From Louisiana to the world stage — and back to what matters.
I'm Ollie Gabriel — Army veteran, multi-genre artist, entrepreneur, and founder of PowerShift.
I grew up in a small town in south Louisiana where the murder rate was three times the national average. My dad left when I was two. My mom had a GED. I was dark-skinned, wore hand-me-down clothes, and was bullied relentlessly. From an early age, I learned a dangerous lesson: fitting in felt safer than being myself.
Music became my refuge. When I performed, I felt seen. Loved. Valued. Attention became the drug — and without realizing it, I became a chronic people-pleaser. I learned how to shrink, adapt, and make myself palatable so I could be accepted.
My life has never followed a straight line.
I joined the Army three weeks before 9/11 — not because I wanted to, but because my friends did. I wanted to belong. That pattern followed me everywhere. While on active duty, I was writing songs, sending demos through MySpace, and landed a record deal before my enlistment ended. I thought I'd finally been "discovered."
What followed was a decade of pressure that nearly broke me.
I worked with major artists. The names sounded impressive back home. The reality was different. I was homeless in Los Angeles multiple times. I worked jobs I hated. Some days I ate once — if at all. I considered quitting constantly. There were moments I considered quitting life itself.
What kept me alive was faith, pride, and resilience — sometimes in that order. I wasn't a quitter, and I refused to return home as proof that I failed. I was trying to prove my worth at any cost — even if it killed me.
Eventually, the grind paid off. I found stability through marketing, then signed a smarter record deal. I reached the Top 10 in Europe, charted on Billboard, and placed music in major TV networks. From the outside, it looked like success.
My awakening came in a luxury hotel suite in Germany — the night before a televised appearance. I remember feeling profoundly alone. Cheated. God had given me the dream… but I realized I hadn't built a life.
That's when it hit me:
None of it was for me.
I had been chasing validation. Trying to show the world — and myself — that I was good enough. That realization cracked everything open. I knew it wasn't sustainable. I wasn't aligned. I wasn't free.
So I began rebuilding — slowly, deliberately, brick by brick.
I dove into personal development. Spiritual development. Identity work. I stopped asking, "How do I win?" and started asking, "Who am I being?"
That's when everything changed.
I've reinvented myself many times — rapper, rock singer, R&B artist, country musician, venue owner, community builder. What I learned through every transformation is simple but confronting:
External results don't change until internal identity does.
PowerShift was born from lived experience — not theory.
I've mentored youth through the Boys & Girls Club. I've run music rehabilitation programs in juvenile detention centers. I walked 635 miles across Spain to raise funds for amputees in Guatemala. Because eventually, you realize success without service is empty.
Today, I work with high-potential founders, creatives, and leaders who are tired of performing for approval and ready to live from alignment.
PowerShift isn't motivation.
It isn't hustle culture.
It isn't "fixing" you.
It's identity recalibration.
Alignment first.
Execution second.
Power that doesn't leak.
If you feel the pull — trust it.
You're not here by accident.