The Man with 9 Lives: The Joseph De Gregorio Story
When someone tells you they’ve lived nine lives, you might think they’re exaggerating. But after sitting down with Joseph De Gregorio, I can tell you that if anything, he’s being modest.
I’ve heard a lot of stories on Nightmare Success, but Joseph’s left me shaking my head in amazement. This man has faced death more times than anyone should, survived the unthinkable, and somehow found a way to rebuild himself from scratch again and again.
Cheating Death Before Prison
Joseph’s troubles started long before he ever saw the inside of a cell. He walked me through a series of near-death experiences that would have broken most people. Car accidents, health scares, violent encounters – each one should have been the end of his story.
“I used to think I was invincible,” Joseph told me during our conversation. “Every time I walked away from something that should have killed me, I got more reckless. I thought the rules didn’t apply to me.”
That mindset, that feeling of being untouchable, eventually led him down a path that would cost him everything. But even then, his string of close calls wasn’t over.
The Prison Years and Another Close Call
When Joseph landed in federal prison, he thought he’d hit rock bottom. He was wrong. During his incarceration, he faced yet another life-threatening situation that reminded him just how fragile his existence really was.
What struck me most about this part of his story wasn’t the drama of it all – it was how it finally woke him up. After years of brushing off these near-death experiences, something clicked. He realized that surviving all these situations wasn’t about luck or being special. It was about having a purpose he hadn’t discovered yet.
“I remember lying in that prison medical unit thinking, ‘What the hell am I doing with all these chances I’ve been given?’” he shared with me. “I’d wasted eight lives already. I couldn’t waste the ninth.”
Finding Purpose in the Ninth Life
That realization became Joseph’s turning point. Instead of just surviving his sentence, he started using his time intentionally. He began reading, reflecting, and most importantly, helping other inmates who were struggling with their own demons.
Joseph discovered he had a gift for connecting with people who had given up on themselves. Maybe it was because he’d been there so many times himself – standing at the edge, ready to throw it all away.
The transformation wasn’t instant or easy. Joseph had to confront decades of poor choices and destructive patterns. But for the first time in his life, he had clarity about what he wanted to do with whatever time he had left.
Life After the Ninth Life
Today, Joseph works with at-risk youth and formerly incarcerated individuals. He uses his story – all nine lives of it – to show people that it’s never too late to change course. His approach is raw and honest in a way that cuts through all the usual counseling speak.
“I tell these kids, ‘Look, I’m not going to stand here and pretend I’m some success story who figured it all out,’” Joseph explained to me. “I’m a guy who screwed up royally, over and over again. But I’m still here, and that has to mean something.’”
What gets me about Joseph’s story isn’t just the number of times he cheated death. It’s how he finally learned to see those experiences as opportunities rather than just random luck. Each close call was a chance to wake up, to do better, to be better.
The man sitting across from me wasn’t the same person who thought he was invincible all those years ago. This Joseph understands that true strength comes from vulnerability, from admitting your mistakes, and from using your pain to help others avoid the same pitfalls.
His story reminds us that sometimes we need multiple wake-up calls before we finally hear the message. And that’s okay. What matters is that we eventually listen.