Rustam's Trading Journey
Why Rustam Failed at $120K—and What Changed Everything
Trader Snapshot
Name | Rustam |
Location | Germany (Originally from Uzbekistan) |
Experience | Trading since 2021 |
Trading Status | Part-Time / Funded Trader |
Primary Program | |
Trading Style | Day Trading & Swing Trading (Hybrid) |
Rustam's Trading Journey
Overview
This article summarizes an in-depth interview with Rustam, a part-time funded trader based in Germany who began his trading journey in 2021. Originally from Uzbekistan, Rustam shares how he progressed from early account losses to managing larger funded accounts through discipline, education, and psychological growth.
The interview explores his background, trading philosophy, risk management practices, and long-term goals within the proprietary trading environment. His journey highlights the importance of patience, structured learning, and a professional mindset in achieving sustainable success.
Timeline of Key Events
Timeframe | Event / Development |
2019 | Moved from Uzbekistan to Germany for Master’s studies |
Early 2021 | Began trading during COVID-19 lockdown |
2021–2022 | Account losses with small capital |
2022 | Reached $120K account but failed due to overconfidence |
Mid-2022 | Took 6-month break for learning and mentorship |
Sep 2023 | Returned with $15K account and scaled to $60K |
Present | Actively trading $60K account with improved tools |
Background and Trading Journey
Early Trading Phase
Rustam started trading in early 2021 during the pandemic. Motivated by boredom and his finance background, he began learning through:
- Online resources
- Podcasts
- Self-study
He initially traded with personal funds and experienced multiple account losses.
Transition to Prop Trading
After struggling with small capital, Rustam realized that scaling personal funds was difficult. He shifted toward proprietary trading firms to access larger capital.
He tested several firms before joining Audacity Capital in 2022.
Are You Looking For A Most Trusted Prop Firm?
Get Funded NowFirst Major Setback
In 2022, Rustam reached a $120K funded account but failed due to:
- Overconfidence
- Breaking risk rules
- Emotional trading
This experience became a major turning point in his development.
Recovery and Improvement
After taking a six-month break, Rustam joined mentorship programs, followed structured education, and focused on psychology and discipline.
He returned in 2023 with improved skills and mindset, quickly scaling from $15K to $60K.
Trading Philosophy and Strategy
Core Philosophy
Rustam prioritizes capital growth over fast profits. His core beliefs include:
- Managing larger capital is more valuable than chasing high returns
- Patience produces consistent results
- Quality setups matter more than trade frequency
Analysis Approach
He applies a structured, multi-layered analysis.
Top-Down Analysis
- Weekly charts
- 4-hour charts
- 30-minute charts for entries
Technical Tools
- Support and resistance zones
- Liquidity levels
- Trend lines
- RSI
- Fibonacci retracement
Fundamental Analysis
- News events
- Economic releases
- Market sentiment
Trade Confirmation
Before entering trades, Rustam requires at least three confirmations:
- News alignment
- Technical levels
- Indicator signals
This process reduces impulsive decision-making.
Trading Style
His approach combines day trading and swing trading. Depending on market conditions, he may hold positions for several days or weeks.
Risk Management and Psychology
Risk Control
Rustam follows strict risk management rules:
- Maximum drawdown: ~10%
- No excessive lot size increases
- No revenge trading
- No over-leveraging
Capital protection remains his top priority.
Psychological Discipline
Psychology plays a central role in his trading:
- Avoids emotional recovery trading
- Maintains consistency
- Learns from losing periods
- Takes breaks when needed
He recognizes that overconfidence caused his early failures.
Mentorship and Accountability
Rustam mentors other traders, which helps him:
- Stay accountable
- Reinforce discipline
- Follow his own rules
Teaching others strengthens his own consistency.
Free Prop Firm Trading Competition
Start the Free ChallengeCurrent Status and Future Goals
Current Position
- Trading remains a secondary income source
- Actively managing a $60K funded account
He appreciates recent platform upgrades, including:
- No monthly fees
- More tradable instruments
- Weekend trade holding
- Faster dashboard updates
Long-Term Goals
Rustam plans to:
- Transition to full-time trading in 2–3 years
- Continue improving psychology
- Maintain consistency
- Scale toward $2 million capital
His consistency score has improved from below 50 to above 80, reflecting strong discipline.
