Damon Fryer has lived many lives before arriving at where he is today — as the founder and leading figure behind one of the biggest automotive YouTube channels in the world, Daily Driven Exotics Over the course of 10 years, his channel has gained more than 3.3 million subscribers by giving viewers an inside look at what it's truly like to own and drive some of the most luxurious and expensive cars on a daily basis.
However, Damon's journey to building this successful venture was far from easy. It was a path filled with challenges, setbacks, and self-discovery. He had to overcome dyslexia during his childhood, and he made the decision to drop out of high school at a young age. He also took risks in business that didn't always lead to success.
But through perseverance, innovation, and the ability to turn difficulties into opportunities for growth, Damon managed to earn millions of dollars as an affiliate marketer in the early 2000s. He used his passion for cars and his desire to be an entrepreneur to create the multi-million dollar media company that Daily Driven Exotics is today.
In this article, we will look into Damon's background and experiences to understand how they have shaped him. We will explore the origins and growth of Daily Driven Exotics and gain insight into the strategies and mindsets that have allowed this venture to thrive on YouTube for over a decade. Along the way, we will discover important lessons in affiliate marketing, especially on how to make money from email affiliate marketing, entrepreneurship, creativity, resilience, and how setbacks can be turned into motivation for even greater success.
Damon Fryer
Early life and entrepreneurial roots
To understand Damon Fryer's future path, it is important to know about his upbringing in Port Alberni, British Columbia, a small coastal town in western Canada. His parents owned a motel and restaurant business, and Damon was exposed to the realities of entrepreneurship from a young age. He had responsibilities and tasks to help out, which gave him an early understanding of business.
However, Damon faced challenges in his early life. He was diagnosed with severe dyslexia, a learning disability that made reading, writing, and processing words and numbers extremely difficult. This made traditional classroom learning challenging for him, especially since personalized learning and computers were not common at that time.
Damon found that he learned best through visual observation and hands-on experience with a mentor. This made it difficult for him to navigate the French Immersion school system in Canada, and he ended up failing the first grade. As he progressed through school, his grades worsened, and he felt that the traditional educational system was not catering to his learning style. On the other hand, he thrived when helping out in his parents' entrepreneurial ventures, where real-world experience was more valuable than textbooks.
Damon reached a point where he felt frustrated with school and the behavior of his peers. Recognizing that he would likely continue to struggle in the traditional educational system, he made a bold decision. At the age of 13, he proposed leaving school to work full-time for his family's business. Although his father disapproved, his mother allowed him to pursue this path because of work obligations that made it difficult to enforce his return to school. And so, at a young age, Damon effectively dropped out of high school to start his professional career.
Early careers and lessons in business
After gaining valuable experience in his family's motel and restaurant business, Damon Fryer sought out new challenges. He took on various roles in different small local businesses, such as pizza delivery and working in a sawmill. Damon constantly pushed himself to take on physically demanding jobs that paid slightly higher wages. This gave him a sense of responsibility and taught him about managing finances from an early age.
During this time, Damon became intrigued by multi-level marketing (MLM) companies. He saw their business-within-a-business model as an opportunity. In his late teens, he got involved with a few MLM companies as a distributor. This allowed him to learn about commission-based sales, recruiting, leadership training, and the power of a positive mindset. These skills would prove valuable as he moved forward.
One MLM company, Excel Communications, became particularly successful for Damon. The company offered long-distance telephone services, which were in high demand at the time. Damon found success promoting their residential and business long-distance plans because the value proposition was simple: saving people money without changing anything. This resonated with customers, and Damon's conversion rates were strong.
During this period, Damon also promoted other offers, such as online data backup services, website hosting, software programs, and seasonal consumer products. He carefully selected major-brand offers that were easy to understand and aligned with his segmented subscriber bases.
Damon quickly climbed the leaderboards at Excel Communications. His entrepreneurial drive led him to recruit over 1200 new team members personally in less than a year. As a result, he was earning over $10,000 per month, which was unheard of at the time.
Unfortunately, Damon's MLM career took a hit when Excel Communications unexpectedly dissolved. The company had been acquired by another financially troubled company and couldn't survive the burden. Damon was left with nothing to show for his year of full-time investment. This experience taught him a harsh lesson about the risks involved when he didn't have full control. However, it also reinforced his determination to take ownership of his future ventures through self-employment rather than passive affiliate participation. While the specific company and technology faded, Damon carried the foundational best practices of affiliate marketing with him.
After the MLM setback, Damon took on more stable work at a local furniture and electronics retailer for four and a half years. This provided stability as he raised his two young daughters as a single father. However, the entrepreneurial spirit never left him. He still had the itch to create his ventures.
