Lifestyle

Why I Turned My Back On Fame And Instead Made Millions in Affiliate Marketing

Published

4 years ago

July 4, 2021

Affiliate marketing is the money-spinning upside to the internet economy, and those who master the techniques of selling online have the potential to fast-track their fortunes. Jono Armstrong’s Ministry of Freedom – built together with his wife Cice – offers a course that has helped hundreds realize their dreams of financial freedom by following the same steps that helped the former musician change his life and his fortune.

Forced to rebuild after an exhilarating rise and dramatic fall as a celebrity in conservative Indonesia, Jono has learned the pitfalls of fame. He changed his mindset, and his life, to create a new path to support his family with his popular courses in The Ministry of Freedom, an online business school that teaches students how to build their own fortunes with affiliate marketing.

“I’m a little more grounded now and a lot more careful about money and success,” he says. “Fame made me an addict, I couldn’t feed my kids, and I ended up being the focus for so much hate,” he says.

Starting from nothing

“2006-2007 was one of the hardest years of my life,” says Jono. “I’d lost it all. I was 26 years old, had no university degree, and no work experience. I had 2 young kids and a wife to support. We ended up back in the UK where we crashed at my parents’ house for 6 months before I went back to the rat race, washing dishes in a small restaurant.

In 2007 Jono taught himself basic HTML and discovered the power of the internet. He started buying products from China and selling them on e-bay, eventually saving enough money to make the move back to Indonesia.

Romance came his way again with an old friend from the music industry, Cice, and together they set up their e-commerce business and raised the family with help from both of their parents.

“We worked from home, selling physical products. It was pretty difficult but we were learning and making ends meet,” he says. Then Jono bought his first digital product, a course, and did a review on YouTube. Within days he saw his bank balance rise significantly and he knew this was the way to go.

Succeeding in affiliate marketing

Jono started to sell more digital products and he and Cice saw a future that looked a lot brighter. He then invested in a course with one of the world’s leading social media marketing gurus in LA.

“The course cost seemed a massive investment at the time but it has paid off a hundred times over,” he says.

Once he had the formula down, Jono became the man to watch in the affiliate space with digital producers sending him sample products to review online. He reviewed the products, showed people how to use them, pointed out their shortcomings, and created hacks to work around them. He and Cice watched their income grow beyond anything they had imagined.

“It was a big learning curve at first. It would take me hours to go through each new product, find out what was missing, or what was required to use the products successfully, and I gave the information out for free to my followers through a series of YouTube videos. The early ones were very rough as we didn’t have the money to buy fancy equipment or the experience to create a slick website,” he says.

The couple stuck at it, and this is one of the key teachings he passes on to his members in The Ministry of Freedom. “You have to keep at it, then it gets easier.” He’s also able to guide his members through the process he spent so long learning himself, helping them to fast-track their own success.

From zero to $2 million a month

In just under four years Jono built a business that is today making $2 million a month, having started from nothing. This is what he now teaches others to do in his course that has attracted positive reviews across the internet.

“The profit margins on digital products are a lot better than on physical products. Once I had the knowledge to pick the products that would sell I was able to start creating my own, and the profits on those were my ticket to financial freedom,” he says.

As his profile in the online space grew, he created Ministry of Freedom and began to teach others what he had learned through years of trial and error. With a string of successful students following in his footsteps, some already making over a million dollars a year, Jono and Cice have realized another of their dreams; to move to Bali.

Having had his taste of fame and all that goes with it, Jono has no interest in a flashy lifestyle, he’s been there and he’s seen the downside. You won’t find any luxury cars parked in the driveway of their mansion, instead, Jono and Cice are happy they can be together with their kids and never have to think about where their next rent payment is coming from.

“I’ve learned all I need to know about the high life. I invest my money now so that my kids will never have to worry the way I did. We’ve bought a nice house, we go on holidays, I have time to spend with my family and that’s everything to me now,” he says.

