On December 15th
2002
Just 45 days after being released from serving a two-year prison sentence I was arrested for attempted murder
more on that
Later on in the video
My last video
We unboxed my 1 million subscriber plaque. I went on to mention that I'm gonna make a couple of very special videos and I thought
What better way to commemorate?
reaching 1 million subscribers
Than to tell the truth of how and why I got into the hobby
And elaborate on that
how it saved my life and
Changed it
Forever what has truly inspired me to make this video though is the message is that I get on a daily basis from people
Telling me their stories
About what the hobby has done for them how it's changed their lives and saved them
How my how my videos help them get through certain things like depression PTSD?
Etc. I don't get hundreds a day, but I do get them every single day
I want those people to know that you are not alone and we have way more in common than you might think I
Hope this video
Sheds a little bit more light on myself and who I am
why it is I do what I do and at the very least I hope
It will inspire you we're gonna have to back up a little bit here though. I
Guess I should introduce myself. My name is Joey Mullen known as the king of DIY on YouTube
I'm 35 years old. I live in Truro Nova, Scotia, Canada
I wish I took some notes on how to
Present this to you. So the timeline makes sense. I
I'll start from when I first got my first experience with aquatic pets I
Was 7 years old
it was
1990 I believe it was and
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles the movie came out for the first time and
To put this into perspective Finding Nemo came out several years ago
And for a lot of people that seen it they all wanted a clownfish
Well my generation when Ninja Turtles came out, we all wanted turtles
my first aquatic pet was for
Red-eared slider turtles so though for those that say Joey get some turtles. I've had them before I
Named them
Michelangelo Leonardo Raphael and Donatello the picture you're seeing is me getting them for my birthday in a little bag
I
Believe it was about a year or two later
That I lived in Ontario a year or two later
We moved to Nova Scotia and I wasn't able to bring them into the province due to provincial laws. So that was my time
Never touched another aquatic animal so I could say I've been in the hobby since I was seven
But I think that's a bit ridiculous. I've only been in it since I was 19 16 years ago
And and been in it ever since like steady never, you know taking a break type of deal
My life was pretty normal
I was never well off. My family was never rich
Probably a little bit below like middle class
Maybe even a little bit below below middle class
But my father and I have three sisters and my mother I thought we had a great life
Eventually, my parents started fighting it became violent and they divorced I was nine years old and I didn't see my father again
till I was uh, I was 19 and
19 was last time I seen him
So from the age of nine moving forward, I never had a father
My mother a young mother and I'm and I don't want to put my mother in a bad light
But it's a part of my story without her. I wouldn't be Who I am without this story. I wouldn't be where I am
If I had taken any different paths to any other anything at all would have changed in my life
I wouldn't be where I am today when my father left we were on welfare immediately. He never supported us in any way
And then in my opinion there's different levels to welfare
You could be on welfare and still get by or you could be on welfare and live in poverty-stricken conditions
And that was me that in the latter
My mother was an alcoholic and a drug abuser
I went from living a normal life to living a life where violence was everyday
abuse
encouraged to fight and courage to steal
Just raised like an animal and when you're raised like that you will act no different
I'm not gonna get into the gory stories. We all have them
I've done some terrible things in my life. Absolutely terrible
But to summarize when you're a young child living a life like that you're usually wearing the same clothes all the time
You don't have nice things
Nobody's making you go to school you wake up and there's no food
You don't have to go to school if you don't want to because there's no
Consequences or repercussions to not going but when I would go I was teased and bullied
a lot
This is gonna be really tough for me, too
this is gonna be really tough for me to talk about because I'm saying a lot of things that loud for the first time I
quickly realized that people
Would stop making fun of me and picking on me for things that were out of my control
I know a lot of people and and kids can be cruel. And if you're a young kid
Embrace the child of the other children that don't have a lot. Maybe they don't have a lot of friends
Maybe they don't dress nicely. You don't know what's going on at home. It's not their fault. It's out of their control, but
for me
Instead of
Building up a shell and becoming isolated
based on the conditions I was living in and what I was encouraged to act like I began to act out a
lot of it just started with
Acting out in class getting in trouble
Suspensions, you know by the age of yield grade six
I was expelled for life not allowed back to that school ever grade seven failed his same story expelled for life
But what I found was if I became the class clown and
Was funny and acted out people would stop picking on me
They thought it was funny to be around. I was their entertainment at my expense in my future
They could have a good laugh
That only lasted for so long before you get into older grades and round older kids and I began became violent
extremely violent
This was just acting out from what was going on in my household
from the brutality and then the violence and everything that I was witnessing and being put through in men and
What was happening to me? I?