Discovering new opportunities online
Damon found himself working at a furniture store called The Brick in Canada, where his sales manager had a half-brother who would visit from time to time. When Damon first saw this guy, he thought he looked like a drug dealer. He drove fancy cars like a brand new Escalade and Corvette, and he treated ATMs like his personal piggy bank. Damon's initial impression was based on the guy's extravagant lifestyle and flashy clothes. But it turned out that he was an affiliate marketer who specialized in email marketing.
This guy made money by promoting affiliate products through bulk email marketing. Damon quickly realized the huge potential in this business when it comes to reaching a large audience. Though setting up the infrastructure to send emails efficiently and avoid spam folders was complex, once everything was in place, the potential for making conversions and money was huge. For example, this guy could reach 8 million people's inboxes within just 2 hours of work. Even with a conversion rate as low as 0.5%, he could still make a huge amount of money — approximately $40,000.
Damon says that the affiliate marketer was making about $750,000 per month.
Intrigued by this opportunity, Damon thought to himself that if someone else could do it, he could do it too. He was fascinated by the idea of having a laptop lifestyle, where he could work from anywhere in the world as long as he had an internet connection. The online marketer explained to Damon that he worked with an affiliate network that provided thousands of offers from different companies. Some offers paid commissions based on sales, while others paid for clicks or impressions.
Befriending the affiliate marketer and taking mentorship
As time went on, Damon and the affiliate marketer became closer friends. They spent time together, although Damon had to balance it with his job at the furniture store. Eventually, the online marketer got annoyed that Damon couldn't join him for parties because of his work commitments. He urged Damon to quit his job and work with him, offering an exciting entrepreneurial opportunity.
Intrigued by the potential and influenced by his upbringing, which taught him to be confident in himself, Damon decided to take a risk. He left his job at the furniture store, where he had been working for four and a half years, and joined the online marketer in his new business venture. That year turned out to be both exciting and toxic for Damon. He learned a lot about the online marketing industry and got to travel with his friend, but the excessive partying took a toll on him.
The online marketer's partying lifestyle was over the top, including long stays in Las Vegas, where he spent a crazy amount of money on gambling, alcohol, and strip clubs. Damon felt that his friend's luck in gambling was more reckless than calculated skill. The lifestyle was overwhelming, with non-stop partying and very little sleep. Damon found it increasingly difficult to keep up, but he endured it for valuable industry knowledge and networking opportunities.
Striking out on his own
Despite the initial excitement, Damon and the online marketer eventually had a falling out due to their toxic relationship. Damon realized that he couldn't continue in that negative environment and decided to use the knowledge he had gained to pursue his path as an entrepreneur.
At some point, Damon recognized that email marketing was losing its effectiveness as technology advanced. As a result, he began searching for new opportunities and gained fresh perspectives on building online businesses from scratch.
Despite the setback, Damon was determined to make affiliate marketing work on his terms. He started experimenting with different strategies and revenue streams, and he discovered that leveraging Facebook Ads was particularly successful in 2007 when the ad platform was just launched. By crafting targeted ad campaigns and refining his skills through testing various creative approaches and audience targeting, Damon achieved his highest earnings ever at that time. He promoted affiliate offers from major brands on Facebook and earned commissions of up to $100,000 in a single month.
Damon aimed to achieve the same level of success as the online marketer, to make $500,000 per month. However, he faced challenges along the way, such as neglecting to pay his taxes for four years, which resulted in a hefty tax bill of half a million dollars.
Nevertheless, this experience proved to Damon the potential of affiliate marketing when optimized independently and scaled up. With this proof of concept in hand, Damon became even more motivated to develop sustainable ventures under his full control, diversifying his income streams and taking charge of his entrepreneurial journey.
The birth of Daily Driven Exotics
In the late 2000s, social platforms like Facebook and YouTube were becoming increasingly popular, and Damon recognized the potential they held. After taking some time to pay off taxes he owed from previous ventures, Damon turned his attention to YouTube, seeing it as a platform that could cater to both his creative and business needs.
I always wanted to stay in the affiliate marketing field. I saw YouTube as another channel for marketing — I was just on the opposite end, creating content for others to place ads on instead of placing them myself.
He was inspired by Casey Neistat's innovative vlogging style and realized that he could apply a similar format to his lifelong passion for cars. Damon came up with the idea of capturing his daily driving experiences with the exotic vehicles he had access to through his work. Initially, he didn't take the idea too seriously and released some exploratory videos featuring his Lamborghini Gallardo towards the end of 2008.
To his surprise, the videos gained millions of views almost instantly. The online automotive niche was still in its early stages, and people were fascinated by seeing these luxurious cars in everyday situations. Recognizing the opportunity, Damon doubled down on improving the quality of his content and maintaining a consistent schedule. He invested in better equipment, honed his storytelling techniques, and transformed his sporadic hobby footage into a well-defined weekly release schedule.
His efforts paid off quickly — Daily Driven Exotics took off. Riding the wave of YouTube's rapid growth during that time, Damon's channel surpassed milestone after milestone as he explored new creative approaches. Videos of mundane activities like grocery shopping runs or car detailing sessions garnered millions of views. Damon gained valuable experience as he juggled multiple roles, acting as the host, camera operator, editor, and community manager all by himself.
