Today we’d like to introduce you to David Watson.
Hi David , thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.
My story starts a long way from where I am today. For years I was the guy who could talk his way into — and out of — almost anything, and it carried me to some dark places: a mugshot nearly every year, jail cells in two different countries, and eventually federal prison. I kept running when I should have stopped. That road landed me in a Mexican desert with a cartel that came close to ending my life.
That was the moment everything changed. I realized I’d been confusing escape with freedom, and that the only way out wasn’t running — it was forward. Only forward.
So I rebuilt. I got honest about who I’d been and who I wanted to become, and I turned the whole thing into something that could help other people. I wrote a memoir about it — Forward Only — and I founded The Redemption Foundation to give people who’ve made mistakes a real second chance, including work in my own community like our backpack giveaways.
Today I’m an author, screenwriter, and speaker. Forward Only is being developed into a feature film, and I spend my time telling this story anywhere it can reach someone — because if a guy like me can come back, I want people to know they can too. That’s how I got here: not by forgetting where I came from, but by refusing to go back.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
No — smooth is about the last word I’d use. For a long stretch, the hardest obstacles were the ones I created myself. Running from my problems only made them bigger, and it cost me years — my freedom, relationships, chances I can’t get back. There were moments I genuinely didn’t know if I’d make it out alive.
But rebuilding turned out to be its own kind of hard. When you carry a past like mine, it walks into every room with you. You get doubted, doors close, and people decide who you are before you say a word. Proving a person can actually change — and getting others to believe it — has been a daily thing, not a one-time win.
And the work I’m doing now hasn’t come easy either. I’ve built the book, the foundation, and the film mostly from the ground up, learning as I go and hearing “no” a lot more than “yes.” What keeps me moving is simple: I’ve already survived the worst version of my life, so a closed door doesn’t scare me the way it used to. Every struggle now is one I’d take a thousand times over the ones I left behind.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
I’m an author, screenwriter, and speaker, and my work all comes from one place — a true story of hitting bottom and choosing to come back. My memoir, Forward Only, is the heart of it. It’s the real account of a life that racked up a mugshot a year, jail cells in two countries, and federal prison, and how I finally traded running for redemption. I’ve since adapted it into a feature film that’s now in development with producers.
What I specialize in is turning a hard, honest life into stories that actually move people — on the page, on screen, and on a stage. Alongside the creative work, I founded The Redemption Foundation, a second-chances mission that ties directly into everything I make, from the book to community work like our backpack giveaways.
What I’m most proud of isn’t any one credit — it’s that the story is true, and that people going through their own worst chapter can see themselves in it and believe they can get out.
And what sets me apart is simple: I’m not writing about a comeback from the outside, I lived it. Every scene and every page is drawn from what really happened. That authenticity is the one thing no one can fake — and it’s the reason this story connects the way it does.
We’d love to hear about how you think about risk taking?
My view on risk has completely changed over my life. There was a time I took the worst kind of risks — reckless ones, the kind that gambled with my freedom and my life and cost me both for a while. Running from my problems was itself a risk, and it caught up with me every single time. So I know exactly what it feels like when a bet goes all the way wrong.
My view on risk has completely changed over my life. There was a time I took the worst kind of risks — reckless ones, the kind that gambled with my freedom and my life and cost me both for a while. Running from my problems was itself a risk, and it caught up with me every single time. So I know exactly what it feels like when a bet goes all the way wrong.
These days I still take big risks, but they look nothing like the old ones. Choosing to tell my whole story publicly — every mistake, no edits — was a risk. Putting my name on a memoir, building a foundation around my past, and betting on a feature film from the ground up all meant opening myself up to judgment and failure. I’ve heard “no” far more than “yes,” and I keep going anyway.
The difference now is that I take risks toward something instead of running from something. I’ve already lived through the worst outcome a person can face, so the fear of rejection or looking foolish doesn’t hold the same weight. To me, the real risk isn’t trying and failing — it’s staying stuck, playing small, and never becoming who you’re capable of being. That’s a bet I’m not willing to make anymore.
Pricing:
- • Forward Only paperback — $19.99
- • Forward Only hardcover — $29.99
- • Signed copies available directly through iamdavidwatson.com
- • Also available on Amazon (Kindle + print) and at Barnes & Noble
- • Spanish-language edition, Solo Hacia Adelante, coming soon
Contact Info:
- Website: https://iamdavidwatson.com
- Instagram: https://instagram.com/imdavidwatson
- Facebook: https://facebook.com/61591913194734
- LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/in/david-watson-323351402
- Twitter: https://x.com/imdavidwatson?s=11
- Youtube: https://youtube.com/@imdavidwatson?si=ncLGEmVVIdrFNg9x
- Other: https://goodreads.com/book/show/258413051-forward-only
