, okay, that's interesting because, like, I look back at pictures, right, And I really wasn't fat. I wasn't fit. But nobody else in the family was either. It wasn't like everyone else was going to CrossFit and I was going to Burger King. You know what I mean?

[Unknown Male Host]

Like, we'll throw up some pics.

[Ginger Wolf]

Yeah.

[Unknown Male Host]

People can judge in the comments.

[Ginger Wolf]

Yeah, right.

[Unknown Male Host]

That is relative. But there's definitely a certain level where you're fat.

[Ginger Wolf]

Like, yeah, for sure. Yeah. There's obesity. There's like, hey, I need to tone up and get control of my body. And that was kind of what boxing gave me. Boxing gave me the ability again to, after I got sober, hey, I'm accountable. I also have, like, chronic pain, and I think a lot of it is from, you know, car accidents and stuff over the years and not being treated. Yeah, I didn't have medical insurance growing up. So, like, for the past seven, eight years, I've done a lot of, like, physical work to release that trauma and try to reset my body. And I really attribute, like, boxing and doing circus arts like aerial silks and Lyra and Pole and stuff like that as a good emotional and physical healing platform for me.

[Unknown Male Host]

Wow. Circus arts.

[Ginger Wolf]

Yeah, they're actually really awesome or a lot. Yeah. I actually have a mount for my silks and my lira in my living room.

[Unknown Male Host]

Oh, damn.

[Ginger Wolf]

Why? I bought the house. I bought.

[Unknown Male Host]

That's cool. Yeah, I'd love to see that. I went to Circus Delay, and I was very impressed with that stuff.

[Ginger Wolf]

I actually think I'm gonna go tonight and catch a show. Yeah.

[Unknown Male Host]

Oh, that'd be cool.

[Ginger Wolf]

I was looking at them yesterday.

[Unknown Male Host]

Oh, yeah? Which show?

[Ginger Wolf]

The one with the water.

[Unknown Male Host]

I saw that one. Yeah. Appio. Yeah, yeah, yeah, that one was cool. Oh, my gosh. Some of those dives, I couldn't look. It's so scary, dude. I love that they're, like, 50ft up and they're diving into, like. They probably have, like, maybe a foot of error.

[Ginger Wolf]

Right, right. So very precise. Yeah, yeah.

[Unknown Male Host]

Like, they could literally die if they miss it by a foot.

[Ginger Wolf]

Yeah. It's a big deal.

[Unknown Male Host]

Crazy.

[Ginger Wolf]

Yeah. I'm actually looking forward. I think I'm gonna move from the Destin place or from my place outside of New Orleans to the place of Destin just to, like. I gotta want to get grounded with my roots again. I've been going through a lot lately. There's been a lot of, like, flux and change the past year and a lot of growth.

[Unknown Male Host]

Yeah.

[Ginger Wolf]

And, like, because I got so Destin, and I'm so connected in Destin. Anytime where, like, something's going on in my life, I go there.

[Unknown Male Host]

Absolutely.

[Ginger Wolf]

So it's. It's. It's nice to be able to, like, reconnect with that space physically, mentally, and spiritually, because it's like my grounding almost.

[Unknown Male Host]

Did you get that tattoo in prison?

[Ginger Wolf]

I did, actually.

[Unknown Male Host]

What does it say on there?

[Ginger Wolf]

So it's my oldest son's name.

[Unknown Male Host]

Oh, nice.

[Ginger Wolf]

So it actually looked better when she did it. I got it touched up when I came home, and I should just left it alone. Her pick and poke was way better. What the guy had paid to do.

[Unknown Male Host]

Yeah.

[Ginger Wolf]

Yeah.

[Unknown Male Host]

It didn't hurt.

[Ginger Wolf]

It's. I remember having, like, one or two tears leak out and being like, oh, like, I was trying to be tough. She's like, bro, you're pretty tough. This is not like, an easy thing, but after a while, just dumb.

[Unknown Sponsor Voice]

I feel that.

[Unknown Male Host]

Oh, could you center up?

[Ginger Wolf]

I move around a lot like a squirrel.

[Unknown Male Host]

I love the energy. I'm all about high energy. I surround myself with high energy people, actually.

[Ginger Wolf]

I mean, I feel like energy is definitely something that's passed between two people. So if I don't coincide with your energy and I can't, like, match it in a productive way, that it usually impedes whatever progress we're trying to make easily.

[Unknown Male Host]

No. When you're around low energy, low vibrational people rubs off on you.

[Ginger Wolf]

Yeah.

[Unknown Male Host]

And other way around, for sure.

[Ginger Wolf]

Yeah.

[Unknown Male Host]

I mean, look at, look at how you grew up. That environment, it kind of affected you, but now you're killing it with. I'm sure you surround yourself with better people.

