Day Trading Is Just Gambling In Sheep’s Clothing. And I F*cking Love It.

Before this past fall, I knew zero about the stock market. Honestly, there’s no way someone could have known less.

Another thing I didn’t know circa September? What the hell to do with myself. I’ve worked from home as the music director for a fashion retailer since 2013, and it’s been so freaking lonely, working in a silo, barely communicating with anybody at my day job — a job in an industry I’ve been trying to leave for more than a decade. I was rolling out of bed at 10 a.m., crocheting dresses 24/7. (Pick up a hobby, they said, neglecting to mention that buying yarn will put you out of house and home.) I was looking into becoming a Realtor. I felt like I was going to lose my f*cking mind.

Enter: stocks, options, r/WallStreetBets. I’d been lurking for a while in the subreddit — my friend mentioned the memes were good, and I love nothing more than a good meme — but I was mystified by how they managed to turn such a quick profit. When I learned options trading, which is what the most successful Redditors were doing, was a thing, something clicked. Within a few weeks, I was waking up daily at 5 or 6 in the morning to begin my trading day. Bright and early, I’m making coffee, and I’m sitting in my office. I’m pretty much locked until the markets close, at which point I start scouring for anything I might’ve missed. My husband actually can’t believe how focused I am. I’m focused because I love it.

I probably should have known I’d get hooked because I f*cking love gambling. (I learned that circa 2014, when I watched something on the Food Network about the buffets in Las Vegas and decided to try them myself — then wound up at the blackjack table.) A few years back, I was dating a guy who lived in Florida, and when I’d fly to see him, I’d plan the longest layover I could in Vegas, where I’d just gamble and eat. I had a blast then and I’m having a blast now.

It’s like a drug when you hit on a new opportunity — like “I found it. I f*cking found it, and this is going to be it.” And then you ask your friends: “What do you think about this stock?” I talk all day long to a dozen people through various channels, and they’re all looking at me like I have something to offer — a feeling I haven’t known for years.

It brings me so much joy, not just because I’m making a f*ck ton of money — in two months, I’ve turned my initial $14,000 into $61,000, all of which I’ve reinvested — but also because I’m turning people on to the stock market. Nothing makes me happier than helping artists and people who need money make money. We need that money. You need that money — and you can get it.

And don’t think about needing the right background or qualifications. My resume reads like an indie rock fan’s fever dream, not that of a young associate at JPMorgan.

Since I was 16 or 17, I’ve worked in and around the music industry. I got my big break when I was 18 and started as an intern at Spin magazine, where I became known for my knack for spotting the next big thing. I championed (and, for a time, managed) my ex-boyfriend’s band, My Chemical Romance; I helped put The Killers on the map. At 27, I was on the cover of The Village Voice, posed like Joan of Arc being burned — a nod to my status as “the most controversial figure in New York’s music scene.” In those days, I also DJ’d and put on parties with a partner, where we hosted the debut U.S. shows for bands like Hot Chip, Maximo Park, and the Horrors; I ran my own incubator record label, Stolen Transmission, at Island Def Jam; I worked at a marketing agency, even once co-founded a music marketing agency of my own. I’ve been trying to get out of the music industry for years — it’s been tanking for so long — but I’ve never made it far. Nothing else has ever quite clicked. And, despite my claims to fame, I’ve never made much money.

Society has always figured out a way to keep people down, and one of those ways is by making it taboo to talk about money. It’s hard to know one’s financial worth when so few people are open about how much money they’re making. For years, I never asked for a raise because I didn’t think it was acceptable to ask for one — that’s just the mindset that creative industries put you in, where it’s like “You’re lucky to have a job.” (Bullsh*t.)

All this is especially true for women, who for generations were told to stay out of the financials. But here we are, still making 84 cents on the dollar, in a job market that’s only getting tougher and tougher.

I’m not building a pyramid. I want everyone to be their own freaking pyramid.

So let’s do it. Let’s talk about money! My goal is to be completely, absolutely transparent about how much I invest, how much I make, and how much is in my portfolio. I especially want to be honest about the mistakes I make along the way. That’s why I started an Instagram account, @givemyregardstotheregards. (On r/WallStreetBets, “regards” is what they call someone who does the stupidest freaking move possible in the stock market and loses a sh*t ton of cash. I figured there was a high likelihood I’d end up in that camp.) Reddit also pointed me to the AfterHour app, which lets me share my entire portfolio as it develops in real time. Fully naked and exposed.

Slowly, as I posted my wins, people started messaging me saying things like “I just don’t know anything about the stock market, and thank you for doing this, because I’ve always felt too stupid to ask a question.” Now, I text with many of them every day, strategizing about stocks.

I got my ex-boyfriend (not the one from My Chemical Romance) into the stock market. He and I now talk all day, too, which is so funny. And then I got his ex-girlfriend into this stuff, which is ostensibly even funnier. She’s become my No. 1 compatriot in this; we’re sisters in arms in figuring out the stock market. She went from $3,000 to $10,000 in a month and a half.

The key, in my opinion, is to trade options, which allow you to speculate on how a given stock will do and potentially make a lot more than you would by, say, buying low and selling high. (If hearing financial terms makes your mind go blank, this guy explains the concept pretty well.) Once you’ve figured out the mechanics, look for opportunities. One example: I was into Archer Aviation, which makes electric planes that take off and land like helicopters. They got these government contracts, which got me thinking that they were going to be successful — and then I started looking into KULR, which makes batteries and battery parts for electric vehicles. I was like, “Oh, if Archer is going to blow up, then this company’s probably going to blow up.” I started investing when KULR stock was around 30 cents; now, it’s around $2.40.

I also look at which stocks experience exponential growth and trading volume in a 24-hour period and buy put options for those (that’s what you do to bet against a stock). What goes up must come down, you know?

It’s easy to think “I only have $60 in my savings account. There’s no way stocks are going to benefit me at all.” But it’s possible that you could turn $60 into $150 in less than a week, and then reinvest it and turn it into $300 and keep on reinvesting it. There are smaller things you can do, too — like moving your money from a standard checking account, where you’re making very little interest, to a high-yield savings account where you can make 4%.

Sometimes, when I’m talking to people about all this, I worry I sound like those people who are in MLMs, evangelizing for their company. But I’m not building a pyramid. I want everyone to be their own freaking pyramid.

Speaking of, I just added a new element to my pyramid. Remember AfterHour, the app I use to share my portfolio? Well, I joked about how they should give me a job on my Instagram story… and they did. I’m beyond stoked to join a small team and get in on the ground floor of an app I legitimately love. For now, I’m on part time, running its Reddit and Instagram marketing for $100 an hour. Yes, I’ll have to take my focus off my trading a bit, but I actually think that’s a good thing: It forces me to calm the f*ck down and not make rash decisions. There’s potential to go full time — potential to officially enter an industry that isn’t music — but I’m not sure yet if that’s right for me anymore. I’m a day trader now, and I don’t plan to take my eye off the ball.

As told to Chloe Joe. This interview has been condensed and edited for clarity.