Was projecting that on to other people I'm not a big person physically I
I
but I learned to
Embrace violence and really really liked it. I
Gained respect from being violent and I couldn't beat everybody up and I don't think I can fight the world and beat everybody up
but what I quickly realized is that people would stop teasing me if they knew they were gonna get a punch in the mouth that
Is not the answer for kids watching don't do this
This is just my life and what I went through you see even if somebody could beat you up, but they know that
You're gonna react in a violent way no matter what and matter who they are
They're going to make the different choice
And that's basically what I realize is that if I fight all the time
No matter who it is, whether I get beat up win or lose
Eventually, they're going to stop
And it got out of hand for me. I'm gonna summarize even more
I don't really want to talk about what happened at home or the things I saw
were the things I did but what I do want to talk about is the consequences I
Began getting in trouble now in Canada under the young offenders Act
I'm pretty much free to do whatever I want up until a certain age like thirteen or something like that
There's not a whole lot that can be done. I was burning buildings down
I was I was constantly fighting there was I thought there was guns involved at times
And
and it was just like I was running free eventually I hit the the age of
I think it was 14 where I could start going to court and whatnot laws have changed over the past 20 years
Of course 25 years
I started getting slaps on the wrists of warnings
Probation little fines here and there the judges were always telling me you keep coming back and you're going to jail
There's points in my time in my life that I became homeless
I had to do certain things to even able to enable - in order to survive
My time I hit 15 I started going to jail ended up serving a year
I you know
We do in a week here and then you get a sense - a month and three months then I got sentenced to a year
I think I was 16
At the time got out when I had just turned
17
My life at this point was horrible I
Was being told you're not gonna make it till you're 25 years old
You're always gonna be in jail. You're never gonna be anything teachers didn't want me in their classes
Nobody wanted me around except people that were poison in my life that
Were acting the same way. I'm not gonna get into the details of the charges and what I actually did
But for those that have been to jail they were
respectable charges type of deal never did anything that I'd have to go into PC for
Bottom line is though jail didn't make me a better person jail made me an animal
When I went in as a juvenile I
Put on 40 pounds of muscle and I was in gladiator school
All I did was fight fight fight and fight if you ever watched my videos and see my hands they're crippled
I can't straighten them
It hurts to make fists
And I'm only 35 and I'm probably not gonna be able to close my hands by the time I'm 40 based on
Problems with them, you know, I've had teeth knocked out my heads busted open scars all over my head
Just a violent violent environment, but I loved every minute of it I
Realized how sick I was
But I embraced it. I realized this is who I am. This is this is who all I'm ever gonna be
Just like everybody kept telling me I started believing them
if you continue to put a kit down and you continue to tell them they're one thing they're going to believe it and who are
You to be surprised or to be like figured when they do exactly what you keep telling them
What they're going to do and who they're gonna be in
Eventually, I got sentenced to two years. I
Was 17 years old on juvenile charges I
Got sentenced I did two years. I got sentenced to forty three forty three months 46 months something like that
Which is almost four years it was a cumulative of charges when I got out originally within two months
I was back in I spent three years over three years of my teens
Locked up I got out and I was worse than ever
That's where we come into this paperwork, I just found this the other day and I realized
I've had dates wrong for a long time and I forgot about a lot of things. I am I
Have this unique ability about myself and I don't know if it's a curse
Or if it's a good thing or if it's some sort of, you know mental disability of some sort
You'll find that I don't mind talking about this stuff because I'm completely comfortable with who I be who I am
I'm not embarrassed and I'm not ashamed I embrace Who I am and what I've done but I have this ability to forget
