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Crystal Renee Hayslett
Coming up on Keep it positive, sweetie. We live in a culture where everyone is trying to teach, have all these courses and things like that. How did you cultivate your course to make sure that people understand it's not a scam? Because there's our people out here really scamming people. How did you, like, really build that and say, I'm gonna keep this integral and make sure that I'm teaching people and that they get what they need out of it?
The Wall Street Trapper
I use the same mentality that we had in the streets. It was give it away for free.
Camille Rose
Wow. Wow.
The Wall Street Trapper
Give it away for free. And if it's good for free, they'll pay for it. Foreign.
Crystal Renee Hayslett
Hi, I'm Crystal Renee Hayslett, and this is Keep it positive, sweetie. A safe space to heal, laugh, grow, and love. In last week's show, I talked about creating and maintaining a money making mindset with Camille Rose, founder and CEO Janell Stevens, and serial entrepreneur the Wall Street Trapper. My conversation with the Wall Street Trapper was so layered. It took us a little extra time to get through it all. So this show is a continuation of that conversation. You are world renowned for your financial tips. My brother actually called me. It was a few years ago. I didn't even know who you were.
The Wall Street Trapper
Right, right.
Crystal Renee Hayslett
He called me. He said, hey, sis. Like, I really. Probably during COVID okay. He's like, I want to learn about stocks and bonds and about finance. And he was like, there's this guy named Wall Street Trapper. And I paid for him. Did not know you, but I paid for him to take classes so that he could learn more. And then later on, we had mutual friends. And I was like, that's the guy.
The Wall Street Trapper
And he was like, yeah.
Crystal Renee Hayslett
Like, oh, my gosh. So, yeah, where did that even come from? Like, to learn about finances and then to say, hey, I want to spread this and teach people.
The Wall Street Trapper
Yeah. I'm in prison. I'm six. I had just made 17, and I'm staring down a 10 year bed and I wound up having this fight with this guy, my two guys. So it was me and two guys. And then the CEO came and we go to the hole. We go to solitary confinement. They put me in a cell with this white dude. And I'm so frustrated because I thought they was my homies. But I realized quick that in prison, like, that don't work like that.
Crystal Renee Hayslett
Really there, you know?
The Wall Street Trapper
Yeah, it worked like that. And the guy looked at me with, like, pure frustration.
Crystal Renee Hayslett
The white guy.
The Wall Street Trapper
And he was like, man, y' all playing the wrong game now. Mind you, we in prison. So, like, you in here with me, so you must be playing the same game I'm playing. What you talking about? So he was like, no. He was like, how much time you got? I had just got my 10 years. He was like, what you doing 10 years from, like, a 10 murder on robbery. He was like, how much money you got from it? And I was like, it wasn't about the money. He was doing 18 months for embezzlement, $2.8 million. He paid 800,000 restitution. He was able to keep $2 million. And he said, if I go home, I can do this again, and it will only give me five years next time. You'll still be doing it 10 years.
Camille Rose
Wow.
The Wall Street Trapper
And I said, so show me how to play that game.
Crystal Renee Hayslett
Right?
The Wall Street Trapper
Right? He was like, nah, it's not about that. He was like, the game of life. And it's something about when you hear intelligence, it'll put you at a stand. It paralyzed me. And the only thing about prison is anybody can tell you anything until they show you the paperwork. So he showed it to me in black and white, and I had never saw seven figures on a piece of paper like that.
Camille Rose
Yeah. Wow.
The Wall Street Trapper
And I said, dang. So he said, listen. He said, wealthy people stop trading time for money. They learn how to make their money work for them, and they learn how to give value to people because people will always be the asset. So, like, that didn't make sense to me because I never had heard it before. Like, man, street nigga talking about, man, value to people. They buying some dude. But what, dog, right? What we doing? Like, crazy. What are you doing, bro? Like, what are you talking about?
Camille Rose
Right?
The Wall Street Trapper
And then he said, the three things that wealthy people do is they invest in stocks because it's the easiest way to build out. They create a business because a business allows you to put a product in the marketplace. And they buy real estate because real estate allows you to be taxes. He said, if you learn those three things, you'll make more money than you ever made in your life, and you'll be free. And I was like, okay. And he was showing me pictures. Now, I remember this. 1999, so there's no Instagram. These are Polaroid pictures of him in places like Iceland. And I remember this blew my mind. I'm a little dude, skinny dude from the hood. And him and his family were in this pond with steam coming from it and mountains behind it. And I was like, bro. Like, that's real.
Crystal Renee Hayslett
Yeah, right?
The Wall Street Trapper
Like, how could, like, that didn't match to me. How could they have mountains and y' all sitting in this water? You're not freezing today, right? He was like, no, there's a place called a blue lagoon, and it's in Iceland.
Camille Rose
Yeah.
The Wall Street Trapper
I was like, iceland? That's a real place, Right. Straight out of the hood. I ain't been out of New Orleans too much. Right. And so he was like, this. This is what money gets you. And so the rest of my time, I learned about the stock market I was reading. I remember my first book was Robert Kiyosaki, Rich Dad, Poor Dad. And it was a financial literacy. It was like a mindset about money. And that kind of just changed my mind. On, yo, there's people. That's really moving. Because in my mind, if you was rich in America, you were selling dope by doing something crooked.
Camille Rose
Yeah. But it's. Yes.
The Wall Street Trapper
And I was like, that's a whole nother game out here. And so when I started looking at the stock market, I started realizing that, yo, these people are making tons of money off us being consumers, so we really junkies.
Camille Rose
Yeah. Ooh. Wow.
The Wall Street Trapper
And that's how the market started making sense to me. I started putting in a street tournament.
Crystal Renee Hayslett
Exactly. Okay.
