Unbelievable Prison Survival Tactics You Never Knew | Garet Mclendon DSH #748

Summary

Digital Social Hour: Unbelievable Prison Survival Tactics You Never Knew | Garet McLendon DSH #748

Host: Sean Kelly
Guest: Garet McLendon
Release Date: September 23, 2024

---

Introduction

In this gripping episode of Digital Social Hour, host Sean Kelly sits down with Garet McLendon, a man whose tumultuous journey through addiction, incarceration, and redemption offers profound insights into survival behind bars and the path to personal transformation. Garet's candid storytelling delves deep into the challenges he faced, the tactics he employed to survive prison life, and the eventual steps he took toward recovery and rebuilding his relationships.

---

Early Life and Reckless Driving

Garet McLendon's troubled relationship with law enforcement began early in life. From the age of 15, he was heavily involved in reckless driving, accumulating a staggering 168 traffic tickets over the years.

"I have a printout of all those tickets... it was just a sheet of paper just unfolding... it's hilarious."
[01:01] Garet McLendon

His disregard for traffic laws wasn't limited to speeding. Garet frequently ignored basic driving regulations, leading to constant encounters with the police.

"After a time, I think that they just saw me coming in that car and they just pulled me over because they knew I didn't have a driver's license."
[01:49] Garet McLendon

These repeated offenses eventually led to significant consequences, including multiple stints in jail. Garet didn't secure a driver's license until he was 34, highlighting the extent of his legal troubles.

---

Escalation to Serious Crimes

Garet's criminal activities escalated beyond traffic violations. He became involved in motorcycle and car theft, as well as drug-related offenses. His motivations were largely driven by a desire for material possessions, particularly fast cars, mirroring influences from popular culture like The Fast and the Furious.

"I wanted a fast car, and I couldn't afford it, so I wanted a stolen car that had all the stuff that I needed... on Saturday."
[03:29] Garet McLendon

Garet detailed his methods of bypassing security features like kill switches, showcasing a level of ingenuity and risk-taking behavior that further deepened his legal woes.

"I would not break a window... I make keys and I have a kick... I do your homework on the car and look it up."
[05:02] Garet McLendon

---

Prison Life and Survival Tactics

Garet spent 13 to 15 years incarcerated, navigating both county jails and state prisons. He described the prison environment as a constant battle for respect and survival, emphasizing the importance of solidarity with fellow inmates.

"We're watching over each other... someone who's watching my back, and I'm watching his."
[21:37] Garet McLendon

His insights into prison dynamics reveal a harsh reality where alliances are crucial. Garet spoke about the intense and often violent nature of race wars within county jails, highlighting the scarcity of control and the perpetual threat of violence.

"The riots... were way more scarier... It was like gladiators... just going at it."
[25:53] Garet McLendon

Additionally, Garet discussed the resourcefulness inmates employ to create weapons, a testament to the relentless need for self-defense in such environments.

"You learned that you can make a weapon out of everything... they turned a mop bucket handle into a shank."
[27:05] Garet McLendon

---

Facing Tragedy and Addiction

A pivotal moment in Garet's life occurred when he witnessed a friend die in a street racing accident, profoundly impacting his views on alcohol and substance abuse.

"Alcohol really turned me against all that... he died right there on impact."
[10:27] Garet McLendon

Despite brief periods of sobriety during incarceration, Garet struggled immensely upon release, quickly falling back into his old habits due to the overwhelming pull of his environment and addiction.

"When I get out, I immediately would take a drink... that drink would lead me into a drug."
[17:12] Garet McLendon

This cycle of addiction led to repeated incarcerations, making it nearly impossible for Garet to break free from his destructive patterns.

---

Recovery and Rebuilding Relationships

After years of battling addiction and incarceration, Garet reached a turning point on March 17, 2013, marking his sobriety date. This moment signified the beginning of his journey toward recovery and healing.

"March 17, 2013, is the day that is my sobriety date."
[29:05] Garet McLendon

Reestablishing relationships was a cornerstone of Garet's rehabilitation. He worked diligently to reconnect with his estranged father and rebuild his relationship with his daughter, who initially didn't recognize him due to his absence and past behaviors.

"I want to be your son. It's never too late for a son and a dad to start a relationship."
[33:01] Garet McLendon

Garet also emphasized the significance of surrounding himself with supportive individuals, seeking help from recovery programs, and focusing on positive activities like surfing with his daughter to maintain his sobriety.

"Sitting out there in the ocean with my daughter is one of the greatest things I could ever ask for."
[37:37] Garet McLendon

---

Legacy and Continuing Support

Today, Garet McLendon dedicates his time to helping others overcome similar struggles. He actively engages with communities on social media, offering support and guidance to those battling addiction and striving for a better life.

"For the people who are out there who are struggling or need help, reach out to me."
[46:22] Garet McLendon

Garet's story is a powerful testament to resilience and the human capacity for change. His journey from a life marred by addiction and crime to one focused on recovery and family underscores the importance of support, determination, and self-awareness in overcoming life's greatest challenges.

---

Notable Quotes

• "Don't do it. Don't let those tickets pile up."
  [02:40] Garet McLendon

• "It's either you're on this side. I'm either down or up."
  [45:15] Garet McLendon

• "Words are a lot. Words mean a lot."
  [40:17] Garet McLendon

• "The only thing that could help me was me just being like, you know what."
  [43:00] Garet McLendon

---

Conclusion

Garet McLendon's narrative offers invaluable lessons on the perils of addiction, the complexities of prison life, and the transformative power of recovery. His commitment to rebuilding his life and supporting others serves as an inspiring example for anyone facing similar adversities. Through his honesty and vulnerability, Garet illustrates that no matter how dire one's circumstances may seem, there is always hope for change and a path toward redemption.

---

Connect with Garet McLendon:
Follow Garet on Instagram @mindsetRecovery to stay updated on his journey and support his mission to help others overcome addiction and rebuild their lives.

---

Thank you for tuning into this episode of Digital Social Hour. If Garet's story resonated with you, consider subscribing and sharing to spread awareness and inspire change.

Transcript

[Announcer]

Hey, music fans, there are some great concerts headed this way. Don't miss out on all the shows in your favorite venues, like Deftones at Madison Square Garden, Eagles at the Sphere, and Foster, the people at the Ryman Auditorium. Tickets are going fast, so don't wait. Head to livenation.com to get your tickets. Now, that's livenation.com.

[Garrett McLendon]

I remember there's one that they left it. Like, it was just on the side of the road, and then it was for sale. And, like, you know, just like after the race. No, it was just like. It was just like a random thing. I called the guy and met him there, like, I was interested and watched how he, you know, killed the kill switch and all that stuff. I went back the next day and took it, you know, so.

[Interviewer]

All right, guys, Garrett McLendon here. You might have the most traffic tickets out of anyone. I know, man.

[Garrett McLendon]

I appreciate it. Yeah.

[Interviewer]

160, right?

[Garrett McLendon]

168. I have a printout of all those tickets. You know, I went. I went to the courthouse and, you know, and it was like. Let me get a printout. It was just like a sheet of paper just like, unfolding, like, just, you know, it's hilarious.

[Interviewer]

I'm surprised they didn't arrest you when you went to the courthouse.

[Garrett McLendon]

Yeah, me too.

[Interviewer]

Did you ever pay any of them?

[Garrett McLendon]

I ended up having to pay. I had to pay for all that stuff. All the restitution, everything that. Everything. I mean, community service, paying traffic times, doing time for. I mean, you had to. I have to, because I wanted a driver's license, and so.

