14 Days in a Beijing Prison: An Author's Traumatic Beginning

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SPEAKER_01: I walk up to the slumber party trying to find a spot to lay down, and one of the inmates wakes two people up to make room for me, and they do.

So they had me send my bowling spoon in the cubby under the uh bunks, and I lay down between two Chinese men and I set my hands on my chest, and I'm staring at the bright light on the ceiling, and that's when reality fully kicked in.

Like, yeah, you in here.

You in here, nobody knows you in here.

You don't even know how long you're gonna be in here.

It's not looking too good.

But at the end of the day, yeah, man, we gotta hold ourselves accountable.

We gotta hold ourselves accountable.

Can't blame nobody for us being in this position right now.

SPEAKER_03: Welcome to Grit, Grace, and Inspiration.

I'm your host, Kevin Lowe, and I'm excited to welcome you inside.

This is the kind of place where your glass will never be anything other than half full because we choose to focus on the positive side of life.

Now, this doesn't mean that we shy away from the real talk.

No, not a chance.

Matter of fact, we explore all aspects of life.

From the good, the bad, and the ugly.

But all of that is done with one purpose.

One purpose to inspire you to never give up on life, even when it may seem like life has given up on you.

Now I get it, life is hard.

But starting today, you've got grit, grace, and inspiration.

What's going on, and how are you today?

My name is Kevin Lowe, your host, and you're joining me today for episode 143.

I want to start today off with a question.

What is one of your biggest fears?

Now I'm talking about bigger, more monumental than spiders or snakes.

I'm talking about real life fears.

Like at your gut, if you could think of the worst thing happening to you, what would that be?

Now, I want you to imagine this.

It happens to you, but you make it through it.

You come out the other side and you turn that experience into a book that becomes a bestseller on Amazon.

Yeah.

You just turned your nightmare into a book that's being now read by people all over the world.

Now you're going on a podcasting tour and you're making a difference in people's lives.

And your life is almost in some weird way better because of what you've gone through.

Well, today's guest, Chancellor K.

Jackson, he was living out, I believe, a fear that many people have.

And that's going to prison.

But not just prison in your own country, but going to prison in a foreign country.

Because, see, Chancellor K.

Jackson, he uh was living in China when he was faced with this reality, that he was going to prison in a Chinese prison.

I heard this and I immediately thought, oh my gosh, I can't imagine.

I don't want to imagine, because that would be up there on my top five list of greatest affairs, is to be locked away in a prison in a foreign country where you know nothing, you're being told nothing, and you literally have no idea what's going to happen.

Now, back to our little scenario, but it did happen to Chancellor Kay Jackson, and he would end up coming out the other side and would turn it into a book.

That book is called 14 Days in Beijing, an Amazon bestseller.

Chancellor has gone on to write more books, which you will hear about inside of today's episode.

But the majority of the time, me and Chancellor are talking about this entire experience.

What had him in China, what led to him being arrested, what that process was like, and where his mind was at during the time locked away in this prison inside of China.

And then, of course, what led him to then turn that story into a book?

And well, that's then what brought him to be on a podcast just like this one.

His story is riveting, it definitely touches on that fear factor and makes you realize wow, stuff like this really does happen.

But you look at him and you say, But man, Chancellor, he's got it going on.

He's taken a negative and he turned it into a positive, and he's making an impact on the world.

Now, before I get to that interview with Chancellor Kay Jackson, I of course got to give a shout out to our amazing sponsor, who has been a proud sponsor of the podcast for the last quarter of 2022.

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With that said, it is my pleasure to introduce you to Chancellor J Jackson.

Chancellor, welcome to the podcast, man.

SPEAKER_01: Hey man, Kevin, appreciate you for having me.

Blessings and balance to you, and blessings and balance to everyone that's tuning in right now.

SPEAKER_03: Absolutely, dude.

Absolutely.

Well, well, Chancellor, I'm thrilled to have you here today.

I'm thrilled to dive into your story that's really revolves around this book that you have published.

But before we get to that, would you please just kind of give me a little bit of backstory into your life growing up, growing up just as a kid, just kind of, you know, kind of getting an idea of where you've come from and, you know, kind of uh, you know, what has kind of brought you to where you are today.

SPEAKER_01: Yeah, for sure.

So the name is Chancellor K.

Jackson.

Um, born and raised in Smyrna, Georgia, um, specifically.

Well, I was born in Fulton County, but raised in Smyrna.

Smyrna is right outside of Atlanta, you know what I'm saying, Northwest.

It's a pretty good area.

You know what I'm saying?

We had a great childhood growing up, a lot of activities.

We played a lot outside.

We had a, we did a lot outdoors, so we was never really in a house like that.

And then the neighborhood we grew up in is one of the oldest black communities that's still standing to this day.

It's it's getting gentrified now, but it's a community that's been around for a very long time.

And you know what I'm saying?

There's a lot of family members that coexist within this neighborhood.

So it's a lot of kids all throughout it.

It was also a preschool back in the day, in the middle of the uh neighborhood.

So, of course, we had a lot of kids to play with, and it was a park, you know what I'm saying, too.

Public park, basketball courts, tennis courts, then later came a volleyball court, and then plenty of plenty of fields to run and play football on.

So, you know what I'm saying?

We had a great childhood, riding bikes everywhere.

Had got in trouble, but you know what I'm saying, nothing too crazy, you know what I'm saying, to the point where you know what I'm saying.

I'm mama had to get caught, anything like that.

Um, very disciplined.

At least I was definitely the one to make sure we didn't get into too much trouble.

So uh we said it was childhood was great.

Then we started playing football around like eighth grade, like organized football.

Okay.

So that definitely sharpened us and fine-tuned us even more into the individual that I that we are today.

And I played all throughout high school and then got to play in college for four years at Stetson University, Go Hatters, um, down in Delane, Florida.

