Steve Was 5’6”, Divorced, and Broke. Here’s What Happened Next.

The proof that the playbook works - even when you’re short, bald, and starting from zero.

Every time I post a video, I get the same comment from the same type of guy.

“Easy for you to say, Rich. You’re tall. You’re rich. You’ve got supercars. You’ve already made it.”

I hear it so often I could set my watch to it. And every time I read it, I think of Steve.

Steve edits my books. He’s been in my world since 2020, when he first started working on the original Unplugged Alpha manuscript. He’s also one of the most dramatic proof-of-concept stories I’ve ever seen for the advice in that book - because Steve started with almost every disadvantage the excuse-makers love to hide behind.

Let me paint you the picture of where Steve was in 2014.

He was the textbook plugged-in Beta. His words, not mine. He had spent twelve years following his wife around the UK while she trained to be a doctor, putting her career ahead of his own at every single turn. He had zero concept of what a boundary was. He describes himself in that period as - and I’m quoting him directly - “a fucking man-child.”

He was earning shit money. His self-worth was in the basement, thanks to years of childhood bullying that he’d never dealt with. He was sleepwalking through life.

And then the divorce hit.

The Numbers

Let me give you the Steve stat sheet so the excuse-makers can sit down.

Five foot six. Buzz cut because his hairline is gone. Not a millionaire. British, living in the UK where the family court system doesn’t even recognize 50/50 custody - it’s not a thing there.

His divorce cost him the best part of fifty-five thousand pounds. That’s roughly seventy thousand dollars. It took two years. He needed a barrister to get it sorted. And even with a female judge who had his back, the UK system still left him fighting for scraps of time with his kids.

The chronology he created for his solicitor during the proceedings was - again, his words - “truly embarrassing.” He read it back to himself and cringed. That’s the guy we’re starting with. Five-six, bald, broke, humiliated, and co-parenting with a high-conflict ex who weaponizes the kids when it suits her.

This is not the origin story the excuse-makers want to hear. But it’s the one they need.

Are you balding? No problem, here’s how to deal with it.

The Work

Steve didn’t sit around feeling sorry for himself. Well - he did for a while. That’s normal. Red Pill Rage is a legitimate phase and I’d be lying if I told you there’s a shortcut through it.

But then he went deep into the work. Not dabbling. Not watching a few videos and calling himself “based.” He’s been at it since 2014 - over a decade of applied effort across every area of his life, and he’s still going.

He took his own balls back in 2018 - his words - and started treating his life like something he was building on purpose instead of something that was happening to him.

Here’s what doing the work for years actually looks like.

Physique. When he wrote his testimonial for the second edition, he was forty-four and in the best shape of his life. Strongest he’d ever been. He wears fitted clothes now - tailored by a local lady who used to work for top-tier shirt companies in the UK. The guy who couldn’t be bothered to dress properly is now getting custom fits.

Money. His income is well into six figures between his career and a business that he says is “taking off (accelerated massively by the advent of A.I.)” Compare that to 2014 when he was earning shit money. That’s not a small gap. That’s a different person.

Frame. This is where it gets interesting. Steve learned to let go of the things he couldn’t control. During the divorce, he went from dreading every message from his ex - the anxiety of “what bullshit is she going to come up with now” - to genuinely laughing when he reads her messages. He uses the Yellow Rock communication method with her now. Business-like. Civil. Zero emotional engagement.

He applies the same frame everywhere. In dating, he doesn’t get butthurt when a woman ghosts or isn’t interested. In business, he turned down projects he didn’t want and focused on ones where he could add real value. His stress levels dropped significantly.

Women. And here’s where the excuse-makers really need to pay attention.

Steve - five foot six, bald, not a millionaire - has a woman who drives forty-five minutes each way, twice a week, to come see him at his place. He has never been to her house. She buys new lingerie for him. She does his dishes after he cooks. She makes his bed without being asked.

He told her he would see other women. Not only did she accept it - she told her parents and her friends about the arrangement.

And she’s never been happier.

That’s not money buying compliance. That’s not height creating attraction. That’s genuine burning desire from a woman who trusts his competence and leadership enough to willingly fall into his frame.

His exact words: “It’s such a monumental night-and-day difference from what my marriage looked like, it still blows my mind.”

The Smoking Story

I want to share one small detail from Steve’s life because it captures the difference between the man he was and the man he became.

In the book, I talk about “I” statements versus “You” statements when it comes to setting boundaries. The difference between “I don’t date women who smoke - I find it deeply unattractive and an immediate turn-off” versus “You can’t smoke around me, so you need to stop smoking.”

Same desired outcome. Completely different energy.

The old Steve - the one who spent twelve years following his wife’s career around the UK - would have used the “You” statement, if he said anything at all. More likely, he would have said nothing and quietly resented it.

The new Steve? A couple of months into seeing this woman, they were driving to a weekend away and she asked if she could smoke in his car. Without skipping a beat, he told her he doesn’t want to spend his time with women who smoke - that he finds it deeply unattractive and an immediate dealbreaker. She looked shocked. She asked what he’d do if she kept smoking. He told her he’d wish her all the best and stop seeing her.

She got to decide whether spending time with a man who “ticks all of her boxes - and then some” was worth more to her than smoking. She chose him. And she’s genuinely grateful for it - because she’s healthier now too. That’s what a real “I” statement looks like when there’s frame behind it.

The Part Nobody Talks About

Steve’s arrangement with his kids is worth hearing, because it’s practical in a way that most divorce advice isn’t.

He couldn’t fight for 50/50 custody. The UK system doesn’t offer it. And he’d already spent fifty-five grand on the divorce. He didn’t have another twenty thousand pounds to gamble on a court system that wasn’t built for fathers.

So he got creative.

Instead of fighting for more overnights - which is how child support gets calculated in the UK - he fought for quality time. He takes his kids to school every day. Picks them up most days. Gives them dinner and a bath at his place. Then their mum collects them in the evening - she lives a minute’s drive away.

Does his ex get a few hundred extra quid a month in child support because of the overnight split? Yes. But he sees and hugs his kids every single school day. He has half the holidays and every other weekend. And his evenings are free to build his business, pursue hobbies, or date.

He summed it up simply: “I can always make more money. I can’t make any more quality time with my kids.”

The man who was a “shell of a man” in 2014 is now raising two incredible kids while building a business, maintaining his physique, and experiencing genuine desire from women - all at five foot six with a buzz cut.

What Steve Proves

Steve proves the one thing I’ve been saying for a decade that the excuse-makers refuse to accept.

The playbook works.

Not just for tall guys. Not just for rich guys. Not just for guys who were born with advantages. It works for five-foot-six British guys with receding hairlines who spent twelve years as a doormat and came out the other side of a messy divorce with fifty-five grand less in his pocket and a custody arrangement that a lot of men would have given up over.

Steve didn’t give up. He did the work. Over a decade of it and counting. And the results speak louder than any excuse you could come up with in the comments.

He’s not done, either. His exact words: “I’m only just getting started on this never-ending journey of living my best life for my kids and I.”

The life you want is available to you. Every piece of it. But nobody is going to hand it to you, and nobody is going to feel sorry for you while you sit on the sidelines making excuses about your height or your hairline or your bank account.

Steve was 5’6”, divorced, and broke.

Look at him now.

Your move.