[Interviewer]

Damn.

[Garrett McLendon]

I didn't get a driver's license until I was 34.

[Interviewer]

Holy crap.

[Garrett McLendon]

Yeah.

[Interviewer]

So you were driving around just in your 20s?

[Garrett McLendon]

I was all through my. I mean, from the age of 16 to 15. I was just like. I mean, first car at 15 years old, and. And just started driving. And so I think in that first car, I probably got 50 tickets.

[Interviewer]

Holy crap.

[Garrett McLendon]

Yeah.

[Interviewer]

You know, and what were they for? Mainly speeding.

[Garrett McLendon]

For everything that you can think of. You know, not no turning, no, no, no blinkers, you know, Expedition to speed. You know, that everything. You know, after a time, I think that they just saw me coming in that car and they just pulled me over because they knew I didn't have a driver's license. Like, oh, this guy. Yeah, that's. Let's get him.

[Interviewer]

Easy money, right?

[Garrett McLendon]

Yeah, easy money.

[Interviewer]

Did you end up going to jail for any of those?

[Garrett McLendon]

I ended up going to jail for. As a time spent up, I ended up going to jail for all that stuff. After a while, I mean, it starts building up and building up and. And those tickets become like a. A big old package. And so, like, you know, at first, it was just like, to me, you're out there getting pulled over all the time. It's like just another ticket. Just another ticket. Then all of a sudden, it comes into a big old bundle when you're facing, like, you know, 20, 30, 40 of them. And, yeah, I went to jail.

[Interviewer]

That's how I felt with parking tickets. I'm like, I'm just gonna let these pile up.

[Garrett McLendon]

Yeah, don't do it. Don't do it.

[Interviewer]

Yeah, I might still have some from Jersey.

[Garrett McLendon]

Yeah, the fines. I mean, like, the fines. All of a sudden, you get hit with these fines or somewhere else. I have ones. I. Not only out there in, like, Los Angeles, but in different counties, too. And, like.

[Interviewer]

Yeah.

[Garrett McLendon]

And all of a sudden, like, you know, it's like, you know, 1000 or 1500 ticket or more. You're like, what? I don't. How's that happen? And then. Oh, yeah, I got that ticket out there, right? Yeah.

[Interviewer]

But the big thing you got popped for was the motor. Stealing motorcycles, right?

[Garrett McLendon]

I got. I got popped for. I got popped for lots of things, you know, stealing motorcycles, stealing cars, drugs, and. And, yeah, that's why. Another reason why I had so many tickets is because I kept on stealing cars, and I get. I get busted in the car, and then, you know, and so it just kept on going on a big old cycle.

[Interviewer]

Yeah. What was the mindset behind, like, stealing the car stuff? You just needed money.

[Garrett McLendon]

Needed money, definitely. So I was into, you know. You know, the Fast and the Furious comes out, and, you know, we're getting into all this. The racing car stuff, and. And my mindset was, is that I wanted a. I wanted a fast car, and I couldn't afford it, so I wanted a still car that had all the stuff that I needed, you know, so I can go ra it, you know, on this. On Saturday.

[Interviewer]

Got it. So you're going after nice cars.

[Garrett McLendon]

I was going to decent ones. Not really nice because, you know, their alarm systems and. And the stuff they have on those cars or something, I couldn't get past, you know, but, like, on a. You know, on. On ones you see out there at the races, you'd be out there at the street races, and you see these cars, and. And you sort of just, you know, scope them out and follow them home. Follow them home. Right. You know, I remember there's one that they left it like it was Just on the side of the road and, and it was for sale and like, you know, just like after the race. No, it was just like, it was just like a random thing that this car was, you know, tuned and it was nice. And I called a guy and met him there, like I was interested and watched how he, you know, killed the kill switch and all that stuff. And then I went back to the next day and took it, you know.

[Interviewer]

So he had a kill switch in there?

[Garrett McLendon]

Yeah, yeah. Kill switch.

[Interviewer]

How do you combat that? If you steal it?

[Garrett McLendon]

You can't. I mean, if you can find it, you can find it, but like a lot of times it's in the common places, I mean, under a bumper and a fender, like, you know, or something like that, you know, so you, you find it, you know, or you don't. So, you know, it's either you sit there and it's, it's, it turns over and over and over and over and over and over, you know, and you can maybe bypass it down there, ignition or something like that, or you just, you know, you got to find out, you got to watch the car and find out where the person's hitting the switch at, you know.

[Interviewer]

Got it?

[Garrett McLendon]

Yeah.

[Interviewer]

And what was the technique? You would go at night, break the window open and then hot wire it?

[Garrett McLendon]

I would not break a window. I go in there a lot of times I had shaved keys or I make, I make keys and I have a kick. I don't want, I don't want to be driving a car stolen with a broken window. I try to keep it intact as much as possible. So I do your homework on the car and look it up and shaved key, you know, filed, shaved, cut, intricate, you know, get in there, jiggler, you know, open the door, get inside the ignition. A lot of times I just.

[Interviewer]

All right, guys, shout out to LinkedIn. Today's sponsor. As a B2B marketer, you know how noisy the ad space can be. If your message isn't targeted to the right audience, it just disappears. Peers into the noise. Luckily, with LinkedIn ads, you could precisely reach the professionals who are more likely to find your ad relevant. With LinkedIn's targeting capabilities, you can reach them by job title, industry company and more. Stand out with LinkedIn Ads and start converting your B2B audience into high quality leads. Today, LinkedIn Ads allows you to build the right relationships, drive results and reach your customers in a respectful environment. You'll have direct access and build relationships with decision makers. There's over a billion members on their platform. 180 million senior level executives and 10 million C level executives. You'll be able to drive results with targeting and measurement tools built specifically from B2B. In technology, LinkedIn generated 2 to 5x higher return on ad spend than other social media platforms. You'll work with a partner who respects the B2B world you operate in. 79% of their content marketers said LinkedIn produces the best results for paid media. Me personally, I've found some great podcast guests and it's been incredible platform for finding out new information. Start converting your B2B audience into high quality leads today. We'll even give you $100 credit on your next campaign. Go to LinkedIn.com Social to claim your credit. That's LinkedIn.com Social. Terms and conditions apply. LinkedIn the place to be.

[Garrett McLendon]

Unplug it. And the only thing I would break is I'm so big that I was able to just snap the, the lock steering on it, you know, and, and plug. And then plug my own ignition in. So. Yeah.

[Interviewer]

You had a system.

[Garrett McLendon]

Yeah, the system. Yeah.

[Interviewer]

That's crazy. Do those keys still work these days or not?

[Garrett McLendon]

I don't think so. Now days. I don't think. No. You know what? Possibly. But it's been so far, it's been so long. I mean 10 years is a long time to. Yeah. Technology and everything's probably advanced so much that it definitely, definitely is different now.

[Interviewer]

I got a Tesla. There's no key.

[Garrett McLendon]

Yeah.

[Interviewer]

The key is my phone, so. But even if you steal my phone, you need a pin.

[Garrett McLendon]

Yeah. Yeah.

[Interviewer]

You literally can't steal a Tesla.

[Garrett McLendon]

I mean nowadays you walk up to your car and the door opens itself. Yeah.

[Interviewer]

So yeah, it's probably a lot harder to steal cars these days.

[Garrett McLendon]

100 still happens.

[Interviewer]

But I feel like most people do it now to sell the parts.

