Sean’s Journey to Trading Freedom with CTI

By Scott Geekie
May 25, 2023
11:37 am
Funded Traders

Reading Time: 2 minutes

Field	Details
Program	CTI Challenge
Result	PASSED ✅
Account Size	$100,000
Experience	10+ years (since 2009)
Risk Per Trade	0.1% – 1% (conservative approach)
Risk-to-Reward	1:2 to 1:5 (up to 1:10 on reversals)
Asset Focus	USD/JPY exclusively
Trading Session	London Session
Why CTI?	Structured discipline and community support
Validation	✅ Validated by CTI Risk Team

Top Advice for Traders

Understand Your Why: Don’t trade solely for money; find a deeper motivation.
Stick to a Plan: Have a strategy and be disciplined enough to follow it.
Manage Your Risk: Keep your losses small and don’t let them spiral.
Be Patient: Wait for the right setup rather than forcing trades.
Learn from Failures: Every loss is an opportunity to refine your approach.
Stay Healthy: Maintain a balanced lifestyle to keep your mind sharp.

Sean’s Trading Journey

In this inspiring interview, we meet Sean, a trader from South Africa who has transformed his life through determination, discipline, and a clear focus on his goals. Sean’s journey into the world of Forex trading began in 2009, when he stumbled upon the concept while searching for ways to achieve financial independence. Attracted by the promise of working from home and being his own boss, Sean dived into the world of trading, only to realize that it was far from the easy money he had initially imagined.

The Early Struggles in Forex Trading

Sean’s early years in trading were marked by struggles common to many new traders—insufficient capital, the challenges of balancing a full-time job with trading, and the steep learning curve that comes with gaining the experience needed to succeed. He quickly learned that the path to profitability was not a sprint but a marathon, requiring patience, persistence, and a relentless commitment to honing his skills.

Joining City Traders Imperium: A Turning Point

One of the biggest turning points in Sean’s journey was when he decided to join City Traders Imperium (CTI) and take on their funded trader program. For Sean, the strict rules and structure provided by CTI were exactly what he needed to take his trading to the next level. The accountability that comes with managing a funded account helped him stay disciplined and focused, allowing him to avoid the common pitfalls that had previously hindered his progress.

Living the Dream: Trading Full-Time

Today, Sean is living his dream. He no longer works a traditional 9-to-5 job; instead, he spends his mornings placing trades and his afternoons pursuing freelance work that gives him the flexibility to maintain his trading lifestyle. His strategy is simple but effective—he focuses exclusively on trading the USD/JPY pair using a breakout strategy that he has refined over the years.

Sean’s Trading Strategy: Focused and Simple

Sean’s story is a testament to the power of persistence and the importance of finding the right support system in your trading journey. For those who are just starting out, Sean’s advice is clear: be patient, invest in your education, and don’t be afraid to seek out mentors and communities like CTI that can provide the guidance and structure needed to succeed.

If Sean’s journey inspires you and you want to explore the possibility of becoming a funded trader with CTI, be sure to check out their programs and take the first step toward achieving your own trading freedom.

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Scott Geekie

Scott Geekie is CTI’s Chief Marketing Officer, focused on growth and retention in prop trading. He has spent 8+ years inside the model — progressing from trader to intern, client relations, marketing manager and now CMO, a path that spans the full trader lifecycle: who a firm attracts, how traders behave once funded, and what actually drives long-term retention rather than short-term spikes. That perspective shapes how CTI grows: deliberate about who it brings in, attentive to behaviour beyond conversion metrics, and mindful that in this model small changes compound quickly. Scott is Certified in Content Marketing, SEO and AEO, and is the author of ‘The Trader in the Chair: A Story for Anyone Who’s Bled Quietly at the Charts.’

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