The Fort Worth-raised creative opened up about his new book, \u201cHow to Not Die in Prison,\u201d<\/a> on a recent episode of \u201cThe Joe Rogan Experience.\u201d<\/a> The book is co-written<\/a> by ex-con Tom Nelson and released on June 23.<\/p>\n After Rogan asked about how the book came together, Sheridan told the story of how he and Nelson met and ultimately wrote the prison travel guide.<\/p>\n Here\u2019s what he said.<\/p>\n \ud83c\udfac In case you missed it: <\/p>\n Taylor Sheridan talks \u2018How to Not Die in Prison\u2019<\/p>\n Sheridan met Nelson years ago in Los Angeles.<\/p>\n The meeting came at a gym they both frequented, where Sheridan was taken aback by how \u201cyoked\u201d and tattoo-clad Nelson was. The two became friends and one day Sheridan asked Nelson what he\u2019s been up to and said he\u2019s currently working at a vitamin shop but wants to get into personal training.<\/p>\n Sheridan told Rogan that it was \u201ckind of weird\u201d to hear that since Nelson was in his 40s. Sheridan then asked Nelson if he\u2019s always lived in California, to which he said that\u2019s been there for 20 years and just recently arrived in Los Angeles after spending 17 years in prison. Finally, one day Sheridan asked Nelson what happened.<\/p>\n \u201cHe\u2019s like, \u2018Oh, I was a [expletive] criminal, dude,\u2019\u201d Sheridan said. \u201cLike biggest drug dealer in Hollywood and armed robbery and ran over a DEA agent.\u201d<\/p>\n Nelson discovered fitness while inside and wanted to pursue personal training when he got out.<\/p>\n Eventually Nelson opened up his own place, which became the biggest independent private training gym in Hollywood, Sheridan said. After some time passed, and in the midst of shooting \u201cYellowstone,\u201d Sheridan heard from Nelson, who said that he wrote a movie about his life.<\/p>\n Sheridan read the script and described it as 1990s-style action vehicle like \u201cThe Rock,\u201d if only the criminals were celebrated. Still, Sheridan said the script was good and passed it along to some producers, but nothing ever came to fruition.<\/p>\n Flash forward to 2020 during the pandemic, Sheridan reaches out to Nelson about where he buys his gym equipment, since the \u201cYellowstone\u201d cast is stuck on the ranch due to Covid restrictions. Nelson says that his gym is shutdown and that he\u2019ll sell Sheridan anything he wants and ultimately did sell several pieces to him.<\/p>\n Finally, Sheridan said Nelson called him around 18 months ago and told him he\u2019s in a bad way.<\/p>\n \u201cHe goes, \u2018I\u2019m a single father, I got a five-year-old kid, I got [expletive] colon cancer, I\u2019m [expletive] dying, and I\u2019m tapped out, dude,\u2019\u201d Sheridan said. \u201c[Nelson said] \u2018I\u2019m a [expletive] 60-year-old felon, I can\u2019t get a job, I can\u2019t do anything. Is there any work on your movies or anything that I could do\u2019?\u201d<\/p>\n Sheridan\u2019s first act was to fly Nelson to Texas, where he got a second opinion from a doctor who said the mass wasn\u2019t cancerous.<\/p>\n Next up, Sheridan told Nelson that he could get him a job as a production assistant, but the pay and hours wouldn\u2019t be ideal, especially with a young kid at home. Nelson then asked if Sheridan could spot him for a few months, to which he said that he has a \u201c100% failure rate\u201d of loaning money to friends.<\/p>\n Finally, Sheridan thought about Nelson\u2019s history and told him that he wanted to make a prison travel guide for the accidental inmate.<\/p>\n Sheridan bought several travel guides to different countries for research, and the duo got to work. After writing three chapters, they took the book to Simon & Schuster and landed a deal.<\/p>\n \u201cIt walks you through day one, how to navigate the yard, being processed in, the food, the commissary, the gangs, the diseases, prison riots, how to get a job in there, how to [expletive] make a shiv, how to do everything,\u201d Sheridan said. \u201cIt is a tour guide to prison.\u201d<\/p>\n Related Stories from Fort Worth Star-Telegram<\/p>\n![\"\u201cHow](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/Nelson_AuthorPhoto.jpg\" "\\"Nelson_AuthorPhoto.jpg\\"")
\u201cHow to Not Die in Prison\u201d author Tom Nelson. Courtesy of Simon & Schuster <\/p>\n The cover of Taylor Sheridan\u2019s new book \u201cHow to Not Die in Prison.\u201d Simon & Schuster <\/p>\n
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