Near the end of 2024, around November to December my entire life turned upside down. I never expected what happened next, and for more than a year I planned to never talk about it. But I think I need to, because it affected me deeply, both in life and as a hunter.
2024 was the best year of my life. It was the year I finally found myself. I discovered value in what I do. Being a security researcher and hunter in Web3 stopped feeling like “just a job”, it became something much bigger to me.
People started recognizing my work. I met incredible researchers and hunters I genuinely respect and look up to. I built amazing friendships and connections. The feeling was indescribable. I was truly happy, and I enjoyed every single moment of it.
At the beginning of 2024, I set a goal for myself: make $100k.
People around me in real life laughed at that goal. They told me it was impossible. Some even said I should stop wasting time and look for a normal job that pays $150/month at mos.
“Being rich is not for us,” they said.
To them, $100k was something unreachable.
So I distanced myself from those people, even though some were my friends. Not because they were bad people, but because we had completely different mindsets and goals. I had to choose myself.
That same year, I seriously started hunting on @immunefi. I had a bad experience on another platform before, so I decided to give Immunefi a chance. I knew nobody there. No hunters, no team members.
But the process felt professional from day one.
Then I got my first $2k bounty. I was insanely happy 😂
I kept hunting, joined the Discord, and met amazing people from the Immunefi team and the community. I learned a lot, worked on many BBPs, and eventually Immunefi introduced Boosts (now contests) and Attackathons.
That’s where my life completely changed.
Then the Fuel Attackathon happened.
I saw the $1M reward pool and a completely new language I had never touched before, and I told myself:
“This is my chance.”
I pushed hard. During that time I also landed another bounty. Eventually I made around $15k from bounties and around $86k from Fuel.
I should’ve gotten second place, but some things happened and I secured fifth instead.
And here’s the strange part…
I felt nothing.
No happiness. No excitement. No celebration.
Just emptiness.
I felt confused, mentally exhausted, almost like something inside me had shut down. I kept asking myself:
“Why aren’t you happy? You achieved your goal. You proved everyone wrong. Why do you feel nothing?”
Before I could answer that question, the second worst thing happened.
My father had his first brain stroke.
We rushed him to the hospital trying to save him. Then another stroke happened. Then another. I spent countless nights in hospitals, mentally destroyed. I became deeply depressed in a way I had never experienced before.
At one point, I seriously thought about quitting Web3 and bug hunting entirely.
I remember opening my phone late at night planning to delete everything I built.
Then somehow I saw one of @lonelysloth_sec’s posts talking about patience, not giving up, and how hard this journey is. I don’t even remember the exact words anymore, but that post stopped me from making a huge mistake.
Because people like him, @WhiteHatMage, and others became role models to me in this space.
So I decided to wait instead of quitting.
Meanwhile, my father’s condition kept getting worse. Eventually doctors told us there was nothing more they could do. We just had to fulfill his wishes and stay beside him until the end.
And when he passed away in 2025…
I felt nothing again.
No tears. No breakdown. Just emptiness.
The same emptiness I felt after reaching my biggest goal.
That completely broke my understanding of myself.
I forgot who zeroK really was.
Months later, something incredible happened: @0xjonah1 messaged me saying I got accepted into All Stars.
That gave me hope again.
But even then, something still felt missing for almost a year and a half. I couldn’t figure it out. I tried convincing myself I was overthinking.
year passed, Doing my best every day just to make sure I deserve my place at Immunefi and among the All Stars.
Then, a few weeks ago, I got a clue about what was missing when I DM’d @WhiteHatMage asking for some advice related to working as hunter. While reading his messages, I felt like my brain was trying to reconnect with something I had lost for almost a year and a half...
something that shaped who zeroK is both in real life and in the Web3 space. But at the time, I still couldn’t fully understand it, and I kept telling myself, “Maybe I’m just overthinking it.”
Then Firedancer happened.
I participated a bit, got overwhelmed, submitted only one bug, and honestly felt lost again.
Then Infosec team reminded me that I should trust myself, that being part of All Stars already proved I belonged here.
And suddenly it clicked.
I finally realized what I had lost.
It wasn’t motivation.
It wasn’t discipline.
It wasn’t skill.
It was my ability to enjoy the journey.
That was always the best part of me.
Enjoying the process.
Smiling during hard times.
Helping people.
Learning.
Connecting with others.
Being curious.
Building something meaningful.
I realized I never truly wanted $100k for the money itself.
I wanted proof that I had value.
Proof that I belonged somewhere.
Proof that I could become the person I always wanted to be.
And once I reached it, I didn’t know what came next.
Now I finally understand it.
Money matters for survival, yes. But chasing money alone made me miserable for an entire year.
Now I’m chasing something different:
my dreams,
my growth,
my journey,
the people I meet,
the things I build,
the impact I leave behind.
That’s what actually makes me happy.
Being recognized for meaningful work.
Protecting people.
Saving users from exploits.
Being good at what I do.
Being kind while doing it.
I’m glad I found myself again.
And I’m deeply grateful to the people below who helped me rediscover that part of me, even without knowing what I was going through:
@lonelysloth_sec
@DecentralDisco
@PappaPug
@WhiteHatMage
@minato7namikazi
@0xMackenzieM
@0xjonah1
@MartinMarchev
@thisisgrey, who built my profile picture, the interview we did helped me remember part of who I really was.
And many other amazing people too that I might not remember while writing this post.
The only reasons I posted this are:
1. I want people to know that the joy of a goal you set for yourself ($100k, $500k, $1M, $10M, building something, buying something, achieving something) is not in the moment you finally reach it, it’s in the journey and the path you go through. 95% of the joy is in the process, not the destination.
2. I just wanted to talk a little bit lol.
English
