How prison changed former drug dealer Luke Anderson for the better

Luke Anderson says he had become a “monster” by the time he was incarcerated for commercial drug trafficking. But he has revealed what inspired him to overhaul his life.

Luke Anderson says he turned into a “monster” before he was imprisoned, and now wants to help others get on the good path. Picture: Mike Dugdale

Luke Anderson says a “perfect storm” led to him becoming a drug dealer in his 20s.

Anderson was sentenced to 4½ years in prison at age 25, for commercial MDMA and cocaine trafficking.

Now 32, the Hamlyn Heights resident said he had “become a monster” by that point, but decided to use his prison time to turn his life around.

“When I reflect on prison, there’s good memories in the sense of the improvement of my mental health, and really gaining clarity on where things had gone wrong in my life,” he said.

“It was difficult in the sense that I was completely taken away from the community, and completely deprived of connection with any people that could really meaningfully help me, particularly at the start of my sentence.

Luke Anderson, pictured pre-prison time, said he had become a "monster" in his drug dealing career. Picture: Supplied

“The isolation … that’s the hardest part.”

Anderson did time over three years at Port Phillip, Marngoneet, and Beechworth prisons, spending the last part of his sentence on parole.

He said his circumstances and experiences in his youth led him down the path of offending.

He said there was a “complex web” of factors that led to him spending a period of time homeless, and his mental health deteriorated.

“My back was against the wall,” he said.

“I thought ‘f--- this, I’ve not had anyone there to help me, I’ll do it myself’.

“I was looking for opportunities to change my circumstances, which often leads to drugs.

“There was a perfect storm for me to be good at selling drugs.

“Over about three to four years, I had a decent drug dealing career, which ultimately led to an undercover investigation and me being imprisoned.

“I didn’t value my life at that point.”

Even when charged with a very serious crime, Anderson said he didn’t have any reaction.

That was until he received letters from his mum, nan, sister, dad, and a girl, Kat, who he’d been seeing before she broke off the relationship due to the drug dealing.

“They cut through me, I cried for the first time in years,” he said.

In that moment, Anderson said he resolved to work towards caring about where his life was headed, and building a life beyond his prison sentence.

He continued corresponding with Kat, and promised to become “the man she deserves”.

They are now married and have a son together.

Luke Anderson and now wife Kat, who had written him a letter when he first got arrested. Picture: Supplied

Anderson work as a social entrepreneur, developing a new service for prisons, hoped to be operational by July.

Fair Threads will be a web-based clothing retailer that sources prison compliant clothing, and provides employment opportunities for former inmates.

He was also interviewed and did voiceover work for the Reignite Geelong Client Voice Project.

The state government announced a $41,000 investment into the Meli-run project, an interactive online platform sharing the stories of 12 young people who have had contact with the police and justice system, aimed at helping services better respond to the needs of young people.

Anderson said it was the “best possible approach”.

“I would hope that (the program) means that young people are going to be able to be provided the confidence and the ability to be able to turn things around for themselves,” he said.

“I also hope that it starts to change the relationship between service providers and young people engaging with these services, so they can start to build trust, through understanding, to create better outcomes.”

To view the project, visit mg-australia.com.au/youthclientvoice

For more information on Fair Threads visit www.FairThreads.com.au

Originally published as How prison changed former drug dealer Luke Anderson for the better