After 20 years in jail, Wallace Peeples became a successful entrepreneur in just two years

Wallace Peeples, known as Wallo267, is an American orator, entrepreneur, social influencer, activist, and marketer who rose to cultural phenom status within two years.

Right from prison, Peeples emerged as an internet motivational star hitting social media platforms by storm with his daily motivation which captured the attention of the likes of Rick Ross, Meek Mill, Killer Mike, 21 Savage and more.

In the late 1990s, when Peeples was 17 years, the State of Pennsylvania sentenced him to 20 years in jail for armed robbery.

He was an avid reader in jail.

Whenever there was a new inmate, Peeples would question them about what was going on in the world. He made notes in what he called “The Book of Life”.

Through the various inquiry he made from the inmates, he found out about Social Media, Google, YouTube and others and the impact they had on human lives. While in prison, he mostly posted static motivational pictures and messages using contraband cellphones, according to The Philadephia Inquirer.

After two decades of incarceration, Peeples was freed. Upon his release, he used a few hundred dollars to buy t-shirts, which he sold on the streets of North Philadelphia while building his social media following with daily videos of motivation.

The now 40-year-old former inmate has been able to leverage his social media brand to get into partnerships with the NFL Network, Global Citizen, Foot Locker, Puma, and Philly Union.

Crafting powerful viral content inspiring people across the world to step into their greatness and discover their purpose, his videos now routinely get tens of thousands of views.

Peeples has groomed himself to become a top-level speaker who speaks at Penn State University, University of Maryland, St. John’s University and Yale University.

He was a guest speaker at the prestigious Ted Talk. He has over 500,000 Instagram followers as well as his own clothing line.

Together with his cousin Gillie, he hosts one of the top podcasts in the world called “Million $ Worth of Game”. Their show spent more than 16 weeks at #1 on Apple’s music podcast charts. Peeples and Gillie recently signed a deal with an entertainment website, Barstool Sports to host their show on its podcast network.

Reflecting on his journey, Wallo said he misses his brother, who was shot to death in 2013. In one of his videos, he said: “I don’t care how down you are. You can bounce back. I don’t care what nobody says. We’re extraordinary people. And there’s nothing we can’t do. Remember that.”