The Wall Street Trapper
And so once I realized that, oh, the real gangsters ain't us on the street. The real gangsters is the dudes in boardrooms, the dudes that's building these businesses. The dudes that's building businesses to make laws that benefit their businesses. I said, ah, checkmate. I ain't never been a dumb nigger.
Crystal Renee Hayslett
I might have made a. I might.
The Wall Street Trapper
Have made some L. I ain't never been dumb.
Camille Rose
Right.
The Wall Street Trapper
Right. So I'm like, all right, bet. And so I just spent the rest of my time just reading everything I could about it. I done got in a whole bunch of fights in prison about trying to watch the stock market while they trying to watch the Young and the Restless.
Camille Rose
Yeah.
The Wall Street Trapper
I'm like, bro, you're not tired of watching Victor Newman, bro? Right. Like, come on, bro. Ms. Chancellor ain't died yet, dog. Like, what we doing here? Yo, them people been there.
Camille Rose
Yes.
The Wall Street Trapper
So I was like, bro, we've been watching Jabot and Abbott cosmetics forever, bro. Like, I'm tired. And so I was just getting fights, but it was worth it. And so when I came home, I still didn't get it right.
Camille Rose
Wow.
Crystal Renee Hayslett
What happened when you got home?
The Wall Street Trapper
I got back in the streets because it's a thing to have an idea, but to come home into the real world and execute that idea.
Camille Rose
Yeah.
The Wall Street Trapper
It's a whole new ball game.
Camille Rose
Yeah.
The Wall Street Trapper
And so when people. When people be like, why this dude going back to the streets? He ain't tired of going to jail. It ain't that a person ain't tired of going to jail.
Camille Rose
That's all you know.
The Wall Street Trapper
That's all he know.
Camille Rose
Yeah.
The Wall Street Trapper
That's all they got the tools for.
Camille Rose
Yeah.
The Wall Street Trapper
That's the thing that make them feel like somebody, right?
Camille Rose
Yeah.
The Wall Street Trapper
It's what makes them feel like they have control of their destiny, even though it ain't right.
Crystal Renee Hayslett
Right.
Camille Rose
Yeah.
The Wall Street Trapper
And so I'm back in the streets, and I wound up getting the police, wound up kicking in my door. They got 10 pounds of weed, a 40 with extended clip in the beam, a 223, 100x pills, and a pint of lean. And I was like, yup, yup, this is it. I'm going out like this. Here's the crazy part. When they kicked my door in, I wasn't in the house. They brought me to the house. The stock market was on. And I never forget this man telling me, you got to be a stupid nigga to be watching the stock market and still selling dope.
Camille Rose
Yeah.
The Wall Street Trapper
Something ain't clicking right for you. You belong in jail.
Camille Rose
Wow. I said, damn.
The Wall Street Trapper
And in my mind, I said, God, he not right.
Crystal Renee Hayslett
I don't belong there.
The Wall Street Trapper
I don't belong there. I was only home two years. God was with me. They kicked in the door with no search warrant. It took me about 50 grand to fight those charges. I got found not guilty under what's called fruit of a poisonous tree, which means if you find something illegally, everything is no good.
Camille Rose
Yep.
The Wall Street Trapper
And I said, all right, God. This it?
Camille Rose
Yeah.
The Wall Street Trapper
I'm gonna go legit.
Camille Rose
Mm.
Crystal Renee Hayslett
So what did that look like? Cause I'm interested. Like, did you use, like, the dope money to, like.
The Wall Street Trapper
Yep. So I had, like, no bread left. And I still ain't get it, though.
Camille Rose
Really?
The Wall Street Trapper
Nah. Cause I didn't have enough money.
Crystal Renee Hayslett
Okay.
The Wall Street Trapper
So me and my partner started robbing. We started robbing doughboys. Cause, you know, there's certain rules I learned in the game. And. And it was like, nine or five people are off limits. They ain't sign up for that.
Camille Rose
Wow. Yeah.
The Wall Street Trapper
But if you.
Crystal Renee Hayslett
If you in the street, I see what you're saying.
The Wall Street Trapper
You signed up for a shark. Don't care if you eat a tuna fish. A guppy don't matter. A lion will kill a gazelle, and it'll kill a gazelle puppy. It's part of the game. And I was willing to face whatever came with that. I've been shot, I've been stabbed. I almost got put in a trunk before. Almost got kidnapped. I done been in it at all. It's nothing you can tell me about the streets that I haven't done.
Crystal Renee Hayslett
Are you gonna do a movie?
The Wall Street Trapper
That's why I got you.
Camille Rose
Hey.
Crystal Renee Hayslett
That's why I got you.
The Wall Street Trapper
Listen. God. Making connections here, right?
Crystal Renee Hayslett
Cause I'm like. I'm already seeing. I'm like, this is a movie.
The Wall Street Trapper
Let's go. And so me and my partner started. We started robbing doughboys, started jacking them. We started traveling and doing it. Cause I was a thinker, so I knew how to put it together.
Camille Rose
Wow.
The Wall Street Trapper
I knew how to put it together. And then we hit this one lick and we missed a couple steps. And the dude had a 12 gauge to the back of my head. And I was like, damn, I'm about to go out like this, like this. And I remember just saying, God, forgive me, if I gotta go like this, I gotta go like this. Yeah, but I don't wanna go like this.
Crystal Renee Hayslett
Like, facing death like that.
The Wall Street Trapper
And that wasn't the first time.
Crystal Renee Hayslett
Like, what in those moments were. Well, I mean, I guess it wasn't that traumatizing because you continue to do things that will put you back in that position. But I think about, like, if somebody had a gun to my head, I don't know if I would do it again. Like, I don't think I've put myself.
The Wall Street Trapper
You know, that come with the game.
Crystal Renee Hayslett
Okay.
Camille Rose
Yeah.
The Wall Street Trapper
It's kind of like a person working a job and they know they gonna get fired.
Camille Rose
Yeah.
