What I survived

At just 22 years old, British explorer Benedict Allen set out to travel 600 miles through the remote northeast Amazon. It was supposed to be an expedition. Instead, it became a fight for survival. Gold miners hunted him. His canoe capsized, swallowing his supplies. Malaria burned through his body — two types of it, including one that could kill him in 24 hours. Starving, feverish and alone, Benedict made a choice that would haunt him for decades. He eventually walked out of the jungle. But something inside him forced him to confront his near-death experience and a question he needed to answer: why had he lived? So he went back. Not to the Amazon, not yet, but to Papua New Guinea. There, he immersed himself in a culture that still held ancient rituals of manhood and underwent a secret ceremony alongside young tribal initiates — to be cut, scarred and beaten, and to try to understand what it meant to survive, to be tested and to be transformed. This is the story of a young man running towards the very thing that nearly killed him. Of unfinished business in the jungle. Of the price of seeking answers that only survival can provide. And of a man who has nearly died nine times . This is Part 1 of Benedict Allen's story on What I Survived . Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

For three years, Giovanni Rocco lived two lives. By day, he was a man with a wife and children. By night, he was Giovanni Gatto—a mob associate climbing the ranks of the DeCavalcante crime family, one of America's most powerful organised crime organisations. He was brilliant at it. Too brilliant. So brilliant that his captain, Charlie Stango, loved him like a son. So brilliant that he was proposed for membership—to become a made man. But there was a price. Everything he built was a lie. Everyone he loved was in danger. And when Charlie Stango asked him to arrange a murder, the FBI had to pull him out. What happened next was worse than anything that came before: witness protection, erasure, a life lived in hiding, and the realisation that the man he'd become—the only version of himself that felt real—could never exist again. This is the story of an undercover operation that succeeded brilliantly and destroyed everything in the process. This is what it costs to survive. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

For three years, Giovanni Rocco lived two lives. By day, he was a man with a wife and children. By night, he was Giovanni Gatto—a mob associate climbing the ranks of the DeCavalcante crime family, one of America's most powerful organised crime organisations. He was brilliant at it. Too brilliant. So brilliant that his captain, Charlie Stango, loved him like a son. So brilliant that he was proposed for membership—to become a made man. But there was a price. Everything he built was a lie. Everyone he loved was in danger. And when Charlie Stango asked him to arrange a murder, the FBI had to pull him out. What happened next was worse than anything that came before: witness protection, erasure, a life lived in hiding, and the realisation that the man he'd become—the only version of himself that felt real—could never exist again. This is the story of an undercover operation that succeeded brilliantly and destroyed everything in the process. This is what it costs to survive. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

For three years, Giovanni Rocco lived two lives. By day, he was a man with a wife and children. By night, he was Giovanni Gatto—a mob associate climbing the ranks of the DeCavalcante crime family, one of America's most powerful organised crime organisations. He was brilliant at it. Too brilliant. So brilliant that his captain, Charlie Stango, loved him like a son. So brilliant that he was proposed for membership—to become a made man. But there was a price. Everything he built was a lie. Everyone he loved was in danger. And when Charlie Stango asked him to arrange a murder, the FBI had to pull him out. What happened next was worse than anything that came before: witness protection, erasure, a life lived in hiding, and the realisation that the man he'd become—the only version of himself that felt real—could never exist again. This is the story of an undercover operation that succeeded brilliantly and destroyed everything in the process. This is what it costs to survive. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

For three years, Giovanni Rocco lived two lives. By day, he was a man with a wife and children. By night, he was Giovanni Gatto—a mob associate climbing the ranks of the DeCavalcante crime family, one of America's most powerful organised crime organisations. He was brilliant at it. Too brilliant. So brilliant that his captain, Charlie Stango, loved him like a son. So brilliant that he was proposed for membership—to become a made man. But there was a price. Everything he built was a lie. Everyone he loved was in danger. And when Charlie Stango asked him to arrange a murder, the FBI had to pull him out. What happened next was worse than anything that came before: witness protection, erasure, a life lived in hiding, and the realisation that the man he'd become—the only version of himself that felt real—could never exist again. This is the story of an undercover operation that succeeded brilliantly and destroyed everything in the process. This is what it costs to survive. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Season 3 is almost here! This season, we have an incredible line-up of guests, from an FBI agent who went undercover inside one of New Jersey’s most notorious Mafia crime families, a British explorer who found himself hopelessly lost in one of the most inhospitable places on Earth, the Amazon, and a lady who was kidnapped by pirates and told she would die unless her ransom was paid. Plus many more incredibel stories. Our guests have all survived experiences unlike anything most of us will ever have to face. They’ve been pushed to their limits, endured the unimaginable and somehow made it through to the other side. But surviving is only part of the story. How do you come back from experiences like these? How do you rebuild, move forward and even thrive after everything you’ve been through? What does it really take to survive? What I Survived — Season 3 launches August 26th. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

