Qwell grew up in Bedstuy, Brooklyn — watching his uncle cycle in and out of Rikers Island. One of those same uncles told him to become a cop. He listened.

What followed was a career that took him through the chaos of Rikers as a Correctional Officer, to a federal facility where the rules were completely different, and eventually to the set of 60 Days In — where he spent 100 days locked inside a Utah jail, undercover, as an inmate.

In this conversation, Qwell breaks down what most people will never understand about life inside — the difference between federal and Rikers, how inmates are trained to see officers as nothing more than a paycheck, and what it actually costs mentally and personally to do this work when your own family can't fully understand what you're carrying.

He also gets real about the NYPD rejection that redirected his entire career, the moment an inmate threatened his family, and what 100 days undercover revealed about justice, identity, and purpose.

This episode is for every officer who has ever felt underestimated, overlooked, or like the system forgot about them. Qwell's story is proof that your path doesn't have to look the way you planned for it to mean something.

Purpose Over Pension is a podcast for law enforcement officers navigating the tension between the badge and the life they want on the other side of it. Hosted by retired NYPD Detective Lenny Bradley, every episode is a real conversation with people who've been in the fire — and found a way through.

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