The Wall Street Trapper
At some point. Like, all right, let me just get another job.
Camille Rose
Yeah.
The Wall Street Trapper
The only time you think about getting out the streets is when you are in a situation where it's life or death.
Camille Rose
Yeah.
The Wall Street Trapper
But after you get past that situation, you're like, bro, this is all I know. And my partner came, and my partner, God bless his soul, he passed away maybe a couple years later from sickle cell. I remember him telling the dude, and it was. It was. It only took about seven to eight seconds. He said, listen, if you shoot my home, it's gonna be three dead people right here. You gonna die, Your homie gonna die, My homie gonna be dead, and I' ma still get all the bread.
Camille Rose
Yeah.
The Wall Street Trapper
So the best thing for you to do is let my homie go, and we'll let the money go. We'll call it even.
Camille Rose
Yeah.
The Wall Street Trapper
And I just remember the dude putting the gun down. And I remember leaving and the money we did.
Camille Rose
Had.
The Wall Street Trapper
I gave it to my dog. I said, bro, I'm done.
Camille Rose
Yeah.
The Wall Street Trapper
I said, man, I can't do this no more, dog. And my dog was like, man, you tripping, man. Hey, man, you know they part of the game. You done saved my life. I done saved your life. I'm like, yeah, dog, But I done did. I done did 10. I done been in multiple shootouts. I done got shot. I done got found out guilty. And now this, bro. Like, bro, I can't keep beating the game.
Camille Rose
Yeah.
Crystal Renee Hayslett
Because eventually it's gonna be.
Camille Rose
I can't keep beating the game.
The Wall Street Trapper
And I say, brian, ready to die, dog? I said, bro, you can have it.
Camille Rose
Yeah.
The Wall Street Trapper
And that was the last time.
Crystal Renee Hayslett
Like, wow.
The Wall Street Trapper
I was like, I'm good. And so I started working as an iron worker. I started taking that serious. I learned how to weld. I learned how to, like. I built the Falcon Stadium out here.
Crystal Renee Hayslett
Really?
Camille Rose
Yeah. Wow.
The Wall Street Trapper
Built the Falcon Stadium. Built state of Minnesota, built some of Texas A and M. I was building a lot of plants and power plants in new. Like, outside of New Orleans. And I was still making hustle money. I was making, like, 2500 to $3000 a week. And so I said, all right. This remind me of dope money. I said, I'm gonna take the stock market serious.
Crystal Renee Hayslett
Okay, what year was this?
The Wall Street Trapper
2014.
Crystal Renee Hayslett
Okay.
Camille Rose
Okay.
The Wall Street Trapper
So I really was telling my homies about it heavy. And I remember telling them like, bro, like, you know, we wind this Louis Vuitton, bro, that's on the stock market. Lvmh. Like, dog, we buying these iPhones. It's on the stock market. We buying Nike. We buying Dickies and Timberlands. That's on the stock market. We buying alcohol. It's on the stock market. And I remember one day, my homies, we went to the club, and they bought this Hennessy, and I had the Fendi on, and I said, y' all know the same company own this?
Camille Rose
Yep. Mm.
The Wall Street Trapper
And they was like, all right. And so you got to make it make sense.
Crystal Renee Hayslett
The way you're looking at everything, it's different.
Camille Rose
Yeah.
The Wall Street Trapper
Everything.
Camille Rose
Yeah.
Crystal Renee Hayslett
Like, okay.
The Wall Street Trapper
And I'm telling them, y' all making me money. You bought another bottle.
Crystal Renee Hayslett
Appreciate it.
The Wall Street Trapper
Give me some money.
Camille Rose
Yeah.
The Wall Street Trapper
And so I remember telling my homie one day, I said, bro, we gonna get killed. We don't even got life insurance. Let's at least have our money in the stock market.
Camille Rose
Wow.
The Wall Street Trapper
So that when we die, we at least give our kids something.
Camille Rose
Yeah.
The Wall Street Trapper
And the one thing that really made it made sense to me was when the police kicked my door in. They took my truck. They took my money that was in my bank account. They took the money that was on my dresser and all that, but they didn't touch my money that was in the stock market. I said, ah, I ain't never been a stupid nigga. And so that from there, we just. I really started taking it serious. 2019, I quit the job. They wanted me to cut my beard. And I was like, man, I ain't cut my beard, man.
Crystal Renee Hayslett
The welders the world.
The Wall Street Trapper
Because I was working in a plant, okay? And they wanted us to go in this segment of the plant where you had to wear this mask. And I was like, man, get somebody else to do that. I'm not doing that. And it was like, nah, we need you to go because you can well overhead. I was like, man, I'm not doing it. And so I said, man, look, just pack my stuff. I'm good. And I was like, I'm all in on the market.
Camille Rose
Wow.
The Wall Street Trapper
And then a friend of mine, she had me the first million dollars with this hair care product. And so she wanted to put her money in the market, and she didn't trust the financial advisor. So I was like, man, look, put your money right here. Put your money right here. Buy this stock. Get rid of all that they got you doing. So I said, go ask him. And she came back and she was like, yo, he said, you need to teach us that on Instagram, because that makes sense.
Camille Rose
Yeah.
The Wall Street Trapper
And I was like, man, nobody don't want to hear nothing about that. And so one of my partners who was at, as a man, think his name greedy, he told me, he said, dog, you really just a nerd in the street, nigga body.
Camille Rose
Mm. Wow.
Crystal Renee Hayslett
So the way you took everything you learned in prison and then made mistakes again after you got out, but then flipped it, how did, like, everything take off once you put it on Instagram?
The Wall Street Trapper
So my partner told me something that was dope. He said, there's so many people that want to invest in the market that they don't talk to. Yeah, you the bridge, dog.
Camille Rose
Wow.