Key Insights and Advice
Rustam’s main lessons include:
- Patience is essential
- Capital management matters more than fast profits
- Combining fundamentals and technicals improves accuracy
- Mentorship accelerates growth
- Secondary income reduces emotional pressure
- Trading must be treated as a profession
Strategy Summary Table
Component | Description |
Analysis Approach | Top-down: Weekly → 4H → 30M |
Dow Jones, GBP/JPY, AUD pairs | |
Indicators | RSI, Fibonacci, Trend Lines |
Confirmation | Minimum 3 signals before entry |
Trading Style | Day + Swing Trading |
Risk Management | Max 10% drawdown, no over-leverage |
Psychological Focus | Patience, consistency, emotional balance |
Conclusion
Rustam’s journey demonstrates how discipline, patience, and structured learning can transform early trading failures into long-term success.
From losing small accounts to managing larger funded capital, his progress highlights the value of mentorship, psychological stability, and rule-based execution.
By treating trading as a professional career, balancing income sources, and continuously improving his strategy, Rustam has built a strong foundation for future growth.
His story offers valuable guidance for traders aiming to succeed in funded trading environments through consistency rather than shortcuts.
Certification
Certification
Certification
Certification
Choose The Best Plan
Designed to reduce stress by removing deadlines 👍 Unlimited trading period for Challenge, Verification and Live stages.
1st and 2nd Steps:
You only need to trade on 4 different days. A trading day is defined as a day when at least one position is opened.
Live account:
No minimum trading days
The Daily Drawdown resets every day at midnight (MT5 server time – GMT+2 / GMT+3 depending on Daylight Saving Time).
It is calculated as 7.5% (5% for Verification and live stage) of the account’s balance or equity at rollover, whichever is higher.
Your equity cannot fall by more than 7.5% (5% for the 2nd step and live stage) in a single trading day. Once the day resets, a new limit is set based on your updated balance or equity, following a static-based model.
Example:
Account balance at rollover: $120,000
Daily Drawdown (7.5%) → $9,000 → Equity must not fall below $111,000 that day.
If equity or the balance rises to $130,000 by the next rollover, the new daily drawdown will be $9,750 (7.5% of 130,000).
The Absolute Drawdown (Maximum Drawdown) is 15% (or 10% for the 2nd step and live stage) of the initial account balance and remains fixed throughout the challenge.
If either the daily or absolute drawdown is breached, the account will be terminated.
Example: Account balance: $120,000
Absolute Drawdown (15%) → $18,000 → The account will be closed if equity drops below $102,000.
The profit target is 10% on the Challenge stage and 5% on the Verification stage. Achieving these targets while following the rules will qualify you for a Live account
Profit sharing starts at 75%, you can reach up to 90% with consistent performances in line with our scaling plan.
Once on Live stage, traders can request withdrawals biweekly (every 14 days). After the request is approved, traders will receive the profit share in their wallet on the same day.
Once traders earn a payout, they'll be eligible for a Reward Bonus equal to the initial registration fee. This will be included with the first payout from the Ability Live.
Not anymore
You may hold trades over the weekend and trade during news events. Simply avoid opening, closing or adding to positions within 3 minutes before or after any high impact news release or speech, as that can be identified as excessive risk.
EAs are allowed if they follow our prohibited-strategy rules and are not sourced from third-party signals. Please see our prohibited trading practices here.
Copy trading is allowed between your own accounts within Audacity Capital. Copying from an external account is allowed only if the account belongs to you. Third-party copying is not permitted.
Select Program:
Select Account Size
phase 1
Max Drawdown
$750
Based on Initial Balance
Total Loss 15%
Daily loss: 7.5%
Profit Target
$500
Based on Balance
Target : 10%
phase 2
Max Drawdown
$500
Based on Initial Balance
Total Loss 10%
Daily loss: 5%
Profit Target
$250
Based on Balance
Target : 5%
live
Max Drawdown
$500
Based on Initial Balance
Total Loss 10%
Daily loss: 5%
Profit Target
More than 10%
Less than 10%
Challenge
Designed to reduce stress by removing deadlines 👍 Unlimited trading period for Challenge, Verification and Live stages.
