The trials and tribulations, and inner demons Ace had to face in order to achieve everything he has to date, was a dark and lonely road. The effects of growing up with an absent father, as well as believing he was less loved by his mother (compared to his younger brother), took a toll on his life, especially during his teenage years.
By the time Ace was 15, he had dropped out of school and never went on to complete his GCSE’s. The following year, Ace received his first conviction for GBH and carrying an offensive weapon. Ace escaped going to prison because the judge felt there was still time for him to mature, so instead of prison, he was sentenced with 100 hours of community service, a fine and a year on probation. By this time, Ace had already left home and was completely immersed into a criminal lifestyle.
“I felt like i had to become a Bad Boy to avoid being victimised for being a dancer and popular with girls, which happened a lot during my early teenage years.” ~ Ace Ruele
In October 2007, aged 19, Ace’s life took a turn for the worst, he was arrested and charged for 2 counts of armed robbery and handling stolen goods. Ace was remanded in prison and chose to plead not guilty due to the lack of evidence against him. During his trial, he was found guilty and sentenced to 8 years in prison.
After four and a half years, Ace was finally released from prison (April 2012), 5 months after his original release date, this was due to immigration reasons. Before he was released from prison, Ace knew that the criminal lifestyle wasn’t for him and was determined to prove to himself and others, that even with a criminal record it would not stop him from achieving his goals of becoming a successful actor. Ace lived up to his expectations and within two years he landed his first established acting role, as a motion capture actor for the Hollywood film, The Legend Of Tarzan, without the aid of an acting agent.
During his freedom, Ace spent a majority of his time rehabilitating and nurturing himself. This was achieved through daily intensive physical training and countless hours of self studying in subjects such as, psychology, epigentics, metaphysics and spirituality. He was always drawn to these particular subjects growing up, due to his mother’s love for knowledge, however, Ace kept that side hidden away from the world to avoid being taunted and labelled, “Weird”.
The knowledge he attained over the years, enabled him to avoid repeating the same mistakes of his past, and create a perception of believing that he is able to achieve anything he sets his mind to.
His story was eventually spread around through word of mouth and social media, which created the opportunity of sharing his experiences in front of a live audience, for different organisations. Some of the organisations include, Primary and Secondary Schools, Brent Council, Charity Models of Diversity, Hackney Cvs, Access UK, Metropolitan Police, Generation Arts (the theatre company he received his acting training from) and Alra Drama School, where he is currently working as a mentor for the students.
These organisations enabled Ace to carry out his own independent workshops, focusing on mindset, personal development and breaking negative stereotypes associated to black men, something that he is extremely passionate about.
Ace continues to deliver these workshops to date, as he believes it is a part of his life’s purpose to use his success as an actor, to influence the younger generation to make the best choices for their life!