The Wall Street Trapper
And so when I first started doing it, my goal was just to get dudes in the street, out the street. It was the girls who I know was dancing and stripping to get them out of the club, because a lot of them was losing their life. They was, you know, New Orleans. Like a thing in New Orleans is. I don't know how it is in other places, but getting kidnapped, putting a person in a trunk and burning them, that's a thing in New Orleans.
Camille Rose
Really?
The Wall Street Trapper
Yeah, that's a thing. So many girls that I knew and so many dudes was getting meeting that fate.
Camille Rose
Mm.
The Wall Street Trapper
And I was like, yo, like, this how we get out the game, dog. But the thing about us is, you can't teach us something if it ain't working for you. Yeah, right. And so in the beginning, nobody was listening to me, but once they saw it change my life, they need to see proof.
Crystal Renee Hayslett
It was like, okay, okay, we believe you now.
The Wall Street Trapper
We believe you now.
Crystal Renee Hayslett
And how do I do it?
The Wall Street Trapper
Yeah, like, because you. It's hard to tell me that something work if you still struggle.
Camille Rose
Yeah, yeah.
The Wall Street Trapper
Like, which is why a lot of times it's hard to get a dude from the street to go get a job because everybody that he know with a job in his area still struggling. He watched his mama work. Two drives to struggle. He watched his auntie work jobs and struggle. He watched his daddy, if he was around, worked a couple jobs and still struggle. So he watched everybody struggle that work the job. So that's why he don't believe in the job. Yeah, that's why you don't believe in it. And so once they saw it, it started working for me.
Crystal Renee Hayslett
That's what they believed. I love that because I have. We have mutual friends. And I remember Kiana, she was like, y' all need to talk to Walsh, my girl. Yup. She's like, I need to talk to him. He can tell you where to put your money and everything. Because when I really started making money, that's when I was like, I've got to learn where to put it, how to invest it, how to save on taxes. It's so many loopholes and so much game that we don't know as a black community, when we start making money, the first thing we want to do is spend it, you know? And you said, people don't believe you when they don't see it. But you look at some of the wealthiest people, they're not walking around looking wealthy, but they got it. You know what I'm saying? So I think we have to get out of the mindset of, okay, yeah, I believe it now because of, like, how you living or all those things, because sometimes you ain't got it either when you're living like that, outside of your means. We live in a culture where everyone is trying to teach, have all these courses and things like that. How did you cultivate your course to make sure that people understood it's not a scam? Because there's our People out here really scamming people. How did you, like, really build that and say, I'm gonna keep this integral and make sure that I'm teaching people and that they get what they need out of it?
The Wall Street Trapper
I use the same mentality that we had in the streets. It was give it away for free.
Camille Rose
Wow. Wow.
The Wall Street Trapper
Give it away for free. And if it's good for free, they'll pay for it.
Camille Rose
Yeah.
The Wall Street Trapper
Same way in the street, like, you can't. If you go hustle somebody neighborhood, if you got a new product, you got, like, you put testers out there, come off the same brick. You just hear. You see how they react to it. And if it's good, you know, you got some.
Camille Rose
Wow.
The Wall Street Trapper
And so I remember I used. I was. I quit the job, and I was sleeping on my auntie sofa. My great. My aunt Glow. And one of the things I used to do was I had this thing called the Kilo pack. So this 2020, I would let people call me on a phone call for $97, and you could book a Zoom call with me for one hour.
Camille Rose
Wow.
Crystal Renee Hayslett
The Kilo Pack.
The Wall Street Trapper
The Kilo pay. You would get that. And I wasn't tech savvy, so a friend of mine named Danielle, she was real tech savvy. She helped me write my first ebook. So she would listen to me and say, what did you want to put in here? And I'd write the ebook. Write it, write it, write it. And then she said, you got to build an email list. I said, let's. Let's give them the ebook then.
Camille Rose
Yeah.
The Wall Street Trapper
I don't even know why I need an email list, but I'm listening to her. You got to be able to email this. I was like, all right, cool. Well, let's just give them the ebook then.
Camille Rose
Yeah.
The Wall Street Trapper
And so the Kilo Pack was being able to talk to me on a Zoom call and get the ebook. And when I quit the job, I was doing like nine or 10 of those a day.
Camille Rose
Oh, wow.
The Wall Street Trapper
But my brain used to just hurt.
Crystal Renee Hayslett
Oh, my gosh.
The Wall Street Trapper
I can imagine it would hurt.
Camille Rose
Yeah.
The Wall Street Trapper
But I was being an entrepreneur, so I didn't care.
Crystal Renee Hayslett
Yeah, I'm getting his money.
The Wall Street Trapper
I'm getting his money. Like 10 of them a day. Shoe. That's more than I'm making. And so I met a friend of mine. His name was Paki from Hood Estates. And he told me something. He said, I want you to take everything that you say on those calls because I still will record the Zooms. And he said, put it in the package and Instead of doing the phone calls, give them that.
Camille Rose
Yeah.
The Wall Street Trapper
And then what you can do is if you go through the phone call, you can do the phone call. And of course, for a thousand dollars. So I was like, and I'm not doing the phone calls no more.
Camille Rose
Yes.
The Wall Street Trapper
That would hurt my brain.
Camille Rose
Yeah.
The Wall Street Trapper
So I came up with this other product called Meet the Plug. Everything was surrounded around street talk. Everything was surrounded around street talk.
Crystal Renee Hayslett
But I'm sure, like, people that were gravitating towards you understood and loved it.
The Wall Street Trapper
Like, they loved it. And so Meet the Plug was where I would. For $3,000, I would fly to you.
Camille Rose
Wow.
The Wall Street Trapper
I will book a hotel room, and we would lock in for a whole day. And so I would let them see my account, though. And that was the. That was the transparency.
Camille Rose
Yes.
The Wall Street Trapper
It wasn't that I was just teaching. I was doing exactly what I said I was doing.
Camille Rose
Yeah, that's good.
