Making A Living Out of Prison | Coss Marte | TEDxWanChai

As a formerly incarcerated individual who felt the pain points of trying to find viable employment after imprisonment, out of desperation Coss created his own solution by founding the ConBody prison-style workout programme. His mission expanded to include helping other ex-cons find employment by offering them positions as trainers and staff members at ConBody.

In 2009, Coss Marte was sent to jail as the ringleader of a multi-million-dollar cocaine operation. He was also grossly overweight and warned by his physician that his current lifestyle, if left unchecked, would likely kill him. Faced with this grim prognosis, Coss started to get in shape using the tools he had -- his prison cell and his own body weight. Within six months he lost 70 pounds and replicated his successful formula of body weight exercises with 20 other inmates. Then he launched ConBody a prison style bootcamp that has gained over $7,000+ clients and hires formerly incarcerated individuals to teach fitness classes. Since the launch of his company, Coss has been featured in over 100 major media outlets such as NBC, CNN, The New York Times, and Men’s Fitness. He has also won major pitch competitions such as Pitch for Good by TOM’s shoes and the YPO shark tank competition, which in combine raised $200,000.

This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at http://ted.com/tedx