01 | From Insurance Broker to Fish Boss: RJ Macalanda on Viral Growth, Freedom-First Hustle, and the Nomad Summit Effect

RJ Macalanda once sold insurance 80 hours a week – until nodding off at the wheel convinced him to design a life around fishing.

In this kickoff episode, he tells Christoph Huebner and Palle Bo how a single Nomad Summit ticket became his launchpad, why TikTok turned him into the go-to consultant for global fishing brands, and the framework he uses to choose work that funds (rather than chains) his adventures.

Expect practical runway tactics, “build-in-public” wins, and a reminder that there’s always a bigger fish.

Key takeaways:

• Rock-bottom is optional – but urgency helps. RJ’s near-crash moment lit the fuse that pushed him to act
• Pick a date, build the runway. A firm travel deadline (Nomad Summit Chiang Mai, 2017) forced him to prep finances and skills
• Niche + underserved platform = leverage. Posting daily made him the “TikTok guy” in fishing and netted 100 k followers in four months
• Monetise credibility, not vanity metrics. Viral reach opened doors to premium brand consulting, factory tours, and paid global travel
• Design work around living. Today he maintains a four-hour workweek per client and guards time to fish off-camera
• Community compounds. Returning to Nomad Summit keeps him current, connected, and inspired by peers’ progress
• Who he serves now. Founders, inventors, and big-brand product teams who want social-first growth in outdoor niches

Relevant links:

• Nomad Summit events & tickets – https://nomadsummit.com
• RJ on TikTok (@officialfishboss) – https://www.tiktok.com/@officialfishboss
• RJ’s site – https://officialfishboss.com
• RJ on Instagram (@rj.mac) – https://www.instagram.com/rj.mac/
• Sponsor: Visit Estonia – https://www.e-resident.gov.ee/ and https://www.e-resident.gov.ee/nomadvisa/
• The Radio Vagabond (Palle Bo) – https://theradiovagabond.com/link-tree
• Episode produced by Radioguru – https://radioguru.co.uk