Chat With Traders

Christian Carreon returns to Chat With Traders nearly three years after his first appearance, where he shared his remarkable journey through stage-five kidney failure and the discipline it forged in him as a trader. Today, he brings an even deeper perspective—on markets, on patience, and on the Box Strategy that has become his signature. Christian is a breakout trend trader who waits for compression, defines his levels meticulously, and only commits when price breaks cleanly from the “box” with tight risk and clear direction. In this conversation, he walks us through how his approach has evolved, how he sizes up with confidence, and why patience inside consolidation is the foundation of every edge he has. From day-trading futures for cash flow to swing-trading leading stocks for growth, Christian shares the discipline, structure, and gratitude that guide both his trading and his life. Links + Resources: ● Follow Christian on X: @trading_boxes ● Christian on NinjaTrader Live ● Christian on CWT Episode 254 Sponsor of Chat With Traders Podcast: ● Trade The Pool: http://www.tradethepool.com Time Stamps: Please note: Exact times will vary depending on current ads. ● 00:00 Intro and Background ● 05:23 Kidney Donation Journey ● 06:37 Recovery Process After Transplant ● 09:45 Mental Focus During Recovery ● 12:51 Trading Goals and Adjustments ● 12:09 Risk Management in Trading ● 12:38 Sizing Up and Position Management ● 15:24 Identifying Trading Opportunities ● 16:23 Market Conditions and Trading Strategy ● 17:28 Support and Resistance Analysis ● 19:00 Using Indicators for Trading ● 22:48 Influence of News on Trading ● 24:00 Box Strategy Overview ● 27:18 Adapting Trading Strategies ● 29:40 Trading Discipline and Limits ● 32:10 Managing Investor Funds ● 33:15 Handling Market Events ● 36:03 Investor Mistakes and Adaptation ● 47:04 Reflections on Trading Journey ● 50:34 Catch up with Tessa Trading Disclaimer: Trading in the financial markets involves a risk of loss. Podcast episodes and other content produced by Chat With Traders are for informational or educational purposes only and do not constitute trading or investment recommendations or advice. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

How a trader from Dallas built consistency—and a simple lifestyle of freedom in Southeast Asia—with a 30% win rate. Diego Ivan Cortes Lopez grew up chasing perfection on the tennis court, where winning came naturally, but it was trading that taught him how to win by losing. After years of trial, error, and a six-figure setback, studying the methods taught by Oliver Velez, a prominent veteran professional trader, helped him rebuild his approach - focusing on daily support and resistance, clean reversal signals, and asymmetric risk-to-reward. Now trading large-cap stocks from Vietnam on a single 13-inch laptop with uncluttered charts and limiting his sessions to the first hour of the market open, Diego shows that real consistency and freedom come from mastering the math of risk and reward—and keeping both trading and life simple. Links + Resources: ● Diego’s Instagram: diegoivan__7 ● Diego’s Email: diegoivan0907@gmail.com Sponsors of Chat With Traders Podcast: Trade The Pool: http://www.tradethepool.com TastyTrade: https://tastytrade.com/ Time Stamps: Please note: Exact times will vary depending on current ads. ● 00:00 – Early Life & Tennis ● 04:30 – Tennis Coaching & Business Success ● 09:00 – Early trading and the six-figure drawdown ● 14:00 – Rebuilding & Moving Aboard ● 20:00 – Finding Oliver Velez, relearning ● 27:00 – Today’s playbook: daily levels, 5-min entries, first-hour focus ● 34:00 – Risk, sizing, psychology, and “becoming a great loser” ● 40:00 – Living/trading in Asia; consistency over perfection ● 46:00 – Struggles, losing streaks, and long-term confidence ● 50:00 – Brief chat with Tessa Trading Disclaimer: Trading in the financial markets involves a risk of loss. Podcast episodes and other content produced by Chat With Traders are for informational or educational purposes only and do not constitute trading or investment recommendations or advice. