My Journey
of
Accelerating
From Homeschooling to
Founding ACEL
Early Life
and Education
I was born in Darwin, Australia, as the third child in a family of ten. My education was entirely through homeschooling, and I viewed it as a series of levels in a game. The faster I completed these levels, the faster I could progress through life. I quickly realized that math was the most crucial subject, so I focused on accelerating through it. By the age of 15, I had completed Grade 12, two years ahead of schedule. However, my parents held me back for an additional year because I was too young for tertiary education. During that year, I took twice as many subjects as required, including advanced math, English, physics, chemistry, biology, geography, and an elective. Despite being self-taught, I finished in the top six in my state.
Early Academic
Achievements
My passion for learning and self-discipline allowed me to excel in my studies. Being homeschooled meant that my education was my responsibility, with my mother providing regular assessments and guidance. Our home library included the Encyclopaedia Britannica, and I spent countless hours exploring its volumes, fascinated by the world. This early exposure to a broad range of knowledge laid the foundation for my future pursuits.
Passion
for Flight
From a young age, I was captivated by flight and the freedom of birds. At 14, I earned a scholarship to fly, obtaining my Private Pilot’s Licence before I even had a driver’s license. My goal was to fly the most advanced aircraft in Australia, the F/A-18 Hornet, for the Royal Australian Air Force. Despite my enthusiasm, I was deemed too young for pilot training and was sent to the Academy instead. There, I studied Aeronautical Engineering and graduated top of my class.
Air Force
Pilot Training
Pilot training in the Air Force was intense, with high stress and a constant risk of being dropped from the course. My long-term goal was to become a Test Pilot and potentially an Astronaut. However, my tendency to push the aircraft to its limits and experiment with untrained maneuvers led to concerns from my instructors. Although I excelled in the flying aspect, I was seen as risky and uncontrollable. This led to my reassignment from fighter jets to a more stable role flying maritime bombers, with a promise of returning to fighters if I conformed. Ultimately, I found the environment incompatible with my ambitions and decided to leave the Air Force after 11 years.
Transition to
Technology
Leaving the Air Force was a significant challenge, marked by a difficult and painful transition. However, I was determined to pursue new dreams. I dived into the financial technology sector to learn about money, technology, and human behavior. The first year was a deep exploration, peeling back layers to understand the industry. Over the next four years, I faced pain, progress, iteration, and discovery. Despite the hardships, I stayed true to my vision and eventually succeeded, gaining financial independence.
Facing New
Challenges
Success brought new challenges. I found myself in a consumption loop, wealthy but unproductive. I missed the sense of productivity and purpose. During this time, I discovered the effective accelerationism (e/acc) movement. It resonated with me deeply, rekindling my motivation. I started engaging with the e/acc community on social media, learning and integrating into the ecosystem.
Discovering
Accelerationism
During a helicopter trip from Australia to Japan, I pitched the idea of accelerationism to a friend, who was instantly captivated. This encouraged me to share the concept with more people. It was also during this trip that I committed to filming my Pole2Pole journey, a personal goal and reward planned for the future. A film director joined me, and we began integrating the accelerationism narrative into the project.
Launching
ACEL
As I shared the accelerationism idea, it gained traction and validation. Motivated and inspired by the positive response, I decided to go all-in on the ACEL brand, representing the accelerationist movement. I publicly committed to this cause, revealing my crypto identity and embracing my purpose. The support and enthusiasm I received reinforced my belief that I had found my destiny. Thus, ACEL was born, with a mission to drive humanity forward through acceleration.