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Locked In with Ian Bick

I Was a U.S. Soldier — Then I Went to Prison | Matt Runge

Locked In with Ian Bick

Ian Bick

Society & Culture

4.8743 Ratings

🗓️ 28 December 2025

⏱️ 80 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Matt Runge shares his honest & cautionary life story — from joining the U.S. Army because he didn’t know what else to do with his life, to being kicked out of the military and sent to military prison for selling drugs. After his release, Matt explains how he continued down the same destructive path, dealing drugs on the outside and repeatedly landing in both federal and state prison. In this episode, he breaks down the mindset that kept pulling him back into crime, what life was really like inside different prison systems, and how those experiences forced him to confront his choices. This honest conversation dives into military life, prison, addiction, accountability, and the long road to breaking cycles, making it a powerful watch for anyone interested in true crime, prison stories, and real-life redemption. _____________________________________________ #TrueCrime #PrisonStory #VeteranStory #LifeAfterPrison #CrimeAndPunishment #RedemptionStory #FederalPrison #reallifestory _____________________________________________ Thank you to FRONTLINE HEALING FOUNDATION for sponsoring this episode: Visit https://frontlinehealingfoundation.org/ to donate or share their mission. _____________________________________________ 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 Introduction & Guest Background 02:30 Growing Up in North Jersey 06:00 ADHD, School Struggles & Early Trouble 09:00 DJing, Nightclubs & the Party Lifestyle 12:00 High School Expulsion & Losing Direction 15:30 Joining the Army & Being Stationed in Korea 18:30 Club Life Overseas, Drugs & Selling While Enlisted 22:00 First Military Arrest & Getting Busted 26:00 Inside Military Prison: What It’s Really Like 30:00 Release, Returning Home & Going Back to Hustling 33:30 New Jersey Arrests & State Prison Experience 39:00 Hustle Mentality & Surviving Prison Life 42:30 Repeat Offenses & Catching a Federal Case 50:30 Federal Prison Life: Hustling, Cards & Food 55:00 Release, Club Work & Finding New Hustles 01:00:00 South Carolina Arrest & Another Prison Stretch 01:10:00 Parole, Final Sentence & Looking Back 01:15:00 Life After Prison & Lessons Learned 01:18:30 Final Reflections, Regret & Closing Thoughts Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0

They're kind of like come out of the formation.

0:01.8

I'm out of my corner of my high.

0:03.2

I see these two suits with badges flinging us.

0:05.8

So military prison. Tell us about that. What was that like? We got extorted until this last little bit. They tried to extort me down into South Carolina. How do you feel about going back to prison again? In this prison, they leave, people live in body bags. He joined the U.S. Army because he didn't know what else to do with his life,

0:21.6

but getting kicked out, sent to military prison for selling drugs,

0:25.5

and later cycling through federal and state prisons would take him down a path he never imagined.

0:34.4

Matt, welcome to Lockton.

0:35.7

Thanks so much for supporting the show and coming on the show. Thank you for having me. It's always cool when we have guests that enjoy watching the show or you said the clip. So it's cool to have them in the hot seat. You know, the content is like it's so my alley. I get a lot of it. I will be honest. Like, B.C. I'm like, all right, well, I'm coming up there. I wasn't moving keys, you know, like, but I was doing my, I didn't, I haven't worked in 20-something years and I, I move with carte blanche. I was in the club, I was a DJ. So I was, I was, I was in the club scene. Everybody loved me. I was able to do whatever I wanted to do. I never got caught. I was always snitched on. So I was really, I had some points of time. I had my security team watching out from your own, beep, beep, hey, so-and-so's-you, whatever. Just sitting on my ass, make two, three, four thousand dollars on a Friday and Saturday night and

1:28.5

hey but that's what makes a show special you don't need to be a kingpin to come on you don't you

1:32.2

don't you don't where'd you grow up I'm from North Jersey okay what was that like growing up there

1:37.1

fast um it's very fast pace you know like I was telling her her she's my friend she's not kind of you know

1:47.2

environment she grew up in like a log cabin and i brought out to where i'm from like it's just

1:51.8

you know it's very fast-paced so you got to have a hustler's mentality to make a buck who raised

1:57.3

you my parents you know they're still together my mom has passed away from most ago, but yeah, they were steady in the house. My old man working and my mom doing the house, that kind of thing. I'm sorry for your loss. Yeah. What did your dad do for work? He worked for Verizon. He was kind of high up in the Verizon. Was it just you as a child? No, I had a brother and two other sisters. Were you guys close?

2:18.8

No, because it was like a six-year difference in every, every sibling. So did I kind of feel

2:24.6

like you're an only child? In a way, you know, I was, it messed my, my life got messed up. I got,

2:31.6

it was grounded a lot for my grades. So my family was very strict.

2:35.8

You know, like one D, you get a week.

2:37.7

And one F, that's two weeks.

2:39.9

That's a whole marking period for me.

2:42.1

You know, a D, two out, I'm fucked.

2:45.4

You know, I'm grounded the whole time in the basement.

...

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