I don't think a week goes by when someone doesn't mention to me the name Evaristo Salas Jnr. Evaristo's story has touched so many people, it's had us in tears of sadness and of joy and today is most certainly the latter as I sit down with Jnr after almost 8 months of freedom to hear how he's going and what's next for the man who lost 27 years of his life because of a lie. Become a member of the OMR family and start enjoying the benefits NOW . Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Freedom looks good on you Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

After 27 years incarcerated for a murder he always maintained he was innocent of, finally the courts agree! Evaristo Salas Jnr is a free man! Evaristo Salas was accused of firing two shots into Jose Arreola’s head in Sunnyside in November 1995. He was tried as an adult and convicted by a jury of first-degree murder three days after his 16th birthday and was sentenced to nearly 33 years in prison. The gun used in the murder was never recovered and there was no physical evidence linking Jnr to the killing. His conviction was based on the testimony of a police informant, Bill Bruhn, and Arreola’s girlfriend, Ofelia Cortez (formerly Gonzalez), who was there when her partner was shot. Many TV shows have uncovered horrific truths about the so called 'evidence' in this case, yet Jnr still remains incarcerated. This is his story, as told by him. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

After 27 years incarcerated for a murder he always maintained he was innocent of, finally the courts agree! Evaristo Salas Jnr is a free man! Evaristo Salas was accused of firing two shots into Jose Arreola’s head in Sunnyside in November 1995. He was tried as an adult and convicted by a jury of first-degree murder three days after his 16th birthday and was sentenced to nearly 33 years in prison. The gun used in the murder was never recovered and there was no physical evidence linking Jnr to the killing. His conviction was based on the testimony of a police informant, Bill Bruhn, and Arreola’s girlfriend, Ofelia Cortez (formerly Gonzalez), who was there when her partner was shot. Many TV shows have uncovered horrific truths about the so called 'evidence' in this case, yet Jnr still remains incarcerated. This is his story, as told by him. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