He’s also proud of the community that has grown around the Ministry Of Freedom and he’s very generous with his tips and advice for newcomers. “We all support each other, we share information on the best new products, we help each other out with the reviews. Not everyone is camera-ready when they sign up but we support them and some of the shyest have turned out to be brilliant with a bit of coaching,” he explains.

“Doing it for yourself and your family is a great feeling, being able to help others do it too is amazing,” says a very happy and content Jono Armstrong.

Lifestyle

The Future of Social Dancing: How Latin Dance is Adapting to a New Generation

Published

23 hours ago

August 21, 2025

Michelle Langton

Latin dance thrives on connection. The music, the partner, and the crowd all feed one another.

Today, that connection is shaped by a younger, digitally fluent generation, and few understand the shift better than Damian Guzman, founder of Bachata Sensual America (BSA). From prize-winning festivals to late-night socials, Guzman and BSA show how the scene is evolving without losing its roots.

Streaming steps, viral beats

A decade ago, beginners to Latin dance hunted for grainy DVD tutorials; now they unlock entire combinations on their phones. TikTok loops, YouTube shorts, and Instagram reels have compressed learning into snack-sized bursts.

Many of the artists signed on with Bachata Sensual America meet dancers where they scroll, posting slow-motion breakdowns and “follow-along” drills that rack up thousands of views. This approach addresses two key Gen Z demands: instant access and a clear path from screen to floor.

By allowing newcomers to practice at home before facing a packed room, the online channel lowers the fear barrier while seeding a desire for in-person connection.

Festivals as entry points, not finish lines

Digital discovery is only the first act. For many people, their real baptism happens at multi-day events where practice hours blur into sunrise socials.

BSA’s flagship Houston Bachata Sensual Festival returned on May 2^nd, 2025, with a follow-up week slated for Bachata Sensual Festival Chicago, September 4^th-9^th, 2025. Both weekends pair technique labs with mental-wellness talks and DJs specializing in bachata, mirroring the playlists in dancers’ earbuds.

That balance of skills and community is why independent reviewers named BSA one of the “Top Latin Dance Festivals in the United States” for 2025. Yet, for Damian, awards matter less than the message: a festival can feel world-class without pricing out college students. He keeps passes tiered, encourages volunteer shifts that offset costs, and prepares bootcamps for absolute beginners, ensuring the dance floor reflects the same diversity he sees online.

Teaching culture, not just choreography

Bachata’s recent boom owes much to its European reinvention. Damian experienced that surge firsthand while earning one of the first U.S. instructor certifications in the Bachata Sensual style. He returned determined to give American dancers the same blend of precision and musicality he had experienced abroad.

BSA classes devote equal time to connection cues, body mechanics, and the genre’s Dominican roots. That trifecta resonates with younger students who want authenticity, not just a viral dip.

“In class I tell people, ‘Technique is how you respect your partner; musicality is how you respect the song,’” Guzman said during a recent podcast. The line distills his mission: elevate standards while keeping the dance welcoming.

Building inclusive, mindful spaces

Generation Z brings new expectations around consent, identity, and mental health. BSA’s code of conduct spells out everything from appropriate touch to gender-neutral role selection. Security staff mediate conflicts quickly, and workshop leaders open sessions with grounding exercises to calm nerves. These actions might sound small, yet they remove friction that once pushed many newcomers away.

Damian argues that such policies go beyond ethics; they future-proof the scene. Normalizing role fluidity in Latin dance widens its talent pool and invites richer musical interpretations. By acknowledging anxiety and overstimulation — common concerns for digital natives — events can retain dancers who might otherwise retreat after their first crowded social.

Latin dance has never stood still, and its next evolution is already spinning under disco lights from Houston to Helsinki. With a phone in every pocket and a festival on every calendar, the gap between discovery and mastery keeps shrinking.

Damian Guzman and Bachata Sensual America illustrate what happens when tradition listens, adapts, and leads with purpose. The result is a scene ready for whatever beat the next generation drops — and a future where social dancing feels more connected, inclusive, and alive than ever.