Overcoming Anything

Overcoming Incarceration with Walter Lawton

• Anne Vryonides • Season 1 • Episode 12

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Episode 012: Overcoming Incarceration with Walter Lawton

What if prison wasn’t the end — but the wake-up call that changed everything? In this episode of Overcoming Anything, I sit down with Walter Lawton, who spent nine years incarcerated and then rebuilt his life through consistency, faith, and the power of a strong support system. His story is one of redemption, resilience, and the courage to never give up on yourself.

Walter shares how he turned a life of chaos and hopelessness into one filled with purpose — proving that even after hitting rock bottom, transformation is possible. Born and raised in Washington, D.C., Walter found a second chance in Ohio, where he rebuilt his life step by step. From serving nine years in prison to becoming a dedicated worker, husband, and father, his journey reminds us that healing and redemption are within reach for anyone willing to put in the work.

Key Takeaways

  1. Redemption is real — no matter your past, you can rebuild your life with consistency and support.
  2. Show up daily — credibility and change are built through small, repeated actions over time.
  3. Community is everything — lasting transformation happens when you surround yourself with people who hold you accountable.

Timestamps

• 00:00 — Welcome & introduction
 • 03:45 — Growing up in Washington D.C. and moving to Ohio
 • 07:15 — How Walter ended up in prison at 16
 • 11:00 — Surviving incarceration and finding perspective
 • 18:20 — The mindset shift that sparked his transformation
 • 23:50 — Meeting mentor John Graham and finding structure
 • 28:30 — The Citizen Circle and learning how to re-enter society
 • 33:40 — Writing 10 goals and achieving them all
 • 38:15 — Buying his first home after 10 years of steady work
 • 42:00 — Overcoming judgment after incarceration
 • 45:30 — Lessons in listening, humility, and personal growth
 • 48:10 — Advice for rebuilding life after prison
 • 52:00 — Final reflections and message of hope

Connect with Walter

• Facebook: @WalterLawton
 • Instagram: @WalterLawton
 • TikTok: @WalterLawton
 • Snapchat: @WalterLawton

Recommended Resources

• Citizen Circle Reentry Support Group
 • Transitional Housing Programs like Good Samaritan
 • Goal-setting and accountability mentorship

 Credits

• Host: Anne Vryonides
• Guest: Walter Lawton

Disclaimer

The content of this episode is for informational and inspirational purposes only. It is not a substitute for professional advice, therapy, or rehabilitation programs.

Please follow, download, and rate Overcoming Anything so it can reach the people who need it most.


❤️ Anne

 

#OvercomingAnythingPodcast #TransformationAndGrowth #ResilienceStories #MindsetAndMotivation #HealingJourney #LifeAfterPrison #SecondChances #RedemptionStory #PersonalDevelopmentPodcast #OvercomingAdversity #MotivationalPodcast #InspirationDaily #YouCanChange #NeverTooLate #PrisonReform #ReentrySuccess #HopeAndHealing #SelfMasteryAndHealing #TrueStoriesOfResilience #WalterLawtonInterview

 

Anne Vryonides:

Welcome to Overcoming Anything, the podcast where we dive deep into stories of resilience, transformation, and growth. I'm your host, Anne Vryonides, and today we have an incredible guest who has overcome. Going to prison and has come out creating a new life for himself with new hope and new possibilities. So joining me today is, Walter Lawton, he's a pre calfs operator and has an amazing story of perseverance. Welcome to the show. So before we dive in, I love to ask, what keeps you going in tough times?

Walter Lawton:

What keeps me going in tough times? I think about my son a lot and I think about if I stop doing this. What would happen with my son if I did this? What would happen to my son? What would my son do? How would my son react to that? How would he look at me if I did this or if I didn't do that? So I do a lot for my son because of my son and my wife.

Anne Vryonides:

Beautiful. I love that. So let's start at the beginning. What is the most difficult thing you've ever had to overcome in your life?

Walter Lawton:

Uh, here in Ohio, my surroundings because me being black in the predominant white, all of the surroundings, I didn't know how to take that, but I grew. Hmm. I don't know how to, how to put it. I mean, I don't, I don't let the race thing get in front of me anymore. I accept any race, whatever. I don't care. But it was, it was a problem. It was a problem when I first moved here. I didn't have to deal with like people being racist towards me and everything, but I know a lot of people looked at me as a, expected me to be a certain way because I'm black in a white neighborhood, but turned out for the good for me.

