I Sold 0.5 Bitcoin To Build A Gym (And Learned You Can Do Whatever The Fuck You Want)
THE PROBLEM
Two years ago, I moved to Isla Mujeres, Mexico.
Beautiful island. Shit gyms.
The gyms here are dirty, oxidized, run down, not taken care of. There's a division on this island between locals and tourists, and the places for locals? They get the scraps. The mediocre version. The "good enough" version.
And I'm supposed to train in that?
So me and Clau did what any reasonable person would do: we crossed over to Cancun to train. Ferry. Drive. Gym. Drive. Ferry. Back home.
Every. Single. Day.
You know how long that lasted before we looked at each other and said, "What the fuck are we doing?"
Not long.
We always wanted our own gym. Always thought, "Yeah, when we're older. When we have more money. When we're ready."
Then one day it hit us: Why when we're older?
Why not now?
I – YOU AREN'T WHERE YOU WANT TO BE BECAUSE YOU'RE WAITING FOR PERMISSION
Here's what stops people.
Not money. Not resources. Not opportunity.
It's the age limit we put on ourselves.
Since we were young, they taught us: "You can enjoy life when you retire." "You can do this once you make enough money." "Wait until you're stable."
That's straight up bullshit.
You don't enjoy the destination. You enjoy the journey TO the destination.
The life you want isn't 10 years from now. It's not next year. It's not next month.
It's now.
Why wait until tomorrow what you can do today?
Most people reading this will nod their heads and do absolutely nothing with this information. They'll agree with me, close this tab, and go back to their carefully constructed excuse for why they can't start today.
Here's the truth: you're not waiting for the right time. You're waiting to become someone different. Someone braver. Someone more ready.
That person doesn't exist.
The only way to become that person is to do the thing now, as the person you are today, with all your doubts and fears and lack of readiness.
We didn't wait to become "gym owners." We became gym owners by building a fucking gym.
II – BITCOIN GAVE ME THE ABILITY TO DO WHATEVER THE FUCK I WANT
Let me be clear about something.
Bitcoin has been the single most important decision I've ever made.
Not because of number go up. Not because of the gains.
Because Bitcoin gave me the ability to do whatever the fuck I want.
I can save money and that money won't be worthless over time. I can store my energy, my work, my time, and know that it's protected from the decay of fiat currency and government incompetence.
So when it came time to build the gym, the decision wasn't actually "should we do this?" The decision was "how do we fund this?"
We took out a Bitcoin-backed loan through Ledn. I didn't sell my position. I used it as collateral. 0.5 BTC got us the capital we needed.
That's the power of sound money. It doesn't just sit there. It works for you. It enables you to build the life you want without sacrificing your future.
Most people are trapped in a system where they have to choose between building now or securing later. Bitcoin lets you do both.
If you're sitting on Bitcoin and not using it to improve your life, you're missing the entire point.
III – THE BUILD: 11 MONTHS OF REALITY
We thought it would take 6 months.
It took 11.
You know how construction workers are. They tell you one month and it ends up being a year.
But here's what nobody tells you about building something real: the timeline doesn't matter. What matters is that you keep going.
Mid-build, we got hit by a hurricane.
A fucking hurricane.
Water everywhere. Damage. Delays. Costs piling up.
There was a moment—standing in the half-finished gym, water dripping through gaps in the roof—where we thought, "What the fuck did we get ourselves into?"
But we have a mentality: Fuck your feelings. Follow the plan.
Feelings are temporary. The plan is real.
So we kept building.
IV – THE MISTAKE: THINKING TOO SMALL
Here's what this gym taught me early on: I was thinking too small.
When we started, we were building it for us. Just me and Clau. A private gym in the backyard where we could train without commuting to Cancun.
But as it took shape, something shifted.
We started thinking: What if this could be for others too?
What if we could create a space on this island where people didn't have to settle for mediocre? Where locals could train in a clean, well-maintained gym that actually respects them?
So we made the decision: August 21st, we're opening to the public.
Exactly one year after we started using it ourselves.
I wish I had made it bigger from the start. I wish I had thought bigger from day one.
That's the thing about building: you never regret going bigger. You only regret playing it safe.
