09/03/2025
Meet Anthony Gamboa,
My name is Anthony Gamboa. If you knew me back then, you’d never guess I’d be standing where I am today. I came up in the gang life, running the streets, living by a code I thought was loyalty, but it was really a slow death sentence wrapped in lies. I chased respect. I chased money. I chased power. And for years, I believed that was all life had for me. The streets gave me a name, but they also gave me chains. They gave me pain that cut deep. They gave me addiction. They gave me Jail cells and years I can never get back. M**h, co***ne, alcohol, I used them all to numb the truth I didn’t want to face. I swore I was in control, but the truth was, I was just a slave to the same streets I thought I ruled. I missed my daughter’s moments. I buried friends. I sat in cold cells staring at the wall, wondering if my life would ever be more than court dates, broken promises, and hollow dreams. For a long time, I told myself I was “too far gone”, that the damage was already done. But then came the breaking point. I got tired. Tired of pretending I was okay. Tired of waking up empty. Tired of being the same man year after year while life passed me by. That’s when I made the choice that changed everything, I surrendered my life to Jesus Christ. I’m not talking about a quick prayer when you’re in trouble. I mean I gave Him everything, my past, my pain, my habits, my pride. And little by little, He started breaking the chains I didn’t even know I was still carrying. I walked away from the gang life. I stayed sober. I went back to school. I started building instead of destroying. I put in the work to heal, to grow, and to become the man I was meant to be. And I didn’t do it alone. I want to give a huge shout-out to Keep Trinidad Safe, my case manager Jeremy, the amazing bookkeeper (not sure her position) Jessica, Kat, and all the other staff who have been a 🗝️part of my recovery. My Toyota family, thank you for sticking by me and believing in me even when I didn’t believe in myself. These people stood in my corner when I felt like I had no fight left. Now, I’m on track to become a counselor. My mission is to use my story as a weapon against the darkness I came from, to show others there’s a way out. I’m living proof you don’t have to be who you were yesterday. There’s a better way, but you’ve got to want it, you’ve got to fight for it, and you’ve got to believe in a Power higher than yourself. Jesus Christ will never start you wrong. The streets will drain you and leave you empty. He’ll fill you and make you whole. If He could take me, a man who thought he was too far gone, and give me purpose, He can do the same for you. You don’t have to stay in that cycle. You can break it. You can walk away. And when you do, you’ll realize the realest thing you’ll ever do is leave what’s fake behind. And to all my haters, I still wish you well. Prayers going up. Blessings coming down.
