Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs ‘Found His Purpose’ in Jailhouse Activity, Said Former Inmate

Ahead of his trial and prison sentence, Sean “Diddy” Combs spent a year in a Brooklyn jail. While in the Metropolitan Detention Center, Combs ran an entrepreneurial program for his fellow inmates. A former inmate at the jail said Combs’ program brought their unit closer together and helped prepare them for life outside jail. He said it also inspired Combs.

Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs taught a class in jail

While incarcerated in the Metropolitan Detention Center, Combs began teaching entrepreneurial skills to people in his unit. According to fellow inmate Raymond Castillo, “everybody was segregated” in the unit before Combs began his program.

“Everything was smooth after that,” Castillo told Us Weekly. “Diddy brought unity to the unit, because the unit was really divided.”

Castillo said Combs taught inmates “how to make a realistic, successful plan and the sacrifices and the steps we had to take to see it through.” He added that the disgraced mogul’s lessons taught them to “become successful in life and how everything in life has value and purpose and meaning to it.”

Castillo said that the class empowered those who took it. He believes that it also inspired and changed Combs.

“He said people need help. And he believes he was put there for a reason,” he said. “He said he found his purpose. He found his passion, his love again.”

A former inmate said Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs’ class shaped his time in jail

Castillo thoroughly enjoyed Combs’ entrepreneurial course.

“The class impacted everyone. It made everyone think differently, value themself more, and get more in touch with the side that loves yourself,” he said. “It made you want to do better.”

He said that Combs drew from his real-life experience in his lessons.

“He wouldn’t only show us the good moments,” he said, adding, “He would tell us to take him as an example. He would tell us the bad moments, tell us to stay away from drugs because drugs were going to lead us to failure.”

Castillo credits Combs with shaping his life after he left jail. He believes that he is now more prepared for life outside.

“Ever since I got out, I’ve been on the right path. I’m way more prepared. Now, I actually have a plan,” he said. “That’s all due to the class. Without the class, this would not have been possible.”

Combs is also working a job in prison

Combs reportedly plans to bring his entrepreneurial program to the FCI Fort Dix prison. He also has a job as a prison chaplain’s assistant. 

“He works in the chapel library, where he describes the environment as warm, respectful, and rewarding,” his publicist, Juda Engelmayer, told CBS News.

In this role, Combs likely maintains the religious library, cleans the chaplain’s office, and assists with record keeping. This is reportedly one of the more desirable jobs behind bars. It holds prestige, and the chapel is also one of the few places where inmates can congregate freely.