NICOLE HANRATTY, M.S.

VP MARKETING, MWG HOLDINGS GROUP, INC.

EDITOR-IN-CHIEF, SMISH

‍
‍

Quawntay “Bosco” Adams interview via Zoom Live at Cannes Film Festival, edited for brevity

‍

Bosco was sentenced to 35 years for attempted possession of marijuana in maximum security. He escaped prison three times before he successfully argued on his own behalf for his early release. His story is now a Peacock original movie streaming live entitled “Bosco.” 

‍

Nicole: I was looking back through some of the talks you've given. At the one in Tennessee, you said it was the first time you ever did any public speaking. You told the crowd that you watched some YouTube videos to prepare. You showed up and gave a powerful talk. For many, just the thought of public speaking can make people feel like they're paralyzed with fear. And you just showed up and did it.

‍

You've talked openly about the idea of embracing your intelligence, leaning into courage, and that speaking out to share your message is important to you. I'm wondering for you what all of this feels like, and how you're processing the dramatic changes that have happened in your life the last couple of years?

‍

Bosco: Yeah. I think the biggest thing about all of it is, because I have something to say. I have so much built up and pent-up up inside of me, so much of is that is life is good energy, I just want to put out there what's been so pent-up up for so many years, and I never really had the opportunity to express it. Even growing up, and growing up in certain communities where, you can kind of be looked down upon by expressing a certain type of energy. Where when you're around, you know how the saying goes, misery loves company.

‍

And when you're in a community that's full of misery, and where people start to take on that misery as an identity, and then they pass that identity down upon different generations expecting that generation to carry that misery as a sense of identity, it...hinders you from exhibiting and expressing positive energy. 

‍

And so, I feel like for years it's been in me, and I just never really had the opportunity to express it. And so, now I'm getting to the point like the amid life crisis part where I'm going to go drive a Corvette with the top down, I'm going to express this energy now.

‍

This is my chance. This is my only opportunity, I have to get it out of me. So, I'll show up at conferences, I'll show up at events, and just try to see if I can speak for free. I have something to say. So, it's kind of fun to me. I'd be a little bit, but I think the passion to really get it out is greater than the fear.

‍

Nicole: When you do speak, what do you hope that people walk away with, what key messages?

‍

Bosco: The main thing is it's a few things that I hope people can walk away from. And one of them is that people are capable of change. And that people are capable of overcoming obstacles and barriers, and things. And we're capable of taking our worst moments and making something great of it. And that's what I strive to exemplify. I want to be an example of that.

‍

Nicole: The movie Bosco on Peacock was incredible to watch. Do you want to talk about one particular example of one of the worst things that happened that you turned into a positive?

‍

Bosco: I was able to take my in carceration, just that experience that there was sentenced to 35 years in prison, and to take that experience, 35 years for cannabis, and to take that experience and not let it destroy me, not let it make my heart cold, not let it make me angry. But instead to take that, and use that as fuel to become somebody and something greater.

‍

Nicole: Yeah. Having met you in Miami, I think that what you just said, I could personally attest to it, you exude warmth. I remember when met you, we were in the hotel and just walking. My group was still complaining about our travel mishaps, and you just sort of were like, "Hi, I'm Bosco." You exude positivity and happiness. And it's super infectious. When you have that power and you have that positive air about you, you affect other people. So, I definitely can personally attest that just being around you, you walk the walk.

‍

Bosco: Yeah, yeah. It makes me feel good, because it's like it's pent-up in me, I have to express it.

‍

‍

Nicole: How do you think you can use that positivity to help inform change, whether it's in low-income communities, or in communities where kids are without positive role models?

‍

Bosco: I think most problems are a result of a person's mind state and lack of resources. And so, those two things are things that I want to change in my community where I grew up is that, to provide resources. And you do that by establishing connections with people who are capable of assisting and giving resources,people who are capable of providing job opportunities, people who are capable of providing educational opportunities. To have those connections, to provide the resources that are needed, but also to change the mindset of the individuals. So that those individuals are able to take advantage of the opportunities and the resources when they're presented.

‍

Because, you can present resources all you want, but if people have... It goes back to what we were talking about. If people have that negative state of mind, or they took on this negativity or this miserable attitude as a personality or as a sense of identity, then it prevents them from actually taking advantage of any opportunity that's out there.