After almost 30 years of incarceration Evaristo Salas Jnr is going home. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Recently I caught up with Jnr Salas after a massive decision was recently made in the court of appeals and it seems some in this case will be forced to answer some seriously tough questions. Evaristo Salas was accused of firing two shots into Jose Arreola’s head in Sunnyside in November 1995. He was tried as an adult and convicted by a jury of first-degree murder three days after his 16th birthday and was sentenced to nearly 33 years in prison. The gun used in the murder was never recovered and there was no physical evidence linking Jnr to the killing. His conviction was based on the testimony of a police informant, Bill Bruhn, and Arreola’s girlfriend, Ofelia Cortez (formerly Gonzalez), who was there when her partner was shot. Many TV shows have uncovered horrific truths about the so called 'evidence' in this case, yet Jnr still remains incarcerated. This is his story, as told by him. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Recently I caught up with Jnr after I got word that he had a recent hearing that was the most positive yet! Evaristo Salas was accused of firing two shots into Jose Arreola’s head in Sunnyside in November 1995. He was tried as an adult and convicted by a jury of first-degree murder three days after his 16th birthday and was sentenced to nearly 33 years in prison. The gun used in the murder was never recovered and there was no physical evidence linking Jnr to the killing. His conviction was based on the testimony of a police informant, Bill Bruhn, and Arreola’s girlfriend, Ofelia Cortez (formerly Gonzalez), who was there when her partner was shot. Many TV shows have uncovered horrific truths about the so called 'evidence' in this case, yet Jnr still remains incarcerated. This is his story, as told by him. Join the OMR family and get bonus extras HERE Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Evaristo Salas was accused of firing two shots into Jose Arreola’s head in Sunnyside in November 1995. He was tried as an adult and convicted by a jury of first-degree murder three days after his 16th birthday and was sentenced to nearly 33 years in prison. The gun used in the murder was never recovered and there was no physical evidence linking Jnr to the killing. His conviction was based on the testimony of a police informant, Bill Bruhn, and Arreola’s girlfriend, Ofelia Cortez (formerly Gonzalez), who was there when her partner was shot. Many TV shows have uncovered horrific truths about the so called 'evidence' in this case, yet Jnr still remains incarcerated. This is his story, as told by him. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Evaristo Salas was accused of firing two shots into Jose Arreola’s head in Sunnyside in November 1995. He was tried as an adult and convicted by a jury of first-degree murder three days after his 16th birthday and was sentenced to nearly 33 years in prison. The gun used in the murder was never recovered and there was no physical evidence linking Jnr to the killing. His conviction was based on the testimony of a police informant, Bill Bruhn, and Arreola’s girlfriend, Ofelia Cortez (formerly Gonzalez), who was there when her partner was shot. Many TV shows have uncovered horrific truths about the so called 'evidence' in this case, yet Jnr still remains incarcerated. This is his story, as told by him. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Evaristo Salas was accused of firing two shots into Jose Arreola’s head in Sunnyside in November 1995. He was tried as an adult and convicted by a jury of first-degree murder three days after his 16th birthday and was sentenced to nearly 33 years in prison. The gun used in the murder was never recovered and there was no physical evidence linking Jnr to the killing. His conviction was based on the testimony of a police informant, Bill Bruhn, and Arreola’s girlfriend, Ofelia Cortez (formerly Gonzalez), who was there when her partner was shot. Many TV shows have uncovered horrific truths about the so called 'evidence' in this case, yet Jnr still remains incarcerated. This is his story, as told by him. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Evaristo Salas was accused of firing two shots into Jose Arreola’s head in Sunnyside in November 1995. He was tried as an adult and convicted by a jury of first-degree murder three days after his 16th birthday and was sentenced to nearly 33 years in prison. The gun used in the murder was never recovered and there was no physical evidence linking Jnr to the killing. His conviction was based on the testimony of a police informant, Bill Bruhn, and Arreola’s girlfriend, Ofelia Cortez (formerly Gonzalez), who was there when her partner was shot. Many TV shows have uncovered horrific truths about the so called 'evidence' in this case, yet Jnr still remains incarcerated. This is his story, as told by him. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Evaristo Salas was accused of firing two shots into Jose Arreola’s head in Sunnyside in November 1995. He was tried as an adult and convicted by a jury of first-degree murder three days after his 16th birthday and was sentenced to nearly 33 years in prison. The gun used in the murder was never recovered and there was no physical evidence linking Jnr to the killing. His conviction was based on the testimony of a police informant, Bill Bruhn, and Arreola’s girlfriend, Ofelia Cortez (formerly Gonzalez), who was there when her partner was shot. Many TV shows have uncovered horrific truths about the so called 'evidence' in this case, yet Jnr still remains incarcerated. This is his story, as told by him. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Evaristo Salas was accused of firing two shots into Jose Arreola’s head in Sunnyside in November 1995. He was tried as an adult and convicted by a jury of first-degree murder three days after his 16th birthday and was sentenced to nearly 33 years in prison. The gun used in the murder was never recovered and there was no physical evidence linking Jnr to the killing. His conviction was based on the testimony of a police informant, Bill Bruhn, and Arreola’s girlfriend, Ofelia Cortez (formerly Gonzalez), who was there when her partner was shot. Many TV shows have uncovered horrific truths about the so called 'evidence' in this case, yet Jnr still remains incarcerated. This is his story, as told by him. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Evaristo Salas was accused of firing two shots into Jose Arreola’s head in Sunnyside in November 1995. He was tried as an adult and convicted by a jury of first-degree murder three days after his 16th birthday and was sentenced to nearly 33 years in prison. The gun used in the murder was never recovered and there was no physical evidence linking Jnr to the killing. His conviction was based on the testimony of a police informant, Bill Bruhn, and Arreola’s girlfriend, Ofelia Cortez (formerly Gonzalez), who was there when her partner was shot. Many TV shows have uncovered horrific truths about the so called 'evidence' in this case, yet Jnr still remains incarcerated. This is his story, as told by him. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.