Shout out to D-Land.

After I graduated from college, I landed my first job teaching English to children in China.

SPEAKER_03: Okay, wow, wow.

So so let me go back real quick.

So, just out of my own curiosity, when you when you talk about your childhood, what how old are you today?

Yeah, I'm 26.

Okay, so that's what I thought you were younger.

And so that's what I thought to myself, how cool, because honest to goodness, the way that you talk about your childhood is a lot how I talk about my childhood.

And and I got 10 years on you, and the fact and the fact of we were kind of blessed to still be outside, like playing like kids, you know?

SPEAKER_01: Yeah, for sure.

SPEAKER_03: Yeah, man.

And so I just I think that is really awesome.

And so I just wanted to ask you about that because I I do I believe that is something that kids today are missing out on, you know?

For sure.

SPEAKER_01: I know in the neighborhood, like it isn't like how it was back in the day.

Like, back in the day, you're gonna see kids at the park, you know what I'm saying, without adults.

We just up there hanging out, having fun, uh the whole nine.

But now, uh, unless you really only see kids at the park, they with their parents, you know what I'm saying?

So they pr they more than likely not from the neighborhood, you know what I'm saying?

They done drove someplace someplace else, or they at the basketball court.

Definitely gonna be folks at the basketball court always.

Folks always hooping.

But uh in the field, they utilize the field as well.

A lot of people be playing soccer, frisbee and stuff, and the volleyball court as well.

They be going crazy on that too.

But um But that mainly be adults and stuff, you know what I'm saying?

That's on the fields and basketball courts.

It ain't really kids like that per se.

So it's definitely uh something that, you know what I'm saying, kids is missing out on.

I do see some kids here and there that play and be outside.

And I know it's really, you really get to see it in elementary school, you know what I'm saying, when the kids go to recess.

I'm like, this is probably, you know what I'm saying, most of their only times to be able to play with other kids, unless they play sports or they live in a neighborhood that's filled with kids.

If not, then they at the house on the tablets, the internet, you know what I'm saying, doing it.

SPEAKER_03: Exactly, exactly.

So now you you talked about that that you and friends and stuff got into organized football.

So so you ended up really getting into football, playing it all through high school?

SPEAKER_01: Yeah, yeah, yeah.

So before that, we always played pickup games.

Like we played in the park all almost every day, you know what I'm saying?

We always play football in the park.

But as far as starting organized football, me and my brother ain't starting until eighth grade.

I mean, middle school eighth grade for me, seventh grade for him.

The rest of our peers had been playing since elementary school, you know what I'm saying?

So we were like boomers to organized football, but we were very athletic.

And we were athletic for, you know what I'm saying, people that two boys that have not played organized football, like, so we already knew we were gonna have success in it.

Yeah, well that that's how what position did you play?

DB.

I play started off free safety and then moved to strong safety my sophomore year.

And we ran a 30-stake defense, so I was pretty much like an outside linebacker.

And then my senior year, they moved me to corner, and then I played corner for three years at Stetson, and then my last year they moved me back to strong safety.

So that outside linebacker position.

So uh I've always played in the secondary.

Always.

SPEAKER_03: Okay.

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

Well, that that's awesome.

That's awesome.

So now Stetson.

So so you moved it moved down to Florida, down to my neck of the woods, and um, so did you do four years at Stetson?

Yes, sir.

I got my bachelor's degree in communication and media studies.

Okay, okay, awesome.

So that brings us back up to where you left off, which is kind of this uh pivotal point in our story today.

How do we then go from footballer, living it up, going to stats and now, hey, I'm gonna go teach kids how to uh to uh speak English over in China?

SPEAKER_01: How did that come about?

Man, just hungry for opportunity, honestly.

You know when football came to an end in November 2017, and I was just like, I was at a crossroad, like, eh, chance who are you?

What's next?

Yeah, what do you what do you want out of life?

Who do you aspire to be?

What do you aspire to be?

What do you even like?

Yeah.

You know what I'm saying?

What's your purpose?

I couldn't answer any of these questions.

So I know I had to start somewhere.

And I just started applying for various jobs, you know what I'm saying?

Mainly corporate position, but I'm just going on job searching sites and I'm looking at the description, I feel like I can do it, then I just apply for it.

So I was doing this process for about eight months.

I'm landing interviews, getting flown out, put up in hotels the whole nine.

But I seem to land uh a position, you know what I'm saying?

So I done graduated, now I'm back home, and I'm still in the same boat, you know what I'm saying?

Still only got nothing going on.

Yep.

And me being resilient, kept at it and came across the opportunities to uh teach English abroad in China.

I found that, I found that on LinkedIn, ironically.

You know what I mean?

So I read the description.

I'm like, okay, I feel like I could do this, you know what I'm saying?

I've always been a leader, you know what I'm saying, and always been, I can definitely teach somebody something.

I'm like, yeah, I feel I can do that.

The primary simple.

I applied, set up an interview.

Them folks, the first people, first job tell me yes.

And I'm like, oh yeah, we finna do this.

SPEAKER_03: Wow.

So now, had you traveled much growing up, and especially out of the country?

SPEAKER_01: Yeah, I've been to uh London twice and uh the Bahamas three times.

SPEAKER_03: Okay, okay.

Little bit different though than moving to China for a year.

SPEAKER_01: Oh, yeah, for sure.

And so, yeah, yeah.

But ironically, in the introduction of my book, I flash back to a table conversation I'm having with my family at breakfast.

I'm like seven, eight years old, and uh probably younger than that.

And my mama asked me, and my brother, she said, What's three places in the world y'all want to go?

I'll make sure that we go.

China.

She's looking at me crazy, like, why China?

My only logical reason I have, that's where everything is made.

That's the only reason I had.

That's where everything is made.

You look at the back of any product, it says made where, made in China.

I'm like, dang, bro, America's supposed to be the big dog, but all the product coming from one place.

