Preface
I heard the gasp of horror and knew I’d been caught. For several years I had hidden the depth of my involvement in the Skinheads from my parents, covering up my tattoos with long shirts, concealing my violent life through lies and deceit. Until now, my own mother hadn’t known how far I was entrenched in the world of hate.
“What are those?” she cried, pointing at my body, which was covered from my neck to the middle of my back in graphic, sinister tattoos. “Tell me or I will call the police!”
No way in hell I was going to tell her what they meant—the hate crimes I had committed, the people I’d hurt, stabbed, and maimed to earn those tattoos. No way would I tell her about the hundreds of kids I’d initiated to follow me into the White Power Movement and the things they did for me every day.
She picked up the phone, her eyes locked on mine. They connected her to the gang unit of the Redlands Police Department. She questioned the officer about what she had seen, and her eyes grew bigger in disbelief. I showed no emotion, even as he told her that the person she was talking about must be a fully indoctrinated and active Skinhead. Then . . . the inevitable question. Did she personally know the dangerous person with the tattoos?
“It’s my son, TJ Leyden,” she admitted, her lips trembling. Hot tears of shame, frustration, and panic were running down her cheeks.
“You’re kidding, right?” the cop said incredulously. “Is this a prank?” The officer proceeded to tell her that not only was I a part of the local gang of Skins called American Firm, but that I was an active recruiter, bringing in new people under me all the time—teaching them how to fight, how to hate.
“What I’m telling you is that your son is a powerful leader of one of the most dangerous gangs of Skinheads in the nation.”
As I look back on my life as a Skinhead, I’m not sure that anyone could be more evil than I was. I also know that change is totally possible, for anyone. I always tell the kids I speak with, “If I can do it, I know you can do it. You never have to be stuck. You can always be more than you ever dreamed.”
My mission is to bring more and more people to the truth that tolerance itself can be a way of life, a way of thinking and doing and being. I love to motivate and inspire kids to become more than what they think they are capable of. I like to motivate law enforcement groups to learn, understand, and watch for signs of hate groups and put a stop to them, as well as provide tolerance education in areas it is desperately needed. I love teaching the military how to erase the horrid stench of racism from their ranks and continue to walk the talk of tolerance. I love bringing the tolerance message to college students and others in education who can make a difference in the life of a child, or go on to help create a world of more understanding and cooperation. I only hope that this story, my story, can and will inspire others to know that it is never too late.