From Princeton & Harvard Law To Shooting Heroin On Skid Row

Damon Watson did everything right. Harvard-Westlake prep school. Princeton, where he was a national debate champion. Harvard Law School. A career as an intellectual property litigator at Latham & Watkins, one of the biggest law firms in Los Angeles. On paper, his life was the American dream. Then five people close to him died in six years — his mom, his dad, his grandmother and more. His marriage fell apart. And the man who had been so terrified of becoming his alcoholic mother that he was the designated driver all through college took his first drink at 30, right after graduating law school. From there it moved fast: ecstasy at the clubs, then cocaine, then crystal meth, and finally a needle in his arm. Damon lost everything. He ended up homeless on Skid Row in downtown Los Angeles, shooting heroin and meth, fighting for his life, cycling through LA County Jail on check-fraud charges he committed just to survive. He describes sitting there with a needle in his arm, certain he was going to die in that spot — and something in him refusing to accept it. His way out came through a former debate rival turned friend running for city council, who flew him to New York, put him on her couch, bought him a suit, and helped him get clean. He never picked up again. Now 8.5 years sober, Damon works for the New Jersey Reentry Corporation helping formerly incarcerated people and those in recovery rebuild their lives — pulling together his Ivy League book smarts and his hard-won street smarts to give other people the second chance he got. This one is proof that addiction truly does not discriminate — and that no one is too far gone to come back. 🔔 Subscribe for new episodes every week 📲 Follow Damon: @damonesquire (Instagram) | Damon Watson (LinkedIn) 🌐 New Jersey Reentry Corporation If you or someone you love is struggling with addiction or mental health, you don’t have to do it alone. Reach out to my partners at Compassion Behavioral Health. They offer individualized care and a full continuum of treatment. Call or Text: 844-443-5669 Visit: https: https://compassionbehavioralhealth.co... CBH Youtube channel: ‪@cbhrehab‬ #RiseAbove #AddictionRecovery #HeroinRecovery #8YearsSober #RecoveryIsPossible #MethRecovery #SoberLife #SkidRow #HarvardLaw #AddictionDoesntDiscriminate #MensRecovery #SobrietyJourney #MentalHealth #Reentry #RiseAbovePodcast #KevinLanning #DamonWatson #SecondChances #FromRockBottom #OneMoreThing 00:00 A needle in his arm, certain he'd die on Skid Row 00:12 8.5 years sober & the drugs of choice 00:34 Ecstasy to cocaine to meth 02:12 Rock bottom on Skid Row 03:18 Attacked and fighting for his life 05:20 Waiting for the one thing that would change everything 06:04 Ban the box & losing jobs to background checks 06:49 The Weingart & transitional housing 07:11 Running into Rachel — the friend who saved his life 08:12 Childhood trauma, an abusive father & alcoholic mother 08:35 His father, the first Black doctor-lawyer in California 09:00 Five deaths in six years & the spiral 09:37 Rachel flies him to New York & his sobriety date 11:14 The white-collar defense job he lost to his own record 13:21 Craigslist, Howard & the deep dive 20:00 Growing up in chaos & protecting his mom 23:00 Harvard-Westlake, Princeton & national debate 23:34 Getting into Harvard Law School 24:49 Straight edge through law school — the designated driver 25:36 His first drink at 30 after graduating 26:03 Latham & Watkins & life as an IP litigator 26:54 The clubs, ecstasy & the beginning 01:20:37 Meeting Gigi & love in recovery 01:21:42 The racial politics of LA County Jail 01:25:03 The fight that found him & the loophole 01:27:11 Book smarts, street smarts & where to find Damon 👉Instagram:   / riseabovewithkevin   👉 TikTok:   / rawithk   👉 Linktree: https://linktr.ee/riseabovewithk ✅ For Business Inquiries: [email protected] ================================ For Collaboration and Business inquiries, please use the contact information below: 📩 Email: [email protected] 🔔 Hit that subscribe button for more exclusive, insightful, and inspiring videos: https://www.youtube.com/@Riseabovepod... ================================= #mentalhealth #mentalhealthawareness #corecore #motivation #addictionrecovery #inspiration #selflove #selfhelp #loveyourself Disclaimer: We do not accept any liability for any loss or damage incurred by you acting or not acting as a result of watching any of our publications. You acknowledge that you use the information we provide at your own risk. Do your research. Copyright Notice: This video and our YouTube channel contain dialogue, music, and images that are the property of Rise Above with Kevin Lanning. You are authorized to share the video link and channel and embed this video in your website or others as long as a link back to our YouTube channel is provided. © Rise Above with Kevin Lanning