fire & ice
Christian O’Reilly discovered his passion for photography while in prison.
A man jailed for his role in a £1 million drugs operation has told how his time behind bars gave him a ‘way out’ from a life of crime.
Christian O’Reilly was sentenced to four years in prison on drug charges in 2012 and now runs a wedding photography company.
“I can’t tell you how hard it is to get out of a business like this because I got so deep in it. Prison was my way out,” said Rhonda Cynon, 37, of Mountain Ash.・Tough speaks. his sentence.
Advocates are calling for greater public understanding of the complex reasons why people commit crimes and say employment is key to preventing recidivism.
Before he started dealing drugs, Christian had a well-paying job as an engineer, but things started to change after a night out.
“I fell into the wrong crowd. I take full responsibility for what I did, I was an adult, but I got stuck in a rut,” he said.
Having made so much money from drugs, he quit his job and “moved up the ladder” from small-scale trading to importing, he said.
However, he said he felt relieved by the time he was arrested.
“I hated that lifestyle. I always had to worry about what was going to happen. I was always nervous because I knew one day I would get caught,” he said. .
Christian said that when the prison doors closed, he was at the “lowest point in his life,” but his feelings were also mixed with a sense of relief that “it was all over.”
Statistics show that between July and September 2022, the latest available, 26.2% of adults reoffended within a year.
This was a slight increase from the previous year, but part of an overall decline from more than 30% a decade ago.
fire & ice
Christian had a well-paying job as an engineer.
Samantha Graham, CEO of Clean Sheet, which helps people with convictions find work, said employment was a key part of reducing reoffending.
“It provides dignity, community and a way forward that helps reduce the risk of reoffending,” she said.
She says that while the reasons why people are upset are often complex, including mental health issues, addictions, unstable housing, and relationship breakdowns, the majority are “backed up by what is often the worst period of their lives.” He added that he hopes to direct the public’s attention toward the future.
Mr Graham said a number of initiatives were being undertaken to increase employment opportunities for people leaving prison, including employment advisory committees.
But she said it was also important to “change the public perception of people of faith.”
She said there could be a general view that “once a criminal, always a criminal.”
“That doesn’t take into account real life, that people make mistakes and sometimes do terrible things. Many people regret their actions and don’t want to go back there again. ” she said.
fire & ice
Christian founded wedding photography company Fire & Ice in 2018.
Christian was jailed for being part of a gang that tried to smuggle £1.7m of cannabis into Wales from Spain, and his path to becoming a wedding photographer began in the prison library.
Determined to stay focused amidst the monotony of prison, he picked up a book called The Art of Photography, considered a classic of the genre.
“In prison, everything is focused because there are no other distractions. I read the book from cover to cover,” Christian said.
Her father is an amateur photographer, and she often developed photos with her when she was young.
“I fell in love with photography, even though I didn’t have a camera in prison, of course,” he said.
Christian was released in March 2013 after serving half of his sentence in Cardiff and Park prisons, but he remembers that day clearly.
“I spent two years staring at a wall all day, and suddenly everything became beautiful,” he said.
After learning about photography in prison, he bought his first digital single-lens reflex camera, something he had never experienced before, and began taking photos at his sister’s wedding and other events.
“I posted some pictures online and got so many comments that I wanted to keep doing it,” he said.
In 2018, he founded his own company, Fire & Ice, and met his wife, Yaki, through that work.
“Now I can travel the world with the people I love, doing what I love,” he said.
When asked what advice he would give to those considering entering the drug world, he urged, “Think seriously about what you want to do.”
“Get out of the situation. Get out of there if you can, get out of any bubble you might be in,” he said.
“If you get carried away, always focus on the positive, take each day as it comes, and work toward your goals,” he said.
