Joe Roberts started using drugs at age nine, and quickly moved on to alcohol, marijuana, LSD and cocaine as a young teenager. He had dropped out of high school after being imprisoned for drug possession at age 16, and had also started intravenous drug use at this time. At age 18 he was homeless and living on the streets until his turning point on July 26, 1991. On this exact day, Roberts declared himself clean after entering an Alcohol & Drug Intensive Treatment Program. During this time he began a business marketing program at Loyalist College in Belleville, Ontario. He made the dean's list and graduated in 1995 with a 3.94 GPA. Among many other awards, Joe Roberts received the Laurie H Cameron Memorial award for academic excellence. On August 26, 2000 Roberts married Jennifer Margaret Wade, with whom he had two children.

After having earned two sales and marketing diplomas in Ontario, Joe Roberts moved back to Vancouver in 1996 and accepted a position with Mindware Designs Communications in 1997. Joe Roberts led Mindware Design Communications to an 800% increase in business in less than four years, and the company now employs 15 people with Roberts as president and CEO. According to his partner and Mindware founder, Dr. Pesi A. Unwalla, it was Roberts's energy which drove the company's success over the past six years."I transferred a lot of the skills I learned from hustling on the street and applied them to business," Roberts said in an interview with the Vancouver Province newspaper. "I'm very persistent and determined. I know how to take it on the chin to get things done."

In 1998 Joe Roberts began speaking to youth about drug prevention and drug abuse issues in schools, and soon established a foundation in order to help him achieve his goals pertaining to drug prevention. As founding member and Executive director of The Shoeboogieman Foundation, Joe Roberts is dedicated to youth drug prevention and has spoken over 80,000 youth since 1999. The vision of the Shoeboogieman Foundation is to develop strong primary prevention tools to help prevent teen drug addiction.

Joe Roberts is the author of Fred the Cat - The Eye and Soul of an Addict and Don't Buy the Lie About Getting High (published in 2003). One of Roberts' most recent books 7 Secrets to Profit from Adversity (2003), shares 7 principles which help people to profit from past troubles.

Roberts has accepted many awards for contributing positively to society, and appeared on CTV after accepting the BC Courage to Comeback award in 2003.