One of Jimmy Tippett Jnr's earliest memories is of his dad emptying carrier bags full of cash on to his bed.
Jimmy Snr, who counted the Kray twins among his friends, moved in some notorious circles in South London.
Given the temptations on offer, Jimmy Jnr always knew he would follow his dad into the "business".
But these days, Jimmy is a changed man.
Relocated to Hull for four years by the police after an underworld hit was taken out on him, he has since gone on to renounce his life of crime.
Born Gangster, a book that details his past, is a fast-moving, and occasionally hair-raising, tale of excess.
Alongside the moments of dark humour – Jimmy says his drug addiction was such that he would sometimes sprinkle cocaine on his Pop Tarts – there are the dismal realities of a life of crime – the grim prison cells and the people he hurt by his actions.
Written with Nicola Stow, Jimmy says the long conversations with her for Born Gangster dredged up some uncomfortable memories.
"I went through a lot of emotions, as a lot of it I wanted to keep in the past," he said. "It brought back things I am not proud of."
Does he feel remorse?
"Of course," he said. "A lot of bad things that happened were down to cocaine.
"It was a very full-on lifestyle, very fast. It was a case of 'stop the ride, I want to get off', it was a rollercoaster."
The rollercoaster continued when, in 2000, he was relocated to Hull from his native South London.
Although he admits he felt out of place, and despite being warned not to slip back into his old ways, he soon got involved in the city's underworld.
"I was like a magnet for naughtiness at that stage," he said.
He began associating with known criminals in Hull, becoming involved in drug and protection rackets and money-laundering scams.
With that came violence.
The book details a punch-up in a lap-dancing club, a favourite hang-out for Jimmy, a confrontation with a Dutch Hell's Angel (who later firebombed Jimmy's then girlfriend's car) and an horrific account of Jimmy stabbing a man at a party after he was attacked.
That incident landed Jimmy a 33-month sentence for grievous bodily harm.
"I would say I was a sociopath," he said. "I had no remorse, I was like a one-man destruction unit.
"I was someone I did not like."
Though he continued his criminal lifestyle after he left Hull and returned to London, something good did come from his time in the city – the birth of his daughter, Masie Medici.
He makes return visits to see his daughter, now 12, and says he continues to feel an attachment to the area.
"I was up the other week," he said. "I do love Hull.
"London is where my heart is, but I've got an emotional attachment to Hull with my daughter being there.
"Hull has changed a lot, it is very cosmopolitan now. All these different people have come into the city and you've got areas like Princes Avenue with all those lovely little bars."
Now 42, Jimmy says he has a new outlook on life.
He got out of from prison last September after another spell inside, a 27-month sentence for his part in stealing £250,000 of diamonds.
"I do not want to go back to prison, it is a hate factory," he said.
"I'm lucky that the book's given me some financial success. I like the media side of it, I'm getting interviewed a lot. I like my life now."
He says there are hopes for more books – pointing to the example of Chopper, the Australian criminal Mark "Chopper" Read, who wrote a series of books inspired by his life.
But the darker aspects of his past have been left behind him.
"With drugs it is either jail or the grave – it is not something I want to pursue any more," Jimmy said.
"I'm ambitious now. Before I would live for the day and not think of tomorrow, now I am looking ahead all the time.
"Things are going really well for me and I do not want to mess that up."
He also wants to be there for his daughter. "My life revolves around making sure her future is right," he said. "Because I've not been the best dad in the past, I want to be the best dad I can now."
• Born Gangster by Jimmy Tippett Jnr with Nicola Stow is published by John Blake Publishing. Visit johnblakepublishing.co.uk
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