Them the real merchants.

I want to see what they I want to see what life like over there.

I want to see what they got going on.

They doing something right, bro, because they all their products over here.

So I was like, yeah.

So I was always intrigued with the land from a very young age, and it was for that reason alone.

But did I know that that would come full circle?

You know what I'm saying, moving forward?

Absolutely not.

So it was just manifestation.

SPEAKER_03: Yeah, I was gonna say, I mean, a little like this like crazy foreshadowing of something to come that you had no idea about, you know?

I mean, that's that that's pretty wild.

I must say, that's that's pretty wild stuff.

So talk to me about this position that you got hired for, that you go to China.

Talk to me about the experience of what you knew, what to expect, and and you know, then heading over there.

SPEAKER_01: Yeah, so once I got hired, started putting me through the visa process, which took three months, and I had to go get a background check, get it notarized, and take it to the Chinese counselors so they can send it over and had to do the same thing with my degree.

But at that time, I didn't have my degree because I didn't pay my senior dues, so I had to pay my senior dues, wait for the degree to come in, then do the same process.

And then I just I guess just from I don't know if because they got a mail it or whatever, but it takes it's a three-month-long process.

So I got hired in like over the summer, but I ain't actually get to China until October.

But before then, they had me take, uh, get my TEFL certification.

So my teaching English has a foreign language certif certificate.

So I got that, and I took it upon myself to start learning Mandarin because I ain't just want to be out there not knowing nothing.

So I was learning through this app.

Learning through this app.

I was like, well, since I'm gonna be teaching and being around kids, I need to start getting used to being around kids.

So I looked up jobs in my uh county, like in the school district, my county school district, and I was working as an AS after school program, you know what I'm saying, counselor for one elementary school, and I was a lunchroom monitor for another elementary school.

So I'm like, yeah, I'm gonna give, oh yeah, this is gonna be a good little, two little gigs to get thoroughly immersed around these, you know what I'm saying, kids.

So that was all preparation up until October 10th.

And then October 10th, that's when I landed in China.

SPEAKER_03: Wow.

Wow.

Well, well, I mean, what I what I have to say about that is it's it's not like you were treating this like it was just, oh yeah, cool vacation.

I mean, you really took it serious in the fact of like, hey, I need to start learning the language.

I need to start being around kids so I know how to do this.

And I mean, I think that's pretty just it speaks highly of you in the way that you think about you know the work that you were doing.

SPEAKER_01: Oh man, yeah, it's just you know what I'm saying, just preparation, that's it.

You know what I'm saying?

I know this is gonna be a drastic change, so I'm gonna let me go ahead.

I gotta get prepared, you know what I'm saying, especially mentally.

SPEAKER_03: So So how was it living in China and and not only living but but working and stuff?

Was it really awesome?

Was it just talk to me about that experience?

SPEAKER_01: Man, it was absolutely the best experience I've ever had in my life.

I encourage everybody, I encourage everybody to live abroad someplace else, especially a place that you've always been fond of.

And it doesn't have to be long.

I only did six months since I got a full experience, trust me.

So it don't gotta be long.

You know what I'm saying?

But definitely live someplace else, man.

It's it's a vibe.

I enjoyed it.

I enjoyed it.

The people were were were cool, honestly.

I never had any real issues with any other uh native people.

The best customer service I ever received, hands down, no cap.

Well, and you can't even tip them, folks.

That's that's against their culture.

They don't even do that.

That's just them doing their job.

So it lets you know the type of time they on.

And they're very disciplined, orderly people, you know what I'm saying?

Yeah.

And then, of course, working at the school with the kids, that was lit.

I'm teaching kids young as three years old all the way up to 14, but I was mainly working with like the elementary school age range.

Um with the babies for the most part.

So I mean most of our lessons are just you know what I'm saying, games while they're learning, just to keep them engaged.

Um with me playing football, I'm like, okay, we're gonna I'll make my games uh competitions, you know what I'm saying?

We're gonna compete in here.

We're gonna see who fast, we're gonna see who can jump, you know what I'm saying?

I'm gonna see who's athletic, you know what I'm saying, as well.

So we definitely had I had class piped up.

I enjoyed working with the kids.

And then the food, absolutely amazing.

Authentic Chinese food, nothing amazing.

Really?

American Chinese food, and man, is that's American.

Authentic Chinese food, completely different.

You know what I'm saying?

Entirely different.

Entirely.

Um and it's very healthy for you.

You their diet is designed to keep you small.

They don't, you really don't see a lot of overweight Chinese people.

If you do, that's like seeing another black person in China.

You know what I'm saying?

It's great, you know what I'm saying?

It's like they don't really do that.

So yeah, for the most part, everybody in China is slim.

Um, but it's due to their diet.

So it was a very nice and clean diet.

And so I enjoyed that.

And I was practicing my vegetarianism out there, so I was I didn't get sick at all.

I was good out there.

So and then exploring Beijing, you know what I'm saying?

I'm from Atlanta, bro.

Over the world right now, essentially.

So like, well, we just getting to explore this city and see all that it has to offer.

Meeting other people, that was another vibe too.

Because it's like, at all places I could have met you, I met you in Beijing.

That's crazy.

Like, and nothing everything about the experience felt unreal.

Like every day it was always say, like, damn but it feels like we in like a a video game or we on a movie set right now.

This shit don't seem like this is crazy.

Like, we really in China.

Like, this is like we out here, bro.

Like, damn.

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03: But we lived our best life, though.

It was fun.

Well, that's so now when you went there, were you with other teachers there teaching English?

Like, so as a group or just by yourself?

SPEAKER_01: I came in with a recruiting group, like a recruiting class almost, and it was like 20 of us, 20 something of us.

But we only came in together and trained together.

After training was over, you know what I'm saying?

We got picked up by whatever schools.