[Garrett McLendon]

I think nowadays they're just doing Cadillac converters.

[Interviewer]

Right.

[Garrett McLendon]

I don't think they're going after the cars.

[Interviewer]

No. Guy just died actually in L. A. Oh, really? Celebrity. Yeah. They were stealing it and he's still.

[Garrett McLendon]

In his Catholic converter. The guy from the hospital. Yeah.

[Interviewer]

Yeah. I was crazy.

[Garrett McLendon]

Yeah.

[Interviewer]

Those worth. I mean, his life.

[Garrett McLendon]

I don't. His life. I mean, I mean, what are you going to do? Is someone stealing your catholic converting a car? I mean you're going to. If anybody we're going to rush them or we're going to see, hey, that's my car. And it's just unfortunate that that happened to that guy, you know.

[Interviewer]

And for a few thousand bucks, I.

[Garrett McLendon]

Don'T even know if it's a few thousand. Like, I'm thinking. I'm thinking it's like hundreds, you know, But I could be wrong, you know, it's craz. Yeah.

[Interviewer]

All that for hundreds. And it wasn't even his car. It was some girl. Oh, man, he's just defending her, man.

[Garrett McLendon]

That's crazy.

[Interviewer]

Crazy, man. Yeah, la, man.

[Garrett McLendon]

La. It's crazy. That's how it is out there. Right, Right. They're coming packing. They come packing with guns that they steal your Catholic converters, you know, and. Yeah, and you see that with a lot more people out there and, and like with teams or with like a group, you know, I was out there like solo Bono on it. You know, Nowadays they have people, you know, just, you know, a group of people going around still in Cadillac converters and vans carrying. Carrying guns and stuff.

[Interviewer]

You know, deep.

[Garrett McLendon]

Rolling deep.

[Interviewer]

San Francisco.

[Garrett McLendon]

It's scary, right? It's scary, you know, like a. Places that we used to go out and park our cars and we think it'd be all safe. And now, you know, people are getting killed over. Over some simple stuff, man, and protecting our own stuff, you know.

[Interviewer]

So you were big in the racing, too?

[Garrett McLendon]

I. I loved. Well, I just. I just love cars and, you know, and I loved racing. I had a friend of mine that, you know, when I was. I was very young, we used to. He picked me up. I mean, very young. He picked me up. We go racing all the time. I. I just. I loved it. And I. And I continued to go to the street races and, and get in the cars and all that stuff, and. But I never had a license. I never had a driver's license. No. And. And unfortunately, my buddy, he got hit by a drunk driver, you know, out there at the street races, you know, and, and that was hard.

[Interviewer]

You know, someone was street racing drunk.

[Garrett McLendon]

They were. They run rows. So it'd be like five. Five races at a time. You know, you. And then. And a guy was drinking. I mean, yeah, there's. There's always drugs and alcohol evolved out there, you know, more. More, you know, alcohol, maybe not a lot, but, you know, some drinking going on. And. And a guy was drinking and he. And the five cars do a shootout or they shoot down race after race after race, and then they drive back and a guy was coming back and I was talking to my buddy right there and with another friend of mine, and he sort of. I'm standing in the dirt, my buddy standing in the dirt. He's standing on the street. And as a. As he Drives back up. You know, like a guy goes to do, like, fishtails or to, you know, circles. Not don't. It's just, like, sort of. Just to get on the gas, he loses it. And my friend steps out and sort of does like, a 180 turn and. And got clipped by the car. Yeah. Broke his neck against the. You know. Broke his neck. No, guy crashed at the end of the street. It was. It was a big old. It was a big old scene, you know.

[Interviewer]

Holy shit.

[Garrett McLendon]

Yeah.

[Interviewer]

Did he recover from that?

[Garrett McLendon]

He died. Yeah, he died. Passed away. He died right there on impact.

[Interviewer]

Oh, my God.

[Garrett McLendon]

Yeah. Yeah.

[Interviewer]

That's traumatic, man.

[Garrett McLendon]

Yeah, it was dramatic.

[Interviewer]

It was the first death you witnessed.

[Garrett McLendon]

That was the first. That. The first one. And it really made me not want to drink. You know, alcohol really turned me against all that. I feel that, but it, you know. Yeah, it was hard, and. And, like, it was even harder. Like, I was young, and it was like, man, must have been, you know, five or seven, you know, years later, you know, like, I. I run into his mom, you know, and. And, you know, and like a. In a random place, you know, and I haven't seen her for years, you know, but I used to hang out at his house. We used to. You know, he picked me up from school. He was older than me, like an older brother, you know, and.

[Interviewer]

Yeah, that's crazy. Did she know what happened?

[Garrett McLendon]

She knew by what everybody told her, but, I mean, it was pretty obvious, you know, Car lost control. He stepped out into the street, you know, Car lost control, hit him, you know, his head, you know, he died on impact. Damn.

[Interviewer]

And then I must have been going fast.

[Garrett McLendon]

It wasn't. I don't even think it was going that fast, dude. Yeah, it was. I think it was just some of those things that he got hit and just the angle of whatever happened, sort of. Yeah.

[Interviewer]

If you land on your head, even if it's like 10, 20 miles an hour, it's probably a lot.

[Garrett McLendon]

Yeah. If you got hit, I mean, if you hit and if you land on it, it just. It just breaks your neck or head damage or whatever it is, it was gone.

[Interviewer]

You know, that's nuts. How did the races work? Like, how do you determine who you go up against?

[Garrett McLendon]

And the races were fun. You know, this is. You know, you go out there, you have a fast car, and everybody knows you're fast because we used to go to the. You know, we. We race on. We race on Friday nights out there at this. At the racetrack. We keep our numbers on our car. That you know, or you know, for the legal ones. And then, and then you just know, like if it's a competitive thing. So if you're out there and you're, and you're racing your car, like you just know which one's fast and which one's not. But the thing is, is that, you know, people get to know that hey, this race is right here and these races right here are the ones that were, that, you know, are happening. And so people from like Los Angeles or, or from other places would come. So like the cops would come and break it up about 9, 30, 10 o'clock, you know, and everybody would disperse. It'd be like a, at that time, early, it'd be like just cars lined up in two different directions. And you know, some people racing, you know, like people, you know, trying to show off. But then I tend, you know, the cops would show up and everybody would run away. And then, and it seemed like maybe an hour after that, like we go to, in and out, we eat a burger or something, you know.

[Interviewer]

Wow.

[Garrett McLendon]

And then that was always a spot.

[Interviewer]

Like Fast and furious.

[Garrett McLendon]

Yeah. And then we go back and, and then people would bring in and it'd be like a late night session, like go back and we go back 11:00, 12:00. And it'd be a lot, it'd be more of the racers and not so much of this. The, the people who, who just wanted to come and hang out, you know, and.

[Interviewer]

So crazy. Yeah, the cops probably can't get all you guys because there's so many.

[Garrett McLendon]

I think a lot of times they just don't want us grouping and hanging out because, you know, you get a lot of people in the groups, like that stuff happens, you know, drunk fights, people, you know, all that stuff you don't want to happen, happen. So I think the cops just come and try to, to keep the peace. Yeah, no, I feel keep the peace and, and every now and then, you know, I'm telling you, at those late night races that, you know, some of the sheriffs, man, they had some nice cars too and they bring them out there on a trailer and they race us, you know what. Yeah. So it was, it was, it was cool. You know, that's crazy. You get people out there bringing their cars and, and running them. But it was, it was good, man.