The Wall Street Trapper
And I think that's where a lot of people fall short at today, is you're not doing exactly what you're telling people to do. You're teaching, but not executing. And so that has always been my motto, is to give away as much as I can, teach as much as I can for free. And as a byproduct of that, you'll buy whatever product inside service I had. And then the product and service, I had to realize that the people who are going to buy this are probably going to be at the lowest level. And so what I would do is I would create something. And I felt like it was. And I don't want to say, like, dumb it down, but I was like, it's still too jargonish.
Camille Rose
Yeah.
The Wall Street Trapper
Let me break it down again. And so everything that I taught, I will always challenge myself to break it down. Because I didn't want the language barrier to continuously be the reason why we not doing the thing.
Camille Rose
Yeah.
Crystal Renee Hayslett
And that is a lot of times we just don't.
The Wall Street Trapper
Like. I don't get this point. What is it? Is.
Camille Rose
Yeah.
The Wall Street Trapper
And so all of my teaching is energetic. It's laughter. Like in one of my videos, I actually teach with the Louis Vuitton bag. Like, you got this Louis bag, you know, and you make it.
Camille Rose
You.
The Wall Street Trapper
You understand our culture.
Camille Rose
Yeah.
The Wall Street Trapper
And so we started doing that. And then when we created the show, I told my guy, Jose, I said, we gonna show the account every week. Because I realized on Wall street, nobody was showing their account. I realized that none of the in, you know, the people in my space were showing their account.
Camille Rose
Yeah.
The Wall Street Trapper
And I said, jose, we gonna we're gonna show the account, Dog, Win, lose or draw.
Camille Rose
Yeah.
The Wall Street Trapper
We're gonna show the account in the options market. We're gonna show the account in the buy and hold market. And so they watched me grow the account from 4,400,000 in 2022 to 4.5 million in 2020 to this year. Yeah, they watched me do it. Wins and losses. They saw me make a million dollars in one play. They saw me lose 500,000 in a day. But none of that mattered to me.
Camille Rose
Yeah.
The Wall Street Trapper
Because it was the authenticity. And we did it at a high level. Because what I said to people was, there are people making $5,000, $3,000, $2,000. I said, Jose, we gonna let them see somebody make a million. So I want to increase their capacity.
Camille Rose
Yeah.
The Wall Street Trapper
Right. And you don't have to start with what I had. But if you see me make 500,000, if you see me make 200,000, if you see me make a million a plate, what that tells you is somebody that look like you is doing it. It's possible for you, too.
Crystal Renee Hayslett
Absolutely.
The Wall Street Trapper
And so that was just. That's the authenticity around the brand.
Camille Rose
Yeah.
The Wall Street Trapper
Even to now. What we just did was we took a property, we took a million dollars out of the stock market, went, bought a building with the profits. The building is 5.5 million. We took a million off the market for the down payment. We bought the building with the stock market profits. And now the building will now offset my taxes for 2024. That's the ultimate way to play the game.
Camille Rose
It is. Yes.
The Wall Street Trapper
But if nobody ever shows us that.
Camille Rose
Yeah.
The Wall Street Trapper
We won't know, then we'll put a cap on what the possibilities are. Wow. Yeah. And when it comes to money, there is no cap. We got men and women worth hundreds of billions of dollars.
Camille Rose
Yeah.
The Wall Street Trapper
And for me, the stock market is the equalizer that makes the game attainable for us.
Camille Rose
Yes.
The Wall Street Trapper
My daughter, eight years old right now, she got seven figures in the market.
Camille Rose
Wow.
The Wall Street Trapper
I've been investing for her since she was 1, so I bought her freedom early.
Crystal Renee Hayslett
What did you do, like, for your daughter? Because I do want to give, like, some tips.
The Wall Street Trapper
Yeah, let's go.
Crystal Renee Hayslett
If we have family members that have newborn children, how can they set their children up? Or if you have somebody, say, who has no idea about the stock market but is looking to get into it, can you give them. Just give me one tip of, like.
The Wall Street Trapper
Just to get started. If you have a kid, you need to go to Charles Schwab or E. Trade. I recommend those two of Fidelity and Open up what's called a custodial account. And what that is. Cause what we'll do is we'll say, well, I opened up my child a bank account, and we think we have done the most phenomenal thing for them. Right, Right. Well, what happens is, if you open up a bank account, that money ain't gonna do nothing for them. But if you open up a custodial account, you allow any money to work for them, and you become the person who controls it. And so I tell everybody the first way to create that generation of. Because I am not generational wealth.
Camille Rose
Right.
The Wall Street Trapper
My daughter is.
Camille Rose
Yes.
Crystal Renee Hayslett
Ooh.
The Wall Street Trapper
Right. Like, I'm the one who is going to establish what freedom looks like, but I'm not generational wealth. She is. And how it gets even further is now I have to install tools, information in her that makes it generational.
Camille Rose
Yes.
The Wall Street Trapper
And so you open that custodial account, but if you don't know how to start, I'm not the person to say, like, buy what you use, because that'll put you. That'll make you lose money.
Camille Rose
See?
Crystal Renee Hayslett
And that's what I've heard.
Camille Rose
I've heard.
Crystal Renee Hayslett
Look at all your products. You have Apple products.
Camille Rose
Put it in there.
The Wall Street Trapper
Don't buy what you lose.
Crystal Renee Hayslett
Use Charmin.
The Wall Street Trapper
Yeah.
Crystal Renee Hayslett
Don't put stock in Charmin. Like, that's what people tell you.
The Wall Street Trapper
The first thing I would say is, if you just getting started, just buy the entire stock market just to start off. So that.
Crystal Renee Hayslett
Like a mutual fund.
The Wall Street Trapper
No, don't mutual funds.
Crystal Renee Hayslett
No mutual fund.
Camille Rose
Oh.
