When I picked up Danny Trejo’s biography, I thought I knew what I was getting into. I knew he had done time in prison, struggled with addiction, and was best known for playing the tough, intimidating — albeit often killed — presence on screen. But the book surprised me at every page turn, revealing the personal life of a complexly flawed, yet deeply compassionate man.

I didn’t expect to learn about the deep respect he earned behind bars, or how he became a figure of authority and mentorship even in the most dangerous environments. His time in prison wasn’t just a passing chapter — it shaped him into someone others looked up to, even when it jeopardized his own well-being.

What struck me even more was the decades he has spent staying clean and helping others — including his own children — do the same. Trejo’s story isn’t a simple tale of overcoming addiction and finding Hollywood success; it’s about relentless service to others. In fact, the only reason he ended up in Hollywood was because he went to check on someone he was sponsoring — a man who was struggling and working as an extra on a movie set. From there, Trejo stumbled into a new path almost by accident, driven by compassion rather than ambition.

The book is far more than a celebrity memoir; it’s a raw, unfiltered look at redemption, humility, and the unexpected turns that come from living the life of an imperfect person in service to others.

Notes:

Ice In A Real Crystal Glass

The message to me was clear: don’t be a bitch when you die.

The boogie man is that mixed feeling of regret from the past and fear of the future.

The first thing you have to do when you’re locked up is make peace with the moment right now. It will never be your friend, but you can’t let it become your enemy.

Sometimes you can see positive change in others before you can see it in yourself.

Have a nice day! Unless, of course, you’ve made other plans.

When you feel like God himself sees you as a lost cause, you can’t get help.

When somebody asks me, “how much is too much”, I like to respond, “it’s all too much that’s why I give it to God.”

Your worst day at the job is so much better than your best day in prison.

I hope people see, when they look at my story, that it’s possible to make better decisions and live a better life.