Um so we had to find housing near wherever we worked.

So we parted ways after those two weeks of training.

But whoever you were tight with, you know what I'm saying, you definitely kept your, you know what I'm saying?

You definitely kept ties.

SPEAKER_03: So Yeah.

Well, that's that's awesome.

So so you're you're in China, you're in Beijing, you're living your best life.

Six months go by, what goes down?

SPEAKER_01: Yeah, so uh April 4th, 2019, it's the day off of me.

I just got done hitting the gym, eating, praying, and I'm finna get ready to.

I got an event, I got events ahead to in a about an hour and a half, maybe two hours away.

So before I start getting ready for the event, I'm a pregame.

So I'm pre-gaming in my living room, drinking some Chinese liquor, smoking some cannabis on my little silver pipe.

After I get done pregaming, get dressed.

I'm about ready to leave, and you know what I'm saying?

I was wrapping up to find the little things.

Hear a knock at the door.

Guests are not familiar, but curious to see who it is.

I look through the peephole, and on the other side of the door stood three officers from the Beijing police.

Heart instantly sunk to my stomach, like nervous, like, oh, really shook, spooked, like, what were they doing here?

So I scramble, put scramble, put everything up, open the door, and they enter.

One is questioned me about drugs, but of course I'm sitting here playing.

I'm from Atlanta, city of finesse.

You live by the finesse, you die by the finesse.

So I'm sitting here playing the food, like I don't know what he's talking about.

Like he's crazy.

He asked me, Are there any drugs in house?

Again, I don't know what you're talking about, family.

You got me mistaken for somebody else.

Let me go grab my passport and stuff.

So you gotta clear all this confusion up.

So I go grab my documentation and bring it to him to look over while the other two officers are just, you know what I'm saying, just gently walking around the apartment, just scoping the place out.

Nothing too crazy.

Time passes, and I hear footsteps coming from down the hall.

Mind you, they never close the front door.

So I look to see who it is, and it's another officer approaching the apartment with something in his hand.

I don't really know what he got.

I can't make, I ain't, I'm really just focusing on how I'm finna get out of this situation.

So he enters and hands the item to the officer that I was talking to originally, and that officer communicates to me that I need to pee into the cup.

And right then and there, I knew it was over with.

It was a drug test right down the spot.

So do the drug test.

Fail the drug test, of course.

Now, at this point, there's about eight officers in the apartment.

They've gone through my my shit deeper than my mother ever would.

And one in particular speaks English fluently.

And now he's questioning me about failing the drug test, where I get the weed from, when's the last time I smoked, da-da-da-da-da.

Like I said before, I'm from the city of finesse.

You live by the finesse, you die by finesse.

So I'm just going back and forth with the officer.

First thing that comes to my mind, I'm just blurting out.

I'm catching myself live, so I know he catch me lying, but like I said, it's city of finesse.

Well, you live by the finesse, you die by the finesse.

So we're going back and forth.

And once he realized I wasn't gonna give him anything that he could work with, he pretty much just made it evident that the gig was up.

They knew I had more on me.

I mean, I was caught red-handed.

So, you know what I'm saying?

Of course, chills go throughout my body, but it's also like a flood of relief.

Because now all the anxiety and the stress that I was under, while I'm still high, you know what I'm saying?

Trying to hang on to the hope that they don't come across my the rest of my stash.

I knew it was over with.

I died by the finesse.

All right, it is what it is.

I lived a finesse another day.

Now I gotta hold myself accountable.

SPEAKER_03: So Wow.

Wow, wow, wow.

Talk about just a total change of pace.

So, so what happens at that point?

Are you, is it like we think of a mayor?

Are you handcuffed, but in a police car?

Like what went down?

SPEAKER_01: Yeah, they confiscate uh uh everything and throw the cuffs on me, escort me out of the building, set me down in the police van, and at that you know what I'm saying, at this point, uh communication is non-existent.

Okay.

So for the next couple chapters.

So there's no more communication after this point.

So we uh get to one precinct there briefly, get back in the van.

I don't know where we're going now, end up at another precinct.

This one's a little bigger.

They had me change clothes and put me in a hole and cell with about eight other Chinese men, and then they take me downstairs to do the official interrogation.

And this is dramatic within the book because we in the basement of the precinct.

They walk me into this white room, and in this white room is furnished, the white room is furnished with a table and two chairs for the officers to sit at.

You got a camera sitting on the tripod capturing the room.

And in front of the table where the officers sit, it's this all-metal chair.

It looks like an electric chair.

So they walk me over to it and they open it up.

I'm looking at them crazy, like, y'all really want me to sit my ass down in there?

They looking at me like, hell yeah.

So I sat my ass down.

So I sat down.

And that thing locked my shins, thighs, waist, chest, and arms all in one place.

So I couldn't, only part of my body I can move is my head.

And then the officers walked in and we conducted the interrogation.

And I've kinda up until this point, I've had plenty of time to come up with a good story to finesse some with.

So, you know what I mean?

That was it was pretty much a smooth process just because my story sounded good, you know what I'm saying?

And so they released me, had me uh look over the transcription of the uh interrogation, but everything's written in Mandarin, so I don't know what this thing says.

But they tell me to sign it, I sign it, they tell me to thumbprint it, I thumbprint it.

And then we go back upstairs, do the mugshot, hand print, throw me back in the cell, and now I'm just reflecting on if you know what I'm saying.

They bought the statement, what I could have said better, or I could have said this story, and I'm just reflecting the whole day and whatnot transpired, and my heart's starting to come down now.

It's been hours, it's finally starting to come down.

I'm getting sleepy, and then I'm fading out of uh consciousness, so I just fall asleep and just wake up periodically trying to change position because I'm still handcuffed.

Okay.

Okay.

Hours pass.

They come get me out of the cell, walk me to the lobby, and tell me put on my uh, bring my basket clothes and tell me to get dressed.