The Wall Street Trapper
So you teach me, because I heard no mutual funds.
Camille Rose
Wow.
The Wall Street Trapper
Stay away from mutual funds. And here's why. The fees you're going to pay with mutual funds. Most mutual funds underperform the stock market, which means they don't give you the same return as the stock market does. But yet the people. You are still paying the fees for underperformance, right?
Camille Rose
Yep.
The Wall Street Trapper
You're still paying the fees for underperformance.
Camille Rose
Yeah.
The Wall Street Trapper
So if you're going to do that, why not just buy the entire s and P500, which is Voorho or spy? That's just keeping it. Not complicated.
Camille Rose
Yeah.
The Wall Street Trapper
Let's just start there.
Camille Rose
Okay.
The Wall Street Trapper
And then let's say however much you get paid, let's make this automated. So every week, every time you get paid, let's just start with 10 or whatever you're getting paid. This my freedom account. This is my freedom fund.
Crystal Renee Hayslett
I like that.
The Wall Street Trapper
Right now it has meaning to it.
Crystal Renee Hayslett
Right.
The Wall Street Trapper
So you say, okay, every time I get paid, I'm putting 10 what I get paid into this S&P 500. So now I'm not paying a broker. I'm not paying a fund manager. I'm not paying a financial advisor. I'm paying myself.
Crystal Renee Hayslett
Yeah, that's a good tip.
The Wall Street Trapper
I'm paying myself. I love that we start there.
Camille Rose
Yeah.
The Wall Street Trapper
We don't gotta go far. Yeah, let's. What happens is you'll see somebody like me and be like, I wanna get where I trap at. This been a journey. Family.
Crystal Renee Hayslett
Right. I didn't just start here.
The Wall Street Trapper
You're watching me as a polished product.
Camille Rose
Yeah.
The Wall Street Trapper
But through the losses. And I always say there's information in the losses, so there's so much information I learned in the losses to make me better. And I was all in on it.
Camille Rose
Yeah.
The Wall Street Trapper
I knew that this would change my life. I knew that this was change my family.
Camille Rose
Yeah.
The Wall Street Trapper
For the last three Christmases, I've rented a mansion in Orlando and took my whole family there.
Camille Rose
Wow.
The Wall Street Trapper
They that for five to seven days, and I take one day to teach them financial literacy.
Crystal Renee Hayslett
Really?
The Wall Street Trapper
Every time I make the post to.
Crystal Renee Hayslett
Go viral, that's so dope.
The Wall Street Trapper
It's about eight or nine of them in there. Because you gotta realize we all come from the slums.
Camille Rose
Yeah.
The Wall Street Trapper
So we in a house that got 17 rooms. They ain't never seen that.
Camille Rose
No. Yeah.
The Wall Street Trapper
They in a room where they got their own bed.
Camille Rose
Yeah.
The Wall Street Trapper
Most of them coming from beds. Where we in the bed? You on this side. I'm on this side. They got their own bathroom. They got their own shower. We got a chef. They got a bowling alley, movie theater. They ain't never seen nothing like this.
Crystal Renee Hayslett
Exposure is so important.
The Wall Street Trapper
They got a big old pool the size of Six Flags in the backyard. So what happens is that environment made it easy for them to learn.
Camille Rose
Yeah.
The Wall Street Trapper
Because when they looking at it, they're like, how you got this? I'm glad you asked that. Let's talk about somebody.
Crystal Renee Hayslett
Let's talk about it.
Camille Rose
Yeah.
The Wall Street Trapper
So it was the exposure.
Camille Rose
So.
The Wall Street Trapper
And I'm not saying everybody have, you know, everybody can't start there. But that was easier than saying, let's get on a zoom Call. Well, what happens is, if you're in that beginning stage, let's start with the Zoom call.
Camille Rose
Yeah.
The Wall Street Trapper
Let's start when we get with each other around Christmas and New Year's and Thanksgiving, I tell everybody in my community that's the perfect time to have that conversation, but everybody ain't gonna listen. But, you know, you got that one cousin that you jam with.
Camille Rose
Yes.
Crystal Renee Hayslett
It's like No, y', all, we need to pay attention.
The Wall Street Trapper
Just pay attention. And so that's the way you start into it. You know, you start with that, and then you can say, okay, let's look at the products that are. Here's the easy way. If you go look at the top 10 richest people in the world, they all are rich, wealthy, because they have ownership of stock in the companies that they own. So think about Elon Musk, right? So he has Tesla, but Tesla alone didn't make him a billionaire. It's because he owns so many shares of Tesla.
Camille Rose
Yeah.
The Wall Street Trapper
So if you want to know where to start at, go look at the top 10 richest people in the world and find out what the companies that they own and then buy stock in their companies. That's something they ain't never heard before.
Crystal Renee Hayslett
I ain't never heard.
The Wall Street Trapper
That's something they ain't never heard before.
Crystal Renee Hayslett
I like that.
The Wall Street Trapper
You feel me? So if you go look at the top 10 richest people in the world, you're gonna see Jeff Bezos. That's Amazon. You're gonna see Elon Musk. That's Tesla. You're gonna see Warren Buffett, Berkshire Hathaway. You're gonna see Mark Zuckerberg. That's Meta. You're gonna see Larry Ellison, That's Oracle. So you can go look at the top 10 richest. Larry Page, that's Google. You go look at the top 10 richest people in the world. They ain't up there for no reason.
Camille Rose
Yeah.
The Wall Street Trapper
And go say, okay, which one of these have companies on the stock market? Guess what? I won't buy this company. This company. This company. You can start there.
Camille Rose
Yeah.
Crystal Renee Hayslett
I love that Trap.
The Wall Street Trapper
That's cute. Come on.
Crystal Renee Hayslett
That's so good. I love it.
Camille Rose
I love it. Thank you.
Crystal Renee Hayslett
So I want to know what is next for Trap? You just bought this. This building?
