From Curtains to Cages
If you’ve lost everything — read this.
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Not from the stage. From the cage. And the war’s not over.
I built a career few ever saw — behind the scenes, behind the luxury. Then I lost it all. Now I write from the trench as I rebuild from nothing.
Sunday. 16:13. Black coffee. No sleep planned. Just mental warfare.
That’s how this one starts — not because it sounds poetic, not sure it even does but because it’s reality for me. I don’t write from the other side of the battle. I write inside it. Still struggling most days. Still building.
This is the sound of a man inside the cage — building something that isn’t perfected, but it’s solid.
And yeah, the dream is defiantly still alive. Even now.
The Coffee Was Intentional. And Reckless.
I poured it knowing it would push my sleep out the window.
Not healthy. Not optimal. Not part of some six-figure productivity hack.
But for me that’s the point — I don’t always stay fully locked and loaded in my rigid routines, although mostly, not always.
And building a businesses from nothing — back then it never happened that way for me with perfect morning routines.
But today it’s just whats needed to make something happen today.
Sometimes we deviate from rituals not because it’s optimal — but because it’s the move to make on that day. That’s worth remembering but not making the new normal.
The man who is most adaptable is the one who wins.
So I chose the coffee. I chose to write.
And I chose to tell the truth — even if it’s at a cost, and there is always a price but its worth it.
Curtains and Cages
This part of my life shaped everything. I rarely talk about it, maybe because I’m still carrying it. But it’s part of the blueprint, and it deserves its place.
I didn’t finish school. I got asked to leave — not because I was a problem, just because I was done. My Uncle Pete and Aunty Les gave me a shot in a trade most overlook: curtains and blinds.
Doesn’t sound like much. But it became a passport.
By 19 I was on planes, flying from the Gold Coast to London, Singapore, Korea, Malaysia.
Installing window treatments in luxury homes, hotels, and then on to $150 million dollar super yachts around the world.
No Instagram flex. In fact, never posted one project online. Just years of hard work, screws, motors, ladders, deadlines.
It became my specialty.
It became my identity. The 30-year persona.
Then, it was taken.
And that part of the story… ends badly. But not today. That chapter will come later.
That career — that whole world — deserves a book of its own. And maybe one day I’ll write it. But for now, here’s what matters: it taught me how to build from nothing, at the highest level. And how fast it can be taken away. That’s the context for why I fight like this now.
The New War — The Battle Within
What matters now is this:
I’m not out. I’m not free.
I’m still in the trench — literally and metaphorically.
The system almost broke me. Lies burned me.
But the mission didn’t die. It changed.
I’ve changed. I like the change. I like what looks possible now.
Even when freedom is taken by a system that failed me and many men — I don’t give it power.
I don’t fight shadows.
I move forward.
I still have my voice.
I still have my mind.
And I’ve still got something to build.
For my sons.
This isn’t a comeback story. This is a this-is-what-it-looks-like-while-you’re-still-inside story.
Although they say the comeback’s better than the setback… we will see.
Because talk can be cheap — and there is a lot of work to be done.
I’m all in.
Gremlins, Doubt and Lukewarm Coffee
Every day, the gremlins show up. The doubts. The shame. The what-if whispers.
Some days I’m full of fire. Other days, I’m flat. Like a Nike shoe with the air out of the bubble on ya left shoe.
Writing feels like lifting bricks with no sleep.
Trying to believe in the vision feels like drinking lukewarm coffee —
Not right, but it gets you through.
Not really ideal but…
It’s about staying in the game.
Caged501, Mentoro & This Voice
I launched Caged501 — a new section of newsletter on my Substack.
You can opt in or stop past the page, have a listen or a read — it’s a space to express the truth behind the caged walls in Australia’s Immigration Detention Centre no one knows about.
I won’t spam anyone on this additional published work, but it’s got some insights that will shock you if you have any normal human values and a healthy moral compass.
I’m still finding my podcast flow. Still building Mentoro. Still embedding audio into Substack and wondering if it’s even going to become a success.
It’s daunting. It’s every creative struggle.
I am so grateful that you’re reading this, listening to the newsletter.
It’s amazing that even one person would take the time to listen. That’s not a trivial action — so thank you so much.
The goal isn’t perfection. Not buying into that myth.
The goal is progress.
The goal is a Voice to Inspire.
The Mission:
Clarity — Strength — Purpose
Final Word from the Trench
I’m not writing from the mountaintop. That’s pretty obvious… just not pretty.
I’m writing from the part I want to forget and leave behind —
but it’s also the part where I got to start again. Have new hopes. New dreams.
If you’re there too — I see where you’re at. I get it…
If you’ve lost everything — me too.
If you’re trying to rebuild something that matters from inside the fire — that’s exactly where I’m standing.
Not everyone gets to start clean.
Some of us have to rebuild while still under fire.
I’m pinned down and taking heaps of fire with no air support.
And that’s the voice you’ll keep hearing here.
Round 3. Round 4. Doesn’t matter.
We’re still in the fight. And that means it’s not over.
P.S.
This isn’t bitterness. It’s clarity.
This isn’t poor me — it’s just me. No Justice as we say in side Just — us.
The truth doesn’t always shine, but it lights the way.
If you’re still in the fight, I’m writing for you.
Head up. Chin down. 1, 2, 3.
Protect yourself at all times.
Lets F Ing GO Lads!
– Johnny Trayes
Voice to Inspire | Mentoro | Tactical Lifestyle Systems