In this episode, I explore my journey from gang leadership and prison to a life grounded in authentic inspiration, empathy, and self-mastery. Drawing from lived experience, my book, and the PRICE Leadership Framework, I unpack what it means to lead yourself before leading others. Joined by co-host Shirin Hejazi, we challenge myths about power and examine ego-driven vs purpose-guided leadership.

In this Carlos Unfiltered episode, Carlos and co-host Shirin Hejazi explore Carlos’s relationship with anger—how it protected him in prison, began in childhood, and became a survival tool. He explains how he learned to redirect his energy using practices like the STAR method and grounding routines, including daily workouts, to support emotional and mental well-being.

In this Carlos Unfiltered episode, I break down what real leadership takes today—real pressure, real decisions, real consequences. I talk about the mindset that shaped me: empathy as strength, compassion as a weapon, and confidence rooted in purpose. I share hard-earned lessons from business and high-stress environments, plus the tools that helped me build tougher, more resilient teams.

I open up about what it really felt like growing up without my father – the confusion, the anger, and the emptiness that followed me into the streets. That pain pushed me toward the wrong crowd and eventually straight into gang life. By 19, I was behind bars.

Today I’m sharing my story—from being sentenced and walking straight from a courtroom into a cell, to the long road of discovering who I really was. I once thought confidence meant dominance and control, but it was fear in disguise. Violence became my armor. It took years to unlearn that, to face pain, take responsibility, and rebuild from within. Shirin and I unpack what real confidence looks like—steady, honest, earned.

In this raw, eye-opening conversation with guest host Shirin Hejazi, I share hard-earned insights from my own journey – what it felt like to live behind emotional armor, the myths of masculinity I had to unlearn and the power I discovered in authentic connection.

This episode goes beyond my personal journey—it’s a call to see loneliness not as an ending, but as an opening. By facing it honestly, we can transform it into strength, connection, and even love.

From childhood trauma to 17 years in prison, my path has been anything but easy. But in this conversation, guided by host Shirin Hejazi, I open up about what I found beyond the walls: meaning, love, and the possibility of trust. I share moments of struggle, betrayal, and unexpected kindness, and how my understanding of trust has shifted – from survival mode to building real, lasting connections.