From Drug Dealer to $3.6M/Year: The ONE Lesson That Changed Everything

From Drug Dealer to Online Coaching / Fitness Business Transformation / Building a 7-Figure Business in BaliAt 19, I couldn't get an erection. I was broke, addicted, and hating myself every single day. Fast forward to today: I'm running a $300K/month fitness coaching business from Bali, helping men transform their lives.This isn't your typical "rags to riches" story. This is about the boring middle nobody talks about—the part where you burn $100K in 8 months, cry to your mom because you can't pay bills, and have to rebuild everything from scratch.In this raw conversation with Simon, we break down the real journey from addiction to building a 7-figure online coaching business.TIMESTAMPS:0:00 - Intro: Why Bali is the perfect place for entrepreneurs1:42 - Planning the move to Austin vs staying in Bali3:14 - How intuition changed my entire life direction8:13 - The surrender experiment: going with life's flow12:09 - High agency people: born in the wrong place14:00 - Meeting worl in Bali (Hamza, YouTubers)17:02 - The older generation waking up to health18:02 - Why business owners hate themselves in the mirror21:07 - Making health cool: the culture shift happening now23:11 - My personal struggle: 15 pounds in Bali26:36 - The boring middle: where businesses die32:21 - THE DRUG YEARS: 14-19 years old34:19 - Football to full-throttle drugs: the transition36:08 - Heroin, coke, everything: hitting rock bottom38:11 - The moment I couldn't get an erection (19 years old)40: - Finding a psychologist: the session that changed everything42:47 - "Every time you do something you shouldn't, you step backwards"43:56 - 3 months alone: cleaning up and starting over45:22 - Moving to Australia at 22: culture shock and anxiety48:01 - Finding father figures: the arborist and bodybuilding mentor51:04 - Business school at 16: discovering sales naturally53:38 - Selling drugs while in business school (the overlap)56:47 - Why I picked Australia over America58:43 - The Asian gay guy who taught me social media1:00:02 - First online sale: the 7-day eating plan1:02:21 - Hiring Tai Lopez's copywriter for $10K1:04:18 - When did you know you had something real?1:06:36 - Why I started: fixing my own social anxiety1:08:47 - The two lessons that cost me six figures1:09:27 - Burning all my down to $2K in the bank1:10:43 - Calling my mom in tears: the lowest point1:11:09 - LESSON #1: Track your metrics relentlessly1:11:47 - LESSON #2: Retention is the silent killer1:13:33 - Elon Musk's obsession with details and data1:14:11 - Becoming a better leader: less reactive, more wise1:15:36 - TIME CAPSULE GOALS:1:16:06 - Simon's goal: $300K-$400K/month in 12 months1:16:46 - Building the business to work ON it, not IN it1:17:06 - Finding deeper relationships and a girlfriendKEY TAKEAWAYS:→ The psychologist's line that changed everything: "Every time you do something you know you shouldn't do, you're taking a step backwards"→ Why tracking metrics is non-negotiable (learned after burning $100K)→ The "protein income" method: 200g/day = 6,000g/month goal→ Front-end vs back-end: where most businesses silently die→ How to stay disciplined while traveling 50% of the timeCONNECT WITH SIMON:IG: @simonthomsen  RESOURCES MENTIONED:• The Surrender Experiment - Michael Singer• Tony Robbins - Self-Esteem Courses• Atomic Habits - James Clear• George Mack - Agency Framework