Whether it be from his time sharing jail cells with Fortune 500 CEOs or almost losing his life to his vices, Andrew Rey has multiple messages to preach from his life story at EmpowerCon 2019, but none will be more important than advocating for audience members to simply get started.

“I want EmpowerCon audience members to get out and take action,”explains Rey. “Find what your passion and message is and have the courage to go after it. You’re going to fall down, but it’s going to totally be worth it.”

If anyone can speak on life after falling down, it’s Andrew Rey. He showed signs of a promising future, as a member of the Gates program and by excelling both inside and outside the classroom, but Rey began a downward spiral at 12-years-old following his parents divorce. 

“I went from being a really driven, accelerated kid to a total juvenile delinquent,” describes Rey.

By 15-years-old, Rey had bounced across state lines going from home-to-home, gotten kicked out of multiple schools, and had become suicidal. Alcohol and drug abuse also began to play a major role in Rey’s young life and eventually led to a $30,000 trip to Indonesia from Nigeria that would go on to land him in federal prison before the age 30. 

However, prison would end up being the setting where Rey would learn some of the most important lessons he still teaches today.

“I was in a federal prison camp with Fortune 500 CEOs, government officials, and high-powered attorneys, so I got this education that very few people get access to,” explains Rey. “A lot of my book was written from the conversations I had when I was locked up with these white collar criminals.”

Rey’s time in prison gifted him with an invaluable education, but he was still having trouble finding the value in his own life, as he continued to punish himself for past mistakes by abusing substances. Fueled by depression, at 36-years-old, Rey’s drinking addiction reached stage four and landed him in a hospital for ten days. His downward spiral had finally led him to the ground, but as long as he wasn’t in the dirt, Rey saw it as another chance at life.

“My liver was shutting down, and my eyes were turning yellow. Then I got another chance,” recalls Rey. “Call it a higher power or God, but something came to me and gave another chance, and I haven’t had another drink since.”

Within six months of his sobriety, Rey formed his own business and bought a condo in Huntington Beach, and within a year, he owned five houses. Present-day, Rey is best-selling author and business expert who wants to share his story to spread a message that can impact anyone that attends EmpowerCon 2019.

“[My message] is universal,” explains Rey. “It’s about learning about business credit and empowering entrepreneurs from any gender,race or religion to succeed.”

Written by Taj Mayfield