Billy Eiland grew up not knowing his real father or ethnic identity, living in poverty with his prostitute mother and siblings. He experienced a turbulent childhood, with a lack of male role models, frequent moves, child labor, and physical abuse from his mother.

He had success as a child model but sabotaged it to prevent his mother from taking his earnings. He turned to drug dealing as a teenager to financially support himself, eventually accidentally killing a man and serving prison time. After prison, with help from friends, he built a successful music career under the name “Big Caz.” However, he still felt unfulfilled due to unresolved issues about his past and identity. He eventually learned his real name was Guillermo and embraced his true self, leaving his criminal past behind to become a successful entrepreneur dedicated to helping others avoid similar mistakes.

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Excerpt from I Made It Off The Block © Copyright 2024 Guillermo Eiland

MY STORY

Julie was mean.

In another life, I might have called her Momma. But she was no mother. She was just the birth giver. And I was her punching bag. Her reign of terror lasted throughout my childhood until I turned fifteen. Julie was not a tall woman, but she weighed three hundred pounds and she could punch like a man. She would wail on me morning, noon and night—at any time and for any reason. I hated that bitch.

I was Julie’s third child and was born with severe asthma and an addiction to heroin. Julie had three other children: my big brother, my big sister and my little brother. All three were named Clark. My last name was Eiland.

I was named after my father, but I never knew the bastard. Guillermo Eiland the First (and The Invisible), had also been known as Guillermo Eiland The Pimp. He used to whore out Julie all the time. She was crazy about him. I think she named me after him in an attempt to get this man to stay and be a father. Unfortunately for Julie, you cannot force a dog to go against his nature any more than you can make a purse out of a sow’s ear. After he found out he had a son, Guillermo the Pimp took off.

That was that.

My older brother and sister both despised me, and I despised them right back. One of the reasons they might have looked down on me was that they knew who their daddy was. Frank was sometimes come by and do things for them. He even liked youngest boy, even though he was not Frank’s son. I guess he liked him more than me because he could walk down the street with him and no one would easily be able to see that the boy was not his own flesh and blood.

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