BLOG 1 : My Origins
My name is Alan, and I’ve been designing for as long as I can remember. It started with pencil sketches mostly shoes, because for some reason I was obsessed with drawing them. They were rough, honestly kind of trash, but those little sketches pushed me toward something bigger.
I’d trace them onto a tablet, mess around with Photoshop Touch, and that struggle was my accidental introduction to graphic design. Somewhere around age 12, people started telling me I had talent “for a kid,” but I always dismissed it. I didn’t realize yet where it would take me.
My only goal as an 11-year-old was simple:
Work with content creators and make money doing it. No big master plan. No mentor. Just a dream that didn’t even feel real.
And somehow, I actually did.
Work with content creators and make money doing it. No big master plan. No mentor. Just a dream that didn’t even feel real.
And somehow, I actually did.
My first ever paid project was a profile picture for like $2. Most of my early clients came from random hashtags like #freegfx, just me posting designs hoping someone out there would notice.
Then everything changed in December 2018.
That’s when I got my first real PC, and it transformed my entire path.
My quality jumped instantly. My workflow got faster. My ideas finally looked the way I imagined them. It felt like I had unlocked a new level of myself. And for the first time, I started making real money off a skill I taught myself in months. That PC wasn’t just hardware it was the moment my potential finally had room to grow.
That’s when I got my first real PC, and it transformed my entire path.
My quality jumped instantly. My workflow got faster. My ideas finally looked the way I imagined them. It felt like I had unlocked a new level of myself. And for the first time, I started making real money off a skill I taught myself in months. That PC wasn’t just hardware it was the moment my potential finally had room to grow.
I eventually got involved in several online creative communities. I like keeping which ones private because it adds a little mystery, but they were full of streamers, influencers, and teams who were all trying to grow. When I started working with them, that’s when things clicked. The first time I posted and saw people comment “noti gang,” I realized I actually had reach.
My routine became simple:
School → home → grind.
Five hours a day, minimum.
It nuked my social life, but I didn’t care. I was obsessed with creating.
School → home → grind.
Five hours a day, minimum.
It nuked my social life, but I didn’t care. I was obsessed with creating.
For a 13-year-old, that was insane.
In real life, nobody knew.
In real life, nobody knew.
Around this time, I fell in love with 3D.
Not because I was good at it honestly, 3D is extremely hard, but because it made my designs stand out. I spent hours trying to learn the basics, even if I wasn’t at a professional level yet. It was another tool I wanted to master.
Not because I was good at it honestly, 3D is extremely hard, but because it made my designs stand out. I spent hours trying to learn the basics, even if I wasn’t at a professional level yet. It was another tool I wanted to master.
As a 13-year-old, I tried building a brand the best way I knew how. My socials were chaotic, but my portfolio was clean. Every dollar I earned went right back into myself — assets, software, even paying better designers to help me refine my logo. I found a niche, a style, and I stuck to it. That’s when I started gaining momentum.
I stopped doing free work except when it made sense. Exposure became a strategy. A cheat code. Bigger creators promoted me, and my name kept spreading.
But here’s the part that hits the hardest when I look back now:
The wildest thing is seeing where the people I used to grind with ended up.
We were all just kids designing for fun, yet some of them transitioned, moves I understood.
We were all just kids designing for fun, yet some of them transitioned, moves I understood.
They saw the next wave.
They transitioned.
They kept leveling up.
They transitioned.
They kept leveling up.
And I didn’t.
It wasn’t because I lacked skill. It was because I didn’t transition with them. In our group chat, they kept getting clients while I wasn’t. People I once taught or helped were suddenly better than me. And for the first time, I felt behind.
That’s where the regret comes in.
The fall-off was sudden.
I moved away.
Lost access to a PC.
Lost interest.
Burned out.
I’m not even sure I finished my last paid project.
I moved away.
Lost access to a PC.
Lost interest.
Burned out.
I’m not even sure I finished my last paid project.
And then I just… stopped.
Quietly.
No announcement.
October 2020 — everything went dark.
Quietly.
No announcement.
October 2020 — everything went dark.
For years, everything I built stayed untouched.
But the distance gave me clarity.
It wasn’t failure. It was a pause.
It wasn’t failure. It was a pause.
All the things I learned back then branding, networking, consistency, creativity, hustling, became the foundation for who I am today. The desire for success? Still here. My obsession with creating? Still here.
So why come back now?
Because for the first time, I feel genuinely confident in myself.
Because my motivation is real again.
Because I want to have fun with this the way I did as a kid — but this time, I want the impact to last longer.
Because my motivation is real again.
Because I want to have fun with this the way I did as a kid — but this time, I want the impact to last longer.
Back then, I inspired people. I helped others grow. I built something out of nothing. Now, I want to do it again — with more experience, more maturity, and more intention.
If I’m being honest, the younger version of me would probably be a little disappointed I didn’t ride the wave with everyone else. But he’d also recognize that the fire never fully went out. It just took time to come back.