I Survived “The Jungle” — New York’s Most Dangerous Prison | Nesto

Locked In with Ian Bick

Ian Bick

Society & Culture

4.8 • 745 Ratings

🗓️ 14 December 2025

⏱️ 92 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Nesto, raised in Harlem by a single mother, joins Ian to share the raw and unfiltered story of how he went from early street life to surviving some of the most dangerous prisons in New York. Pulled into the streets at a young age, Nesto became involved in a string of robberies that led to his arrest and time on Rikers Island, where he faced violence, chaos, and the reality of New York’s jail system before taking a 3.5-year plea deal. After sentencing, he was sent to one of New York’s most feared maximum-security prisons—known by inmates as “The Jungle”—where he witnessed extreme violence, gang politics, and the daily pressure of staying alive. While inside, Nesto caught a new charge for slashing another inmate, which added 1.5 more years to his sentence and landed him in solitary confinement, where the mental toll became just as intense as the physical dangers. #PrisonStories #NewYorkPrison #InmateSurvival #TrueCrimePodcast #LockedInWithIanBick #PrisonExperience #SurvivingPrison #realprisonstories Thanks to AURA FRAMES & BLUECHEW for sponsoring this episode: Aura Frames: Exclusive $35 off Carver Mat at https://on.auraframes.com/LOCKEDIN. Promo Code LOCKEDIN BlueChew: Get 10% off your first month of BlueChew Gold with code LOCKEDIN. Visit https://bluechew.com/ for more details and important safety information Hosted, Executive Produced & Edited By Ian Bick: https://www.instagram.com/ian_bick/?hl=en https://ianbick.com/ Shop Locked In Merch: http://www.ianbick.com/shop Timestamps: 00:00 Growing Up Reckless & Feeling Untouchable 03:00 Harlem Childhood, Family Dynamics & Early Environment 07:00 Street Influence, First Robberies & Early Crime 13:00 Robbery Spree, Viral Arrest & Neighborhood Attention 19:00 Life on the Run, Street Conflicts & Escalation 24:00 Arrest, Charges & First Time Going Through Processing 29:00 Life Inside Rikers Island: Reality Behind the Walls 36:00 Sentencing Day & Being Sent Upstate 40:00 Surviving Green Correctional Facility: Rules & Hierarchy 45:00 Box Time: Solitary, Retaliation & Prison Discipline 51:00 Violence, Corrupt Officers & Prison Society Explained 57:00 Coping Mechanisms, Mental Shifts & Staying Alive 01:02:00 Drug Smuggling, Power & How the Inside Economy Works 01:09:00 Getting Out: Parole Restrictions, Reentry & Adjusting 01:14:00 How Prison Changes You: Mindset, Growth & Second Chances 01:19:00 False Accusations, Staying Out of Trouble & Moving Smart 01:28:00 Rebuilding Life After Prison & Future Goals Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	As a young person, I was just reckless.
0:01.6	I didn't care about nothing.
0:02.4	I just wanted to, I felt like as a young person, I was untouchable.
0:20.0	I felt like nobody could have touched me. The law. I felt like nobody could have touched me. I just felt untouchable. Do you remember that first robbery you ever committed? Within my four months, I got sent to Rikers because I got caught with a ski mask and a Nike tub. So I thought I was trying to escape.
0:21.7	What were you like at Rikers?
0:23.5	Were you getting into fights, getting into trouble?
0:23.5	So you better fight for your life. You got to fight for your life. So that's the scary part about it.
0:27.6	Ain't nobody helping. Robberies, Rikers Island, slashing charges, solitary. Nesto has lived through
0:34.1	every level of New York's prison system. Today, he's here to tell us how he survived the jungle. Nesto, welcome to Lockton, man. Thanks so much for coming out here today. Day before Thanksgiving, I appreciate you making the time. I really appreciate you for having me, really. Yeah, and thanks for being a supporter of the show. It means a lot. Definitely. I like what
0:55.8	you're doing. Thank you, man. How do you get the name Nesto? Where do that come from? Because my name's Ernesto, but I just go about Nesto for short because it's like people try to call me Ernie and stuff like that. So I was like, I don't got time for that. I'd rather just go about playing nest though and just it's better like that and also it's like i do music sometimes
1:13.2	so i go about playing Nesto and just it's better like that.
1:11.0	And also it's like I do music sometimes. So I go about Prince Nesto. It's such a unique name though, Ernesto, you know? It is, but it gives you that Mexican vibes. It gives you that two Spanish vibes. Like people want to clown you a lot. Like, yo, Ernie, come here. Like, nah, I don't got time for that. I don't got time for that.
1:28.4	What is your ethnicity in background?
1:30.0	I'm Dominican.
1:30.9	Okay.
1:31.2	I was born. down you a lot like, yo, Ernie, come here. Like, nah, I don't got time for that. Like, I don't got time for that.
1:28.4	What is your ethnicity in background?
1:30.0	I'm Dominican.
1:42.5	Okay. I was born and raised in Harlem, though. Well, at least you're not white with the name of Ernie. That could be worse. That's more nerdy, you know? Yeah. Thank God. Isn't there a show? Oh, I'm thinking of what's the guy's name?
1:43.6	Sesame Street.
1:44.8	That's what it's coming from. Ernie, but also Steve Urkel.
1:46.6	Steve Urkel.
	...

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