Negativity I have this ability to forget traumatic events
Horrible things that have happened until they come up and I realize how much they still affect me
So while I'm not really telling you guys a whole lot right now
I can assure you that a lot of things are running through my mind and I'm reminding my things myself with things and it's making
This video really tough to make I think I think at this moment in time
You can see how far I have come but at the same time
I was never who you thought I was I still have certain tendencies that I used to have
I still get pretty angry. Sometimes I still get pretty defensive
I still get
I'm still working on becoming a better person
I was released from that two-year prison sentence on November 8th or elsewhere on October 31st
November 8th eight days later
I was arrested again for
getting in a fight and
You know back to my old ways type of thing
The judge was very very lenient and gave me a chance
He said you spent the night in jail
and
It did the record did show that the other guy started the fight? He just didn't win it
So he gave me a little bit of a fine a breach probation
And that was it my wife Tonya. I've known her all my life
Probably since I moved to Nova Scotia when I was about nine years old ten years old something along those lines
We dated in junior high and elementary school, believe it or not
So she knew I was kind of, you know, kind of bad
We met again when I was 19. I had just been out for a very short period of time
But she didn't realize how bad things have gotten with me and I never really bragged about it or said, you know
I never said like how
You know how much of a badass I am. I mean if you've got to tell people that then you're
Never really were I think a big reason to be fighting as well? As I was never good at arguing
I could never win an argument
I can't I can't win an argument of people teasing me that I don't I I I'm dressed like a bomber
My clothes are dirty or I don't have lunch or I can't win that argument. I just don't have it
There's nothing I can do about that. So I would never argue. I wouldn't even say anything. I would just start swinging and fighting
oh, geez outburst immediately
And she's seen a lot of that because I had a drinking problem at one point
Drank a lot and we go and I fight everybody at anybody that wanted it win or lose. I just loved it
All through my childhood though, I had some best friends and
One of them was getting married he was getting married
That
November November 8th
Long I say his name, but he knows who he is of 2002
We were best friends growing up. He was like my brother, but he got with this girl
You didn't want him to have anything to do with me because I was bad didn't invite me to the wedding
I showed up anyways, I didn't go to their weddings
I didn't want to ruin that but I showed up to the reception. That was at a hotel
I didn't make it to the reception area. I was sidetracked by a group of
People that were there that I knew but weren't my friends and I already knew there was tension
they wanted to go back to a hotel room that was in the hotel and
Have some drinks and stuff like that. So I was like cool
I
Already felt something was wrong. There's six of them and it was me and Tanya
As soon as you get in the room I realized there's nothing in here there's no alcohol at all
Two of them close the door and
Stand by it and then there's a sliding door or an opening door that went outside of the hotel into the parking lot
Two went there
Then two confronted me. Why you here, etc, etc. Then I seen a knife
I knew I was about to get jumped and maybe stabbed I
immediately reacted
And grabbed the knife that one of them had and put it against the throat of the main aggressor
It's funny that you can say all you want. I would never do this or I would never do that
You don't know what you're capable of until you're put in the situation during certain group of certain circumstances in
an atmosphere
You really don't know. It's scary. I've been in so many of these situations
Number one person I don't trust at one point was myself
That night knife is to his throat
They immediately react I get shoved from the side it goes across his throat he's bleeding
Everybody sees it and
Immediately calling the cops. I run out the door take the knife and I throw it as far as I can
They come out and we start fighting
the cops show up and
Tackle me to the ground. They did a number on me put me in the car and I'm like
Why are you arresting me with what's happening? What's going on?