Anne Vryonides:

Wow. So how was that particularly challenging for you? Because you said you used to live, in DC and

Walter Lawton:

Yes,

Anne Vryonides:

yes. I used

Walter Lawton:

to live in, I, I was, I'm, I was born and raised in Washington dc I moved to Ohio when I was 15. I went to DYS, the Department of Youth Services, and I done nine months in there. And when I got out of DYS, I was home for maybe. Not even 30 days. And I got rearrested and was bound over to an adult and was sentenced to nine years for robbery, aggravated robbery, and to Florence assault and failure to comply. And I did nine years, I went in that and the year 2000 got out in 2008. And. Uh, when I was living in DC it was, it was rough. It was rough growing up. And so when I came to Ohio, I thought I was gonna be doing the same thing and ended up going to prison. Now, I'm not gonna say that I'm. Glad I went to prison, but I think prison was the best thing for me'cause it slowed me down.'cause I was on a path of destruction and I was in, when I went to prison, I was able to take, a lot of different groups like self-management. Anger management, helping yourself to better succeed? I probably took maybe 14 or 15 different groups that helped me when I was in there.

Anne Vryonides:

So was there a specific, moment that was particularly challenging for you when you just felt like everything was impossible, like when you were in prison and everything just felt hard and impossible? How did you deal with that?

Walter Lawton:

I used to have this thought well came from watching TV. Anyway, I to have this thought like, now I have this record, I'll never be able to get a job. I'll never be able to do anything legally be able to travel or anything. So I told myself when I got out, I said, I'm going right back to selling drugs after maybe five years. It was a friend of mine that used to tell me, he used to tell me, youngster, you worried about the wrong things? You need to get out there and do this and do that. Get yourself together, get married, get a house. So that was when I started saying, when I get outta jail, I'm gonna give me a job no matter what, if I got a record or anything.

Anne Vryonides:

That's good. So take me back to prison real quick. How did you make it through prison? Did you find friends in there or like how did you survive? What was your mindset every day knowing that people could be attacking you in there? Like how did you survive prison first

Walter Lawton:

going, going into prison? I mean, from. Watching TV and everything after, was expecting to go in prison and be constantly in fights, people getting stabbed and raped and all of that kind of stuff. But when I went in there, it wasn't as bad as I thought it was. It was bad, but it wasn't as bad as I thought it was like, as long as you mind your business, stay outta trouble. You were okay and. I tried my best to get along with everyone and not try to be more than what I was. And I mean, that was a survival, that was, I, I didn't know what to expect. And so that was a survival tactic for me, and it actually worked.

Anne Vryonides:

So were there moments that you felt completely alone in, in there and How did you deal with that when you felt so alone?

Walter Lawton:

At first I did'cause I couldn't really reach out to all of my family members, but only time I really could is when my mom, when I would call my mom or I would talk to my grandmother and they would accept my call, they would write me, but my. Other family members, brothers and sisters, they wrote me from time to time and it was depressing. I was taking depression, medi medication at the time and it was depressing. But what got me through is that,'cause I seen everyone else that was in there too, and it was some people that they didn't get. Phone calls, didn't get mail visits or anything, and I used to think what I was getting was I was okay with that because I could have been worse off like they were, but I still had people that I could reach out to, like that would send me money or would come and visit me and things like that.

Anne Vryonides:

That's great. So when did you realize that your life could be different, that even though you made a mistake that you could still create a whole new life for yourself? When did you realize that?

Walter Lawton:

It was actually once, it was after I got outta prison because while I was in prison, I even though I was thinking I'm gonna do the right thing and get a job and try to walk a straight and narrow, I used to see guys that got out would be back 30 days. And I used to think like that would be me. But I actually made a bet with a friend of mine'cause he told me, he was like, oh, you'll be right back. And I made a bet with him. I said, when I said, I'm not coming back in here, I said, I'm gonna get a job. And I said, I bet you I worked that job for 10 years. So when I've worked that job for 10 years. I called. That was the first thing I did. I called him and told him, I said, I've been working this same job for 10 years and I haven't been back to prison. Haven't gotten a dirty yarn or anything.

Anne Vryonides:

Well, that's amazing. That's great. So was there a specific, mindset shift or a specific person that helped you once you got out?

