Author Archive for fisherkoons

Sam Kolder Lives a Life of Adventure

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Sam Kolder is a social media star from Canada who is best known as a filmmaker, editor and photographer. He travels the world in search of the next big thing to documents in some way and share with the millions of people he influences and inspires. He acquired this fame from his Beautiful Destinations video, which has been uploaded on his photosharing app and YouTube channel ‘kold’.

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He has more than 7.1 million followers on Instagram and more than 145k subscribers on his YouTube channel. These numbers are no surprise to someone who has spent time looking through his Instagram feed or YouTube channel. The images and footage he captures are breathtaking and incredibly unique. He is sponsored by numerous companies such as Marriot and MVMT apparel. These endorsements give him the financial capabilities to travel the world and continue to inspire people. Being just 21 years old, he is quite the young entrepreneur. Another form of income for his is through editing footage for different organizations. He is one of the most skilled editors I have ever seen and is using that to his advantage to make considerable earnings.

The Man Wrote his First Book at What Age?

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Ben Shapiro was born in Los Angeles, California in 1984 to a Jewish family that was originally from Russia and Lithuania. At a very young age, Shapiro acquired impressive skills in violin and piano, a testament to how brilliant his mind was at such a young age. He skipped two grades (3rd and 9th) during his early life and ended up graduating high school at the age of 16. When he was 17, he began to write the first book he would publish, Brainwashed; How Universities Indoctrinate America’s Youth. Along with beginning his first book, he also wrote a nationally syndicated column. This is a wonderful example of a young person who embraced his talents and natural genius to not just provide a source of income for himself, but also to get his career rolling.

He attended the University of California, Los Angeles for his bachelors and Harvard Law School for his masters. Utilizing his education, experience in the world of politics, and incredible knowledge, he founded a right-wing, online news-source called DailyWire. Shapiro spends much of his time speaking on shows, running podcasts, and speaking at events.

The College Students who Created a Sports Entertainment Empire

See the source image    When thinking about the type of person who would be coined with he term “entrepreneur”, one might envision a well-dressed, business-professional man or woman in a skyrise. While this is true in many instances, there are numerous examples of uncommon people starting uncommonly successful businesses. One prime example of this are the young entrepreneurs who began the sports entertainment dynasty that is Dude Perfect. The co-founders of Dude Perfect, at the time it began, college roommates at Texas A&M University. They created a “trick shot” video out of a backyard and it was an instant hit on YouTube, gathering an impressive 200,000 views over just one week. After this success, the group began to produce more exciting, more impressive videos of seemingly impossible trick shots.

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Through the incredible dedication of the cofounders, they edited the videos by themselves until they have the resources to outsource a full-time producer and editor. They began designing and selling online merchandise through their website and releasing iPhone applications that were downloaded by millions. I have heard two of the cofounders, (Cory and Koby Cotton) speak on how difficult it was to get Dude Perfect off the ground, and they shared how many trials they had to overcome such as low resources, sleep deprivation, and even facial paralysis. Present day, this sports phenomenon is worth more than $10 Million and that number keeps growing significantly. They are currently the seventh most subscribed YouTube channel (36 million) and have accumulated more than 7 billion views. They have worked with celebrities such as Serena Williams, Russel Wilson, Aaron Rodgers, Chris Paul, and Drew Brees. The cofounders of Dude Perfect have created a sports dynasty that is enjoyed by millions and are changing the way we think of sports entertainment all while having the time of their lives.

How This Hawaii Surfer Boy Went From Rags to Riches

Jay Alvarrez was borSee the source imagen on the beautiful island of Hawaii and raised by parents who always supported him. When Alvarrez was just 14, his mother passed away. She had an incredible impact on his life and taught him how to love others well. After her death, Jay got the phrase “let’s live” tattooed on the inside of his bottom lip, a memento he lives by and will never forget. After his mother’s tragic death, Alvarrez made the decision to drop out of high school and live the life he knew his mother wanted for him. He began experimenting with film, and started to document his adrenalin including adventures, capturing beautiful footage of his experiences and travels. Posting these incredible videos to social media, Alvarrez began to accumulate quite a following. This was the beginning of his path to stardom. Producing increasingly impressive content, Alvarrez’s work began to catch the eyes of companies such as Calvin Klein, Bonds Swimwear, and Hyundai and participated in high paying advertisements, and sponsorships. These new sources of income blessed Jay with more opportunities to travel the world and build a brand of himself. This is how Jay Alvarrez is an entrepreneur. He wisely gripped his wide array of talents and turned them into an outstanding source of income. His fashion and self-developed trends have spread across the world, and he has inspired million to go out into the world and go live. This is a perfect example of a rags-to-riches situation. He was handed nothing, and became a self-made millionaire. See the source imageFast forward to the present, Alvarrez boasts a hefty 5.9 million followers on Instagram, he has travelled the world several times over, and is now a designer and primary ambassador for DoucheBags, a luggage business whose mission is to create “Better journeys through smarter travel gear”. Learn from this and apply it to your life. Recognize the areas that you have been blessed in and use that to your advantage. Use your gifts to help other people and you might make a little money in the process.