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A former competitive gamer, Mario Dimitroff from Bulgaria got his start on a local trading floor before discovering that the U.S. premarket session best fit his skills. Now trading for a living and doing nothing else, his news-driven, event-based scalping focuses on low-liquidity movers. Leveraging gaming-honed speed and pattern recognition, he quickly decides whether to ride momentum or fade to mean, enters/exits fast, sizes within liquidity, and sustains his edge by cutting losers quickly, avoiding drawdowns, and stacking small consistent wins. In this episode, you’ll hear how Mario turned his competitive gaming instincts into an all-in commitment to the markets and full-time trading career. Links + Resources: Mario’s YouTube Channel: The Wall Street Cat - YouTube Sponsors of this episode of the Chat With Traders Podcast: Trade The Pool: http://www.tradethepool.com TastyTrade: http://tastytrade.com/podcasts Time Stamps: Please note: Exact times will vary depending on current ads. 01:30 Introduction and background 03:50 Early Experiences and Learning from Failure 07:38 Return to Trading During COVID-19 08:38 Working on a Trading Floor 10:51 Trading Strategies and Market Insights 11:14 Imposter Syndrome and Mental Challenges in Trading 14:57 Career Decisions and Trading Philosophy 18:49 Finding Trading Edge and Style 20:39 Scalping and Pre-Market Trading 21:40 Meme Stocks and Market Euphoria 24:07 Navigating Market Downturns 25:49 Understanding Euphoria and Market Psychology 43:54 Avoiding Drawdowns and Maintaining Profitability 45:48 Scalping Strategies and Risk Management 51:56 Biggest challenges as a trader 59:15 How to reach Mario 59:30 Chat With Tessa Trading Disclaimer: Trading in the financial markets involves a risk of loss. Podcast episodes and other content produced by Chat With Traders are for informational or educational purposes only and do not constitute trading or investment recommendations or advice. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Growing up in Germany without a financial background, Julian Komar became fascinated by stocks as a teenager. He moved past complex German trading products to concentrate on U.S. equities. Specializing in momentum and growth stocks on the daily timeframe, he blends fundamentals, technicals, and story analysis to uncover opportunities that put him in the best position for high-potential setups and riding powerful trends. As a disciplined breakout trader, he prioritizes risk control, market trends, and intuition gained through decades of experience. About Julian Komar Julian is a trader, mentor, and entrepreneur. With over 20 years of stock trading experience, he trades growth and momentum stocks using a systematic strategy, holding winners for weeks to months and cutting losers within days — a style that perfectly matches his personality. Julian’s passion lies in uncovering innovative companies with the potential to grow sales rapidly and achieve significant long-term success. He devotes 95% of his energy to research, searching for the next potential “super stock.” Trading Disclaimer Trading in the financial markets involves a risk of loss. Podcast episodes and other content produced by Chat With Traders are for informational or educational purposes only and do not constitute trading or investment recommendations or advice. Links + Resources Follow Julian on X: https://x.com/BlogJulianKomar Julian’s Website: https://julian-komar.com/contact/ Time Stamps Please note: Exact times will vary depending on current ads. 00:00 Introduction and background 10:20 Fundamentals and technicals 17:30 Sister stocks 28:30 Trading the GFC 34:02 Worst drawdowns 33:00 The setup for the trade 43:00 Position sizing 52:30 Trading performance 1:08:35 How to reach Julian 1:09:00 Tessa Chats with Julian Sponsors of Chat With Traders Podcast: Plus500: Try futures trading with Plus500 >> Start with a FREE demo or claim a bonus up to $200 with an open account 👉⁠https://us.plus500.com⁠Trading futures involves the risk of loss and is not suitable for every investor. Trade The Pool: ⁠http://www.tradethepool.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

