Gridiron Gang 20 Years Later | From Prison to The Rock’s Set with Joseph Lucero & Jade Yorker

Nearly 20 years after Gridiron Gang became a football movie classic, Jade Scott Yorker and Joseph Raymond Lucero Chavez join Taboo’s Comics & Kicks to revisit the real stories behind the film. Jade looks back on playing Willie Weathers, one of the movie’s most memorable characters, while Joseph shares how he went from prison to Homeboy Industries to landing on the set of Gridiron Gang, where his real-life background helped him stand out alongside The Rock, Xzibit, and a cast built around authenticity. This 20-year reflection goes deep into why Gridiron Gang still hits with fans today — from filming inside Camp Kilpatrick and working around real football players to the physicality of the football scenes, the emotional weight of the story, and the behind-the-scenes energy of working with Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson. Joseph and Jade reflect on the movie’s legacy, its representation of Black, Brown, and Samoan kids as heroes, and why its message of second chances, discipline, brotherhood, and redemption still carries nearly two decades later.