Imagine living life with Schizophrenia but having no idea. Today's conversation is with a special guest, my childhood friend Dr. Apollo Ellis. He is known as one of Silicon Valley's top programmers in the tech industry, but the road to get there was incredibly difficult.

The connection between schizophrenia and drug abuse From addiction, depression and ultimately a diagnosis of Schizophrenia, his story is no short of a miracle, and certainly the outcome of a deep desire to be more in life. Apollo and I had shared in the madness of addiction and the streets as teenagers, we were truly lost in the wilderness.

 We were amongst the worst within our circle of friends. Through the Valley: Streets, Schizophrenia, and Success in Tech Apollo Ellis's journey from the streets of the 1990s San Francisco Bay Area to the heights of Silicon Valley is a tale of extraordinary resilience. Growing up in a world dominated by hip-hop and street culture, he faced daunting circumstances. Narrow escapes from the drug game and gang violence left their marks in the form of PTSD and addiction.

Homelessness and Schizophrenia Homeless at the age of twenty, Apollo made the pivotal decision to return to school. Choosing education as his lifeline, he began to reconstruct himself. When a diagnosis of acute paranoid schizophrenia threatened his story again, he stayed his course and went on to graduate from UC Berkeley.

Today, Dr. Apollo Ellis is a renowned expert in computer science and technology. He has earned a Master’s degree and a PhD from the best institutions in the world and worked at many Fortune 500 tech giants like Intel, Apple, Sony PlayStation, and Facebook. 

In Through the Valley, we accompany him on this journey from the precarious streets, through schizophrenia, to Silicon Valley's pinnacle. It is truly a testament to the power of determination and of an unyielding pursuit of the right to chase one’s dreams.

What to expect in this episode:
(00:04:24) - Becoming a meth baller from early teens.
(00:47:04) - Navigating learning while having Schizophrenia
(01:21:26) - Insights on how to publicly share your mental health journey.

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Follow Apollo:
Book - Through the Valley: Streets, Schizophrenia, and Success in Tech
LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/apollo-e-481621a0/
Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/apollo.ellis

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