I'm like, oh yeah, see, look, everything don't worked out, boy.

This will happen when you comply, you know what I'm saying?

Energy's good for sure.

So I thought I'd get dressed, I'm waiting for the next set of orders.

They uh have me follow them through a door that's behind the front desk.

Now, when we enter through this door, we're in a hallway.

At the end of the hallway is a small room crowded with officers.

I'm following the uh CO into this room, and as I enter, I can only assume that this is some form of evidence room, just because I see evidence bags everywhere.

No form of organization structure at all.

It's just clutter.

But in front of me is a table, and on the center of the table is everything that was confiscated from my apartment.

And they take the weed and they weigh it up right in front of me.

And this is an interesting phase within the book because and this is we're still in chapter one, and this is an interesting phase within uh chapter one because like I said, I really communication cease to exist.

They question me about the weed, that's about it.

But aside from that, the e-folks ain't communicating anything else to me.

So, and it's like that throughout the whole story.

So I receive uh signs and messages from my ancestors throughout the story.

This is the only live and action one I did receive.

So they weigh the weed right up in front of me, and it totals out to be 1.4 grams.

Now, for those that partake in cannabis, you know, 1.4 grams ain't nothing.

For those that don't partake in cannabis, we're talking about units of measurements.

1.4 grams of anything.

It's not a lot.

So, but you look at that number, 1.4.

If you remove the points, what number do you get?

14.

Hence the title of the book.

So this is what this is one of the very first.

Now, at that moment, I didn't catch it.

I didn't catch it at that moment, but that was one of the very first signs I received.

Little did I know.

But the other signs I received would occur in my dreams.

Um put everything on paper, had me sign a thumbprint, it just like last time, and now we get back in the van.

I'm like, okay.

Exactly.

What are what's happening?

I'm like, what are we doing?

I don't know what's going on.

He crank up the car.

I look at the clock on the uh radio, it's 1 a.m.

I'm like, damn, bruh.

Y'all arrested me at like, I got y'all arrested me at like 11.

You know what I'm saying?

Y'all arrest me at like 11 something, bro.

It's 1 a.m., bro.

I've been in cussing all day, bro.

Like, I ain't no way they ain't taking me home.

So we riding, we riding.

40 minutes passed, and we arrived at a facility detail with Tawalls and Bob Dwar.

I was like, fuck.

We just getting started.

So we entered the facility, go to the nurse's office, do a quick physical, then they had me change my clothes to the official uniform, put all the rest of my stuff in the bag, and then put it at put the bag in the storage room.

And they gave me one tubable bowl and one plastic spoon, and then we went upstairs to the second floor to the minor house, get to sale 209.

Mine used like 4 o'clock in the morning at this point.

So CO opens the door, you know what I'm saying?

I psychic stone instantly, from what I see, I instantly I see just a huddle of bodies sleeping.

And the book, I described it as a slumber party almost.

Yes.

Like back in the day when we had sleepovers, you know what I'm saying, and everybody got made room.

It looked like that, bro.

So I'm like, whoa.

But across from the slumber party were two inmates standing against the wall, watching them sleep.

So I'm like, what is going on in here?

And the two inmates that wake, the last thing they expected was a black dude with dreads coming, walk into through the, you know what I'm saying, through the doors, and they looking at me crazy, like, whoa.

So we just got this awkward moment of just eye contact.

Like we just, it was the last thing either one of us expected to see once the door opened.

You know what I'm saying?

Of course.

So I step into the cell, CEO slams his door shut.

In front of me are the uh beds, which are wooden bunks, and there's nine of them in total.

I do a head count of all the people in the cell, it's 15 of us.

Oh wow.

So I'm like, okay, that makes sense why it look like a slumber party.

To my left is is the bathroom, uh though it's its own separate room, but the walls are made of glass.

So you can everybody can see inside.

Uh sink, regular sink.

The toilet is a squat toilet, so pretty much a hole in the ground you got a squat over.

And uh shower ain't nothing but a water holes with a shower head duct tape to it.

They got black mold coat on the walls, gnats and shit flying around.

So it's not the most sanitary place to say the least.

No.

I walk up to the slumber party trying to find a spot to lay down, and two one of the inmates wakes two people up to make room for me, and they do.

So they had me send my bowling spoon in the cubby under the uh bunks, and I lay down between two Chinese men, and I set my hands on my chest, and I'm staring at the bright light on the ceiling, and that's when reality fully kicked in.

Like, yeah, you in here.

You in here, nobody knows you in here.

You don't even know how long you're gonna be in here.

It's not looking too good.

But at the end of the day, yeah, man, gotta hold ourselves accountable.

We gotta hold ourselves accountable.

Can't blame nobody for us being in this position right now.

So, you know what I mean?

It is what it is at that point.

You know what I'm saying?

You gotta take it to the chin.

Now, moving forward, what the hell needs to happen to ensure we get on up out of here?

Well, first thing first, people gotta realize you're in here.

All right.

Now you didn't show up to that event that you were supposed to meet friends and colleagues at, that I'm sure they called and you ain't answered.

Is that a red flag?

No, but it's weird.

It's a sign.

Now, when you don't show up for your classes Saturday and Sunday morning, all hell's breaking loose.

Because now they gotta find somebody to cover your class last minute.

And one of the friends that I was gonna meet at the uh event, me and her work at the same school.

So boom, red flags.

Okay, something's wrong.

He ain't at, you know what I'm saying?

He ain't show up to the event and he ain't showing up for work, something wrong.

I don't know what's going on, something wrong.

In addition to that, I had a girlfriend at the time that still lived in America, but me and her communicated regularly.

So I'm like, when I don't respond to two of her messages, all hell's breaking loose.

So hey, I know I'm gonna have to at least sit through the weekend before I become missing on people's radar.

Yes.

You know what I'm saying?