Walter Lawton:

Actually, yes. When I got outta prison, they sent me here to Greenville, Ohio, and I had to, uh, John Graham's trans, the Good Samaritan Transitional Housing. And I was going to, I had support groups that I was going to called the Citizen Circle, and he had set me up with, other people with some other guys that was trying to help me out on finding a job and how to fill out applications and things like that. And there was another guy that was in the transitional housing that he had got a job working at the wine, working at a winery. And I told him when he gets in good to get me in. And at that time I had moved out and went. And was living with my, a girl that I was with for maybe five months, and after I was living there for the five months, I was just thinking like I. I am not doing anything. I'm just laying around, sitting around the house, just eating, gaining weight. And so I called my probation officer and I talked to him and asked him if I could go back to John Graham's house. And he talked to John and John said that I could come back. So I went back to John Graham's house and it was when I got into John Graham's house is when I really started. To feel like I had to do something different. I was going to, I had started going to the citizen circle again and they helped me on how to give a job interview, how to do a job interview, what to say, what not to say, what to do, how to dress, and then. So I had started doing my resume, doing a resume'cause my friend had told me, he had brought me an application. So I went and done a resume and stuff and I filled it out and everything. And I took it to John Graham to read the proofread it. And at the same time, the guy who ran the winery. Was calling him, wanting him to bring me in for an interview that very next day. So I went in for the interview, the very, that very next day and I got the job. I was supposed to been part-time, but I started, I was showing up every day that noise that I was prioritized, but I was showing up every day. Then they hired me on full time. And I worked there for 15 years.

Anne Vryonides:

Wow. As the

Walter Lawton:

assistant winemaker.

Anne Vryonides:

Wow, that's incredible. So it sounds like both John and, the support group made a huge difference in your rehabilitation back into, getting a job and. Transitioning into your new life. So what life lessons did this experience teach you?

Walter Lawton:

What life lessons that I need to listen more because before, before them. Before that. People would tell me stuff. I didn't listen. I would hear it. It would go in one ear and outta the other. But when I started listening, actually listening to the things that they were saying and I used to think I have to at least try and not just tell them that I'm going to try. I had to actually try.'cause it was times when I at like I had told John that I was like. I'm not gonna be able to do it. I'm not going get anywhere. I'm just going to say, forget it, and just go back to prison. Get three hots in the cot where that was the life that I knew that John used to tell me that, know that's not the way to go. And I ended up getting it. Then I, but I ended up getting that job and it was, when I got that job, I had wrote down goals. I had wrote down 10 goals and those 10 goals, it took me 10 years, well, almost 10 years, but I achieved all of them. My last goal was when I bought my house.

Anne Vryonides:

So tell me how good did that feel to achieve all those 10 goals?

Walter Lawton:

When I first achieved the goals, it was, I used to think like, oh, it's just one goal. I'll never achieve the next one. But I did. I'cause, but I always told myself I,'cause I always expect, pray for the best and expect the worst. I've heard that all my life, pray for the best, expect the worst. So I never expected to, to. I never expected to achieve anything that I'd done so that if I didn't achieve it or if I failed anything more than that, it was a plus. And so when I was achieving, when I started achieving all of my goals and then I started, I got to like the fourth or fifth goal, I used to start to think like, I can do it. I'm gonna achieve all of them. And I did. I said that it was like when I, I started school'cause I said that I was gonna go back to school for something. When I went back to, started taking college course enology, introductory to wine, wine introductory to enology is some wine work. That's when I started feeling. Good about myself.'cause when I would talk to people about it and everything and they would think oh man, you know this, you know all of that. Wow. Then yeah, it, that's when I really started feeling good about myself and feeling like I made it somewhere and I think about where I came from and where I'm at now, and what I've done to get where I'm at now. Yeah, I'm very lucky to be where I'm at because I was living a lifestyle that was straight downhill, and to be where I'm at today is really a blessing.

Anne Vryonides:

So someone who's on that downward spiral right now in their life and they're just like. I don't see another way out. I don't know how my life could ever be. Like Walters, what advice would you have for them?

Walter Lawton:

You gotta have a support team. Yeah, you gotta have a support team, a support team that's going to motivate you and help you with help push you towards doing good that someone that knows you. That not just see you and think like, oh, they, they're this way, or they're that way when some, but someone that actually pays attention to you and hears you and knows what you want outta life, that will motivate you and tell you that you can do anything that you want to do. Just make the best of it. And that was what they did, what they done. Because I even told them in the group in this, citizen circle group, that I was ready to just give up and go back to prison. And they all chastised me about it and told me that wasn't an option. And they were pushing me and motivating me. Every, every week.'cause it was a weekly, like every week group that we went to that we met at a church and they supported me. So I would have to say a support group would be a big one for me.'cause I don't think, I don't know how far I would've made if I didn't have a support group.

