Shaun Attwood

Attwood now has a True Crime podcast and a YouTube channel with over 400,000 subscribers as of 6th Apr 2020. He answers questions about what prison was like, interviews true-crime guests and retells stories of what happened during his time in prison. Shaun Attwood has conducted several interviews and has written on the case surrounding the underage sex trafficking ring around Jeffrey Epstein, and has interviewed conspiracy theorist David Icke regarding the September 11 attacks and the coronavirus pandemic.

Attwood now gives talks to schoolchildren and other groups about the negative consequences of drugs and crime, and advocates against Sheriff Arpaio and his methods. Shaun has given several TEDx Talks on his experiences. The University of Basel, Switzerland hosted his 2017 talk on what facing 200 years in prison taught him about happiness. He has appeared on BBC, Sky News, CNN and TV in over 40 countries worldwide to talk about issues affecting prisoners' rights.

His story was featured worldwide on National Geographic Channel as an episode of Locked Up Abroad called "Raving Arizona". Random House published his life story as the English Shaun Trilogy. Since his first book Hard Time was published in 2011, Attwood has authored books on his life and other topics.

In 2007, Attwood was released and deported to the U.K., where he continues to maintain his blog, now under his own name, where he publishes letters and accounts sent to him by other prisoners. Having credited books for being the lifeblood of his rehabilitation, Attwood spoke out in outrage on The Wright Stuff at the ban on sending books to U.K. prisons introduced by Justice Minister Chris Grayling.

Attwood was born in Widnes, Lancashire and became interested in the stock-market at an early age of 14, trading for the first time at the age of sixteen. After travelling to Arizona regularly to visit his aunts, Attwood moved there and eventually becoming mired in the bubbling rave scene and distributing ecstasy, smuggling up to £4 million. He was arrested in 2002 and was released early in 2007 before being deported back to England. Following his release, Attwood became a public speaker and author, chronicling his experiences in prison.

Evidence had already been collected against Attwood from his years as an Ecstasy kingpin, and on May 16, 2002, he was arrested at the apartment. Attwood, who had attempted to clean himself of any connections to his previous life as a distributor, was caught due to ten witnesses coming forward.

Attwood attended Liverpool University, studying Business Studies and graduating in 1990. While attending university, Attwood started to take Ecstasy in the Manchester rave scene which helped him with his anxiety.

Shaun Attwood (born October 28, 1968) is an English former ecstasy distributor turned YouTuber, public speaker, activist, and author.

Shaun Attwood was born in Widnes, Lancashire on October 28, 1968 in a middle-class household that he described as "loving." After watching several films mentioning stock-markets, Attwood educated himself, with the help of his teacher in economics, on trading stocks by reading the Financial Times at fourteen. When he was sixteen, during the privatization of many public companies by the Thatcher government, Attwood attempted to invest in British Telecommunications. After inquiring with his father, a Labour supporter who disagreed with Thatcher government's actions, Attwood sought money from his grandmother who supported the Conservative party and eventually got £50 which he invested and doubled. Attwood regularly visited his aunts in Arizona where he became interested in living in the United States.