Inside prison, Miles didn’t always stay out of trouble, but he always knew he wanted to build something bigger.
He says there was no ‘tipping point’ that convinced him he needed to change.
“It was just time under pressure – I always had big goals to build a business, to build an empire. I knew constantly being in jail wasn’t me.”
In prison, he joined a Hero’s Journey. At first, he didn’t want to go – he only joined because his friends told him to try something that would get him off the wing.
“I really enjoyed the sessions and I wasn’t expecting that, you know. They made you feel comfortable, it didn’t feel like another ‘jail thing’. It brought me out of my comfort zone, and I got to speak to people that I wouldn’t have usually, from other wings. It helped build bridges.
I got on with the coaches and decided that I wanted to keep working together on the outside. I wanted to get to a place where I wasn’t involved with certain things or around people who were going to take me back to jail. I knew when I got out I wanted to take things slowly and get to where I want to be.”
The list of things Miles has achieved since release is long. He’s been off licence for nearly a year, the first time he’s achieved that since 2016.
“I was homeless when I left prison and in a bad relationship. But I wanted an income, needed a home. I wanted more time with my children to build and foster my relationship with them. I needed more money, so I started my business. I’ve achieved all these goals.
These sound like normal things for normal people but not necessarily for someone like me.”
Miles has always loved dogs and one of his ambitions for when he got stable income and housing, was to buy a puppy for his daughter. But getting a dog for Miles didn’t just mean getting a pet, it meant unlocking his passion and turning it into a business. His love of dogs started at a young age, when aged just 9 years old, he’d take his neighbours’ canine companions out for walks. Later in life when he found himself in custody, he would relish any and every opportunity to bond with therapy dogs whenever they were brought onto the prison wing.
Now out in the community and with a dog of his own, he started filming content and training advice for social media, building his presence online. Now, he’s built this into a successful business.
He says what he appreciated about his coach, Missy, was always having someone who was encouraging of his goals.
“She’d say: if you say you’re going to do something, you’ll find a way to get there. I needed positive people like her to speak to. We’d speak about things that kept me focused on progress.”
The conversations they had helped him break down the steps and kept him on track. Whatever they agreed, Missy would call him a month later and see where he was with his goals.
“The coaching held me accountable. It’s about understanding the person and their motivations. I was ready to change; I wanted to go towards where I was seeing results. Missy helped me feel that sense of achievement and momentum.
I feel like I understand dogs and they understand me. Lots of people are scared of dogs but I feel like sometimes they are just misunderstood. It’s just about figuring out what they need.”
In the Hero’s Journey workshops, participants do an exercise called ‘possiping’. Together, they share the positive qualities they see in each person, and optimistic predictions for their future.
As a sign of the impact this had on Miles, his possiping sheet from the workshop is still in perfect condition.
Above the list of achievements the group predicted for him, Miles has scratched out the words ‘can be’ and written ‘will be’. Judging by his progress so far, his future certainly will be bright.