[Ginger Wolf]

Yeah. And I'll be honest, that was such a big part of my growth. Right. And being able again to, like, so podcasting. Right. This is a good way to tie that in. I felt like when Ian Bick invited me to come on his show. Sorry, I'm gonna cry. He was basically giving me permission to tell my story. Right. Like, I never really had that outside of the attorney wanting to know what happened. And he didn't want to know from a human standpoint. He wanted to know from like a dollar and a, like, like liability standpoint, like, how accountable are these people for what happened to you and all these other women in prison? So I felt like it gave me an opportunity to just get this thing that was like, I don't. I don't talk about the show a lot on tv on, like, my social media. I will allude to the fact that a show saved my life. Right. But I don't refer to it the name of it. Thank you so much. Just because it's so foreign to me. When people want to look it up, it's like, bro, I'm telling you, that was. I was gonna kill myself. Why would you want to go watch that? For entertainment. Right, Right. And then two, like, it's one thing for me to sit here and tell you to your face, like, as a person who's on a healing journey and who doesn't physically represent what that lifestyle was. Now it's different for you to watch it. Right. For me to tell you about it is one thing to be like, yeah, you say that could have been that bad or whatever, versus to like, have a camera in your face and to be told to do. Because, like, reality TV isn't reality tv. It is. There's a touch of reality to it. But a lot of situations are presented to show a certain side of whatever that lifestyle looks like or to evoke a response from the viewer. Right, Right, Right. Because your show is only. Only as good as the people that are connected to it. Right. So I felt like when I was able to Go on Ian's show and tell my whole story from, like, start to finish. I had some backlash, but a lot of the people, like, I get people literally every day, two, three times a day on all different platforms reaching out to say that they enjoyed it, they related to it, they felt comfortable to either seek out some type of treatment, to seek out help for something emotional, physical, or like, some type of abuse. They share their. Some of their trauma with me and how they feel that now they can maybe make an impact. Because, like, I guess my biggest thing with podcasting, it doesn't bring me any money, but, like, dude, it brings me so much, like, fulfillment because I feel like I have purpose, right? Like, there's. If somebody else sees value in my story and my experience, right, then maybe it. Maybe there was a reason why I had to walk through the things that I walked through and why I'm around. I have, like, some survivor guilt because a lot of my friends are dead.

[Unknown Male Host]

Damn.

[Ginger Wolf]

A lot of my friends. For a while I had to, like, stop going on Facebook because, like, a lot of my friends that were on oxys when fentanyl became a thing, when oxys were starting to segue out in Florida in, like, 2011, 2012, 2013, yeah, they're shutting all the pill mills down. You had all these addicts who had no resources, you know, because they were surviving off of the pills they were selling and then doing whatever profit they didn't need. You know what I mean? So you had this huge epidemic with no, like, way to care for it as a society. And society tends to say, well, it's not our problem. It's your problem when, like, the pharmacies are getting robbed. And it's a problem when, like, hospitals are overcrowded because you have people dying and detoxing. And it's a problem when fentanyl comes into your town and affects your kidney because people are loosey goosey with it or like, it's being put in everything to get a. Create a consistent buyer.

[Unknown Male Host]

Right.

[Ginger Wolf]

You know what I mean? So I don't know. I. I guess I feel like there was a reason why I was saved. Right. I don't feel like my cry to God was any louder or any more important than anybody else's. Right. But I showed up and I did the work and, like, I try to keep myself accountable now. Even though I'm not, like, in 12 step community like I used to be and things like that, I still want to give it credit and I still want to see other people, like, break whatever it Is that is holding them down? Because why wouldn't I want everybody to be their best? They're like, we can all win. Right? Everybody can be the best version of themselves. And, like, I feel like with podcasting, I can share my message and you can share a message to people that, like, because I'm on, you might get viewers that didn't know you and, like, you have a huge platform. So all the people have never heard of me now have some type of, like, reference for essentially, like, what it was like, what it's like to walk through something like that and be able to make it. So if they have someone in their family, it's like, hey, if this person could, like, I can do it. Anybody can do it, bro. Like, does it make sense? No. It's a long winded way to say it.

[Unknown Male Host]

But I get that too, though, almost every day, like, a message or someone in person will stop me and say, I've changed their life for the better. And it's just such a great feeling.

[Ginger Wolf]

Yeah. It's like, to me, it's worth so much more than any. Any job that pays could ever give me.

[Unknown Male Host]

Yeah. It's so fulfilling. Yeah. Whether it's like, having on someone like you or maybe someone that helps with finances or mindset health in general, there's so many ways you could help people, and podcasting is such a great platform. Just share that message to as many people as possible.

[Ginger Wolf]

For sure.

[Unknown Male Host]

Yeah. That's how I found you on Ian Bick show.