V – THE MOMENT IT BECAME REAL
There's a moment in every build where it shifts from "we're building a thing" to "holy shit, this is our thing."
For us, it was when we got the cold plunge.
Training in the mornings, looking around at the racks, the weights, the equipment, the space we created from nothing, and thinking: This is ours. This is our reality.
Not someday. Not when we're older.
Now.
That's when you realize: you can literally build whatever the fuck you want in life.
The only thing stopping you is you.
VI – OPENING DAY: THE START OF A HEALTH REVOLUTION
August 21st.
Three people showed up.
One was a pregnant lady.
We were nervous. Excited. But we knew what we were starting.
A health revolution on the island.
People on Isla Mujeres have been so used to mediocrity. To accepting less. To making do with what's available.
We were changing that.
Not by talking about it. By building it.
VII – THE TRANSFORMATIONS: WHAT HAPPENS WHEN YOU GIVE PEOPLE A SPACE THAT RESPECTS THEM
It's been five months since we opened.
Five months.
And in that time, we've changed lives.
Not in some abstract, motivational-poster way. In real, tangible, measurable ways.
Raul is a chef on the island. From day one, he's never missed a training session. Not once. When he started, he couldn't do a proper squat. Now? He's squatting with two 45lb plates. His confidence is completely different. You can see it in how he carries himself.
Ximena couldn't do a push-up when she walked in. Couldn't lift weight. Now she's one of the strongest in the class. She does two classes a day. She's signing up for a Hyrox. She's a fucking beast.
Fabi has lost 30 pounds. She got her energy back. She's a different person.
This is what happens when you give people the right environment. When you give them a clean space. When you show them that they deserve better than mediocrity.
Discipline compounds. Showing up compounds. The right space amplifies everything.
VIII – WHAT THIS TAUGHT ME ABOUT MYSELF
Running this gym for the past five months taught me something I didn't know before:
I'm addicted to making a difference.
I'm addicted to making where I am better than I found it.
Isla Mujeres is the place where I first experienced genuine freedom. And now I have the ability—and the responsibility—to give that back.
I learned that you can do whatever the fuck you want in life.
Why wait until you're 50 to build your own gym?
If I can do it now, why not fucking do it?
There's no reason. None that hold up under scrutiny.
The only limits are the ones you accept.
IX – WHAT THIS UNLOCKED: THE CITADEL
Now that I've proven I can build a gym from scratch, everything else seems possible.
I'm done thinking small.
I'm done being mediocre with my thoughts.
Here's what's next:
I'm expanding the gym. Adding a spinning studio. Building an apartment complex in the back with an Olympic-size saltwater pool. A sauna. A fire pit. A BBQ area. A mini huerto (garden).
A true citadel.
A mini Bitcoin village.
This isn't some distant dream. This is happening this year. In my backyard.
Because why the fuck not?
Once you break through that first mental barrier—the one that says "you can't"—everything else becomes a question of execution, not permission.
You stop asking "can I?" and start asking "how do I?"
X – THE REAL LESSON: STOP TRYING TO PERFECT IT
If you're sitting on an "I should build X" idea right now, here's what you need to understand:
Stop thinking about it.
Stop trying to perfect it.
Go out. Do it. Fail. Try again.
The first time you do something won't be the best. It won't be the last either.
Just do it. Learn along the way. Keep trying.
What's the worst that can happen?
You end up exactly where you are right now.
And if that scares you, good. That means you're not where you want to be. That means you have a reason to move.
Most people spend their entire lives waiting for the perfect moment, the perfect plan, the perfect version of themselves.
They die waiting.
Don't be most people.
XI – WHY THIS MATTERS MORE THAN YOU THINK
Here's what nobody tells you about building something real:
It changes your identity.
Not in some abstract way. In a concrete, observable way.
Before the gym, I was someone who wanted to build things.
After the gym, I'm someone who builds things.
That's not a subtle difference. That's everything.
Your identity determines your actions. Your actions determine your reality.
If you see yourself as someone who "wants to" or "wishes they could," you will spend your life in that state.
If you see yourself as someone who builds, who executes, who makes things happen—you will spend your life doing that.
