<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Navigating a prison sentence can be a delicate matter. Everybody has their opinion, from fellow prisoners, to kangas, governors, chaplains and external support networks. Trying to keep everybody on side is a very tricky balancing act – so I sacked it all off ages ago.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Instead I have set my own personal values and goals and I live by them. It\u2019s pretty simple, I try my best not to harm anybody and I am determined to be a better man than I was yesterday. I keep myself busy and while I\u2019m not exactly clandestine, I don\u2019t brag too much either. But when it became common knowledge that I had secured work in the community there was a curious development in my interactions with other prisoners.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
When I got to open conditions my mantra was simple – I will happily take the first job that I can get and then start looking for the job that I want. But through my support network I actually got my dream job in a Gym and I will soon be working from 7am to 7pm 6-days-a-week. I am hugely grateful for the opportunity to work, and that it is starting in the industry where I hope to build a career is a double blessing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
However, the reactions of my peers have been curious. The people I call my friends, those that know me are aware that I have amassed almost \u00a330,000 in student loans to educate myself in Human Physiology, Biology, Exercise and Nutrition. I have achieved a pretty impressive list of industry recognised qualifications. So my friends know that I have been putting plans in place for years in order to build a career in the fitness industry.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
As you may be aware, the Gym is a huge part of prison life for many lads. All of a sudden, men who have historically blanked me are now introducing themselves to me – eager to be friends. Race, age and religion are no longer barriers – I\u2019m the guy who got the job in a gym – \u201cAre they looking for others?\u201d It\u2019s pretty shameless how quickly somebody I never spoke to can ask for a reference.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
But I\u2019ve also had the dirty looks. My job has made me the subject of great resentments and is put down to my being white, or a snitch or being plain lucky. A comment was made that it was easy for a white guy to get a gym job, even a wife-killer gets a job before a black man as long as he\u2019s white. I was going to shrug it off but a black guy who I would have considered to be an acquaintance more than a friend wouldn\u2019t let it fly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cListen,\u201d he said, \u201cthat guy has got more qualifications then the gym screws here at the prison. He probably knows more about proper fitness and training than any man in here, he\u2019s put in years of hard graft to get that job. I wish I had that job, but white or lucky has nothing to do with it. What pisses me off is that I spent my sentence angry, fighting the system and acting the fool instead of doing what he did and putting the work in. He has a gym job because he planned for it years ago and grafted. Any one of us could have done the same.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
When I start work, if I am asked, that\u2019s the guy I will give a reference to.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Navigating a prison sentence can be a delicate matter. Everybody<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":2060,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7,531],"tags":[217,257,344,371,384,446],"class_list":["post-1139","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-prison","category-reflections-2","tag-industry-recognised-qualifications","tag-lucky-bastard","tag-personal-values-and-goals","tag-proper-fitness-and-training","tag-reference","tag-student-loans"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/jailhousemoose.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1139","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/jailhousemoose.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/jailhousemoose.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jailhousemoose.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jailhousemoose.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1139"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/jailhousemoose.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1139\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2062,"href":"https:\/\/jailhousemoose.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1139\/revisions\/2062"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jailhousemoose.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/2060"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/jailhousemoose.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1139"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jailhousemoose.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1139"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jailhousemoose.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1139"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}