The Wall Street Trapper
Yeah.
Crystal Renee Hayslett
We're going to work on a movie.
The Wall Street Trapper
We going to work on a movie. Okay.
Crystal Renee Hayslett
What else we got going on?
The Wall Street Trapper
So first, it's growing spiritually.
Camille Rose
Yeah.
The Wall Street Trapper
Because every time I see a new realm that I'm getting into, I know I need more guidance.
Camille Rose
Yeah.
The Wall Street Trapper
So for me, it's growing spiritually first and then taking this building. So we're gonna call the building a Freedom Center.
Camille Rose
Beautiful.
The Wall Street Trapper
And the goal behind that is to revolutionize the way that people experience financial literacy. That's important. And then what we want to do, my goal behind that is to turn that into putting one of those in every hood. So first from Atlanta, the next one I want to do is in New Orleans. And then Houston and then Dallas. So my goal is to have a freedom center in every hood in America.
Camille Rose
That's beautiful.
The Wall Street Trapper
To make financial literacy accessible. And I have the saying, if you allow them to feed you, you give them permission to starve you. And we cannot afford to give people the ability to starve.
Crystal Renee Hayslett
That's real. That is real.
The Wall Street Trapper
We have a presidential election up. And I always say, like, no matter who your political view is, that's your opinion.
Camille Rose
Yeah.
The Wall Street Trapper
But nobody cares more about your money than you.
Crystal Renee Hayslett
That's so true.
The Wall Street Trapper
Nobody cares more about your family's financial stability than you.
Camille Rose
Yeah.
The Wall Street Trapper
And so you have this obligatory nunction to make sure your family. Good. Yeah, that's it.
Crystal Renee Hayslett
Yes, that's it.
The Wall Street Trapper
So we won't do that. And then the next thing is, the goal is to create a book. You know, we wanna write a book. And then I wanna be a husband man.
Crystal Renee Hayslett
So what are you looking for? What are you looking for in a woman?
The Wall Street Trapper
So I think for me, me, right now, I am. I'm not dating.
Camille Rose
Okay.
The Wall Street Trapper
But I'm pursuing a woman. Okay.
Crystal Renee Hayslett
All right. We got. We got the exclusive here.
The Wall Street Trapper
He's not dating.
Crystal Renee Hayslett
He's pursuing.
The Wall Street Trapper
But I am pursuing.
Crystal Renee Hayslett
Okay.
The Wall Street Trapper
And I'm figuring out how that looks.
Crystal Renee Hayslett
That's beautiful. I love that.
The Wall Street Trapper
You know, I'm figuring out how that looks from patience, from understanding, from communication. Because what happens is, you can be this successful man and you can say, yep, I'm at the top of the food chain. The world is my oyster.
Camille Rose
Yeah.
Crystal Renee Hayslett
That's how most men think.
The Wall Street Trapper
Right. Or you can say, let me work on myself. Let me get myself right. And then let me find a woman and let me pursue her, court her, date her.
Crystal Renee Hayslett
Come on.
The Wall Street Trapper
You know what I'm saying? And then see where that goes. And so right now, I am in a situation where this woman, before, she made me feel safe. And I had never felt that before. And I went through a phase where I told her, I can't love you. I don't have it in me. So I went to therapy for a year, and I worked on myself, and I went to getting this spiritual fulfillment from men that are married.
Crystal Renee Hayslett
That's key.
The Wall Street Trapper
Right. And I've been just a student to men who are honoring their wives. Because I come from an environment where I never saw that. Yeah, right.
Camille Rose
Yep.
The Wall Street Trapper
And so I'm asking all the questions. And so I made a decision after I went to Italy.
Camille Rose
Yes, Yes.
Crystal Renee Hayslett
I love that you've been traveling.
The Wall Street Trapper
And I said, all right, Trap, we do not need to be traveling across this country alone. Alone. You know, this is not it.
Crystal Renee Hayslett
Listen. No, I get it. Cause I've been traveling. You've been going since, like, 2017, and I haven't had anyone, like, a significant other that I could experience that with. And you get to a point, you're like, dang, this would be really dope to experience with someone else.
Camille Rose
Yeah.
Crystal Renee Hayslett
No, I feel you.
Camille Rose
Yeah.
The Wall Street Trapper
And so I was like, you know what? I had a situation where I think it was amazing. And I said, I really love that woman, but I didn't know how to express it.
Camille Rose
But now you do.
The Wall Street Trapper
I said, so now let me. Let me try to go back and right my wrong. Because it wasn't that I, like, messed with women or nothing on that. I just didn't. Emotionally, I wasn't available. I was on some get this money.
Camille Rose
Yeah.
The Wall Street Trapper
And so.
Crystal Renee Hayslett
And there are seasons for this, and.
The Wall Street Trapper
There are seasons for it. And so. But she just made me better as a man. She made me better. She's a woman that has standards. She was like, yo, like, I don't feel safe emotionally here, so you gotta, like, do something about that. Let's talk about it. And so now that I'm better, so I try. I've been pursuing, and we have been building, and she hasn't made it easy as she should.
Camille Rose
Whoever you are.
The Wall Street Trapper
Yes, she should. And I guess her thing was, I need you to show me.
Camille Rose
Yeah.
The Wall Street Trapper
That you are who you say you are.
Crystal Renee Hayslett
That's.
Camille Rose
Yes.
The Wall Street Trapper
Like, you have the success. Cool. I get it. You. You're. You're a great talker. Right. But you've been that way for so long.
Camille Rose
Yeah.
Crystal Renee Hayslett
I need to know.
The Wall Street Trapper
I need to know. And so that has been so hard for me because I'm so used to getting what I want when you want it.
Camille Rose
When I wanted.
The Wall Street Trapper
And so that's what I leaned in on. God. A little more. And I said, God, this isn't just a lesson about her. This is a life lesson for me.