[Interviewer]

You've been to Speed Vegas out here.

[Garrett McLendon]

I'm going there today.

[Interviewer]

Oh, you're definitely gonna set some records.

[Garrett McLendon]

Yeah, yeah.

[Interviewer]

You got like 200 miles per hour on that.

[Garrett McLendon]

I know. I can't wait.

[Interviewer]

What's the fastest you've gone?

[Garrett McLendon]

I probably done 180.

[Interviewer]

Damn.

[Garrett McLendon]

Yeah, I. I'm close. Close to 180. I mean, usually on all that speedometers, they. They hit, like 160 and something. They stop. So you don't know is this. It's just wrapping around, you know?

[Interviewer]

And so my friend Tony Nino. Shout out to Tony. He said, there's a race across the country. I forget what it's called, but you start in, like, New York and you go to Cali. The first one there wins.

[Garrett McLendon]

Oh, wow.

[Interviewer]

Yeah. He got arrested, though.

[Garrett McLendon]

Oh. And his car.

[Interviewer]

Yeah, he was going 180.

[Garrett McLendon]

Oh, nice.

[Interviewer]

Yeah, I think they took his car and everything.

[Garrett McLendon]

Oh, yeah.

[Interviewer]

I need to look up what that race is called, because that sounds crazy.

[Garrett McLendon]

I heard of that race, and it does ring bells. And from New York to LA I even think they did a movie. Yeah, a couple movies about it and stuff like that.

[Interviewer]

But it's like two, three days.

[Garrett McLendon]

Two or three days at night. You're driving day and night through every single city and. Yeah.

[Interviewer]

That's nuts, right?

[Garrett McLendon]

That'd be so fun. I mean, I think that would be so fun, you know? Right.

[Interviewer]

It'd be cool to see who actually makes that one.

[Garrett McLendon]

Yeah. Yeah.

[Interviewer]

I don't think. I'd wonder what percentage of people get, like, arrested or how many people lose their cars.

[Garrett McLendon]

I wonder how many people actually finish.

[Interviewer]

Yeah.

[Garrett McLendon]

You know, and make it all the way through and, like. And what's their speed? Like, are they actually keeping it 180 or. They actually are doing 150, you know.

[Interviewer]

I mean, when I drove from N.J. to L. A. We were going, like, at least 120 all right there.

[Garrett McLendon]

Yeah.

[Interviewer]

I mean, 120 is accurate. You know, it's so boring. I mean, might as well speed.

[Garrett McLendon]

Yeah.

[Interviewer]

If you go 60 the whole time, you're going to take an extra day, actually. So got a. Got a gamble a little bit. Yeah. We got pulled over in Cali, actually.

[Garrett McLendon]

Did you?

[Interviewer]

Yeah, the cop was cracking up because all the trucks were honking as they were passing us, which means that guy's been speeding. I guess the cop could not hold it in. He let us go.

[Garrett McLendon]

Oh, really?

[Interviewer]

Yeah. We got lucky.

[Garrett McLendon]

That's a good name.

[Interviewer]

A trooper, too.

[Garrett McLendon]

Oh, trooper.

[Interviewer]

State troopers don't mess around.

[Garrett McLendon]

They don't, man. They're real.

[Interviewer]

In Jersey, I've never gotten out of a state trooper. For real, dude.

[Garrett McLendon]

I never have been. I never been pulled over by a state trooper.

[Interviewer]

Really?

[Garrett McLendon]

Yeah.

[Interviewer]

That's surprising.

[Garrett McLendon]

Yeah, that's surprising. I never had a face to face or anything like that with a state trooper, so.

[Interviewer]

Wow.

[Garrett McLendon]

So I hope I don't.

[Interviewer]

Yeah, I hope I don't worry, man. So how long did you go to prison for?

[Garrett McLendon]

I was in prison, in and out for at least, I don't know, 13 years. Damn. Yeah. In and out. Like, I mean, 15. 13 to 15 years. I did a little county time, you know, all those, all those tickets started counting up and all my tickets were counting up and. And then I was getting in more trouble, you know, stolen cars, getting caught in stolen cars. And I. I did a little bit of county time and then, and then the bigger stuff happened, you know, I mean, drugs and gangs and all this stuff got involved and, And I got caught up in this vicious cycle. And for the next 15 years, man, it didn't matter. Like, I was, I was, I was in prison, you know, I was a lot less on the street and, And a whole bunch in prison, you know, and. And then by this time too, drugs and alcohol became a. Became a necessity. And, you know, instead of like something, you know, just to chill back on, like it was something I needed every single day.

[Interviewer]

Wow.

[Garrett McLendon]

And so it just like that I go in jail, I feel like prison and I go into prison and it felt like, you know, like, man, I'm off the streets, I'm safe, you know, I'm getting some, you know, discipline of, of getting up and going to work and doing these things in there that I'm not used to on the streets. And. And then I get on the streets and it was like all that stuff just left me, you know, and I take a drink and drink leads me to a drug. And the next day I know I'm still in cars and I'm. And now it's not even about racing them on the Saturdays. I'm just, Everywhere I go is just like, I'm drag racing everywhere, you know, so.

[Interviewer]

Damn. So when you were in prison, you were completely sober?

[Garrett McLendon]

Yes.

[Interviewer]

When you get out, you would.

[Garrett McLendon]

I would. Immediately. Immediately. Right after I get out, I would, I would, I would take it. It was like I would celebrate. Like, they always talk about, they would talk about freedom. When you get out of. When you get out of prison, like, oh, man, you're. Everybody's coming over. Oh, you're, you know, you're getting free tomorrow. You know, that's, you know, I wish, you know, was happening to me. And then I felt like every time I got out, I was everything but free.

[Interviewer]

Yeah.

[Garrett McLendon]

Because I had this disease in me, you Know, like that, that, that, that was just like neutralized because I got busted in my environment, it wasn't around, I was able to like self control like, you know.

[Interviewer]

Yeah.

[Garrett McLendon]

You know, and then I get out and I immediately, like the first day I, maybe a day or two before I start feeling like something like uncomfortable on my insides because I knew when I got out I was going to take a drink. No matter how much I thought or how much I, I was like, you know, it's not going to, it's going to be different. No, I'm not going to do that. I immediately would pick up a drink, man, and that drink will lead me into a drug and, and that would lead me to another 10 or 15 more traffic tickets, you know.

[Interviewer]

Was that because of your environment, the people you're around mainly?

[Garrett McLendon]

Oh, absolutely. I, I think that environment, you know, that's all I knew. And so, and so, and being, being that life and everybody I hung out with, that's all they did. They drank and they used and that's, and that's family members, my mom, everybody. Like it was, it was there and, and they'd be like, oh, you know, let's, you know, maybe they would like try to be a good example. But, but I would, I would go out and I would celebrate, man, I go and grab a 40 or I grab a, you know, just for this, this two hour bus ride, I, I take a 40. You know, I never arrived home sober on any occasion.

[Interviewer]

That's crazy.

[Garrett McLendon]

Yeah.

[Interviewer]

It's kind of ironic. In jail you're actually behaving and then.

[Garrett McLendon]

Yeah.

[Interviewer]

You know, when you get out, you're going wild.

