Locked In with Ian Bick

Luis Espinoza grew up in Waterbury, Connecticut, surrounded by crime, addiction, and chaos. With a mother in and out of jail, he dropped out of high school and started hanging around the wrong crowd. By 22, he was sentenced to 18 months in prison—but just three months in, Luis made a desperate move: he tried to escape. After being captured only hours later, he was forced to face the reality of lif...

Nick Gojcaj grew up in Queens dreaming of becoming an NYPD cop, but after that didn’t work out, he spent 20 years in the corporate world before making a drastic career change in his 40s—joining Rikers Island as a corrections officer. For three years he worked inside one of America’s most notorious jails, dealing with chaos, violence, and the daily dangers of being a prison guard, until a confronta...

Joseph Schultze’s life looked nothing like the path that would eventually lead him toward prison. Growing up in Binghamton, New York, he had a loving home — but also parents battling cocaine addiction. Forced to take care of them while still a teenager, Joseph dropped out of high school and developed crippling anxiety. A car accident became the turning point that pulled him into painkillers, harde...

Justin Paperny had the perfect life — a privileged childhood in California, a promising baseball career, and by 26, he was the youngest broker at Bear Stearns’ Los Angeles office. But behind the polished image, greed took over. First, it was stealing commissions. Then, he got pulled into a multi-million dollar fraud scheme with a client. At 32, he traded luxury boardrooms for 18 months in federal...

Bob Lustyik spent nearly 25 years in the FBI’s elite intelligence division tracking foreign spies and protecting national security, earning a highly decorated career in the process — until it all came crashing down. Just before retirement, he was arrested and sentenced to 15 years in federal prison for conspiracy to commit bribery. In this gripping interview, Bob shares what it was like to join an...

MrBeast locked me (a former criminal) and a former NYPD detective inside a prison for 100 days—here’s what really happened. In this exclusive interview, I sit down with my co-contestant Lenny Bradley to break down our experience surviving MrBeast’s viral 100-day challenge, how we each won $240,000, and what went down behind the scenes. From my past as a criminal who went to federal prison to shari...

MrBeast just dropped his 100 Days Cop vs Criminal Prison Challenge — and I was one of the contestants. For 100 days, I lived inside a prison MrBeast built, competing for a life-changing $500,000 prize. In this video, I’m breaking down exactly what it was really like, the challenges you didn’t see on camera, and the insane moments that never made the final cut. From the mental battles to the bigges...

Dr. Linda Varisco had it all — a wealthy upbringing in Long Island, a thriving chiropractic business, and a picture-perfect life. But when her marriage to a crack-addicted, cheating husband imploded, her world spiraled out of control. In a shocking twist, she got entangled with a criminal enterprise running through her business, leading to federal charges for conspiracy to commit healthcare fraud....

NYPD Detective Vincent Guastamacchia spent 15 years serving New York City — starting as a housing cop, then working undercover narcotics, serving as a narcotics detective, and even becoming a hostage negotiator. In this candid interview, Vincent shares what day-to-day life was really like on the job, the inside stories from his career, and why police quotas in the NYPD are very real. If you’ve eve...

Nick Marshal seemed like a regular kid from New Jersey — good family, middle-class upbringing, and a bright future. But peer pressure and street life led him into drug dealing while still in high school. By 20, Nick was deep in the game: selling, using, and even robbing his suppliers. He tried to walk away, but one final robbery got him caught — and landed him in prison. In this interview, Nick op...

Taylor Cavanaugh’s journey is unlike anything you’ve heard. As a teenager with a criminal record, no one expected him to make it far—let alone become a Navy SEAL. But against all odds, Taylor completed BUD/S and joined SEAL Team 7. Just when it seemed like his life had turned around, legal trouble ended his military career. After being kicked out of the SEALs, Taylor spiraled into addiction and de...

Blake Fitzgerald was just a regular guy from Minnesota—until a side hustle on TikTok turned into a six-figure illegal gambling operation. After dropping out of college and bouncing between jobs, Blake discovered the world of gambling livestreams. Within months, he was pulling in over $100,000 running an underground gambling ring through social media. But the fast money came with heavy consequences...

