Very Raw Interview with Joey Dots as the "Guest". Joey grew up as a poor, crooked-tooth kid living in a trailer with no real father in his life. His mom had him at 16. His family lived on welfare and food stamps, and he grew up surrounded by drinking, drugs, fighting, dysfunction, and chaos. For a long time, Joey thought that was normal. Then he started meeting other kids and seeing their homes, families, vacations, and way of life. He did not hate them for having those things. He hated that he did not. He hated feeling poor. He hated having no confidence, and he was terrified he would repeat the same cycle. In this special episode, Jay from J’s Barbershop takes over as guest host and puts Joey in the hot seat. Joey opens up about his childhood, learning that the man raising him was not his biological father, his mother’s suicide attempt, being separated from his siblings, struggling in school while showing signs that appeared consistent with ADD, although he was not diagnosed at the time, and feeling like he had no real direction in life. After high school, Joey joined the United States Navy to escape his environment and become independent. When he returned home, he split a $900 apartment three ways, worked full-time, attended college full-time, paid his own bills, and slowly started building a different life. Sometimes it f*****g sucked. But he kept going. Joey became the first person in his family to earn a bachelor’s degree and a master’s degree. He built a successful career at JPMorgan Chase and eventually discovered scalp micropigmentation after experiencing his own hair loss. He used his own money and vacation time to train. He worked his corporate job during the day and performed SMP at night and on weekends. When his position was eliminated while his wife was pregnant, Joey bet everything on himself. That side business became Delaware Scalp Micropigmentation, and he eventually purchased the commercial property where the business operates today. But this is not some perfectly clean success story. Joey made mistakes. He abused prescription medication, nearly destroyed his marriage, lost his best friend Dan, and almost lost his three-month-old daughter Carmella during a medical emergency. He had to learn most things the hard way. Today, Joey owns his business and commercial property and has a wife, a home, and two beautiful children. He is not sharing that because he thinks he is better than anyone. He is sharing it because the poor, insecure kid he used to be would never believe this life was possible. Joey is not special, and nobody came to save him. He simply hated his circumstances enough to start changing them. His hope is that someone who feels trapped by where they came from hears his story and realizes their current life does not have to become their final life. The cycle can end with them. Your decisions, not your conditions, shape your destiny.
