IF NOT NOW, WHEN? IF NOT YOU, WHO?

Carlos Ricard was born in Puerto Rico, moved to the United States at a young age, and has overcome adversity. He is a successful entrepreneur, author, speaker, and coach, known for his excellence in helping people use their pain as their path to greatness.

MEET CARLOS J. RICARD

Portrait of Carlos J. Ricard

From Homeless In 1999 To Author In 2023

Carlos Ricard was born in Caguas, Puerto Rico where he lived until the age of three when he migrated to the United States. From the hood to the woods, he spent most of his life growing up in the streets of New England. Today he’s a resident of Eau Claire, WI where he lives with his fiancé Martha Benitez, mother of his three children – Castelo, Camila, and Carlos Jr. and owner of The Dapper Man Barbershop. As an author, public figure, speaker and coach, he continues to broaden the power of his message and influence by writing, directing and producing digital media content through his aptly named company, GTG (Ghetto To Greatness) Media., a GTG Consulting, LLC company. He is the author of The Resurrection Plant: Your Pain Is Your Path To Greatness. Lately, his work has been featured as a reflection essay published in a University of North Carolina peer reviewed journal for the Dialogues in Social Justice: An Adult Education Journal focusing on adult learning and mass incarceration. 

C. J.’S FOCUS

HOMELESS (1999)

AUTHOR (2021)

The Resurrection Plant tells of one man’s mission to see clearly the truth about his troubled past and to reach the source of his self-destructive behaviors. Ricard began life as a homeless immigrant, spent time on the streets gangbanging, and wound up in prison. Though the streets, his schools, his workplaces, and sometimes his own family told him he was worthless, he held to a belief that he deserved better. After dying many deaths, he fought his way from the hood to the woods, from the ghetto to greatness.

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