How to Write Your Bio

If you're going through the criminal justice system—whether you’ve just been indicted or you’re already serving time—I encourage you to develop an appreciation for the following message:

Start planting seeds today for the success you want to build tomorrow.

You may define success differently as you advance through the journey. At the start, you’ll want to get the lowest possible sentence. Another step will include to restore confidence, and rebuild your mental health, creating opportunities for income, and restoring your dignity—both during and after incarceration. Your strength will not return by accident. Start to prepare by making intentional decisions. You have to act.

And it’s never too early or too late to start.

Who I Am—and Why I Care

My name is Michael Santos, and I am the founder of Prison Professors. This nonprofit exists for one reason: to help people transform their lives and build a pathway to the highest level of liberty at the soonest possible time. We give everything away for free.

Why?

Because this is my ministry. After serving 26 years in federal prison—9,500 days across high-security penitentiaries, detention centers, transit hubs, low-security institutions, camps, and halfway houses—I came out determined to help others avoid the same mistakes I made.

I came through with my dignity intact. I built multiple income streams. And now I’m on a mission to help you build your record of excellence and success.

Nobody Changes the Past: Influence Your Future

We can’t rewrite history. But we can absolutely write a new chapter. There are more opportunities in the future than there were in the past—but only if you prepare.

Whether you’re pretrial, in custody, or on supervised release, you should be memorializing your progress and transformation every step of the way. This is how you advance as a candidate for early release, administrative relief, or post-sentencing advocacy.

The government has its own process. Prosecutors will focus on what you did. Your defense attorney will fight in court. But who is fighting to tell your story of redemption?

That responsibility belongs to you.

The Profile That Tells Your Story

We built a free platform at PrisonProfessors.org where you can start documenting your journey right now. No charge. No hidden agenda. Just a system that empowers you to show why you deserve relief, leniency, and support.

Here’s how you get started:

1. Go to PrisonProfessors.org
2. Click the blue button to create a profile or log in.
3. Verify you're a real human (simple security step).
4. Agree to the terms—this is about your growth and positivity.
5. Create your account:
   
   • First & Last Name
   • Email address (preferably your family’s if you’re inside)
   • Mailing address (we send free books)
   • Date of Birth
   • Stage of your journey (pretrial, post-sentence, supervised release)

Once your profile is live, you can begin writing your biography, journal entries, book reports, and a release plan. I didn’t have this tool while I served my term, but through my 26-year journey inside, I memorialized all the steps I took. Each deliberate step put me on the pathway to more opportunities. You can do the same.

Why It Matters

More than 1,400 people have already created their profiles, but to build a persuasive argument that will lead to more opportunities for people to earn freedom, we must grow. I am hopeful that you’ll join the movement, helping us grow to 10,000 people who are working to prepare for success upon release.

This isn’t some feel-good motivational fluff. This is real work. This is your opportunity to show prosecutors, judges, case managers, and policymakers that you are so much more than your charge sheet.

When you write your biography, when you show your journal of personal development, when you read and reflect through book reports—you are creating evidence of growth. You are demonstrating leadership. You are becoming the CEO of your life.

The Standard Is Excellence

I’m not here to celebrate mediocrity.

This platform isn’t about earning ninth-place trophies for good intentions. It’s about results. I want to see people leaving prison and building real lives—full of opportunity, meaning, and freedom. I’ll work hard to open more opportunities, but I need more people inside who are showing why they’re worthy. Don’t wait for the government to make changes for you.

If you want something different, you must do something different. You must life as if you’re the CEO of your life:

• Define success
• Build a clear, written plan
• Prioritize your daily actions
• Build tools, tactics, and resources
• Track your progress
• Adjust as needed
• Execute daily

That’s how you build a record that leads to relief.

My Three Promises to You

As you go through this process, know this:

1. I will never lie to you.
2. I will never ask you to do anything I didn’t do myself.
3. I will never ask you to pay me a penny.

That’s the deal. I give everything away because I’ve already built a life on the other side. My focus now is scale: I want to see tens of thousands of people documenting their journey toward freedom—through merit, purpose, and self-advocacy.

But I can’t do it without you.

Start Today

• Go to PrisonProfessors.org
• Build your profile
• Write your biography
• Share your journal
• Define your goals
• Take back your narrative

Reflection Questions

1. What stage of the justice system am I currently in?
   
   
2. How can I demonstrate that I’m more than my worst decisions?
   
   
3. What story do I want a judge or case manager to read about me?
   
   
4. How will I track and measure my growth?
   
   
5. Am I committed to building a profile that showcases my transformation?

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