fbpx
Connect with us
Apply Now

Executive Voice

Mark Van Stratum: Delinquent Turned Author-Millionaire

Mark Van Stratum

We tend to connect to real things in life, and that goes for books as well. This author has won several hearts with honesty in his writings. His transformational journey from a criminal to a record-breaking author has been commendable. In addition, his exploration of various genres and comprehensive illustrations of the human mind has left the readers in awe.

Mark Van Stratum is a Lisbon-based author, cartoonist, comic writer, dating coach, and entrepreneur. He successfully published his first book, Drug of Choice, in 2017. It was a memoir based on all the events of his life. His work also covers essential subjects that are related directly to human experiences and the psyche. He addressed critical questions, including business, gender relations, and numerous other topics, which would uncover the psychological components of his writings.

Different life events happened that changed the course of his life completely. At the age of 5, he lost his arm. Moreover, his dad abandoned his family when he was just 12. After that, Van Stratum got into bad things, from pessimistic vandalism to not-so-pessimistic drug robbery (and abusing the substances himself). He spent some time in prison. Later in high school, he was exposed to bullying from students and teachers, leaving him with anxiety and self-pity. Later, he indulged himself in drugs and crimes. But he soon realized this doesn’t seem right and left the country to break the vicious cycle.

After such turmoil, he decided to change it entirely and soon got a job as a dating coach. He gives highly informative courses on dating, one-night stands, relationships, and personal improvement. After meeting several other people that influenced him greatly, he paved his way to e-commerce and marketing. Soon, he went on to create his own business and also guide people to start their own. Now he has published his second book, Alpha seed Beta in 2021. The book is a love story like no other, interchanging between jaw-dropping dreamy interims and profound psychological analysis into the nature of love. The growth has been tremendous and inspiring.

“If you change your behavior, you’ll change your results.” Mark lives by this quote and believes that the cause behind his troubles and his successive defeats was his reaction. He has chosen to modify his view on things that must occur and live a vibrant life. It teaches us that both your troubles and your achievements are at the root of your behavior, and it’s never too late to change.  Mark’s life has been a lesson in patience and overcoming adversity to find happiness with himself once more after being defeated too many times before by his own reactions.

Are you interested to learn more about Mark and his books? Follow him on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/realmarkvanstratum/, or Amazon https://www.amazon.com/Mark-Van-Stratum/e/B06XXYN8T2.

Continue Reading


Copyright © 2022 Disrupt ™ Magazine is a Minority Owned Privately Held Company - Disrupt ™ was founder by Puerto Rican serial entrepreneur and philanthropist Tony Delgado who is on a mission to transform Latin America using the power of education and entrepreneurship.

Disrupt ™ Magazine
151 Calle San Francisco
Suite 200
San Juan, Puerto Rico, 00901

Opinions expressed by Disrupt Contributors are their own. Disrupt Magazine invites voices from many diverse walks of life to share their perspectives on our contributor platform. We are big believers in freedom of speech and while we do enforce our community guidelines, we do not actively censor stories on our platform because we want to give our contributors the freedom to express their opinions. Articles are not commissioned by our editorial team, and opinions expressed by our community contributors do not reflect the opinions of Disrupt or its employees.
We are committed to fighting the spread of misinformation online so if you feel an article on our platform goes against our community guidelines or contains false information, we do encourage you to report it. We need your help to fight the spread of misinformation. For more information please visit our Contributor Guidelines available here.


Disrupt ™ is the voice of latino entrepreneurs around the world. We are part of a movement to increase diversity in the technology industry and we are focused on using entrepreneurship to grow new economies in underserved communities both here in Puerto Rico and throughout Latin America. We enable millennials to become what they want to become in life by learning new skills and leveraging the power of the digital economy. We are living proof that all you need to succeed in this new economy is a landing page and a dream. Disrupt tells the stories of the world top entrepreneurs, developers, creators, and digital marketers and help empower them to teach others the skills they used to grow their careers, chase their passions and create financial freedom for themselves, their families, and their lives, all while living out their true purpose. We recognize the fact that most young people are opting to skip college in exchange for entrepreneurship and real-life experience. Disrupt Magazine was designed to give the world a taste of that.