Andrew Simmons is now far removed from the life he once had.

After serving time in prison, he’s changed his trajectory, becoming the owner of two companies, one in contracting and the other supplying rebar.

Simmons is one of the few Black owners today that sell rebar not just on the East Coast, but across the nation. He is also taking time to give back, but admits getting here took some hard lessons.

“If somebody could’ve caught me on that street when I was selling drugs and took me and gave me a job that could’ve made a difference,” said Simmons, who owns A&S Rebar and Lashay’s Construction and Development.

“My mother passed away when I was eight, my dad was left with raising four kids and I ended up leaving home at 15 years. That led me to go to prison for a long time,” he said.

Simmons used the time behind bars to educate himself and develop a blueprint that leaned in on the foundation that he says his family taught him years before.

“Construction has always been in my bloodline, I lost my mother when I was a kid from lupus and we used to go down south and my uncles used to build in Birmingham, Ala. homes and me and my brother used to build with them,” said Simmons.

At a JFK airport site, he’s a subcontractor. His companies work in tandem; one manufacturing the rebar, the other installs them at sites.

Simmons said the rebar industry has not been easy for a Black-owned company to navigate. He describes the industry as a generational wealth business.

“Its mostly white firms started from great grandfathers and grandfathers that passed on, when you look at America there’s $11 billion of rebar sold every year and not even half of a cent goes to minority companies and not even a percent of that goes to Black firms,” said Simmons.

His companies have been fortunate to work with agencies like the New York and New Jersey Port Authority, which has helped secure contracts. Simmons said he employs about 100 people each year and diversity is huge for them. They employ those who may have criminal backgrounds like he did.

“To work with someone that has a background like you and understands this business and you need a hand sometimes an opportunity and you don’t always get an opportunity and someone like you will give you that and allow you to grow,” said Carl Santos, a general foreman with A&S Rebar.

Santos said he’s worked in the field for over 20 years, and thanks Simmons’ nonprofit My Brother’s Keeper program which regularly gives out jobs in communities.

“I’m out here aggressive in Queens right now, trying to take people off the street and give them jobs. When you see me and what I’m doing now being in this space, it means a lot to me. It’s a game changer, and I’m growing,” said Simmons.