[Ginger Wolf]

Oh, was it? I thought you found me on hopeaholics. Honestly, it might have been both, because I remember they came on. They were on your. Your show chat.

[Unknown Male Host]

Those guys are great too.

[Ginger Wolf]

I really like them. I had a really good experience on that show.

[Unknown Male Host]

Both their stories are insane similar to you.

[Ginger Wolf]

Yeah.

[Unknown Male Host]

They were both addicts, right?

[Ginger Wolf]

Yeah.

[Unknown Male Host]

Yeah. So it's cool to see that you.

[Ginger Wolf]

Can overcome that alcoholic and. Yeah.

[Unknown Male Host]

Crush it. Wow. Yeah, it's like a form of therapy too, right?

[Ginger Wolf]

For sure.

[Unknown Male Host]

Being able to talk about it.

[Ginger Wolf]

For sure. And I think Covid kind of changed the community a little bit because, like, meetings weren't in person. And, like, for me, it's just like, in person podcasts and like, in person meeting. Like, the magic happens when two people sit down and get together. Right. Versus, like, anybody can sit on a computer screen. And, like, I just feel like. It just feels different.

[Unknown Male Host]

Yeah.

[Ginger Wolf]

You know what I mean? It's great if that's all you have, like, show up in whatever capacity you can. But for me, my emotional change came from Physically being in the presence of other people who are doing the deal. I was surrounding myself with people that were who I wanted to be, you know, who could. Could, you know, essentially elevate my life. Because if you're not elevating me, then I'm stagnant or I'm regressing.

[Unknown Male Host]

Yeah.

[Ginger Wolf]

And both are death for me.

[Unknown Male Host]

No, I'm the same way. I only do stuff in person. That's why I travel the world and spend thousands to film in other cities, because it's just not the same over zoom.

[Ginger Wolf]

Yeah.

[Unknown Male Host]

And I'm willing to invest in the podcast for if it's a good message. What do you got going on next?

[Ginger Wolf]

Basically, just the projects that we talked about. I mean, I'm gonna leave here today. I'll probably go train again and go home and.

[Unknown Male Host]

Damn. Two a day out here, 110 degrees outside.

[Ginger Wolf]

Yeah. I was inside in the AC, though, so, you know, but I mean, I kind of got to get in where I fit in because I. I travel a lot too, and like I said, I've got a really stacked next three weeks, and then I roll right into filming, so.

[Unknown Sponsor Voice]

Got it.

[Unknown Male Host]

You know, I'll get you on some shows. I really love your message. You're. You're saving lives.

[Ginger Wolf]

I hope so, man, because, like, I'll be honest, every time I come on to a podcast, I was just telling Bridger, sorry, I'm gonna cry again. Every time I come on a podcast, especially something like this, where I'm like, bro, all these people are, like, super successful. Like, all these people have, like, big companies. Like, what do I have to offer these people other than, like, I used to be a horrible human being, and now I'm not. Yet, you know what? Like, so I guess I kind of struggle with, like, my own self image, and I feel like I'm. It constantly propels me to do more, right? To be able to, like, say, well, you know, like, again, I was saved for a reason. And, like, if it takes me 15 podcasts a week to help, you know, one person, you know, and I mean, like, I'm willing to make that investment because there were people that made that investment in me. Whether it was Ian Bick or you or the hopeaholics or the people that were in the rooms of AA and the people that were at the treatment center, I'm all. I'm still very close with all the people that, like, worked at the treatment center that I got sober at.

[Unknown Male Host]

Yeah.

[Ginger Wolf]

Like, they're a huge part of my life to this day, and I think they always will be because, like, they just were there for me when, like, I was just going through the hardest time in my life.

[Unknown Male Host]

Yeah, I wouldn't doubt yourself. I would just focus on your message. Like, it's not going to be like making people millions, but it's going to be a different lane, you know, I wouldn't compare yourself to, like, these smart CEOs or anything. Just find your lane and stick with that. I think you have a really powerful message.

[Ginger Wolf]

I really appreciate that. I just hope that, like, people get something from it and that this isn't that I don't ever want to go on someone's show, be like, well, that was a waste of time, you know, like, nobody related to her. Girl's weird. She can't shut up.

[Unknown Male Host]

No, you'll see. You'll get messages from this.

[Unknown Sponsor Voice]

You'll get.

[Unknown Male Host]

Probably going to save at least 10 lives, if I had to guess. And that's just people admitting it to you over message. It's probably going to be more indirectly. Yeah, it's really powerful. Thanks so much for coming on.

[Ginger Wolf]

Thank you so much for having me. I really appreciate it.

[Unknown Male Host]

Of course. We'll link your stuff below. If you guys want to reach out to her with any of your issues, please message her. Otherwise, see you tomorrow.