This Australian Teen is Worth How Much?

Image result for ben pasternakBen Pasternak, teen genius, is changing the social technology industry at just 19. Born in Sydney, Australia, Pasternak was raised in an average home with parents who supported him greatly throughout his upbringing. One day during a boring high school science class, Pasternak completed his first app, Impossible Rush. Impossible Rush and his second app Impossible Dial were wildly successful, pulling millions of downloads and were both the No. 1 trending app in multiple countries. The success of this young teen was the beginning of his career and lead to him being the youngest recipient of venture capital for technology at just 15 years old. He proceeded to drop out high school to focus completely on his career in technology. It was this decision as well as incredible opportunity that lead him to relocate to a $5,000/month New York City flat. Pasternak’s next project was an Ebayesque app that was specifically made for teens called Flogg. By the age of just 17, Pasternak was worth over a whopping 2 million dollars, but he was heavily restricted by his parents as well as business partners so as to not let the teenager waste it carelessly. He was named one of TIME magazines most influential teens in 2016.

This Australian teen is inspiring because he is true to himself and extremely relatable. He cannot cook anything other freezer-isle pizza, forgets to pay his rent, and refuses to learn how to drive. He believes that cars will be a thing of the past soon enough that getting a license is a waste of time at this point. Pasternak is your every day teenage with a brilliant method behind his success. He claims that the secret formula is truly understanding your target audience. Ben has accomplished this quite accurately because he is his target audience at old 19 years of age. While middle aged individuals try to crack the code and get into the mind of a teen, Pasternak is at quite the advantage. Due to this method of his, Pasternak has comprised his team of extremely young individuals, the oldest (COO) being 30. Ben Pasternak and his now business partner, Isiah Turner, are co-founders of the app “Monkey”. The high school dropout described this new venture as, “a randomized video-chat program for teenagers… Chatroulette, without the pervs”. Funded by $2 million in angel investments, Monkey quickly amassed hundreds of thousands of users who made more than 250 million calls. Pasternak and Turner describe Monkey’s purpose as to, “fill the loneliness void in teenagers’ by helping them make internet friends around the world, who they can then talk to on Snapchat.” Monkey has an extremely strict code of conduct, and prides itself as being a ‘safe space’ for young users.Image result for ben pasternak

Ben Pasternak is changing the way young teens are viewing their careers. Their entire perspective on entrepreneurship and social technology is being shaped in completely different ways. All of this and more is being accomplished by your typical teen with yeezys and a hoverboard.

 

 

African Prison’s Project is Helping the Helpless

Alexander McLean is the most inspiring man I have ever met. This past summer, I had the opportunity to talk with him at the life-changing Praxis Academy. He started our conversation by handing me a card with his name and contact information, encouraging me to reach out to him if I were to ever need anything. For the next hour or so, Alexander poured out his heart. At a young age, Alexander became extremely concerned about the social injustices taking place in Africa. He also grew an intense interest in the justice system. After he graduated high school in the UK, he spent time in Kampala volunteering at a hospice center. It was during this time in 2004 when Alexander felt called by God to begin African Prison’s Project. This ministry provides prisoners with basic health and education services, clothing, food, and legal assistance. About halfway through the conversation, the girl to my left hesitantly asked, “How do you see all of the injustice and traumatic experiences without losing hope and faith?”. His response drew tears from both himself and all of those listening. “The Lord is helping me feel emotions again. I cut them off for years and He is helping me become human again.” He spoke with a passion I have never experienced before, a passion of someone in complete surrender to the Lord. My friend Alexander is being the hands and feet of the Lord in places where it is needed most. He has inspired me to never question the Lord’s calling. This man truly loves.

Below are just a few of the high-profile awards Alexander and APP have received

  • UK Charity Volunteer of the Year 2006
  • UK Young Philanthropist of the Year 2007
  • Overall Winner, Beacon Prize for Philanthropy 2007
  • University of Nottingham Alumni of the Year 2007
  • UK Graduate of the Year 2007
  • Winner, Vodafone World of Difference Prize 2008
  • Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts (2008)
  • Ashoka Fellow
  • Time Top 30 Under 30