‘I dropped out of college to become a YouTube star – at 21, I partied with celebs, bought myself a supercar and earned £1m a year’

An entrepreneur who dropped out of college to follow his dreams has shared mind-blowing details of his money-fuelled lifestyle.

Trey Colley is just 24 years old but has experienced more adventures than most people his age can dream of.

By his 21st birthday, the influencer, who has over 600,000 followers, lived in a 7,000 square ft mansion in Las Vegas with his exotic jungle cats, which cost £15,000 each.

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He drove around in a £115,000 BMW i8 and hung out at exclusive events with rappers like Famous Dex, and models and actresses including Sarah Snyder and Mel Maia.

The luxurious lifestyle is a far cry from Trey’s upbringing in Virginia, US – the former soccer team captain grew up on a farm and was all set for a traditional career path.

That is, until he decided to take a gamble on social media.

“I noticed that the people who always seemed to be living on top of the world and accomplishing their dreams were celebrities and influencers,” said Trey.

“They had money, connections, freedom, travelled the world and got paid to do so.

“I knew if I could get around these celebrities, I too would share a similar destiny.

“I learned how to grow brands and ended up not only turning myself into an influencer, but helping many other people do the same.

“The money followed as my platform grew.”

Trey devoured all the information he could find about how to make money through social media.

It was a stark contrast to his farm life at home, where he was tasked with waking up early to feed the chickens and horses, before making a 45-minute drive to school.

A frustration began to grow inside Trey as he yearned for a more exciting life.

At 20 years old, despite having a college scholarship, he dropped out to focus on his digital future.

He said: “I had a full-ride to college, I was captain of the soccer team, had a 4.0 GPA but I still decided to drop out to chase my dreams.

“I soon became the arguably most successful self-made person of my age from my hometown of Virginia Beach.

“I had my dream car, was living between LA and Las Vegas, and was eyeing up a luxurious oceanfront property for sale.

“Living with exotic jungle cats in mansions, partying with influencers and beautiful girls, having the freedom to travel around the world, never having to hesitate on going out to eat or shopping – it felt like a movie.

“My dad is someone who has always believed in me but other family members thought I was in over my head, as pursuing this career meant I’d be the first of us not to go to college.

“My whole life I’d felt like I had something to prove.

“So going all in on my dreams and putting all of the pressure on myself was the final test to see who was truly right – and that bet paid off.”

For a few years, everything went smoothly as Trey enjoyed the pleasures of being an influencer.

But then everything “came crashing down”.

Trey said: “Making money from my phone and running my own businesses allowed me to make money from anywhere in the world at any time.

“I could generate income at will.

“But being so young and successful, I was naive, I never thought the high of being on top of the world would end.

“I was about to get a reality check.”

Trey suffered a major setback in 2023, when he claims his social media accounts went down the same week he closed on his oceanfront property.

Not only was he forced to start over from the beginning, he now had the commitment of a massive mortgage hanging over his head.

The experience taught him to diversify, as he decided to launch his own business – Brandosaur – helping clients across the world build their brands.

Trey said: “At first, it felt like 10 years of my hard work had gone down the drain.

“But I was able to rebuild the way my brand looked and how it operated, with a better foundation.

“I started focusing on YouTube as well, sharing videos of my journey.

“Young people these days want to make their mark on the world.

“I feel passionate about helping people achieve their dreams, just like I have.”

Trey is documenting his experience on YouTube in a series called ‘$0 to $1m in 365 days’ to showcase how he built his PR firm and to inspire people to never give up on their dreams.

He added: “Anyone can build an online business through determination and consistency.

“I want to be transparent and show the highs and lows of building a business, because most entrepreneurs only show the upside.

“It’s not all butterflies and rainbows – this job can be very stressful, but it’s worth it in the long-term.

“I made my dreams a reality through faith, action and the willpower to achieve my dreams no matter what.”

For the future, Trey intends to enjoy the gains his hard work has brought, but has shifted his mindset from spending money on material items to trying new experiences and building memories.

He also travels a lot – the entrepreneur was just in Amsterdam for a business event, and is set to visit Croatia, Prague and the Czech Republic before the year is up.

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