[Garrett McLendon]

Yeah, it's crazy. Like the, and it's just, I don't know if it's like something that. Getting out of your environment or. Because, you know, here we are in this jail and everything so monotone and like, you know, you know, the times of everything, you know, ciao. And, and whether you're in the lockdown, you're working out in your cell, like you have a little, a little job in there, you know. You know, you're doing all this stuff, like you got this, it can be busy. That keeps you busy, you know, and you get out and like all that's gone and like. And you know, and for me, the first thing I did was drink. Then I'd be like, all right, now I'm gonna go check into parole or something like that. And then, and then, and then, next thing I know I'm dirty and I can't even go do that. You know, and so I'm just off and running and.

[Interviewer]

Damn.

[Garrett McLendon]

Getting busted again.

[Interviewer]

Yeah. What was that first day like, in prison? Did they run your papers and everything?

[Garrett McLendon]

Oh, yeah. First day in prison, man. I was a young kid. It was sort of like I, I knew that this was going to happen to me. Like, I, I sort of like growing up and everything in my life, hanging out with the people I was hanging out with and, and doing the things I do. Like prison was, Was seen in my future. Guaranteed to go. Guaranteed this guy right here is going to go to prison, you know, and, and so when I arrived in the prison yard, I, I'll say that my first time even going into the county jail was scary. You know, it was like, you know, you're. I'm a, I'm a big guy, so, like, it was cool, but like I, I was tall, I'm skinny, you know, like, you know, I don't know what to expect and, and know. And people test you, man. And I'll say, when I, when I arrived on a prison yard, you know, you, you have this fear in you, you know, because you hear about these stabbings and what you have to do. Like if, if someone calls you this name or, or if, you know, you can't be, you know, you can't be, you can't be weak, right? You know, you gotta, you gotta be strong from the start, you know? And so, and so I, I was strong from the start.

[Interviewer]

You got in a fight right away.

[Garrett McLendon]

I didn't, I didn't get in a fight right away, but like, I never backed down from no fight or any kind of squabble or anything like that. Like, if it was, if it was something going to happen, whether it was punching somebody, beating somebody up or doing like that, I, I admitted it was. I was on it, you know, and so, and that just yet, you know, Like, I think that's like your first test is sort of just seeing if you're like a, if you're gonna be a person who's willing to, to like, back. Like, if, if I have a celly and, or, you know, other guys in there and I can. And you see a guy and he's not really sticking up for herself, how can I expect this guy to stick up for me? Like, if something happens, like we're supposed to be like, we're Celia's, like, if we're like lifelong partners, we're Celia's. Like, we got each other's back, you know, and, and if you're not sticking up for yourself, how Can I expect you to stick up for me? So you want to know that this guy that you're with is actually, like, down for a cause, and that as that is, like, you know, that he's gonna have your back.

[Interviewer]

Yeah.

[Garrett McLendon]

You know, and that just really makes, like, then this feels like when you're. When you're side by side with your cellie or something like that, you really feel, like, a strong connection to where, like, you know, I feel a lot. I feel a lot better that I can do the things I do here because I know this guy, like, is watching my back and. And I'm watching his.

[Interviewer]

Yeah, that's probably huge in prison to know you have someone that will ride or die.

[Garrett McLendon]

Yeah. Ride or die with you, man. That someone's watching my back, dude, 24 7, you know, and. And that. And that's. And that's. And on a higher level, that's. That's how it is, man. We're watching. We're watching over each other, you know.

[Interviewer]

Were you at a level four?

[Garrett McLendon]

I was. I started off on a level four yard at the age of like, 20 years old, you know, and. And it was. It was. Man, that. That was like. To me, it was sort of like. It was like a. You know, like I. I was waiting for this day, you know? You know, I thought. I thought I would get all blasted back with all these tattoos, you know, I thought that the life and the way I grew up in my life I was living. I thought my life was just going to be all. All prison, you know, I thought I was just waiting to catch more time and come back, you know? Like, I thought, like, you know, I go in there and people learn a lesson. I'm going there and picking up new friends and. And new ideas and. And, you know, and. And new recipes to take out into the real world. But I felt that since I couldn't control the drugs and alcohol when I was out there on the streets.

[Interviewer]

Yeah.

[Garrett McLendon]

And then when I come to jail and I. And my mind was sober and, you know, and. And I had, like, this neutrality of that I was a lot sharper of a person, you know, and, you know, so, yeah, I just kept on going with it.

[Interviewer]

Yeah, we'll dive into the recovery stuff later. That's important. How do they determine what level prison.

[Garrett McLendon]

You go to when you get points about the. About the crime you did? You know, so, like, you know, I mean, not only was I still in cars, I did. I did a great ball of injury on a person and I stole all these cars and you know, and I, I had my hands in like around with messing around with methamphetamine and manufacturing it.

[Interviewer]

And so like you were making it.

[Garrett McLendon]

A little bit, you know. Yeah, yeah, I was making it, you know. I mean, I had my hands in it, you know, and, and then, and then I had like an arsenal of weapons, you know, and so like all that stuff added up, you know, like the, the stuff that did stick was like the weapons and, and the, and the, and the, and the, in the great bottle injury, you know what I'm saying, to a person and, and having a chop shop at my house, you know. Yeah. And so I mean, you know, it's better, you know. Yeah, it's a lot of felonies and all ends up. And so that it gives you a strike.

[Interviewer]

So it's like a point system and.

[Garrett McLendon]

It'S all a point system. And then if you get inside and if you're inside there and you get enough height, you know, there's more points. The more you misbehave in there, the higher points go and you go from, you go from a double to a single confinement into a hole, you know, you're living in a dog cage, you know, to where you're locked down 23 hours a day. And then, and then, you know, and then it's. That's it. That's your life, you know, 23 hours a day and you know, and a six by, you know, eight cell, you know, and, and, and you're just learning how to live inside there.

[Interviewer]

That's tough. Do you think about if the fight is worth taking or not? Because it'll add a couple months to your sentence or whatever?

[Garrett McLendon]

Never think about it. You just take it. Oh, wow. I never thought about it. You know, I got to a point, when you're young and you're in jail like that, you want to fight. No, you're just like, I'll do it, you know, I'll do it, I'll do it. And a lot of times when it was, when it was like, you know, one on one, like we know that you're checking somebody, like you can get away with that. Like when you're disciplined in somebody in there, like there's, there's, there's ways that, you know, you, you get, you get, you get away with all that stuff. You know, it's just like we're not. When a riot breaks out or, or when it's with another race that it gets a little, a little different, you know, because then it's like they're taking you know, 10 to 15, you know, 10 to 15 of us out, and 10 to 15 of them out, and they're. And they're changing the whole dynamics of the whole day, you know, trying to separate everybody, you know, so we're not fighting no more.

[Interviewer]

And so how common were those race wars?

[Garrett McLendon]

The. The hardest race wars I was in was in. In the county jail.

[Interviewer]

Okay.

[Garrett McLendon]

You know, and it seemed like, you know, that the county jail was like your. Was like your little ship before you got to the big ship. And. And. And the politics inside that and the county were way. Just really. The. The fine lines inside there are really, really strong. Really, you know. Yeah. Like, it was like. And it was scary. And the thing is, it. And like, the riots and all that stuff inside the county jail, like, were way more scarier because there was. There was no control. There's a lot less control from the. From the. If the. The sheriff's department would just let you fight, you know, and it seemed like it go on forever before they came in. Like, they. It'd be like a couple dogs fighting, and you're just letting the dogs just, like, fight it out a little bit before you can pull them apart, you know, because the energy, you know, and so, like, being the county jails, like, when you're like. Or the dorms that kick off or something like that, man, it was. It was like the scariest thing, man.