What happens when a teenager growing up without TV in rural Canada stumbles across CNBC in a college dorm and sees people making $100,000 in a day? For Chris Vermeulen, that moment changed everything—and kicked off a 25-year journey of trading triumphs, painful losses, and profound strategy shifts. In this episode, you'll meet a trader who’s lived through the tech bubble, the 2008 financial crisis, and everything in between. Chris doesn’t chase headlines or hype—he follows price, momentum, and something most traders overlook entirely: vibration and cycles. From blowing up accounts to walking away from day trading altogether, Chris now rides the market’s waves with a calm, calculated edge—making just 5 to 12 trades a year, knowing exactly when to sit still and wait for the right wave. His approach might challenge what you believe about risk, emotion, and even diversification. About Chris Vermeulen: Chris is a seasoned position trader with over two decades of experience navigating market cycles—from the tech bubble to the 2008 financial crisis and beyond. He’s the author of Technical Trading Mastery and the newly released Asset Revesting, where he introduces a disciplined, momentum-based strategy for managing risk and maximizing returns. He also founded The Technical Traders. Rejecting traditional buy-and-hold thinking but also having moved away from day trading, Chris believes that true portfolio growth comes from owning assets in confirmed uptrends and rotating out of those losing strength. His approach emphasizes technical analysis, price action, and timing over diversification, aiming to protect capital while achieving above-average returns. Links + Resources: ● How to reach Chris – Visit The Technical Traders Website: https://thetechnicaltraders.com/ Sponsors of Chat With Traders Podcast: ● Plus500: Try futures trading with Plus500 >> Start with a FREE demo or claim a bonus up to $200 with an open account 👉https://us.plus500.com Trading futures involves the risk of loss and is not suitable for every investor. ● Trade The Pool: http://www.tradethepool.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Erik Smolinski returns to Chat With Traders after his first appearance on episode 272, joining Tessa for a trader-to-trader conversation about the intricacies of options trading, a topic Erik is deeply passionate about. In this episode Erik digs into one of Tessa’s own options strategies, offering thoughtful feedback and sharing his expertise and experience from years in the game. With so many myths floating around about options, their discussion clears up some of the biggest misconceptions and gives listeners a practical perspective on how to approach this trading style. About Erik Smolinski: Erik is a Marine veteran, options trader, and investor in both real estate and startups. It started when a high school teacher introduced him to investing in 2007, which then changed the direction of his life. Over the years, he’s put in more than 30,000 hours to master his craft and became a first-generation millionaire before turning 30. From his school days to his time in the Marines and his work as a trader, Erik has always set his own standards instead of following the crowd. That independent approach—what he calls the Outlier mindset—has shaped his life. Investing lets him spend time on things he cares about, like traveling, working on cars, training, and helping others learn what he knows. Sponsors of Chat With Traders Podcast: Plus500: Try futures trading with Plus500 >> Start with a FREE demo or claim a bonus up to $200 with an open account 👉 https://us.plus500.com/en/multiplatformdownload?product=Futures&id=138516&tags=version2&pl=2 Trading futures involves the risk of loss and is not suitable for every investor. Trade The Pool: https://tradethepool.com/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Michael Martin, raised in a hardworking blue-collar community, embraced the same ethic. An entrepreneur at heart, he hustled from cutting grass when he was 12 to working all types of jobs including golf caddying and waiting at restaurants to starting businesses. Determined to transition into the white-collar working world and being at the right place at the right time, he was exposed to the financial markets. He subsequently worked on Wall Street, managing commodity accounts. Despite the significant commissions, he realized that he could potentially earn more through an incentive fee. After three years at a brokerage firm, he started his own CTA. Emphasizing the importance of risk management, discipline, and emotional intelligence, and maintaining a mental edge in trading, he discusses his early experiences with commodities, the evolution of his trading strategies, and the significance of networking and mentorship. This episode of Chat With Traders is sponsored by Plus 500 and Trade The Pool. Click here to learn more about Plus500 and Trade The Pool. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices