Damon West: Former 'Uptown Burglar' Found Redemption in Prison (ep. 738)
Live Inspired Podcast with John O'Leary
John O'Leary
4.9 • 672 Ratings
🗓️ 2 January 2025
⏱️ 74 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Damon West went from a Division 1 starting quarterback at Texas A&M to becoming the “Uptown Burglar” and being sentenced to 65 years in prison. Now, a keynote speaker and the bestselling author of The Coffee Bean, Damon is a testament to resilience, redemption, and the power of personal change.
Today, Damon shares the pivotal lessons learned from his darkest days—how he found hope and purpose in a Texas supermax prison and rebuilt his life one choice at a time. You’ll also learn about the inmate who showed him how to be a “change agent,” the freedom he discovered in surrendering control, and the essential role of faith, service, and community in his recovery.
My friends, if you need a reminder that change is always possible, this conversation is for you. You’ll leave with practical tools to overcome adversity, shift your perspective, and take ownership of your life.
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | You know that Keeley companies is all about fostering the world-class culture through their incredible cultural pillars. |
| 0:07.5 | Well, it was time to add a seventh cultural pillar, Kewley Green. |
| 0:12.5 | Guided by the mission to raise the sustainability standards by which they design, build, operate, and live. |
| 0:18.8 | Keeley Green is dedicated to using a holistic approach to leave a positive impact on our |
| 0:24.6 | environment, create a future that is sustainable for generations to come. |
| 0:29.4 | In the words of Rusty Keeley, we are just getting started. |
| 0:34.3 | You can learn more about that just getting started mentality and all the work they do |
| 0:38.7 | by visiting my friends at keely companies online at keelie companies.com. Welcome to the live-inspired |
| 0:48.7 | podcast with John O'Leary. John is the number one national bestselling author of the book On Fire. He's a world-class |
| 0:56.0 | inspirational speaker, and he's the host of the Live-inspired podcast. John interviews extraordinary |
| 1:01.5 | individuals on their life story so that you can wake up from accidental living and more |
| 1:07.5 | fully live your life story. Here's your host, John O'Leary. |
| 1:12.7 | Well, hello, my friends, and welcome to the Live Inspired podcast with John O'Leary. |
| 1:18.4 | You are in for an awesome treat today. |
| 1:22.0 | Get ready for it, not only for the guests that I'm bringing your way, |
| 1:25.4 | you're going to love them, but also for this unusual |
| 1:28.7 | way we start today's episode. In a minute, I'm just going to hit play from the moment our guest |
| 1:34.2 | joined us. And it's going to give you a behind the scenes view into how these episodes sometimes |
| 1:39.6 | begin. So get ready for that. But before that, let me give a little bit of a formal introduction. |
| 1:45.6 | Damon West is our guest. |
| 1:47.1 | He went from a Division I starting quarterback to becoming the uptown burglar and being sentenced to 65 years in prison. |
| 1:57.7 | He's today a keynote speaker. |
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