Joe Kwon grew up in a community of violence and with no father figure he naturally gravitated towards the support of local street gangs. At the age of 21 Joe was sentenced to 13 years in prison for directing a criminal enterprise. During his time in prison, he met a billionaire who was serving time for Australia's largest tax fraud who ended up becoming his first positive mentor who challenged his perceptions and attitudinal outlook on life. Joe learnt about business and the value of education, but most importantly his mentor taught him about self-worth from a prison cell. Through the support of his mentor Joe was able to complete his HSC while in prison and later was accepted and graduated from UNSW. From directing a criminal enterprise, today Joe is the Founder and CEO of a social enterprise (Confit) and a NFP (Confit Pathways) where he mentors that sense of self worth to incarcerated youth to thrive in society by providing pathways to employment, education and wrap-around support in the community. Confit Pathways also has a partnership with UNSW providing full scholarships with campus accomodation to young people who go through the Confit Pathways program. Joe's mission is to help reduce recidivism in Australia and create employment and education opportunities for individuals coming out of custody by breaking down societies preconceived notions of inmate stereotypes and providing community support through mentors with lived prison experience. Joe used fitness as a way to escape the revolving door of recidivism and is now about to open a social enterprise gym to help others that are affected by the justice system to do the same. Joe is known to be a catalyst and social impact innovator, using lived experience to create a platform to bridge the social gap between former inmates and the wider society through fitness. A 2022 Westpac Social Fellow and a 2022 Snow entrepreneur Joe is helping people from all walks of life train to be free. Andrew Truong is an integral member of the Confit team. From the challenges of growing up in a hardworking Vietnamese immigrant family to the tumultuous turns of a youth spent amongst the wrong crowd, Andrew had experienced it all. A two-time convict, it was during his last stint in jail that he discovered the transformative power of fitness. Drawing parallels between gruelling workouts and life's hardships, he emerged with a newfound philosophy: face challenges head-on, persevere and always keep pushing forward. Today, Andrew mentors youth, harnessing the power of fitness to reduce recidivism and provide them with a renewed sense of purpose.
Joe Kwon grew up in a community of violence and with no father figure he naturally gravitated towards the support of local street gangs. At the age of 21 Joe was sentenced to 13 years in prison for directing a criminal enterprise. During his time in prison, he met a billionaire who was serving time for Australia's largest tax fraud who ended up becoming his first positive mentor who challenged his perceptions and attitudinal outlook on life. Joe learnt about business and the value of education, but most importantly his mentor taught him about self-worth from a prison cell. Through the support of his mentor Joe was able to complete his HSC while in prison and later was accepted and graduated from UNSW. From directing a criminal enterprise, today Joe is the Founder and CEO of a social enterprise (Confit) and a NFP (Confit Pathways) where he mentors that sense of self worth to incarcerated youth to thrive in society by providing pathways to employment, education and wrap-around support in the community. Confit Pathways also has a partnership with UNSW providing full scholarships with campus accomodation to young people who go through the Confit Pathways program. Joe's mission is to help reduce recidivism in Australia and create employment and education opportunities for individuals coming out of custody by breaking down societies preconceived notions of inmate stereotypes and providing community support through mentors with lived prison experience.
Joe used fitness as a way to escape the revolving door of recidivism and is now about to open a social enterprise gym to help others that are affected by the justice system to do the same. Joe is known to be a catalyst and social impact innovator, using lived experience to create a platform to bridge the social gap between former inmates and the wider society through fitness. A 2022 Westpac Social Fellow and a 2022 Snow entrepreneur Joe is helping people from all walks of life train to be free.
Andrew Truong is an integral member of the Confit team. From the challenges of growing up in a hardworking Vietnamese immigrant family to the tumultuous turns of a youth spent amongst the wrong crowd, Andrew had experienced it all. A two-time convict, it was during his last stint in jail that he discovered the transformative power of fitness. Drawing parallels between gruelling workouts and life's hardships, he emerged with a newfound philosophy: face challenges head-on, persevere and always keep pushing forward. Today, Andrew mentors youth, harnessing the power of fitness to reduce recidivism and provide them with a renewed sense of purpose.
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References
PMID26086423 - Fazel & Wolf (2015). A Systematic Review of Criminal Recidivism Rates Worldwide: Current Difficulties and Recommendations for Best Practice.
ABC RN - Baxter & Quince (2022). Nordic criminal justice: How does it differ from Australia and does it work?
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Confit and Andrew's links
Instagram: @confitpathways @confit_gym @oneouttraining
TikTok: @oneouttraining
YouTube: OneoutTV
Website: www.confitpathways.org
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Hayden Kelly, ESSAM, AES, AEP, MHPS
Host of the NORMLESS podcast
Connect with me on Instagram, Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn
Website: www.haydenkelly.com.au
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