Hey guys, my name is Fernando — though most of you probably know me as JNandez. I was born in 1987 in Switzerland, where I grew up in a normal household with loving parents and two siblings. Throughout my youth, I always did “decent” in school, but never great. I didn’t really feel inspired or motivated to give school my full effort. Instead, I found that drive in other areas of life — mainly sports, volleyball, and personal improvement. I spent countless hours playing and coaching volleyball, and I loved the growth that came from training, learning, and pushing myself. But deep down, I knew it wasn’t something I could build a sustainable career around. I always had this sense that I had potential, that I had something to give, and I was drawn to learning from people who were older, more accomplished, and growth-minded. So I was searching for a path — something that could combine my passion for growth with a way to support myself financially and live independently. That’s when I discovered poker in 2005, during the Moneymaker boom. For the first time, I felt like I had found something I could dedicate myself to completely — a field that rewarded hard work, discipline, and constant learning, and one that could also provide financial independence. At first, it was just fun games with friends at school. But I was the one who took it further — I bought the books, studied strategy, and found joy in learning and growing through the game. I absorbed everything I could: from sites like Pokerstrategy.de to Harrington’s books, to Limit Hold’em and No Limit Hold’em theory. I played online freerolls, sometimes winning $50 or more, and slowly built my first small bankroll. One of my first successes was running a $500 bankroll up to $10,000 playing up to $1/$2 No Limit Hold’em cash games — before losing it all back (as many of us do at the start). Still, that moment sparked the idea that I could make a living doing this. Poker felt like the perfect vehicle — a way to grow, compete, and build a career on my own terms.