How I Went From a Broke 8th Grader Selling Gym Equipment to an 18-Year-Old Millionaire

The Beginning

I got expelled in 8th grade. No backup plan, no connections, no money. Just a kid who needed to figure it out. While most people would've shut down, I started grinding. I found beat-up gym equipment on OfferUp for $200, fixed them up with spray paint and elbow grease, and flipped them for $1,000–$2,000 a pop. Within a few months, I'd stacked $20K — all while teaching myself how to trade on the side.

I bounced between schools after that — went back for the end of 8th grade, did 9th grade, dropped out halfway through 10th to lock in, skipped 11th grade entirely, and came back for senior year when I'd already made it. Bought an M4 and a Ferrari that same year.

Self-Taught Trader

I joined a trading course early on and saw the potential in crypto. From there I went all in — YouTube videos, chart analysis, on-chain research. Everything I know, I taught myself and learned through experience. Nobody handed me anything.

$20K → $330K on FTX

I took that $20K from flipping equipment and started trading on FTX. Using high leverage and a strategy I'd built myself, I ran it up to $330K in about 3–6 months. I nearly got liquidated multiple times on the way there, but the strategy worked and I caught some big moves.

Then FTX collapsed. They took everything. I panic-sold my account to a third party for 10% — about $30K. That was a mistake. Two years later, everyone got 100% back. But at the time, I didn't know that. I had to keep moving.

Rebuilding From $30K

With $30K left, I started trading prop firm accounts. After months of grinding and nearly getting zeroed out again, I pulled $40K in payouts over 6 months. I took that money and went all in on crypto — did deep research on memecoins, long-term investing strategies, on-chain analysis. I was holding coins like Solana with about $70K and building my knowledge base.

NFTs: $2K → $100K Overnight

One morning I woke up and saw an NFT collection on a new chain that looked promising. I threw $2K at it. The next day, those NFTs were worth $100K. That was the turning point — I had six figures again after losing it all.

Memecoin Season

From there I went deep into memecoins. Made multiple six figures on plays like $MICHI, $FARTCOIN, $PNUT, $TRUMP — trenching them every day. But I'm not going to pretend it was smooth. Over the span of about 8 months, I made $500K–$1M and lost it all — maybe 4 different times. The gambling mindset was real.

Eventually I learned my lessons, stopped chasing every coin, and finally held onto a steady bag. When memecoins started dying out after the January 2025 hype, I pivoted back to perpetuals.

Perps: $50K–$100K Days

I picked my old strategy back up and it clicked immediately. I was making $50K–$100K in a single day without breaking a sweat. But my ego was still a problem — I had multiple trades where I'd get rinsed for $200K–$300K because I wouldn't cut losses.

Then came September. I got liquidated for over $1 million in a single day. I was used to losing money by that point, but that one hit different. Instead of shutting down, I locked in and made $800K back within the same week.

Where I Am Now

I still trade perps daily and I'll go back into memecoins when the market heats up again. That million-dollar liquidation taught me the lesson I needed — use less risk, protect the bag, and play the long game. I'm 18 years old. I've got an M4, a Ferrari, and the kind of results that made every teacher and administrator who doubted me in 9th and 10th grade eat their words.

Now I built The Awakening to give other traders the tools, the edge, and the community I wish I had when I was starting out.