‍

You can start to perceive opportunity as a trap, or opportunity as a setup,opportunity is not going to benefit you. You hear people saying, "That's just not going to help me." It's not going to do nothing good for me." You know what I'm saying? That's the mindset.

‍

So, you have to change that mindset,and start telling yourself that, "Nah,you can gain something from this.

‍

"And that comes from then an example of taking people who have actually been in their shoes, and who have developed this positive state of mind. People who have allowed that contagious positive energy to break out of that miserable negative state of being. Because everybody has it in life. When you see a kid, what does a baby do? What does a kid do? They're running around and screaming,they're joyous. And then it's phasing conditions that happened over years that kind of buries that. It kind of dulls that flame.

‍

And it can steal the joy from a person and make a person angry or miserable. So, it's about taking all of that dirt that they've been buried up under, and bringing back out that doit, that's in everybody. And a lot of times when you see somebody who has risen from the dead so to speak,who has burst out of all of that dirt and come up to illuminate, and to shed light and that positive energy,it can be an example that anybody can do it.

‍

Nicole: Right after we left Miami they announced potentially rescheduling cannabis. How did you take that news? And what do you hope that that will do for people currently incarcerated for marijuanapossession?

‍

Bosco: That was pretty big. It's not everything, but it's a big step. There's a lot of hurdles that will need to be cleared depending on the different state laws or jurisdictions, whether it would allow them to just actually get out. But it definitely opens the door for argument for them to present the courts, to have their sentences vacated or reduced based on the DEA actually rescheduled or that's not such a serious offense as it is at the time.

‍

So, I was excited about that, becauseI know there's a lot of people there.When I was there, I was begging for something like that. Because I understood the law, and I understood that if that happened, then I can be creative enough to create an argument that would have the sentence reduced.

‍

Nicole: In your Chasin’ Freedom bookyou say, "When people are free,they're neither controlled, motivated by fear, greed, hate, anger or propaganda. ...After four decades of being a slave, I'm removing the shackles from my mind. I found my meaning in life and I’m free.”

‍

Bosco: You see how this conversation is going? You see how we were talking about the child who was born joyous, and have that energy and that light, and so hopeful. And then over years environmental, social conditions kind of just bury that and put that out. And I've always had that light inside of me. I've always had that energy inside of me. But,growing up, how I grew up in the environment that I grew up,surrounded by so much negativity.Environment to where you weren't supposed to be positive, where only the negative were the successful, soto speak.

‍

Nicole: That was the louder voice.

‍

Bosco: Yeah. So, it took away, I felt trapped. The real me was trapped and buried somewhere. And I realized later on, that that's what it was about. That energy, that real me, this person now was buried somewhere,and that I needed freedom. Andfreedom came once I got to the point,"So you know what? I don't need to have a lot of money. I don't need to try to impress a certain group of people. I'm not going to silence my voice in my heart's desires anymore.I'm going to live out my heart desires and I'm going to be who I am, I'm going to express my voice no matter where I am." That's my purpose. I found my purpose. So that was like freedom.

‍

So it's like, after four decades of being a slave to misery, and the invisible prison walls that I have been building over the years from my way of thinking, and living in a community that just wore you down mentally. It's like, it was time for me to break free from it. And that's where my freedom came from. Once I got to the point like, "Well then, I can die here. So one thing I need to do is just express who I really am."

‍

Because a lot of it's a facade. It's not really who we are. We're just being somebody who we were taught we were supposed to be.

‍

Nicole: You actually wrote the book while you were still incarcerated,correct?

‍

Bosco: Yeah.

‍

Nicole: And then you've self-published on Amazon. And all those tools were made available to you while you were incarcerated.

‍

Bosco: Yeah.

‍

Nicole: That's pretty incredible. Obviously you didn't have special treatment, right?

‍

Bosco: No.

‍

Nicole: So, you had the mindset, to say, "I can turn this,my current situation, into this positive." And you did something that people who are not incarcerated haven't even been brave enough to do. Because really, it takes someone to be really brave to tell their story and write a book.

‍

Bosco: Yeah, it is. Because you just have to, you're going to put your life out there. It's going to open up everything. But I wanted to, because I wanted people to see the real me, understand why I was the person I am,wonder, understand how I've become the person that I became. And then the resources, as far as resources, of course they're limited, they're extremely limited. But when you really want something, you become creative enough to make it work

‍