So come Monday, hopefully the search for me will begin then.

And until now, brothers, try to get some rest, man.

And we'll you know what I'm saying?

We'll handle it.

Come Monday.

And that's pretty much chapter one and a bit of chapter two.

But yeah, I was locked, we was locked up 24 hours a day, seven days a week, 15 men to one cell, nine wooden beds, three soups a day.

Man, all I have was that one superware bowl and that one plastic spoon.

SPEAKER_03: Wow.

So now, did anybody in the cell speak English?

SPEAKER_01: No.

First three days I was the only foreigner, only English speaker in my cell.

So I'm in there, in there with 14 other Chinese men, none of which I can talk to.

So it was really no communic like I said, it was no communication.

You know what I'm saying?

For three seventy-two hours, no communication.

Just a lot of reflecting, really, a lot of reflecting.

So you just Yeah.

SPEAKER_03: So what was the story with the two guys who weren't laying down sleeping, who were kind of standing guard?

What was the deal with them?

SPEAKER_01: At that point of time, I don't know why they're doing that.

It isn't until chapter four, day four, is when I moved to New Sale, and now I'm amongst two other English speakers.

So now I can finally communicate with somebody.

Yes.

And start making sense of how the jail operates one, and then how this process works as far as getting out, and then but yeah, that's I just was able to learn those two.

I still had no clue how long I was gonna be there, but ironically enough, everybody else knows their situations to the greatest detail.

I'm the only yeah, I'm the only one that don't know nothing.

SPEAKER_03: So that's yeah, because you you you was the only one who couldn't read the paper you signed and fingerprinted.

SPEAKER_01: That part too.

That part too.

So, you know what I mean?

But even then, like the next morning after I got in there that night, we met with uh I didn't know what we were doing, but they had grabbed folks from some of the cells and had us in the center, walk us to the center lobby, and had us standing against the wall.

And then they called us one by one into this room, and that's where we sat down with some dude, and he gave me a when I went in there, it was already a dude in front of me, you're saying, in the chair.

They was finishing up, and I sit down, he brings me a little contract, again, nothing I can read.

He tell me to sign it, I sign it, thumbprint it, thumbprint it, and then I'm back out.

I'm like, bro, what the hell was that?

I don't even know what just happened.

So day four, chapter four, when I'm with the other English speakers, they tell me, oh yeah, that was the warden.

That was that was pretty much your sentencing right there.

I'm like, well, damn, I I didn't know what was going on, bro.

I don't know if he said nothing to me.

So yeah, it's more of it's a better vibe now that I can communicate with other people.

And it's interesting because now it's more characters, you get to learn their backgrounds and who they are as individuals.

And now they're both fluent in English and Mandarin.

So now I can communicate with the native Chinese inmates as well.

So you get to learn about a lot of their stories too.

SPEAKER_03: Okay, okay.

Wow, wow, wow.

So so at what point then, or do you ever find out how long you're gonna be there?

Until they finally call my name to go.

Really?

Mm-hmm.

So that was 14 days.

Ironically.

Yeah.

So now at any point, because I mean, I'm listening to this and I'm thinking to myself, like, okay, there's the initial shock of it all.

There's the the initial exhaustion that had to take place.

There's there's all these things, but at any point did you have that like lowest point?

Like, what in the world's just happened?

Like, is there a point?

Was there a point?

Or did you stay strong just the whole time?

SPEAKER_01: I was pretty much strong and I had faith the whole time.

You of course you're waking up, hoping to hear some information, going to bed, disappointing, but you know what I'm saying, just staying optimistic, staying faithful, and trusting the process.

But it would on day 13, chapter 13, I just say I fully just let go.

I feel like I'm just I'm gonna stop trying to put so much energy and effort into trying to control what I can't control, and I'm just gonna let it, you know what I'm saying?

I'm gonna let y'all, ancestors, I'm gonna let y'all handle it.

Man, y'all got it sold with.

You know what I'm saying?

I'm just whatever long I gotta be here, that's how long I gotta be here.

It is what it is at this point.

So then, yeah, that was uh, I say that was about it.

Yeah, I still wasn't like, damn, bro, why me uh?

No.

SPEAKER_03: Yeah.

So so talk to me about the process of you getting out.

What what happened and and and what went down once you got out?

SPEAKER_01: Uh yeah, they called me to go.

Uh, you know what I'm saying?

Grab my bow and spoon, took me downstairs, got dressed, had me sign something again I couldn't read.

And then we got in the van, took me to my apartment, packed up the rest of my stuff, and then took me straight to the airport where I was deported from the country.

Wow.

Wow, wow, wow.

SPEAKER_03: So you leave China, you've just, I mean, I mean, you you you've gone from the highest point, living your best life to the lowest of low of something that, to be quite honest with you, is, I believe, a nightmare to most people.

The thoughts of being put into a Chinese prison with no idea what's going on, when you're gonna get out.

I mean, what's going through your head as you're flying back home?

SPEAKER_01: Um, drinking like a motherfucker, I'm drinking like a motherfucker on a plane.

They put me back on Delta, I say, Oh, I got all I want.

Keep them coming, Sean.

Y'all don't even, y'all really don't know.

The past two weeks I just had, but keep them things coming.

First 10 hours, all I did was listen to music.

I was just drinking, listening to music.

That's it.

Because music is something I love.

That's one of one of my favorite things to do, just listen to music.

So I was that's all I did.

And then the last four hours I just uh watched movies or whatever.

But yeah, I was really just thinking about finally being able to talk to my girlfriend at the time and telling everybody, surprising everybody that I'm back, and definitely I'm like, but these folks ain't gonna believe this story, bro.

Like, I wanna believe this story.

SPEAKER_03: Wow.

So what kind of music?

You talked about music being big.

What's your music genre?

SPEAKER_01: My favorite genre is RB, for sure.