1st and 2nd Steps:
You only need to trade on 4 different days. A trading day is defined as a day when at least one position is opened.
Live account:
No minimum trading days
The Daily Drawdown resets every day at midnight (MT5 server time – GMT+2 / GMT+3 depending on Daylight Saving Time).
It is calculated as 7.5% (5% for Verification and live stage) of the account’s balance or equity at rollover, whichever is higher.
Your equity cannot fall by more than 7.5% (5% for the 2nd step and live stage) in a single trading day. Once the day resets, a new limit is set based on your updated balance or equity, following a static-based model.
Example:
Account balance at rollover: $120,000
Daily Drawdown (7.5%) → $9,000 → Equity must not fall below $111,000 that day.
If equity or the balance rises to $130,000 by the next rollover, the new daily drawdown will be $9,750 (7.5% of 130,000).
The Absolute Drawdown (Maximum Drawdown) is 15% (or 10% for the 2nd step and live stage) of the initial account balance and remains fixed throughout the challenge.
If either the daily or absolute drawdown is breached, the account will be terminated.
Example: Account balance: $120,000
Absolute Drawdown (15%) → $18,000 → The account will be closed if equity drops below $102,000.
The profit target is 10% on the Challenge stage and 5% on the Verification stage. Achieving these targets while following the rules will qualify you for a Live account
Profit sharing starts at 75%, you can reach up to 90% with consistent performances in line with our scaling plan.
Once on Live stage, traders can request withdrawals biweekly (every 14 days). After the request is approved, traders will receive the profit share in their wallet on the same day.
Once traders earn a payout, they'll be eligible for a Reward Bonus equal to the initial registration fee. This will be included with the first payout from the Ability Live.
Not anymore
You may hold trades over the weekend and trade during news events. Simply avoid opening, closing or adding to positions within 3 minutes before or after any high impact news release or speech, as that can be identified as excessive risk.
EAs are allowed if they follow our prohibited-strategy rules and are not sourced from third-party signals. Please see our prohibited trading practices here.
Copy trading is allowed between your own accounts within Audacity Capital. Copying from an external account is allowed only if the account belongs to you. Third-party copying is not permitted.
Select Program:
Select Account Size
phase 1
Max Drawdown
$750
Based on Initial Balance
Total Loss 15%
Daily loss: 7.5%
Profit Target
$500
Based on Balance
Target : 10%
phase 2
Max Drawdown
$500
Based on Initial Balance
Total Loss 10%
Daily loss: 5%
Profit Target
$250
Based on Balance
Target : 5%
live
Max Drawdown
$500
Based on Initial Balance
Total Loss 10%
Daily loss: 5%
Profit Target
More than 10%
Less than 10%
Designed to reduce stress by removing deadlines 👍 Unlimited trading period for Challenge, Verification and Live stages.
1st and 2nd Steps:
You only need to trade on 4 different days. A trading day is defined as a day when at least one position is opened.
Live account:
No minimum trading days
The Daily Drawdown resets every day at midnight (MT5 server time – GMT+2 / GMT+3 depending on Daylight Saving Time).
It is calculated as 7.5% (5% for Verification and live stage) of the account’s balance or equity at rollover, whichever is higher.
Your equity cannot fall by more than 7.5% (5% for the 2nd step and live stage) in a single trading day. Once the day resets, a new limit is set based on your updated balance or equity, following a static-based model.
Example:
Account balance at rollover: $120,000
Daily Drawdown (7.5%) → $9,000 → Equity must not fall below $111,000 that day.
If equity or the balance rises to $130,000 by the next rollover, the new daily drawdown will be $9,750 (7.5% of 130,000).
The Absolute Drawdown (Maximum Drawdown) is 15% (or 10% for the 2nd step and live stage) of the initial account balance and remains fixed throughout the challenge.
If either the daily or absolute drawdown is breached, the account will be terminated.
Example: Account balance: $120,000
Absolute Drawdown (15%) → $18,000 → The account will be closed if equity drops below $102,000.
