From USC walk-on to cartel kingpin to federal prison—and back. Owen Hanson's story sounds like Hollywood fiction, but it's real. Now he's turned his 21-year sentence into a platform for helping others rise from their lowest points. Learn more at https://owen-hanson.com
So, here's the thing. Most people's rock bottom doesn't involve the FBI, a Mexican cartel, and international headlines. Owen Hanson's did.
Back in his twenties, Hanson went from walking onto USC's football team — no prior experience, just pure guts — to running a multimillion-dollar drug trafficking empire. He lived big, fast, reckless. The lifestyle that magazines glamorize? He had it. Until it all came crashing down when federal agents closed in. Rolling Stone covered it. VICE covered it. The L.A. Times covered it.
But the story doesn't end there. Because the part most people don't know is what happened after the fall. Hanson took that 21-year federal sentence and used it as the foundation for something completely different: a blueprint for rebuilding when you've lost everything.
Today, he's launched a platform that pulls everything he's built since prison into one place. You can check it out right now at owen hanson dot com. On the site you'll find his story, the strategies he used to turn things around, and the tools he now shares to help others do the same.
Let’s break it down. First: The California Kid. This is Hanson's memoir, and it doesn't hold back. From growing up in Redondo Beach, to his time at USC, to the decisions that led to handcuffs and headlines. It's raw, unfiltered, and told in his own words. One reader called it "a crazy ride… almost too wild to be true."
Then, Cocaine Quarterback. That's the three-part documentary series on Amazon Prime. If you want to see how it all went down — the rise, the empire, the takedown — it's all there. FBI evidence, interviews, real people who were involved.
And here's where it gets wild — California Ice Protein. This wasn't created in a lab or an office. Hanson developed the first formula in prison… in a mop bucket. After release, he kept building the company from a halfway house. No investors, no marketing team, just sheer determination.
Next, The No Excuses Course and Community. This is where he takes the lessons from hitting rock bottom and turns them into strategies you can actually apply. Alongside the course, there's a community of people working on their own transformations, plus Hanson's blog where he shares his insights.
And if you want to stay connected, the website links out to all of Hanson's socials — Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, Facebook — where he posts updates on everything he's building now. You can even grab official Cocaine Quarterback merch inspired by the doc.
Owen Hanson went from cartel-connected kingpin, to serving 21 years, to rebuilding from nothing, and now he's using that journey to help others take ownership of their lives. Check out his story, his projects, and his resources by clicking on the link in the description. Owen Hanson City: Los Angeles Address: 11845 W Olympic Blvd Website: https://owen-hanson.com