Definitely listen to hip hop and rap, listen to a little alternative, listen to a little electronic as well.

Yeah.

Yeah, I'm pretty, I'm pretty verse.

Pretty still got a little bit of everything.

SPEAKER_03: Well, okay.

I love it.

I love it.

So, so I I'm probably gonna fast forward here a little bit.

At what point did do you realize, you know what, I want to turn this into a book?

SPEAKER_01: It is until a couple months later, it's July.

And my good friend that I grew up with, he was a published author before we graduated high school in 2014.

He was so he was the one that was like, hey, bro, you should write a book about the experience.

I'm like, boy, that's a good ass idea.

I mean, well, I'm like, boy, that is genius.

I don't even know where to start, but that's a good idea, that's a good idea, boy.

And he took it a step further, went in my notes, gave me a five-layer outline.

Very, very simple.

And I just started filling it in, and as I'm filling it in, I caught a flow for how I wanted to tell the story.

And then I moved it from my notes into Google Doc, and so I could type it on the computer, and four months later the story was written.

And then the next six months was uh just getting it ready for publishing.

SPEAKER_03: Wow, wow, wow, wow.

Now, did you were you able to go the traditional way of publishing?

Did you do self-publishing?

SPEAKER_01: Money in Marathon, where I went independent, self-publishing for sure.

I got locked up on April 4th, 2019, so I released the very first version of 14 Days on April 4th, 2020, the anniversary year.

And while I was still on pre-sale, I was ranked the number one new bestseller in three different genres.

SPEAKER_03: Wow.

Dude, that is so, so awesome.

So awesome.

And so feedback from from even just family, friends when they've read the book, are they kind of in disbelief?

I mean, what what kind of reaction have you gotten?

SPEAKER_01: Oh yeah, it's like it's a it's a phenomenal story.

You know what I'm saying?

It's a roller coaster of emotions.

Like, it isn't a lot of action, you know what I'm saying?

But as far as just the it's a mystery though.

You know what I'm saying?

It's really more mysterious because it's a journey.

You know what I'm saying?

I'm going through this process not knowing what is going on.

I don't know what's going on.

And that's how you, as you're reading the book, you feel like it's you.

You don't know what's going on, what's gonna happen next.

So it keeps you on your toes in that aspect, you know what I'm saying, and just learning about a whole completely different culture.

For essentially, you know what I'm saying, a whole different realm of the world, which most people have no true knowledge of.

Um, so you can gain a little bit of understanding, especially, you know what I'm saying, getting locked up abroad.

Like you said, that's a lot of people's worst fear.

That's why it has prevents a lot of people from even traveling in in general, just because of something like that.

But it's the pay.

Turning for sure.

I knew it was gonna be crazy once I was just telling it verbally to people and just seeing how their body language just changed just from me uh telling the story and then especially as I was uh editing it, I'm letting people read like a page.

I'm not even telling them what it is.

I said, hey, just read a couple pages of this.

Just tell me what you think.

And they reading it, and next thing I know, I ain't even I haven't got my laptop back.

You know what I'm saying?

I'm like, well then I was like, okay, for sure.

I'm audience, okay.

This is gonna go crazy.

It's gonna go crazy.

Why?

I didn't know it was crazy.

SPEAKER_03: Wow, wow, wow, wow.

So, so what has happened since you've published this book?

And first and foremost, I guess go ahead and tell the audience the name of the book, where we can find the book at for those wanting to read it.

SPEAKER_01: Yeah, the title of the book is 14 Days in Beijing.

You can find it on Amazon as well as my website, chancellorkjackson.com.

And mind you, like I said, when you type it in, you'll see different versions of it because I have trapped it out.

You'll the ones with the most ratings, you that's the ones you want to get.

You know what I'm saying?

The ones with the most ratings are those ones you want to get.

But yeah, so you can find those.

And I also got other books as well.

So y'all can type in with that.

SPEAKER_03: Yeah, so so that's what I'm wondering.

So, so you write this book.

At first, you're like, what?

Write a book?

Are you kidding me?

But you write this one, you knock it out in a really short amount of time.

And so does that kind of did just unleash this new thing of, whoo, I'm a writer.

And so kind of set you off.

Cause talk to me about the other books that have come out since then.

SPEAKER_01: Yeah, so you got you love and you learn, and real love never dies.

And pretty much is there's a true another true story based on, you know what I'm saying, real life events that I've experienced.

And um, but all in all, the premise is uh man's first step towards gaining emotional intelligence.

And it's the all three books are a trilogy.

So it's all it's telling one long story, you know what I'm saying?

You love, you learn is pretty much the prequel, what took place early, early on, you know what I'm saying?

Me in college and then transitioning from college to adulthood, and then that's when uh Real Love Never Dies picks up off that, you know what I'm saying?

And of course, a little bit of adulthood, me going to China, touch based on things that I was doing in China prior to getting locked up, which a lot of people don't even know about just because 14 days is only strictly about the 14 days.

So um you get a little bit, you get a taste for what you know what I'm saying, how China was like for me beforehand, and then of course what took place after those 14 days.

But yeah, it's all telling one long story, and the inspiration behind the romance was a number of reasons.

The same person that put the bug in my ear to write 14 days, he put the bug in my ear to write the romance.

So that was one, and a lot of women that was reading 14 Days, their biggest concern after reading it was just wondering what happened with me and the girl friend that I was talking about.

That's all they cared about.

I'm like, that's all you took away from the story.

Okay.

That was two.

The really selling point, the last one, the seller point when I came across the statistics of the best-selling genres, and I saw romance at the top.

I was sold after that.

So I was like, okay, bet.

I hit my partner up.

I said, hey bro, send me an outline.

Two and a half weeks later, that thing was written.

SPEAKER_03: Wow, wow, wow.

That is just so awesome, man.

