Chapter 33 - Hitting Rock Bottom

The echo of LA's neon buzz still flickered in my mind when the silence of failure finally set in. I had been living the dream, surrounded by icons, making connections, and building my vision. But dreams come with a cost, and the price was starting to catch up with me.
The money had run out. My pockets were empty, and my bank account was a cruel reminder that nothing lasts forever, especially not when you’re chasing something so ambitious and uncertain. I couldn’t keep the momentum going, and the pressure had finally broken me.
I had to leave. The buzz of LA, the parties, the excitement—it all felt like a world away as I boarded that flight back to the UK. The place I once called home now felt like a far-off memory. I landed back in London with nothing but a suitcase and an overwhelming sense of failure.
For the first time in my life, I had nothing. No money, no possessions, and no idea how I was going to keep moving forward. It was one of the darkest times in my life. I ended up moving back in with my mum. The same place I had tried to escape from all those years ago. The place I had always seen as small, stifling, and unremarkable—now it was my only refuge.
Living with her felt like a punch to the gut. The frustration of being back in that position was suffocating. I was an adult, I had dreams, I had ambitions, and yet here I was, unable to provide for myself.
There were nights when I thought about giving it all up. The weight of failure hung over me like a dark cloud. I wondered if maybe I wasn’t meant to be part of the industry I had so passionately pursued. Maybe all that hard work, the late nights, the risks, the sacrifices—it was all for nothing.
But deep down, I knew better.
It was in this moment, in this crushing defeat, that I began to realize something important: failure is just the space between where you are and where you want to be. Sure, I had hit rock bottom, but rock bottom is where things start to change. It’s where the fire is lit anew, where you find the strength to rise from the ashes.
Living with my mum wasn’t easy, but it gave me the time to reflect. To remember why I started this journey in the first place. To reignite the passion that had driven me in the early days.
The world hadn’t seen the last of me—and for the first time in a while, I believed that too.