It was Independence Day, August 15th, 2010, and it was time to free my cramped PC hard drives—the least I could do in the name of freedom, right?
I was digging through this massive archive of folders buried so deep in my system, some were practically archaeological. We’re talking folders so old and nostalgic they transported me straight back to when I took my first baby steps into the wild world of SEO and internet marketing.
The Animation Obsession Phase
Picture this: 20-year-old me, a dropout by choice (because who needs college when you have dreams), chasing the fantasy of becoming the next big animator and establishing my own animation/VFX empire. You can totally blame George Lucas and all those mind-blowing PC games from the ’90s for this delusion.
Animation was the hot thing back then, but here’s the catch—getting into a top animation academy would’ve cost me a small fortune. My bank account? Not so enthusiastic about that plan.
So naturally, I did what any broke dreamer would do: I became my own teacher. Armed with buckets of time, a basic computer that probably ran on hopes and dreams, and a shiny new internet connection, I practically moved into the digital world. We’re talking 20-hour days here, people—I was basically eating, sleeping, and breathing GIF animators, Flash, 3D Max, you name it.
The master plan? Make some quick cash freelancing so I could eventually afford that fancy animation school. Simple, right?
Plot Twist: Enter the Godfather
But then life decided to throw me a curveball.
While I was out there hustling, trying to market my animation services on this thing called the internet (remember, this was 2002—the internet was still figuring itself out), I stumbled upon James Welch. This guy was one of the UK’s top internet marketing wizards, and let me tell you, the man was way ahead of his time.
While the rest of us were still trying to figure out what a website was supposed to do, James was already building his own suite of SEO tools and dropping strategy knowledge that wouldn’t become mainstream for years. Today he’s running a successful firm in the UK, but back then? He was looking for someone to help him with this thing called SEO.
That someone turned out to be me.
The Accidental Career Switch
My life took a complete 180 when I met James in 2002. I started doing off-page SEO for clients in the UK and US, still convinced this was just a pit stop on my road to animation glory. I mean, the goal was simple: make enough money for that animation course and get back to my real dreams.
Spoiler alert: I never made it back.
James—or “James ji” as I’ve always called him (because he’s been my guru and basically initiated me into the mysteries of SEO and internet marketing)—opened up this whole universe I didn’t even know existed.
Every time I tried to thank him for changing my trajectory, he’d wave it off with his signature line: “I just showed you the way, it’s you who walked on it.” Classic Jamesji. And you know what? I pass that exact same wisdom to every intern who joins our team now.
The Unfinished Business
I’m still waiting to make that trip to the UK to thank him properly in person. Some thank-yous are worth crossing oceans for, you know?
Looking back, it’s pretty wild how a guy chasing animation dreams ended up building a career in something he stumbled into by accident. But hey, sometimes the best journeys are the ones you never saw coming.
And that, folks, is how a broke animation wannabe accidentally became an SEO guy. Life’s funny like that.