[Interviewer]

Wow.

[Garrett McLendon]

It was scary, man, that it'd be like life or death. Like, you. You really would think, man, like, my. My life. And inside some of those county jail riots were like, man, I thought, man, like, I just. I. I seen the horrible stuff go down and. And, like. And I just to think that that could have happened to me. And so it was just like. It was a lot more scary in there. And the prison, it seemed like they. The reaction would be like, you know, you know, five or 10 minutes, you know, but they. If you're on the yard within. Within, like, two to three minutes of. Of something happening, boom, they put the yard down, and, you know, you get back up, and it'd be like, for a minute or something like that. And in the county jail, it seemed like it was just like, fighting for, like, five minutes straight, you know, It's a long time. It's a long. It's a long time, bro. And it's like. And it's like gladiators. You got. You got a wall of people on one side and a wall. And it was like, just. Just going at it, you know? Yeah. And it was how common Were weapons.

[Interviewer]

In the county one.

[Garrett McLendon]

Oh, weapons are, you know, you learned that you can make a weapon out of everything, you know, and, and, and that. And then I gotta say, the way they sculpt it and make all those weapons inside. There is a level ingenuity of building and design that like God damn.

[Interviewer]

Like videos of it now.

[Garrett McLendon]

Yeah, like the, like prison. How they, I mean, literally how. I, I wasn't one of those smart ones that was able to think, you know, this mop bucket handle could be shaved down and tied to a, a razor handle with some, with some plastic bag, you know, and, and you know, to make a shank, you know, type things like. I seen the, the craziest, you know, the craziest things, man, and turned into, you know, a piece of plastic, you know, just turn into the, the most worst weapon ever in your life, man. And, and, and it blows my mind.

[Interviewer]

And yeah, that's all it takes to the neck too.

[Garrett McLendon]

And that's all it takes the neck to the gut. I mean, 15 times in that. Like it depends if they want to kill them or they want you to live, you know. And. But when you're in a riot like that, yeah, it's, it's crazy, you know.

[Interviewer]

Everything'S off the table in the situation.

[Garrett McLendon]

Everything's off the table when it comes out. When, you know, you get a kite or something like that and you know, at 4:00 or on your, you know, at 4:00 it's going to start. It's happening like you, you just know, man, and, and you know that everybody's, everybody is just coming with their, with whatever they got, you know.

[Interviewer]

Absolutely. I want to dive into the recovery side of things and also repairing the relationship with your family.

[Garrett McLendon]

Let's do it, man.

[Interviewer]

Because that took 20 years, right?

[Garrett McLendon]

Yeah, well, due to my addiction and everything that I had going on that, you know, that I had bet the best of both worlds, you know, by the time, you know, I, I was raised by my mom, mama's boy at heart and I stuck with my mom and my sisters, you know, they were there with my dad and, and for, and for 17 years, you know, I didn't talk to my dad or my sisters. You know, I, I see him briefly one, once or twice. You know, I get out from that prison term, you know, that I had. And I get out from that prison term I had and I get a girl pregnant. I have a little girl, you know, and my addiction to disease wouldn't allow me to, you know, I didn't know how to care or love or. I didn't know nothing. I was. I was addicted to the streets and the drugs and all that stuff. And I had this little girl and like, I. I didn't even know how to be a dad, you know, I thought maybe I did, you know, but I didn't.

[Interviewer]

Yeah.

[Garrett McLendon]

You know, and, you know, on March. You know, on March 17, 2013, is the day that is my sobriety date.

[Interviewer]

Nice.

[Garrett McLendon]

And after that, like, at this point, I haven't talked to my dad. I had all those tickets. I haven't talked to my dad. I haven't. You know, my mom is my. One of my best using partners, you know, like, it's. It's a tragic life out there, you know, and, you know, I remember that after about six months of me being in this. In a recovery home as I had a, you know, my mom. And my mom always pushed me to. To get a relationship with my dad, you know.

[Interviewer]

Really?

[Garrett McLendon]

Yeah. And, you know, and I. But I was too. I was too ignorant to even, you know. No. You know, I was mad at him for things that were imagined, you know.

[Interviewer]

Like, you know, leaving her.

[Garrett McLendon]

No, not even. Even her. I was mad over. I was mad over a wheelbarrow, you know, honestly, over a wheelbarrow, man. It was, you know, they said I stole it and I borrowed it, you know, and it was. And it caused some ruckus in the family and. And, you know, and I. They signed me off. I wouldn't change my ways is the whole thing. I was a liar, a cheat, I'm a snake, you know, I'm manipulative and. And anything that came out of my mouth was a lie because I write all these letters and why I was locked up about how I was going to change my life, but I would never change my life.

[Interviewer]

Wow.

[Garrett McLendon]

And so they just get tired of hearing that sob story all the time. All the time, all the time. And I don't blame them. You know, I see it from a different perception now, you know, and that. That. That life of my dad is. Is at about, you know, eight months or so. I don't know how much time I had, but I was early, it was within a year. And my dad said the first thing I, you know, I reached out to him. I. I got a hold of him. He says the first thing I have to do is I have to get rid of all this hate and negativity on my. On my socials, you know, in which I didn't see it at the time, but it was full of nothing but negative and hate, you know, you were.

[Interviewer]

Hating on him on social media.

[Garrett McLendon]

Not hating on that like that. Just like the, the, you know, the. The people in my circles, you know? You know. You know, and I. I had a. I had a. I had to let go of a lot of stuff that I thought was like friendships and relationships, you know, And, And. But I did it. I listened, you know, and then he's. There was a visit. My counselor worked out a visit, and I haven't seen my dad, and probably I. I seen him maybe once, maybe twice. He picked me up from jail one time and he asked me those questions. He'd be like, you know, what are you going to do with your life? You know, and once again, I'm fresh out of jail, right? And so I'm talking all the. I'm gonna get a job, you know, everything's gonna be good, dad, I'm gonna come see you. And he's like, you know, can you come over for my. You know, my birthday's this weekend. Are you able to come by? And. And I didn't make it, man. He dropped me off. I. I get drunk, I get loaded, and I wouldn't make it, you know, and my counselor mediated a little. A little thing for us to get together. And. And my stepmom, he's been married, you know, my dad was married again for like 30 years, you know, and. And he comes through and, man, I gotta tell you, I was sitting in the little room, you know, and I was thinking, you know, all this hatred and all this. All this negativity that was built up inside me that I had towards my father because I. I felt like he should have been there in my life, you know, Like, I. I had all this stuff. All these mixed emotions and, and, and, and stuff were going through and, and when my dad walked through that door with my stepmom, man, like, I. I stood up, man. I. I saw my dad as a. I saw my dad as a. A whole different man. He was just like, man, he was. He was a lot older, you know.

[Interviewer]

Wow.

[Garrett McLendon]

You know?

[Interviewer]

Yeah.

[Garrett McLendon]

And the only thing I could do is I walked up over to a man and I. And I gave him this big old hug and I. And I just said, dad, man, and it was a big hug, man, and I said, I love you. He says, I love you too. And I just said, man, from this point on forward, you know, I like to be your son. It's never. It's never too late, man, for a son and a, you know, a dad and a son to start a Relationship.

[Interviewer]

Yeah.