The only way to change your identity is to act in contradiction to it until the new identity becomes who you are.
You don't become a gym owner by thinking about it.
You become a gym owner by building a fucking gym.
XII – THE BITCOIN ANGLE: WHY THIS MATTERS
Let me bring this full circle.
I sold 0.5 Bitcoin (technically took a loan against it) to build this gym.
Some people in the Bitcoin community might think that's stupid. "Just HODL. Number go up."
But here's what they miss:
Bitcoin isn't just about stacking sats. It's about freedom.
And if you're not using that freedom to build the life you actually want to live, what's the point?
Bitcoin gave me the ability to store my energy across time. To save in a way that doesn't decay. To have options.
And I used those options to build something real. Something that impacts people every single day.
That's the entire point.
Not some abstract future where number goes high enough that you finally feel like you have permission to live.
But now. Today. Building the life you want with the resources you have.
If you're stacking Bitcoin and not using it to improve your life or the lives of people around you, you're missing the entire purpose.
Sound money is meant to enable sound living.
XIII – THE ANTI-VISION: WHAT YOU'RE ACTUALLY AVOIDING
Let me paint you a picture of what happens if you don't build.
Five years from now, you're still talking about the thing you want to create.
You're still saying "someday" and "when I'm ready" and "when the time is right."
You're still working the job you hate, living in the place that drains you, accepting the mediocre version of everything because you never gave yourself permission to demand better.
Your kids (if you have them) watch you settle. They learn that settling is normal. They inherit your limitations.
People who looked up to you stop asking what you're building. They assume you're not building anything. They move on.
And worst of all: you know. Deep down, you know you could have done it. You know you had the ability. You just didn't act.
That's the anti-vision.
That's what's at stake when you don't build.
XIV – THE PROTOCOL: HOW TO START TODAY
Here's what you do:
Name the thing you actually want to build. Not the reasonable version. Not the "maybe someday" version. The real thing.
Ask yourself: Why not now? Write down every excuse. Look at them. Notice how weak they are.
Calculate the minimum viable version. What's the smallest version of this thing you could build in the next 90 days?
Secure the resources. Bitcoin loan. Savings. Side hustle. Whatever it takes. Stop acting like you don't have options.
Commit publicly. Tell someone. Set a date. Make it real outside of your head.
Fuck your feelings. Follow the plan. When doubt shows up (it will), when fear shows up (it will), when hurricanes show up (they might), you keep building.
Document everything. Not for content. For yourself. So you can look back and remember that you actually did this.
That's it.
That's the entire protocol.
It's not complicated. It's just hard.
And the reason it's hard isn't because building is difficult.
It's hard because you have to kill the version of yourself that waits for permission.
XV – WHAT'S POSSIBLE WHEN YOU STOP PLAYING SMALL
Five months ago, we opened a gym to three people.
Today, we're changing lives every single day.
Raul is squatting weight he never thought possible.
Ximena is training twice a day and signing up for competitions.
Fabi lost 30 pounds and got her life back.
And this year, we're building a citadel. A mini Bitcoin village with everything we need to live the life we want, in the place we want, with the people we want.
Not because we're special.
Not because we have some unique advantage.
Because we decided to stop waiting.
That's the only difference between people who build and people who don't.
Builders stop waiting.
They start building.
THE REAL MESSAGE
You can do whatever the fuck you want in life.
I'm not being motivational. I'm being literal.
You. Can. Do. Whatever. The. Fuck. You. Want.
The limits you think are real are not real. They're mental. They're conditioning. They're bullshit.
You've been taught to wait. To be responsible. To do things in the right order.
Fuck that.
Build now. Fail now. Learn now. Adjust now.
You have one life. One shot at this. And you're spending it waiting for permission from people who will never give it to you because they're waiting too.
Stop waiting.
Build the gym. Build the business. Build the life.
Or don't.
But if you don't, don't lie to yourself about why.
Don't tell yourself you don't have time, or money, or resources, or support.
Tell yourself the truth: you're scared.
And that's fine. Fear is real.
But you know what else is real?
The fact that you can do it anyway.
I sold 0.5 Bitcoin and built a gym on an island in Mexico.
What are you going to build?
