By Guadi Rabino
Assistant Managing Editor
There are few people that can call themselves truly independent and self sufficient. Costa senior, John Walker is one of those few.
Walker moved to Manhattan Beach, leaving his parents and life in Fort Worth,Texas, approximately one month ago alongside two friends in hopes of starting a dance, film and photography studio.
“We moved out here to do audio and video production,” Walker said. “One day, once we have all of our funds saved up, we will hopefully start a video marketing company and studio but our original end goal is to open a dance film and photography studio for kids who can’t afford those classes.”
Walker collects income from various sources in order to fund his savings. He invests in stocks as well as engages in social media marketing by promoting companies such as Cryo Nation.
Photos: Click to see some of Walker’s online advertisements on the Cryo Nation Instagram page.
“[Investing in stocks and social media marketing] are just two ways of making money,” Walker said. “It is not what I want to define myself as. I don’t call myself a social media marketer. I am just trying to make as much money as I can through different sources to save up for my end goal.”
Walker is in charge of running several social media accounts for different companies. He also creates accounts under various aliases in which he promotes these companies. He receives a flat rate of commission as well as extra income from referrals.
“These accounts are made to look like someone who’s not me,” Walker said. “They’re made to look like marketers and legitimate business men and women because adults want to buy products that they see successful people promoting, not teenagers like myself.”
Link: Learn more about what social media marketing is and how it works.
Apart from his social marketing, Walker makes most of his income from trading stocks, which he started to do only four months ago. He is a self taught stock trader, who learned from online research, internet videos and investing professionals.
“In the past, I have worked a valet position, I have worked at a gym and at an actual company,” Walker said. “I had all of these jobs and I was working hard everyday and I hated it. I was only getting 400 to 600 dollars on a check. One day I decided this wasn’t enough because I had worked so hard and I gave away so much of my teen years and didn’t get much out of it.”
Walker’s main inspiration for disassociating himself from his parents and his life at home was his desire to become a much more responsible and self sustainable individual.
“I really just moved out because I wanted to take on responsibility that people thought I couldn’t,” Walker said. “I just hated being controlled and so I left so I could have free range and do what I wanted and make the money that I wanted to and to do the things that I had been wanting to do.”
By having so many responsibilities, Walker said he has been able to mature and grow up much faster than many of his other peers have He has taken on responsibilities that many people his age have not even began to think about. Such as doing his own paperwork at the doctors or enrolling himself at school.
“I have had to understand things that most high school and even college kids don’t have to understand,” Walker said. “It forced me to grow up really quickly and it’s something I needed because I saw myself at home just wasting time and relying on my parents. It’s nice to know that if anything were to ever happen i don’t need anyone.”
In the future, Walker plans to continue saving his money in order to one day create his company and fulfill his goals. After high school, Walker plans on pursuing real estate.
“My end goal is to give back to those who can’t afford the opportunities that I was lucky enough to have,” Walker said. “I also want to motivate others to become something that they never thought they could be.”
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