A millionaire who deliberately became penniless and homeless in a bizarre social experiment designed to rack up YouTube views has suddenly abandoned his challenge due to concerns about his health.
Mike Black had planned to basically start from scratch, while proving to himself that he could make a million dollars in just 12 months.
Black had been an entrepreneur his entire life, but in July 2020 he decided to get away from it all, giving up his car, his house and all his money.
‘I met many people who lost everything during the pandemic and became very depressed. I even had a friend who lost 10 million dollars. business overnight,” Black explained in a Youtube video.
Black wanted to help his ffriends rebuild ttheir lives and demonstrate that neither luck nor money was necessary to become a millionaire: just hard work.
Millionaire Mike Black embarked on a daring social experiment: he intentionally made himself homeless to prove he could earn $1 million in a year.
Black found the hardest part of the trip homeless and not knowing where he would sleep.
Black people struggled while begging in the streets, even finding it difficult to get water.
Black’s idea was the ‘Million Dollar Comeback Challenge’ which would see him start from nothing, only to build a new business, growing it to be worth a million dollars in the space of a year.
But Black ended his challenge after his health took its toll.
‘I have officially decided to end the project early. “Now, as much as it pains me to do this, especially with only two months left, I feel like it’s the right thing to do,” he announced in Youtube.
“I’ve been dealing with a lot of things personally and recently something happened that has really pushed me over the edge.
‘My personal health has deteriorated to the point where I really need to start taking care of it. Throughout the entire project, we haven’t shared it with you, but I have been in and out of the doctor’s office.’
Black explained that he also suffered from two autoimmune diseases that caused ‘chronic fatigue’ and another that attacked his joints.
“A lot of what has come to light for me is what really matters, health and gratitude,” he said.
Black was offered the opportunity to stay in an RV. They allowed him to stay several weeks
Black began making money by selling furniture online and acting as a middleman.
Black was allowed to stay in this RV for several weeks thanks to the generosity of strangers.
Things were looking up when Black managed to get his own place to rent.
Black’s idea was the ‘Million Dollar Comeback Challenge’ that would see him start from nothing, only to build a new business, growing it to a value of one million dollars in the space of a year.
But the challenge was much more difficult than Black could have ever anticipated.
From his first day as a homeless man, he experienced how hard life was on the streets and thought about sleeping on a bench.
People refused to give him water and he could not find a place to spend the night.
Finally, a man with a motor home allowed him to stay several nights in his truck.
Black started small and managed to make his first $300 selling furniture online.
“One of the best things to sell is the tables,” Black explained. ‘I started posting ads on Craigslist in the free section, posting them on Facebook Marketplace, and selling them for a profit.
“He acted as a middleman, handling all the logistics between the buyer and the seller.”
By the fifth day of the challenge, he had earned enough money to buy himself a computer.
Almost two weeks later, he was able to get his own office space, and after a little over a month, Black finally had his own place to rent.
Three months into the challenge, Black’s entrepreneurial spirit seemed to shine as he had established himself as a social media manager.
Concerns about his own health led him to end the challenge early after facing the harsh reality of homelessness and his own health issues.
Three months into the challenge, Black’s entrepreneurial spirit seemed to shine as he had established himself as a social media manager, managing to gain clients and even creating his own coffee brand.
‘Look where we are now. We’re not making millions of dollars, but look, this will mean potentially living in a mansion rent-free. I’m getting calls with big tech companies to offer them how to manage their social media. I’m starting a coffee brand. Now I have a kind of cafe in Austin,” Black said.
‘I mean everything is coming in the right direction. Three months ago she was homeless!’
Four months after the challenge, on day 138, Black found out that his father was officially diagnosed with stage four colon cancer and He had just started chemotherapy, which led Black to question the entire project, but he continued.
“Health and family were much more important than the challenge, so I decided to stop the entire project.”
Black finished the challenge having completed 10 months with only 60 days left to finish. He had managed to win a total of $64,000.
Black finished the challenge having completed 10 months with only 60 days left to finish. He had managed to win a total of $64,000.
Despite not achieving the million dollars he was aiming for, Black says it was still a successful experiment after demonstrating how it was possible to rebuild his life through the power of determination.
“We must always remember to help those in need because it could be the opportunity they need,” Black said.