Former GRCC administrator now millionaire teaching investing on YouTube

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (WOOD) — Sometimes the biggest reward in finding success is being able to tell the next person how you did it.

Social media influencer and entrepreneur Chris Sain has that success, and he said he has tried to use it to see others do just as well as he has.

As a Grand Rapids native who grew up with parents in education and small business, he said he understood that nothing in life would come easy, especially for those living in urban communities. That and wanting to pay it forward became some of the driving factors that pushed him on his multimillion-dollar journey to financial freedom.

It started in 2014 with a Facebook post Sain made speaking to the fickleness of modern-day relationships. To his surprise, the post was well-received and garnered thousands of likes, eventually going viral. So he made another post that also went viral and he kept going from there. Sain’s posts were focused on encouraging others through thought-provoking messages.

“I noticed every time I would make a post, it always did decent,” Sain said. “So I say, since people are listening, let me make sure I’m putting something of substance out in the world.”

Seeing that people had an appetite for his ideas and wanted to hear more of his story, Sain decided to write his first book, “Dumb Athlete: How My Biggest Fear Became My Biggest Motivator.” It’s a memoir about beating the odds while growing up in a difficult urban environment.

Coupled with his rising momentum on social media, the book sold thousands of copies, giving Sain financial returns in the hundreds of thousands of dollars. The memoir and viral posts also opened up the door for large speaking engagements around the country and led to even more opportunities.

CHANGE IN PURPOSE

Sain originally wanted to become a professional athlete. He had a successful high school career in football and basketball before going on to play at Michigan State University. That changed when he injured the rotator cuff in his shoulder, which he said kept him from reaching his full potential.

Still, he said, he wasn’t going to let his knowledge and experience go to waste. He decided that he would pass on his education and sports wisdom to the next generation so they could one day reach the level that he did.

After graduating from college, Sain started a nonprofit called Grand C.I.T.Y. Sports, Inc. in Grand Rapids as a way to pay it forward. The organization focused on helping at-risk youth by emphasizing education through sports.

He eventually ended up taking a job mentoring student athletes at Notre Dame.

After a while, he decided to go back to Grand Rapids to help the children in the community he grew up in. He was hired at Grand Rapids Community College as a career coach and education training specialist. He went to become the coordinator of student success and retention, coordinating all retention-related programs and providing intervention in the early alert programs for students.

“He got recruited by Dr. Andre Fields to be a mentor because of Chris’s nature of who he is. And Chris does an outstanding job of motivating students, always being upbeat and encouraging them to hang in there and do what it takes to get to GRCC,” GRCC Dean of Strategic Outreach and Interim Director of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion David Selmon said.

Sain helped GRCC launch a program called Alpha Beta Omega, or ABO, that helped mentor students of color who came from difficult living situations.

STOCKS AND YOUTUBE CHANNEL

At the same time, his social media presence and book were taking off.

One of Sain’s biggest goals during his time at GRCC was to clear out student loan and credit card debt. He said he cut out unnecessary expenses and always invested a portion of his paycheck.

“In terms of cutting costs, I always was living within my means, I never was a person that was a big spender. I always was trying to live off a little, live on less than I make,” Sain said. “So I wasn’t going out buying clothes, I wasn’t going out buying a new car, I drive a used car that’s paid off, my house is paid off. Everything that I was doing was just to build my overall net worth.”

Sain added that his budgeting saved him hundreds of dollars that he was able to put toward getting himself out of debt. The money from his side ventures played big roles as well.

While Sain was working at GRCC and making money from his social media presence and books, he was investing in stocks.

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Today, stock investing and the YouTube channel he started — catered toward educating the public on the importance of financial literacy — have become the largest drivers behind his financial success.

“I use my YouTube to directly talk about (financial) education, I use it to educate on the financial markets, I use it to teach how to read a (stock) chart, or use it to teach how to identify pattern recognition behaviors and fluctuations of the (stock) market,” Sain said.

Sain’s videos about his knowledge of and insights into the stock market have helped thousands of people eager to get into investing, he said. He explains things like the different types of stocks, investment strategies and the type of mindset it takes to make money for the long term. He also talks about the importance of doing research on what companies to invest in and things to pay attention to when researching. 

“That’s what I kind of cater my YouTube videos for, was a chance to kind of teach, then go out and apply what’s being taught. And then seeing what kind of results you can get, then coming back, and then adding the disciplines behind it: the proper risk management, for example; managing your emotions, for example,” he said. “I make a video seven days a week.”

He said he always shows what he invests in and tracks the progress of each portfolio through the year so people can see what’s working and why. He said recently, he’s been looking at technology, AI and cybersecurity stocks.

REVENUE INCREASE

On top of educating the public, Sain said his YouTube channel has also helped increase profits from his other revenue stream, enabling him to make over 2 million with all of his ventures.

“My book sales went up due to my YouTube channel, my speaking engagement opportunities increased due to my YouTube channel. On top of YouTube creating and bringing in different streams of income, YouTube also pays you ad revenue for having a quality brand and quality content,” he said.

“In my first year on YouTube, I made $200,000. And every year after that, it’s been around that $2.5, $2.7 million range. And YouTube is what propelled all of that,” he added.

Being a successful influencer does have its merits, Sain said, but it also takes a certain state of mind. He said he had to learn how to navigate the dark side of social media. From hateful comments to threats to strangers knowing who you are, fame and success can take a toll on a person who hasn’t prepared mentally. Sain added that some things come with the territory when you put yourself out as a public figure.

PHILANTHROPY

Having a background in mentoring and helping youth, Sain makes it a priority to give back to the community. Sain said he still pours back into programs that help support college students like, the Grand Rapids Community Foundation.

“Grand C.I.T.Y. Sports, Inc. will establish a fund at the Grand Rapids Community Foundation to assist college students who are in need of funds to get to and through college,” Sain said. “The funds will also help students acquire laptops and other items needed while living on campus.”

Sain added that he also gives to local churches and organizations doing things to help uplift the community.

Sain has several tours coming up where he speaks more in-depth about financial literacy and his personal experience with money. For more, you can visit chrissain.com.

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