From Inmate to Educator: Ex-convict Justin Rhedrick Shares His Story

 

While serving a sentence for a home invasion, Justin Rhedrick was passionate about reform. He grew up in Charlotte, surrounded by family and basketball, but a lack of work and a desire to get money placed him in prison.

After being released from a North Carolina prison in 2014, he decided to try his hand at entrepreneurship, starting with Vegan On The Go. At the time, he had learnt about Bitcoin, which was rapidly gaining popularity, and his Vegan On The Go was not just to educate people about eating healthy, but also to teach them how to pay for vegan meals using bitcoin.

Rhedrick is currently doing extremely well in the blockchain business and assisting others in getting on board with his best-selling book From Bars to Bitcoin, which he wrote after meeting Bitcoin OG, instructor, and entrepreneur Isaiah Jackson. Aside from showcasing his journey to financial freedom in the book, Rhedrick is also known for Overcome All Adversity Coaching, a consultancy that provides tools to individuals and organizations to help them perform better.

“Bitcoin doesn’t care about your track record, doesn’t care about where you are from, who you’re voting for, who you’re having s-x with; there is no systematic prejudice built into the system,” former convict and author Rhedrick said in an interview.

As a result, Rhedrick has been active in bringing the global Black community into the crypto sector. Former inmates, for example, have been learning about blockchain technology from him in order to use it to reconstruct their life following incarceration.

The Bitcoin Academy, which was founded by Jay-Z and Jack Dorsey, grew interested in Rhedrick’s work and hired him as an instructor to teach members about bitcoin, how it works, and how members may improve their financial future in general. The Bitcoin Academy is a program for inhabitants of the Marcy Houses in Brooklyn, New York, that aims to educate and empower the community.

Rhedrick is now one of an increasing number of Black folks launching bitcoin-based enterprises. According to a Pew Research Center survey from 2021, 18 percent of Black individuals had invested in, traded, or utilized a cryptocurrency, compared to 13 percent of white persons. Blacks have been drawn to bitcoin for a variety of reasons, including the fact that there are no credit checks before entry. According to observers, the industry is also assisting in closing the wealth divide.

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