Anne Vryonides:

Wow. That's profound.

Walter Lawton:

John Graham used to always tell me, show me. He would say, show me your friends and I'll show you your future.

Anne Vryonides:

Yeah. A good quote. Yeah.

Walter Lawton:

I look at everyone. I would look at, I still, to this day, I look at people and I just think, show me your friends and i'll show you your future. And I hold, I held down to that.

Anne Vryonides:

I have another question for you. So when you got outta prison, how did you overcome people judging you? Because, you know, everybody makes mistakes in life. So how did you overcome where people might be like, oh, he went to prison even though that was just a different time period in your life?

Walter Lawton:

Because I showed, I had to, I, I had to show. I had to show everyone that I was different, that I was actually willing to work, that I was going to put my boots on every day and get up just like everyone else, and that. To me before that I'm still, I'm not that same person. Even though they did people, a lot of these people did not know me before. It was a lot of judgment because of, mainly because of my race. But,'cause they probably, I'm pretty sure they expected me to be like everyone else, but I wasn't. I'm still not. So I had to show them that I was different and like I was actually really willing to work and get my hands dirty like everyone else. Get up and go to work every day.

Anne Vryonides:

And you've proven it. So looking back, what is the one thing that you learned about yourself having gone to prison and coming out where you are now? What's the one thing you learned about yourself?

Walter Lawton:

What's the one thing that I learned about myself that sometimes I'm a underachiever and sometimes I'm also a overachiever. Like when I'm at work I'll overachieve and. If, oh, you need this done, I'll do it, I'll do that, I'll do this, I'll do that. But off work, I'm a underachiever'cause I don't take time for myself. I'm always willing to help someone else like. Someone might call me, I need help with this. I need help with that, but I know I have this vehicle need to be fixed. I have to do this, I have to do that. I'll put it off and it'll be months before it gets done. I try not to be so selfish and worry about myself. I try to be there for others, even if it's not. Something that's serious. Even if they just need someone that they could just sit there and talk with or just hang out with. Just sit there and watch TV or chit chat. I'll put things for myself off.

Anne Vryonides:

I love that. That's so beautiful that you wanna help support other people and be there for them. But how do you think you could strike that balance between helping other people but yet still helping yourself?

Walter Lawton:

Well, I've that's, kind of changed'cause my wife, she gets after me about that. She would say things to me about me going to go do other things and she'll. Say something about like,'cause I like my car that I need to get fixed. He's like, you need to fix and work on that car, but you'll rather go over there and see them or do this with them. Just sit around, sit on the porch and talk when you could be getting this done. So now before. I go and do anything else. She'll tell me, I need to do this. I need to wash dishes or sweep the floor, fold laundry, have me doing all kinds of things before I go and do something else. And I think that was what I, that was what I needed. Someone that's going to, if I'm going to thinking like, oh, I'm gonna go do this. Someone is gonna be right there to be like, oh, don't you have this to do? Don't you have to do that? Once you do that, you do. I think you should do that first. Then you have time to play.

Anne Vryonides:

Yes

Walter Lawton:

So, and I call that pay to play.

Anne Vryonides:

I love it. I love it. So is there, any advice that you have that you could share with someone going through that same situation that you went through and just got outta prison? They're ready to begin a new life and reinvent themselves. What advice would you give them?

Walter Lawton:

Uh, don't give up. Stick. Stick to what they want. I mean, it might take some time. You will not get it overnight and just be, you might not get it next week, next month. I mean, however long it takes, like just keep putting your, throwing yourself out there.'cause eventually someone is going to take notice and think, oh, I like that person. I like that person's motivation, how hard they work, how they do this. And you never know. They might wanna be able, might know someone, dude, oh, I know this guy that might be willing to do that.

Anne Vryonides:

I love it. This has been such an inspiring, conversation, Walter. Thank you so much for sharing your journey with us. So where can people connect with you? Do you have a website or a social media presence that if someone wanted to reach out to you?

Walter Lawton:

Well, uh, I have uh, Facebook. Instagram. Okay. Awesome. Awesome. TikTok Snapchat. I'll be, I'm on, I'm across the board.

Anne Vryonides:

Okay. We can include those links in the show notes, if you want to share that with people. So thank you so much. If you found this episode helpful, please share it with someone who might be facing a similar challenge and needs to hear this message of hope. So don't forget to subscribe and I'll see you next. Time on overcoming anything.