[Garrett McLendon]

And from that point on, I started a relationship with my dad. And, and I would just. I showed up when I was supposed to show up. If I told him I was going to do something, I did it. If, if there, if I was invited somewhere that concerned him, I was there. I go to his house. I didn't have a car. I still, you know, I'm still early in my survival. I don't have a car yet, license yet or nothing. I'm still taking care of all that stuff, you know, and, and I just go to his house and I sit there with them and hang out with them and, and I remember that I was sitting there one day watching the football game with them, man. And I remember he looked over at me, you know, because I, I'm still active in my recovery and I go to his house and I'm like, dad, you know, like, it's fun sitting here with you and all this stuff, but I have to go to, I have to go to a meeting.

[Interviewer]

Yeah.

[Garrett McLendon]

And he, you know, and, and they, and they, and every time they, Anytime I was there, it didn't matter holidays or, or whatever it was, I always, like, I, I, I went to a meeting, man, and, But I'll never forget the day he looked over, man, and he looked over at me and he said, so, man, he said, I want you to know I love you.

[Interviewer]

Wow.

[Garrett McLendon]

And there was something that was inside of me that was something that maybe that's, that's the young kid in me, the young boy in me. That's, that's what I wanted to hear. Right. So it, like, filled me up with a, with this joy, man. And I'm gonna tell you, I had the best. I had absolutely the greatest relationship a son can have with his dad, you know, until the moment he passed away.

[Interviewer]

Wow.

[Garrett McLendon]

You know, and, and I love it, man. I'll tell you about that. That little girl who was born and who. I wasn't even, I wasn't even in the hospital, like, when she was born. I was, I'm full on in my disease of addiction. And, and like, and my disease was calling me as she was being, as she was being brought into this world. And I, and I took off.

[Interviewer]

You weren't even there.

[Garrett McLendon]

I took off. I was there. Like, I was there, you know, I took off. I took off. Like, the drug started wearing off. The. Everything starts wearing off. I'm feeling like I'm just, I'm not feeling like if I wasn't, if I wasn't like up here with drugs and alcohol Like, I didn't want to do nothing. Like, as soon as that, that buzz starts to wear off or, or some level of me, like it starts getting slow, like, dude, I have to go, I gotta move. I gotta go, go, gotta go, gotta go, you know, and, and I gotta say, that little girl, I took her around and I did everything wrong that, that father should do with a little girl. Like as, as taking her when she was three, when she's father, she didn't even know. By the time she was 4 years old and I got out of prison, she didn't even know who I was. Damn. You know, like, she, she, I wasn't there, I wasn't around. Like, I was there maybe once or twice. Like I went, I saw her maybe once or twice very briefly at any given time, you know. And, and this is, this is, this is the hard part, man. This is, this is what's really sad is that I came in this little girl's life in, in my disease, man, and I built all that trust back up with her, man. And you know, and I told her one day, you know, and I think I'm doing good, but I. Living that life out there and I'll never forget, man. And she's like, dad, you want to watch this movie with me? And I was like, you know what? Dad will be right back, man. I didn't come back for years. Later I went, I left that night. I got, I got arrested that day, you know, I, I, I went, I, I got arrested, you know, and I didn't see her for years, man.

[Interviewer]

Jeez.

[Garrett McLendon]

And I wonder if she remembers that. I'm sure she does, man. I'm sure she would remind me, you know, but, but I'll tell you this, is that, you know, at that same time I started building relationship back up with my dad, that I started building that relationship up with that girl. And, and, and, and all that trust I built up, man, I can see that I built all that trust up and I broke it, man. And, and I probably did that two or three times and I, and, and so by the time she's nine years old and she probably really needs her dad about this time in her life, and I made sure that, that when I built it up, I wasn't going to break it. And I, and I showed up and I did everything, everything possible just to be present in her life, you know, and, and to this day, man, that little girl, man, I'm, I'm proud of her in every single way possible, man. She's a, she's in College.

[Interviewer]

Wow.

[Garrett McLendon]

You know, she's like, you know, we have a relationship. She texted me, you know, this morning before I got here. It's like, you know, dad, you know, go on there, you know, kill it, you know, like, you know, and. And I. And I love that, man. And, man, it puts me in tears, man. Dude, that's beautiful.

[Interviewer]

You got me tearing up.

[Garrett McLendon]

Yeah. Tearing over that, dude. And. And. And. And, man, and she's like my pride and joy, man. Like, we started surfing together, like, way when she was young, you know, like, you know, new. New channels of life, you know, new hobbies, and I can't be stealing and racing cars no more, you know, But I. I got into surfing, and at the same time, my daughter got into surfing, and. And now, like, our greatest time is out there just sitting on a surfboard out in the ocean together.

[Interviewer]

Yeah.

[Garrett McLendon]

And I might tell you, man, there's lots of stuff that money could take you and buy you, man, but sitting out there in the ocean, whether there's waves or not, with my daughter, is one of the greatest things I, you know, that I could ever ask for, man.

[Interviewer]

And that's a free thing you could do.

[Garrett McLendon]

It says free man. Freedom, dude. Yeah. Doesn't cost a thing, dude. The conversations out there, the. The. You know, the life, you know, do you sit up is beyond my. Is beyond, man. Ending out of this world I ever should have imagined, you know, And I'll talk about that. Mom is. Sometimes the ones that we love the most are the ones we have to stay away from. I love my mom. I loved my mom to death. And my mama's boy at hearts. All of us gangsters go home and get in trouble. Like, she was just like the. The bread and butter of everything. And. And I knew every time I got out, man, that. And. And I go. I go live on mom's couch, you know, that I get loaded, you know, or I get drinks or I take a hit of this to take a hit of that.

[Interviewer]

Yeah.

[Garrett McLendon]

And I had a lover for. From a distance, for. You know, for. For. From a. For a couple years, man.

[Interviewer]

Yeah.

[Garrett McLendon]

And I remember I was. I had maybe a year, almost two, my recovery. I'm out of a treatment center. I'm. I'm renting a room. I'm on my own, you know? Like, I'm. I still. I'm spending a lot of time with my dad and with my daughter, and I'm. Deep down, like, I. I feel like something's missing, man. And what I'm missing is I'm missing that relationship with my mom, you know, because I love her. I know she's still out there in the disease. I know that she ain't right. I know that she, you know, but that. See, that's not. That's not her problem. Just because I. I get sober and clean doesn't mean the whole world has to get sober and clean. You know, I got to be strong enough my own self to be able to be in her presence. And what I did, man, is I got me a little trudging buddy, you know, And I. I told him the scenario. First of all, I was embarrassed, and I was shameful of how my mom was living out there and where she was living and the things she was doing, you know, and. And I got honest with this friend, and I. And I. And I asked him, I was like, hey, man, can you, can you just come with me? Because he was like, what's wrong? What's wrong? I was like, man, I want to go see my mom, but I don't want to go by myself.

[Interviewer]

Yeah.

[Garrett McLendon]

And I went out there, and he went with me to go see my mom, and, dude, and I built a. I built a relationship with my mom. My mom might have been in the. I don't. I don't know, man, because I. Once I stopped paying attention to all that disease in that way of living that I just saw my mom as a human being. And I make plans with my mom. I made sure she saw all of her grandkids, her daughter. I, I, I take her out to dinner. If I didn't, like where she was standing, where she was living or what she was doing, I just pick her up and take her out of that environment, and I go spend time with her, and that's all I did, man. And I'll tell you this, man. I was. My mom was in the hospital. She was getting a stent in her heart, man. And I know. And I went there to pick her up from the hospital and to bring her home. And, and I'll never forget, man, and, and. And, like, I brought her grandson with her, my. My son. And. And he ran out the room, you know, and I went and chased him.