And the cops are being really mean they're screaming at me
I think I was pepper sprayed
You know just shut your f and mouth slam the door I start kicking trying to kick the windows out just losing my mind
I don't know where Tonya's at that time, but I believe she's trying to help me get out the car
They arrest her throw her in the backseat of another car
The cops go in ambulance shows up and
Take him out on a stretcher. I realize how bad things are turns out. He just needed a few stitches
But the cop comes back in
and
I remember him opening the door. I was really intoxicated
But I remember him opening the door and it felt like he punched me in the throat
But he grabbed me by my shirt, I believe because it was all ripped the next day
It might not have been him and like kind of like
Did it really fast? I felt like he punched me and I throat and I couldn't talk
I couldn't breathe and he's like you almost killed him
he's like
He's like that was attempted murder you're being arrested for attempted murder. I
Go to jail for the night and court the next morning or two days later something along those lines
The cops do their investigation and
Officially charged me
after their investigation
And they hear those guys side of the story about luring me in because they they were interviewed when they were intoxicated
bad idea because they're still
inebriated there's two, you know, their inhibitions are
Little looser and they're still trying to act tough me. I'm I've been to jail. I know to keep my mouth shut
I'm not saying anything they're talking. What's your name? What did you do? Etc. I'm not telling you anything
You're the you do the investigation. This is my attitude Ben. It was not now. I can't believe I'm telling this story
This isn't even the worst one
This is just the last straw
The guys admit to drawing me into the room and say that I did the knife because I was scared
So it was almost like self-defense
But in Canada if somebody has a knife you can't grab a gun the type of deal you're going above and beyond
Or if they if they want to fight with their hands you can't hit them with a bat
I guess it depends on the situation and whatnot
But they dropped the charges down - I got a breach of probation for breaching the peace
- breaches actually
Possession of a weapon and assault with a weapon is what I officially was charged with
Trial for those charges were set to be five months later. I
Was looking at between five to seven years
Is what my legal aid lawyer told me
and I was just
I was I was like
I'm literally living the life that everybody said I would I'm gonna be in jail for the rest of my life. I
Got two little cousins
That were like my little brothers that
We grew up together. We went through a lot of things together. I eventually changed my life and they stayed on that path
They're in jail for the rest of their lives for murder
And they weren't even as bad as me they looked up to me they wanted to be like me
During the five months
Leading up to trial
witnesses
and people that gave statements I
Don't want to say too much but bottom line is
Nobody showed up to court no witnesses came
The case was dismissed or dropped or whatever the legal. Jargon is here
Basically says I don't have all my paperwork, but I do have some of it essentially there's to summarize. Oh
My case was a Jordan it says that
This is confirming the incident that happened at the hotel
and the
court of the court date
Basically states that at the time one of the crown witnesses one that we wish to cross-examine the most was absent
this was the one guy that was saying I was scared and they were there to do this to me and
That's why I did it etc. But my lawyer believed I could get off with
Protecting myself and being in those situations. None of the
Witnesses showed up though. My lawyer questioned me if I had anything to do with that
Told him no
Based on who I was at the time though, you guys know the answer as to what actually happened there. So I beat these charges
sort of
But this was the last straw you see Tonya noticed
That something had to be done about me she knew there was good in me
And one of the only times that I was truly calm and
Excited and my eyes would light up
Was when I went to the fish store at the mall
It was in the fish store the mall the fish store was in the mall every time I would go in there
I was fascinated. I loved it. I
can only
one of my biggest memories of seeing fish during that time frame one of my
Best memories is like I was so fascinated with the idea that they were living under the water
I couldn't get over that. I didn't understand how any of that worked up. Like, what do you you can't breathe?
How is this working?
