Owen Hanson
Owen Hanson is a former USC football walk-on whose life took one of the most dramatic turns in modern sports and crime history. Once a national champion athlete, Hanson became internationally known as “The Cocaine Quarterback,” a story chronicled in the hit Prime Video documentary Cocaine Quarterback, which details his rise, fall, federal prison sentence, and unlikely second act.
After serving nearly a decade behind bars, Hanson emerged focused on redemption, accountability, and rebuilding—channeling the same intensity that once defined his athletic and criminal past into legitimate entrepreneurship. He is now the founder of California Ice Protein, a high-protein ice cream brand inspired by a business he first created while incarcerated, turning limited resources into innovation.
Hanson has since become a sought-after speaker, sharing his cautionary tale with athletes, students, and organizations about ambition, gambling, decision-making, and consequences in the modern era of sports and NIL.
He recently told his full, unfiltered story on the Unglossy podcast, offering rare insight into fame, failure, survival, and what it truly takes to start over when everything is stripped away.