Damon Shepard got into corrections to make a difference—but what he found inside nearly destroyed him. Raised by a single mother in St. Louis, Damon was inspired in high school to pursue a career in criminal justice. After falling short of becoming a police officer, he landed a job inside a juvenile correctional facility. But the reality was far from what he expected. Plagued by corruption, drugs,...

John Lendall’s life spiraled before it ever had a chance to begin. Growing up in Massachusetts with parents addicted to drugs, John dropped out of high school as a freshman and ended up in juvenile detention twice before turning 18. By 19, he was hooked on pills and chasing his next high — until one night, a robbery for drugs turned deadly. Charged with murder and facing 18–20 years, John took a p...

Sharita Richardson went from respected educator and mental health business owner to federal inmate. Raised by a single mom in North Carolina, Sharita followed a passion for helping others, leaving behind a career in teaching to open her own mental health agency. But when government regulations changed and the money stopped flowing, she found herself in financial crisis — and made a life-altering d...

Former DEA Agent Steve Murphy reveals the untold story behind the manhunt for Pablo Escobar. From his early days as a police officer to going undercover in Miami and eventually being deployed to Colombia, Murphy walks us through the real events that inspired Netflix’s Narcos. He shares what it was like tracking the world’s most dangerous drug lord, how the day of Escobar’s death really went down,...

Officer Kenny Williams has been a police officer in Indiana for 18 years. In this interview, he talks about what led him to join the force after 9/11, how the job has changed over the years, the role of social media and body cameras in policing today, and some of the common misconceptions people have about law enforcement. This episode offers a real look at the day-to-day reality of modern policin...

RJ Mitte, who played Walt Jr. on Breaking Bad, opens up about getting bullied as a kid and how acting helped him find a way out. In this exclusive interview, he breaks down how he landed the role of Walt Jr., what it was really like filming Breaking Bad, and how closely the show reflects real-life crime. We also talk about how his character mirrors the families of real criminals, where Walt Jr. wo...

Bigfacehead grew up in the streets of Hartford, CT, surrounded by poverty and pain. With his father behind bars and no clear path forward, he dropped out of school at 16 and turned to the drug game — making $5,000 a week selling crack. But that fast money came with a price. At just 20 years old, Bigfacehead was caught in a sweeping federal RICO case and sentenced to 60 months in federal prison. In...

Clark Fredericks' life was forever changed by one of the darkest betrayals imaginable—he was groomed and abused by his Boy Scout leader, a man who was also a respected police officer. That trauma led Clark down a destructive path filled with addiction, gambling, and mob debt. But everything came to a head years later when he ran into his abuser again… and snapped. Clark was charged with murder—but...

Jose Lugo grew up in one of Los Angeles’ toughest neighborhoods, where violence, broken family, and survival shaped his early life. After joining the Crips in high school, Jose got caught up in a string of robberies and was sentenced to 5 years in prison. From the brutal reality of L.A. County Jail to life inside a California state prison as a gang member, Jose reveals what it was really like behi...

Pete Polis went from playing for the Yankees to building a drug empire out of a furniture store. Growing up in Long Island with a father in the NYPD, Pete was on the right track — drafted to play for the Blue Jays, White Sox, and Yankees. But after walking away from baseball, his life took a shocking turn. He became a pastor, took a job at a furniture store, and secretly built an intricate drug op...

Nick Mattice thought he was starting a safe, steady career in juvenile corrections — but what he witnessed behind bars would change his life forever. From inmate assaults to shocking policy failures, Nick pulls back the curtain on a broken system few are willing to talk about. This is the raw truth about working inside a juvenile detention center. #JuvenileJustice #CorrectionsOfficer #InsideJuveni...

Ghost shares his journey from growing up in the toughest parts of Brooklyn and Queens to surviving the streets as a member of the Crips. After his brother was paralyzed, Ghost was pulled deep into gang life—getting shot 7 times, losing an eye, and barely escaping death. In this episode, he opens up about life inside the gang, the pain that pushed him there, and the strength it took to finally walk...

Richard McDonald was a Mormon kid from Southern California with a bright future—until a car accident left him hooked on painkillers. What started as a prescription spiraled into a 16-year addiction, a hidden gambling problem, and a $472,000 embezzlement scheme to fund it all. Indicted by the FBI for wire fraud and sentenced to 24 months in federal prison, Richard shares the shocking truth behind h...