You’ve read the shocking one-sided tale of international drug kingpin Owen Hanson in The Rolling Stone, VICE, and the LA Times—but now he’s ready to tell his side of the story.

A surfer kid from Redondo Beach, California, Owen Hanson was still in his twenties when he found himself the leader of a multimillion-dollar criminal empire. What began as an attempt to fit in with the rich kids at the University of Southern California soon grew into gambling and loan sharking, which then opened the door to drug trafficking and money laundering. Hanson wasn’t just involved in this stuff—he excelled at it. Living the fast-paced lifestyle of the rich and famous, Hanson was finally gaining the respect he craved. But with the cartel, a serious drug-abuse problem, and the pursuit of the FBI all threatening to overtake him, it wouldn't be long before his glamorous lifestyle caught up with him.

The California Kid follows Owen from his roots as a USC star athlete from a broken home, where his idolization of the rich and famous began, to his descent down a dangerous path where he would stop at nothing to earn the love and respect of the people around him. The story that follows is almost too wild to believe—but Owen bears the 21-year sentence to prove it.