😳 90 paid / 700 total members… what is happening

WALL OF TEXT AHEAD! 😂

Woke up to this and just wanna say
Thank you to everyone who’s joined recently
And everyone who's been around for a while too

Back in August 2022, I got really intrigued by AI
Like most people, I was just messing around at first
But I didn’t start posting anything right away

Before AI, I was already doing a lot of casual editing
Friends would ask me to clean up their drawings
Or touch up a photo/selfie they had taken
Sometimes for fun, sometimes a few bucks
I always enjoyed making things look better in my own way
But I hated the back and forth of commissions

I’ve also always liked taking photos
Not in a professional way, just how I see things
Or moments that inspired me after watching something cool
People have told me I have an eye for photography
And was always asked to take a photo at gatherings
But I never really pursued it
I’m pretty introverted and shy, so being seen takes time
I started posting Virtual Photography in early 2022
And that helped me get used to sharing stuff
Which eventually made me brave enough
To start posting some random AI gens too

So when AI tools came around
I realized I could actually start the creative process myself
Instead of waiting on someone else’s base
It felt like a perfect match
I could guide the idea from the beginning
Then do my usual edits and finishing touches like always

At first, I was just testing random concepts
Trying out ideas that came from daydreams or cool thoughts
Eventually friends started asking for fanart
So I gave it a shot and began posting some of them

Then March/April 2024 happened
My Twitter exploded out of nowhere
People started asking me to open a Patreon
For more content, especially the spicy stuff
Since my social accounts would get shadow banned
Every other week/month, sadly
So I did, and now we’re here

Late last year, I also started dealing with health issues
Most of it has changed how I live, pills, diet changes, body aches
It took a few months to adjust
Still not perfect, but it’s something I’ll have to live with now
And yeah, it’s been extra stressful trying to manage it all solo
So for almost half a year i pushed myself to put up content
While feeling insane amounts of pain, but somehow managed

Earlier this year, I officially started a business
Which still feels surreal to say
Obviously i had no choice, its a must once you make a certain amount
However even with all your current support, it’s still a side gig for now
Making a full living from this takes way more (sadly)
Taxes and paperwork are a nightmare
But I’m so damn grateful regardless
And I was super curious how far this could go…

And because of that i knew one thing i had to do
To keep up and go even harder this year
I invested a ton into new hardware, a proper beast PC
It lets me push out content faster and better than before
And also explore future stuff like AI video

Let’s see what happens 💪❤️