It was just so interesting and fascinating and the complexities of it and how how I look at it now is like oh, yeah
They have gills and they extract oxygen from the water through the blah blah blah blah
But at the time I was like this is so complex and and mesmerizing and fascinating
Then I go back to my regular life no job Rob and doing whatever I could
And tani got me a fish tank
My life forever changed I
Finally had something to dump that energy into something to do with my idle hands something to look forward to
something to get a job so I could buy a bigger fish tagging and get more fish stuff and
My life slowly started to change. I didn't want to do certain things anymore
Because I wanted to do fish tank stuff
My life was slowly
changing and all my friends made fun of me making it call me a loser and a geek not to my face but like making
fun of me
And I was like, this is the first time in my life
Where I'm actually interested in something that I'm actually looking
forward to
And you want to bag on me for that, what kind of friend are you friend should be your cheerleaders a
Year later got my GED
Two years later it looks like March 2004
This is the only education that I have I dropped out. I was in jail. There's a you know, there's no school
Well, there's it's optional well, I'm not going I regret that but I eventually got my GED
My life began to change I
Discovered fish clubs and people just like me and I realized for the first time I
Felt like I belonged
Nobody knew who I was nobody knew my past nobody cared about it
Nobody cared about how much money I made or the color of my skin?
Or what religion or political views?
I had nobody cared about any of that and that's one of the most beautiful things about the hobbies none of that matters
We just want to see her fish tanks. I
Couldn't believe it
That's when he got real bad for me. I was like, this is awesome. I love it
I can become somebody new I can I can just change I
started making YouTube videos
And discovered you guys
And I
For like four or five six years that made videos with barely any subscribers
I mean it took me three years to get something like 300 subscribers
Nobody was watching me, but I didn't care
I was I had a purpose I had something to look forward to I had something
Positive to do for once for the first time in the background. I'm having kids now
I've got jobs regular jobs
But because of my past and my education I have to take general laborer jobs or what whoever will hire me I pumped gas
I were I worked in the woods. I
Mean, I worked at call centers. I worked in production facilities. I worked at a gym
I mean I would do anything that didn't require anything more than a GED and
I wanted to better myself but having kids at such a young age and needing to make money. I was just working so much
Just trying to get by
The luxury of taking my time to better myself. I was gone. I ruined my future and potentially now my children's
YouTube got more and more serious for me and in a future video
I'll walk you through what really happened with YouTube and how much money I made and what it really took in the sacrifices and
the work and you know
The stories I've never told before
Well, you knew it. We had a hundred thousand subscribers
Then we had a million
Making only fishtank videos only aquariums talking about the only thing that
I've ever been interested in in my life besides
Violence for those that are struggling out there and
Having a rough life. Don't let your past depict your future
It's not too late to change reinvent yourself remove people from your life focus on yourself and yours
Don't worry about what everybody else is doing and at the very least stop caring what other people think of you
People don't want to see you with
When you do they will try to bring you down. You might see it happen to me a lot
where people with
Insecurities and living miserable lives see me having some success and gotta find something to bring me down about but know nothing about me
And have zero clue how passionate or how much love or how much I put into this or what this Willie
Actually means to me I do what I do
Because I feel like I owe so much
Back to the hobby these days I wake up and I cannot explain to you how excited I am to be me
for the first time I'm so proud of Who I am and I get made fun of all the time for how
Excited I am on video or you know
I'm hyper or he's got to be on drugs or this or that or the other thing and now you know where I came from
Now you can see if it wasn't for where I am right now
Where I possibly I might be dead or in prison for the rest of my life
But I get to do this so you're damn right? I'm excited to make videos. You're damn, right?
I can barely contain myself at times
I've said it a few times that I come from the gutter. I
Guess now you understand why?
in
Retrospect based on my past I suffer from depression. I still do
anxiety
Sometimes I don't like to leave my house
Sometimes things come back to haunt me and
One of the only things that helps me is continuing to make these videos I
Am so grateful
That you guys gave me a chance you saved my life
And have changed it forever, I'm not who I used to be
But I'm excited about who I've become and who all be tomorrow
and I'm so happy that I'm bringing you guys along for the journey and although this video is painful for me to make and
Risky in terms of like how people might look at me now
I'm not making it for those people that are gonna look down on me. I make it for those people that look up to me
And I don't I don't
Feel that. It's right that you look up to me rather look over to me
I'm standing right beside you
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