Hey there! So, I've got a story to share about how I found my passion for running, sports, and technology.

It wasn’t always clear to me, but getting to this point was a journey full of twists, turns, and a whole lot of self-doubt.

You know, that imposter syndrome we all get sometimes? Yeah, that hit me hard.

But here's the thing: it doesn’t really matter if you’re not an authority on a subject. As long as you’re interested, do your research, and put in the effort and time, you can pursue any skill or passion you want to develop.

This is the story behind Stride Victory.

But first, let me rewind in time...

Both my parents worked in banking, juggling multiple jobs while also running a family business. I admired their drive.

When I was 14, my dad paid for courses in Apache, LAMP, and PHP in São Paulo, which I attended on weekends. Fast forward a bit, and there I was, a teenager diving into the world of web development. I struggled, oh boy, did I struggle. But there’s a lesson here: being a newbie is part of the process, and those tiny victories, like getting something to echo on the screen, are what keep you going.

University came around, and I stumbled upon the book "PHP & MySQL, Head First serie". It was love at first sight, and even though it was in English (we speak Portuguese in Brazil), I pushed through it. Learning English opened so many doors for me, and I eventually moved to the UK. But before that, I had a bunch of jobs thanks to my English skills.

We bought this domain for crane businesses in Brazil and set up a basic site. The site gained traction, and we had more than 1000 crane companies signed up.

My mom, with her knack for design and customer service, helped manage and sell advertising space. Meanwhile, I was learning all the tech stuff and slowly adding features to the site.

We created a B2B/B2C directory where construction companies could find equipments. While the cranes companies could list and manage their machines for rent or sale. For the professionals, I've created a section where they could log in and upload their CVs tailored to the construction market.

In numbers: 3,000 pieces of equipment for rent and 1,000 crane companies signed up, with 98 of them being paid members on average. 25,000 unique user visits each month and 2,200 registered contractors and professionals. Services covering 21 of 26 Brazilian states.

While we were able to monetise it, the scale was limited. The family dynamics made it tough to grow the business effectively. After three years, I was burnt out.

I realised I needed to change my life, but I had no clue how.

So, I left Brazil, dropped out of university, and moved to Buenos Aires, Argentina. I spent ten years there, having different life experiences, working in tourism—doing everything from cleaning to managing—and also working in tech companies.

It was also in Argentina where I started running on a daily basis, completing my first 15k race and my first marathon. I always had the dream of living in the UK, ever since I started studying English.

I failed to handle the pressure many times and made several bad decisions. But those bad decisions taught me more about myself and life than anything I could possibly learn in a book.

But my brain never stopped buzzing with ideas for my own business.

Since I experienced that family online business, my brain never could stop on creating my own business, my own space on the web where users could have a benefit, either access information, use a tool to boost their business or their daily activities. I just never could create it.

Why?! I think the plan, I have a vision, but still, not possible. Is it the lack of skills? Is it the lack of money or time? Is it the business model? Is it the target audience? The more I read, the more I get confused.

Moving almost 15 years ahead, here I am, still on a 9-5 job. Hey, I love it, I need to love it. Actually, sometimes I do 9 to 9, 6 to 9, 16 hours, 24 hours—who cares?

Even then, sometimes I struggle, take too much on my plate, but I love it. Honestly, the creative side of my brain and my discipline or obstination, need to get things done.

I hit dead-end streets in my career, suffered, got burned out. Sports help me, having good people on my side also helps me, so I can have life balance, or at least try to.

But my brain, my soul need to prove to me, and only me, that I can use my skills to create something that will make me economically free, and have control of my working time. Now, how?

All the above questions are still on my brain. Is it the lack of skills? Is it the product? Is the market so saturated that no one can actually come up with something new or useful enough to make some money out of it?

One thing that keeps me going is the belief that "an education makes you unstoppable." I’m currently on a Skilled Worker Visa in the UK, which limits what I can do in terms of running a business, but that hasn’t stopped me from starting StrideVictory.

My goal is simple: to motivate as many people as possible through sports.

This is the story of Stride Victory: Your Journey to a Better Life Through Sports.

After some months since I started with the blog, I got motivated by it and decided to go all in on my passions: writing, web, sports, and helping people.

At this point, I’ve been raising funds for two charities I support here in the UK, NSPCC and Alzheimer’s Society. I run marathons, I’ve ridden London to Brighton, I woke up at 5 in the morning to practice karate in Sussex or play chess in a community chess club in Elephant and Castle on Sundays.

This is my story, and in the end, that’s what we are: stories. Each one of us carries on telling a story, sometimes written by others, but you always have the opportunity to change it and write the story you want for yourself, day by day, no matter what.

I don’t know where my story will take me. But I'll be 100% to enjoy the journey, either through music, inspiring people, building code, or whatever life or myself decide to go through.

I take one phrase I’ve heard in Steven Bartlett’s podcast, Diary of a CEO, the one MENTALITY that I’m applying to keep me pushing forward: the things you want will happen with or without the help of others, with or without all the pieces in place.