Nick Hogan was released from a Florida jail a year ago, but the experience is far from a distant memory.

"There are moments that haunt me to this day," Nick tells Life & Style in an exclusive interview. "There are times when I'll be watching a prison movie and hear the sound of a gate slamming, and I get the willies. It was horrible."

The Hogan Knows Best reality star, 19, served nearly six months at Pinellas County Jail for causing a 2007 car crash that left his friend John Graziano critically injured. "Time away from my family was the most difficult part of my sentence," says Nick. "One of the things that makes you feel comforted is talking to a family member. But you don't have a phone -- you have to wait until it's your time of the day to call. You miss being able to connect with people because everyone there is just cold, just brutal."

"Jail was definitely one of the worst experiences of my life," says Nick. "But it was also one of the best things that ever happened to me -- just because of how much it changed me."

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Photo Credit: Retna