Camille Rose
Wow.
The Wall Street Trapper
Because if I'm truly going to follow you, you won't give me everything I want in the moment.
Camille Rose
No.
Crystal Renee Hayslett
Right.
The Wall Street Trapper
Bet y. And so it's like, okay. And so we've been talking. We've been dating. We've been. You know, and I told myself that I didn't want to. If I was going to pursue her, I didn't need to engage in trying to date other women because I would lose focus.
Crystal Renee Hayslett
Exactly. You know what you have.
The Wall Street Trapper
I know what you want. And so that's why I've been at. That's what I've been at. That's why I've been at. And I have been. I'm still a great communicator. So, like, I like healthy relationships with people that I communicate with, but that's what I just been pursuing.
Camille Rose
I love that.
Crystal Renee Hayslett
I'm happy for you, man. Seriously. Thank you for sharing. You are such a beautifully layered man.
The Wall Street Trapper
Thank you so much.
Crystal Renee Hayslett
I love all the layers of you. Thank you for your transparency and your openness and coming to share with us. I know I learned a lot.
The Wall Street Trapper
Come on.
Crystal Renee Hayslett
And I appreciate you, and I wish you nothing but.
The Wall Street Trapper
Likewise. Likewise. And whatever I can do to, you know, serve you and your audience.
Camille Rose
Thank you.
The Wall Street Trapper
Let me know. Like, my mama is a huge fan. You know what I'm saying? So whatever we can do. Whatever I can do. I like good people.
Camille Rose
Yeah.
Crystal Renee Hayslett
Thank you.
The Wall Street Trapper
I like good people. I like people, like, I see your journey. You know, I see your journey, and it's amazing to see, again, a woman that is like, okay, this. Cause you can easily be like, I'm this. Yeah, right? And not like, when you saw me was like, hey, Trav, you saw my daughter. He was like, hey. And so that. That isn't something. That energy cannot be faked. So God is doing something amazing for you. Right? And so that's the people that I want to be connected to. I want to be people who understand that they are just a resource for the bigger source.
Camille Rose
Yes. That's it.
Crystal Renee Hayslett
We are vessels. Right?
The Wall Street Trapper
And I'm a vessel, so. And I see that in you. I see you as a vessel through your character, through who you are in real life. I see that vessel. So, man, whatever I can do. This was an honor. So whatever I can do, let me know. I'm here for sure.
Camille Rose
Thank you.
Crystal Renee Hayslett
I appreciate you. Thanks for coming on.
The Wall Street Trapper
Come on here. Thank you so much.
Crystal Renee Hayslett
I appreciate you. Thank you all so much for spending time with me today. I hope you learned some things that you can now use in life and in business. You can follow me on all social media platforms at lovechristalrenee, and you can also follow our show @keepitpositive. Sweetie. If you want to write into our positive outcomes listener letter, you can send us an email@keepitpositive sweetiemail.com in the meantime, in between time, you guys already know what to do. Keep it positive, sweetie. I'll see you guys next time.
This episode continues Crystal Renee Hayslett’s deep-dive with The Wall Street Trapper (WST), a renowned financial educator known for making wealth-building accessible—especially to underserved and street-affected communities. The conversation explores Trapper’s personal financial awakening, his methods of authentic teaching, overcoming street cycles, the foundations for generational wealth, and actionable steps for financial freedom. Through raw storytelling, The Wall Street Trapper illustrates his journey from incarceration to multimillionaire status, emphasizing transparency, integrity, and tangible impact.
Trapper’s awakening began in prison after a cellmate convicted of embezzlement explained how "wealthy people stop trading time for money" and taught him the basics of finance, business, and real estate.
The realization that the "real gangsters" were not on the street but in boardrooms, and that the stock market was a system creating passive wealth, not just for the elite.
Reading “Rich Dad, Poor Dad” was a turning point, opening his mind to money mindsets and possibilities outside of illegal activity.
Trapper reflects on the difficulties of executing new ideas after prison; falling back into old cycles was not about ignorance but familiarity and survival.
Experience with police raids and near-death encounters ultimately convinced him to leave illegal ventures for good.
Transitioned to working as an ironworker and began investing seriously in 2014.
Made the leap to full-time financial education in 2019, after realizing his story resonated and inspired others, especially when people saw his results.
Trapper’s teaching philosophy: Give authentic, actionable knowledge away for free first—mirroring the ‘tester’ mentality from street hustling.
Realized that being transparent about wins and losses, as well as showing actual accounts, would build trust and dismantle skepticism.
Fundamental advice for families: Open custodial investment accounts for children instead of only bank accounts; automate investments into broad-market ETFs (e.g., S&P 500 via VOO/SPY), not mutual funds.
Dismantled the “buy what you use” myth for investing, explaining that index funds are a better foundational step due to lower fees and more reliable returns.
Highlights the importance of exposure and environment:
Automate regular investments: “Every time you get paid, put 10% into this S&P 500. Now, I'm not paying a broker, I'm not paying a fund manager. I'm paying myself.” [28:41]
Study the portfolio of the world’s wealthiest: “Go look at the top 10 richest people in the world, find out what companies they own, and buy stock in them.” [31:35]
Trapper’s upcoming “Freedom Center” will serve as a financial literacy hub in underserved neighborhoods, with Atlanta as the first location, then expanding to cities like New Orleans, Houston, and Dallas.
Advocacy for self-responsibility: “If you allow them to feed you, you give them permission to starve you…nobody cares more about your family’s financial stability than you.” [33:24, 33:52]
The conversation is raw, personal, and laced with street authenticity; Trapper uses accessible analogies, shares losses and wins, and counters typical “guru” facade with vulnerability and proof. Crystal and Camille’s warm affirmations create a supportive, encouraging vibe throughout.
Summary prepared from the full episode transcript, with direct speaker attributions and timestamps for reference.