The profit target is 10% on the Challenge stage and 5% on the Verification stage. Achieving these targets while following the rules will qualify you for a Live account
Profit sharing starts at 75%, you can reach up to 90% with consistent performances in line with our scaling plan.
Once on Live stage, traders can request withdrawals biweekly (every 14 days). After the request is approved, traders will receive the profit share in their wallet on the same day.
Once traders earn a payout, they'll be eligible for a Reward Bonus equal to the initial registration fee. This will be included with the first payout from the Ability Live.
Not anymore
You may hold trades over the weekend and trade during news events. Simply avoid opening, closing or adding to positions within 3 minutes before or after any high impact news release or speech, as that can be identified as excessive risk.
EAs are allowed if they follow our prohibited-strategy rules and are not sourced from third-party signals. Please see our prohibited trading practices here.
Copy trading is allowed between your own accounts within Audacity Capital. Copying from an external account is allowed only if the account belongs to you. Third-party copying is not permitted.
Select Program:
Select Account Size
phase 1
Max Drawdown
$750
Based on Initial Balance
Total Loss 15%
Daily loss: 7.5%
Profit Target
$500
Based on Balance
Target : 10%
phase 2
Max Drawdown
$500
Based on Initial Balance
Total Loss 10%
Daily loss: 5%
Profit Target
$250
Based on Balance
Target : 5%
live
Max Drawdown
$500
Based on Initial Balance
Total Loss 10%
Daily loss: 5%
Profit Target
More than 10%
Less than 10%
Designed to reduce stress by removing deadlines 👍 Unlimited trading period for Challenge, Verification and Live stages.
1st and 2nd Steps:
You only need to trade on 4 different days. A trading day is defined as a day when at least one position is opened.
Live account:
No minimum trading days
The Daily Drawdown resets every day at midnight (MT5 server time – GMT+2 / GMT+3 depending on Daylight Saving Time).
It is calculated as 7.5% (5% for Verification and live stage) of the account’s balance or equity at rollover, whichever is higher.
Your equity cannot fall by more than 7.5% (5% for the 2nd step and live stage) in a single trading day. Once the day resets, a new limit is set based on your updated balance or equity, following a static-based model.
Example:
Account balance at rollover: $120,000
Daily Drawdown (7.5%) → $9,000 → Equity must not fall below $111,000 that day.
If equity or the balance rises to $130,000 by the next rollover, the new daily drawdown will be $9,750 (7.5% of 130,000).
The Absolute Drawdown (Maximum Drawdown) is 15% (or 10% for the 2nd step and live stage) of the initial account balance and remains fixed throughout the challenge.
If either the daily or absolute drawdown is breached, the account will be terminated.
Example: Account balance: $120,000
Absolute Drawdown (15%) → $18,000 → The account will be closed if equity drops below $102,000.
The profit target is 10% on the Challenge stage and 5% on the Verification stage. Achieving these targets while following the rules will qualify you for a Live account
Profit sharing starts at 75%, you can reach up to 90% with consistent performances in line with our scaling plan.
Once on Live stage, traders can request withdrawals biweekly (every 14 days). After the request is approved, traders will receive the profit share in their wallet on the same day.
Once traders earn a payout, they'll be eligible for a Reward Bonus equal to the initial registration fee. This will be included with the first payout from the Ability Live.
Not anymore
You may hold trades over the weekend and trade during news events. Simply avoid opening, closing or adding to positions within 3 minutes before or after any high impact news release or speech, as that can be identified as excessive risk.
EAs are allowed if they follow our prohibited-strategy rules and are not sourced from third-party signals. Please see our prohibited trading practices here.
Copy trading is allowed between your own accounts within Audacity Capital. Copying from an external account is allowed only if the account belongs to you. Third-party copying is not permitted.
Select Program:
Select Account Size
phase 1
Max Drawdown
$750
Based on Initial Balance
Total Loss 15%
Daily loss: 7.5%
Profit Target
$500
Based on Balance
Target : 10%
phase 2
Max Drawdown
$500
Based on Initial Balance
Total Loss 10%
Daily loss: 5%
Profit Target
$250
Based on Balance
Target : 5%
live
Max Drawdown
$500
Based on Initial Balance
Total Loss 10%
Daily loss: 5%
Profit Target
More than 10%
Less than 10%
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