So I guess I guess my final question for you is when you when you look back at it from the big picture, from going to China, teaching the kids, to the time in prison, to the years after that, and and now becoming a published author with with multiple books.

If you could sum it up into looking at it big picture, like what do you feel like is like the biggest thing that like you've learned from it all?

SPEAKER_01: The whole journey up until this point, after the journey really begun once, like I said before, early on, college football came to an end for me.

And I was sitting there asking myself all those questions that I could not answer.

It took all of that that had transpired, and up until this point, for me to be sit here and can tell you every I can answer all those questions now.

I know who I am, you know what I'm saying?

I know my purpose.

I found my identity, I redefined myself.

So it was really a journey I was supposed to go through, for sure.

I was supposed to go through it.

You know what I'm saying?

And it was happened, it happened to me just because the universe knew I was gonna do something with it.

You know what I'm saying?

I was gonna take it and you know what I'm saying, inspire others.

Yeah, it was all it's all part of the journey.

It was written.

SPEAKER_03: I I love it.

And and Chancellor, to be honest, it goes back to something that I say all the time, and that is that I believe in all my heart a situation is only truly bad if we can't figure out a way to make good out of it.

Oh yeah.

You know, and so when I listen to your story and I listen to what you just said, and I say, exactly, he figured out a way to make good out of a bad situation, which then at the end of the day makes you wonder, was it really bad in the first place?

You know, because you've been able to impact lives because of your experience, because you then turned it into a book and or on podcast, you're sharing your story, and uh, man, I just think it's really awesome.

I think you're an awesome guy.

And uh, dude, I'm excited to see you know what the future holds.

SPEAKER_01: Hey man, I appreciate it, man.

It's solid part of the marathon, man.

That's why we call this thing the marathon.

You know what I'm saying?

I ain't gonna sit here and portray this ultimate point like I've been had this shit figured out.

Nah, the only I battle every emotion.

Yeah.

I'm about every emotion behind what I've been getting behind, uh, you know what I'm saying, up to this point.

And the only distinction quality between me and whoever else is going through this, already went through it, or it's about to go through it, is that you're not gonna quit.

SPEAKER_03: Yeah, I love it.

I love it.

Well, I'm gonna end on on a on a high note, on a funny note.

I think it's gonna be funny.

I don't know, the question may bomb, but uh it was a question, it was a question I meant to ask you earlier, and I feel like this would be a great way to end it.

You talked earlier about how amazing the food was in China.

How was the food in prison?

SPEAKER_01: Oh, yeah, it was uh Yeah, it was like I said, just some form of soup for every meal for the most part, you know what I'm saying?

And it was mainly vegetable soup, you know what I'm saying, or tofu soup and bread rolls.

Big fat bread rolls.

And sometimes the soup was had a little flavor, sometimes it would just taste like hot ass water with vegetables in it.

Um but you know, once I got more immersed into the sour, I see it, I was able to see like abandoned seasoning packets from instant noodles.

I'm like, oh buddy, folks, folks leaving this behind.

But I started using that seasoning from the packs, you know what I'm saying?

Throw it in the soup if it wasn't hitting on nothing, and it makes soup taste even better.

So yeah.

And had my instant, you know what I'm saying?

We had instant noodles here and there, so I was eating some of them sometimes.

But yeah, it was I lost a lot of weight.

I lost a lot of weight.

Real talk, man.

I came, well, I came back to America, I was about like 150.

That was I haven't been 150 since like high school, so yeah, well, I was 10.

SPEAKER_03: Oh man, well, well, Chancellor, dude, you're such an awesome guy with this just truly incredible story.

And uh man, I I want to I want to sincerely thank you for taking the time out of your day to be a guest on the podcast and and for sharing your story.

And um, I'm gonna encourage the listeners to be sure that that you check out today's show notes where I'll leave a link to all of Chancellor's information, including links to all of his books.

And just uh I would encourage you to support this this awesome guy, support his books, and uh hey, give you something good to read.

So uh so Chancellor, uh, thank you again, man, for being on the show.

SPEAKER_01: Hey man, I appreciate you, Kevin, for sure.

Just Google me.

Y'all Google Chancellor K Jackson.

Everything you need will pop up for our social media, website, other interviews, all of that.

14 Days in Beijing, You Love, You Learn, Real Love Never Dies, both available on Amazon and as well as my website.

And I also have the audiobook for 14 Days in Beijing rolling out too on YouTube, Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Anchor, and SoundCloud.

So y'all can listen to it.

And I'm reading it, so it's a vibe.

Woohoo!

SPEAKER_03: You know this blind guy loves some small audio books, so I love it.

Awesome, man.

Tell me.

It's a vibe.

Fantastic, fantastic.

Well, Chancellor, thank you.

And for you listening today, I hope you've enjoyed another incredible guest here on Grit, Grace, and Inspiration.

As always, get out there and take on the day every day with grit, grace, and inspiration.

Hey, real quick before you go, I have one last thought to leave you with.

I of course hope that you've enjoyed today's episode, but more importantly, I want to remind you that I never want you to listen to an episode of this podcast to hear something that I have to say or that my guest has to share and think, wow, I wish I could be like that.

I wish I could overcome my own challenges and do the great things that they are doing, but I just can't.

Well, friend, that's where you're wrong.

unknown: You're wrong.

SPEAKER_03: You are capable.

You are able.

And you darn sure are deserving of having all that you can imagine in this life.

There's nothing special about me or any guests I have on this podcast.

We are all just normal people trying to make it in this life.

And so I encourage you to take a look at yourself in the mirror and remind yourself that you know what?

I can do it too.

Now, of course, if you would like help along that way, reach out to me.

Whether that's as a listener of this podcast, a friend, or if you'd like to work with me as a coach.

My contact information is inside of every episode's show notes, just like this one.

So go down, check out my contact information, and reach out to me today.

With that said, I encourage you to take on the day every day with great grace and inspiration.