By 2010, Daily Driven Exotics had become a true success story. Damon was earning over $10,000 in some months from Amazon affiliate revenue alone, and the channel reached 7 figures in lifetime views. The proof of concept was clear - by combining his natural talent for automotive entertainment with his video skills acquired through trial and error, Damon had discovered the recipe for YouTube success. Daily Driven Exotics had truly come to life.
Scaling success and strategic pivots
Over the next few years, Damon learned important lessons about growing a business on platforms that were constantly changing. Strategies that worked in the early stages, like building a direct email list, didn't bring in as much money or growth as newer channels emerged. Damon wasted no time and began testing platforms like Facebook, where he discovered significant potential by reaching the same audience.
Understanding the importance of diversification, Damon expanded Daily Driven Exotics into a full-fledged media company. Upgrading equipment and hiring help allowed for more frequent and higher-quality releases. By optimizing and sharing video clips across all major platforms, Damon maximized the reach and revenue of his content. Strategic sponsorships supplemented the unpredictable income from YouTube AdSense.
This new structure proved invaluable when major life events occurred. Damon faced a hefty tax bill of half a million dollars dating back to his previous ventures, as well as a divorce that left him as a single father of two. Daily Driven Exotics provided the flexible income he needed to overcome these setbacks while continuing to pursue his passion. Although it was stressful, these challenges only strengthened Damon's commitment to the success of his growing company.
As Daily Driven Exotics expanded, so did Damon's collection of exotic cars, including Lamborghinis and Ferraris. Each new addition brought a fresh variety of vehicles into the everyday world, captivating viewers who couldn't get enough of them. Moreover, every new model provided rich storytelling material to satisfy the insatiable appetite of Damon's dedicated fanbase.
The key to success was maintaining creativity within the Daily Driven formula. Engaging activities like using a chainsaw on a windshield or drag racing helicopters kept the audience hooked amidst the abundance of flashy automotive content. Interactive formats like live streams solidified Damon's approachable personality as a central element of the brand. Giveaways enticed new subscribers eager to join the automotive journey.
Everything came together in 2020, the peak of pandemic lockdowns. Daily Driven Exotics experienced an unprecedented surge in viewership, generating over $8 million in gross revenue and becoming one of YouTube's fastest-growing channels. New monetization opportunities, such as exclusive merchandise, opened up additional avenues for income. Damon had unequivocally demonstrated the viability of sustainable entrepreneurship as a creator through relentless innovation and reinvention.
Overcoming setbacks and future growth
Running Daily Driven Exotics on such a large scale came with its fair share of challenges. The expensive vehicles, worth millions of dollars, posed insurance nightmares, and pushing creative boundaries sometimes led to unforeseen issues. In a particularly terrifying incident, an angry person smashed the windshield of Damon's ultra-rare Lamborghini in an act of road rage, causing damages exceeding $100,000. He has also had his cars crashed several times.
Unfortunately, not all vehicles can be salvaged from costly accidents. Damon experienced the heartbreaking loss of his beloved manual Lamborghini Murcielago, which had a replacement cost of over $500,000. Additionally, not all friendships and business partnerships worked out smoothly. One business partner mismanaged a lucrative Facebook company almost to the point of collapse after Damon's departure.
However, these setbacks provided valuable lessons that strengthened systems and relationships for the future. Contracts, formal partnerships, and diversified revenue streams were implemented to ensure longevity, addressing the shortcomings of previous ventures. Damon's ownership of over 15 Lamborghini throughout his journey serves as a testament to his ability to overcome financial difficulties time and time again.
Today, Daily Driven Exotics operates as a well-organized team with multiple hosts and a dedicated production staff. This ensures consistency as Damon and his co-host Dave continue to be the public faces and drivers of the brand, entering their second decade of influencing automotive culture online. New ownership structures have been put in place to protect the futures of their growing families.
Damon recognizes the importance of constant evolution to maintain relevance. He embraces innovation, exploring new avenues such as professional photogrammetry car modeling and new streaming formats. Major industry partnerships provide stability in times of uncertainty, while initiatives like creating hyper-specific media spin-offs centered around auto shops open up exciting opportunities for the future.
Perhaps most exciting of all is Damon's mentorship of his daughters, who now work alongside him, cultivating the next generation of creators within the family.
Lessons from his journey
The lessons Damon learned from Daily Driven Exotics will shape careers for years to come. But for Damon himself, the journey is far from over. He always has new goals to reach, new people to inspire, and new opportunities to explore in the world of online business. When he looks back on everything he's overcome, it's hard to imagine what exciting things are still waiting for him in the future. With his determination driving him forward and his creativity as the foundation of his work, Damon Fryer is just getting started. There are many more exciting things to come for him.
