Dwayne “the Rock” Johnson is giving back to the Miami community in a major way and helping to turn around the lives of young men in the process.
Last winter, Johnson announced that he was working on a documentary involving inmates at a boot camp run by the Miami-Dade County Corrections and Rehabilitation Department. Rock & a Hard Place follows the lives of men who chose the wrong path and are now working toward rehabilitation in the boot camp program.
“We’ve been shooting there for the past six months, getting to know the cadets, seeing the transformation,” said Johnson.
“Congratulations,” Johnson told the cadets. “We’re all very, very proud of you.”
Johnson said his reason for participating in the program and filming the documentary was simple: He could have been one of those boys.
“When I was 13 or 14, I started getting arrested, doing a lot of things I shouldn’t have been doing,” he said. “And I wanted them to know that life does go on and they’re going to have another opportunity.”
In a series of Instagram posts, Johnson highlighted his commitment to the program, the issue of recidivism and how proud he was to stand with the young men who graduated:
Johnson did express some sadness, however. Not everyone finished the program, and in his last Instagram post, he expressed not only disappointment but also how bleak the future of the two men who got caught up in other crimes would be:
Rock & a Hard Place is set to air in 2016 on HBO.