[Interviewer]

Yeah.

[Garrett McLendon]

And. And, and this is where words, man. Like, words are a lot. Words mean a lot. But I'm gonna tell you, when I. When I grabbed my son and I turned around and looked back, you know, I, I, I. My mom was peeking out the. The hospital room, the door right there, man, and, like, it was like, in a long time, like. And, man, I'm gonna tell you, man, like, all that, there was no words that you could put in the middle of all that eye contact, that, that she saw her son and a different perspective, man, that maybe she knew at that point that the program is working in my life and that, that her, she don't have to worry about her son being locked up in prison and dead in the paper or doing all this life, man. But I looked, we caught eye contact for the very first time. I didn't make eye contact with many people, a lot of people, anybody, when I was out there, man. But I made the eye contact that day with my mom and that love. And man, and it was like, it felt, it filled that void in me that she just knew, man, like her son is in a good spot, man. And, and I thought, man, and I really thought. What I really thought, man, is like, I thought, man, like they talk about reservations and all this stuff, and, and I was thinking, man, if, if something ever happened to my mom, I don't know if I could hold it together, you know, my, you know, and, and, and for many years, you know, and, and, and I always, man, I made sure that I was always present with my mom on a holiday, his birthday, his Mother's Day. Every day I spent, you know, I, I, I, I, I put the effort in, you know, and, and when my mom was, she got sick, man, it was just a phone call. One day, man, I get a call from my sister. Mom's mom's not good. She's going to the hospital. And I, I gotta say that. And that this is what blows my mind is that I was surrounded by a group of men. And, and you know, and I, I was, I was holding all this in, like, I didn't want to, I didn't want everybody to be like, oh, man, you know, I didn't want all the empathy from all these people around me, you know, Like, I sort of was just like, like running with it, you know, I'm on my bike, I got tears coming down my eyes, you know, as I'm, as I'm riding on my helmet on, so I'm like, I'm shielding. Nobody could really see me. You know, I'm driving from, from A to B. I'm going to, I'm going to Havasu on my bike or to Laughlin. And, and like, you know, we stop here and I got a phone call and like in Victorville or Barstow, like, hey, she's in, she's going in for a surgery. And by the time I get into to Laughlin and I jump in the water, you know, my mom, My mom was, it was done. It was done, man. And she was gone, dude. She, she, that she was, she was gone. It was. And you know, my sister was telling me and, and, and I really felt this, man. I, like there was a something, man, like, losing your mom. Like, I lost my dad 11 months earlier and now I'm losing my mom. I lost a couple friends. I, I just went through like some, some bad relationship stuff and I really felt like, you know, like, man, like this, what's going on, you know, and man, and do none of that, do any of that stuff, man, did I feel like taking a drink, hit her face and putting it to change the way I was feeling, man, I walked, I walked through all those emotions, man, like, and I'm not saying it's easy. I'm not saying that like, like it didn't have a grip on you and like it's pulling you down. Like, I, I just try to, I try to, you know, self sacrifice to others, man. I just try to help other people, man, help other people without, without telling them about my problems, man. I just try to help other people, help other people, help other. Is the only thing that was keeping me live, man. The only thing that was like, helping me not like, think about like, oh, I, I should have did this, I should have done that. I, I, I should, you know, all this should have, would have, could haves, you know, the only thing that, that, that could help me was me just, just being like, you know what, man? That, that's it, man. Like, I, I can't take a drink, hit or fix to, to, to, to deal with all this emotions and all this pain. A guy like me, the way I, I, I, I'm not used to emotions. I'm not used to, I'm not used to pain. I'm used to a neutral mono tone. Like they said. I'm either, I'm either down or up and you know, I'm either. And I like to stay up though. And they're usually down like a week or two later, you know, like, like I'm used to staying up, man. And here I am, man. I, and I, I, I, I'm just before my 10 years and I'm sitting there and, and I, man, I, I can't put nothing in my body to, to, to change the way I was feeling, man, and I have to walk through all these emotions. Like, I, I had to be sad, you know, I had a, I had to reflect about, man, all the good stuff, man, that went on with My mom's life, man. I don't care about all that bad stuff. That's how your perception is. Like, you gotta. You gotta figure out like, you can either hold on to all these bad memories and all this stuff that went wrong, or you can just take all that good stuff out, man, and just hold on. I choose to hang on to all this good stuff that happened between us, man. All the, all the good stuff, man, like how. How loving and caring she really was despite all the stuff that went on, you know, and, and, and, yeah, man. And just walk through it, man, and it just makes you like a, you know. You know, to this day, I love my mom, man. It's still this day.

[Interviewer]

Beautiful, dude.

[Garrett McLendon]

Yeah.

[Interviewer]

Dude, you were one of the best storytellers I've ever met. You've had me tearing out the past 20 minutes.

[Garrett McLendon]

Oh my God, man, you have no. You have no. You have no tissues up here, man. And I don't have nothing to give you.

[Interviewer]

I've been holding them in.

[Garrett McLendon]

Your guys should have brought you some tissues, dude.

[Interviewer]

Your story's so inspiring. I wonder like what percentage of the people you went to prison with recovered and are at your level now.

[Garrett McLendon]

You know what? This is a. I love it, man. And, and it's not about a level. It's either. It's either you're on this side. I, I was full on. And when I was out there living the way I was living and disease of drug addiction and all that stuff, like I was, I was fully invested. Like it was. It didn't matter. Like I was fully invested and I had to fully invest myself into this, into this program. Like there are half measures availed us. Nothing that got me as a human being for. To work for me. I'm a true alcoholic drug addict, you know, Anything to be in the moment now, you know. And man, I. I fully invested my whole life into this program and every day. And it's not like something that you're like, oh, cool. It's. It's. You know, that's all I can do. It's. It's always. I can always do more. Yeah, that's a 12 step program, that 12 step program.

[Interviewer]

Correct stuff, right?

[Garrett McLendon]

Yeah.

[Interviewer]

So it work?

[Garrett McLendon]

Yeah, it does, man. 100 recovery works, dude. You know, it's beautiful, man.

[Interviewer]

Dude, we gotta make a movie for you or something.

[Garrett McLendon]

Let's do it, man. Let's do it.

[Interviewer]

I'll put you in touch with some producers.

[Garrett McLendon]

Let's do it. Let's do it.

[Interviewer]

What else you got going on next, man? Where could people find you.

[Garrett McLendon]

You'll find me on my. Yeah, man. If you're on my. If you're on social media, you can find me Garrett McLendon on. On IG, you know, mindset Recovery, man. For the people who are out there who. Who are struggling or need help and reach out to me. Let me know if there's something I can do for you, man. I come from a place like this, and so I. I sort of, you know, want to bring a place together to help. To help people, you know. You know, helping others, man. Help others. Help others. Help others, man.

[Interviewer]

That's the goal, man.

[Garrett McLendon]

Yeah.

[Interviewer]

We'll link everything below. Thanks for coming on, Garrett.

[Garrett McLendon]

Thank you. Yep.

[Interviewer]

Thanks for watching, guys. See you tomorrow.

[Announcer]

Hey, music fans. There are some great concerts headed this way. Don't miss out on all the shows in your favorite venues, like Deftones at Madison Square Garden, Eagles at the Sphere, and Foster, the people at the Ryman Auditorium. Tickets are going fast, so don't wait. Head to livenation.com to get your tickets. Now that's livenation.com.