Always Winning

Brought to you by Penguin.

An unconventional memoir filled with brave and inspiring stories, hard-earned wisdom and the keys to discovering true success and fulfilment.

If art imitates life then Ashley Walters is living proof. From his explosive performance as the drug dealer Dushane in Top Boy to his turn as an undercover detective in Bulletproof, to his time as a member of one of Britain's most notorious music collectives, So Solid Crew, Ashley's career has always explored the same conflicting forces that have governed his life. Good and evil. Honour and shame. Failure and success. Happiness and despair.

Born on a London council estate, surrounded by drug and gang culture, his father in and out of prison, Ashley found purpose in the performing arts but could never truly escape his environment. At 15, he was stabbed in the neck and left for dead. At 18, he had a gun held to his head as he cradled his newborn son. At 20, he was sentenced to eighteen months in prison.

Through a series of hard lessons, Ashley realised he had to master his own mindset and start to take control of his future. Shared here for the first time, Always Winning is the framework he built to guide him on the path to a more positive, fulfilled existence.

Packed with intimate stories from his own struggles with identity, addiction, family and fame, this book reveals how anyone can embrace the principles of Always Winning to guide them towards true purpose, inner peace and outward success.

'An icon of British and wider Black British culture.' GQ

© Ashley Walters 2025 (P) Penguin Audio 2025