327 · David Capablanca - From Skid Row Showers to Short Selling Master

Chat With Traders

Kevin Avery

Business, Education, Investing

4.8 • 2.3K Ratings

🗓️ 8 July 2026

⏱️ 86 minutes

🔗️ Recording | Apple Podcasts | RSS

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Summary

David Capablanca pursued architecture for a decade, culminating in studying under a Pritzker Prize winner at UCLA, before a life threatening brain tumor, massive medical debt, and student loans forced him to completely reevaluate his life.After starting from rock bottom and carrying the weight of massive debt, David developed an all-consuming, "burn the boats" pursuit of trading mastery that saw him sleeping in his office, living out of his car, and showering on Skid Row just to trade the 4 AM pre-market session. Today, his edge is built on rigorous fundamental deep dives, forensic research into small cap pump and dump schemes, and a strict risk management framework designed to survive predatory market algorithms.In this conversation, David pulls back the curtain on his grueling journey from rock bottom to short selling master, detailing how he reverse-engineered the strategies of market manipulators. He breaks down the anatomy of modern short squeezes, his absolute checklist for avoidable stocks, and why protecting your capital to survive the learning curve is the ultimate rule. In this episode, we explore:· Surviving rock bottom, sleeping in a WeWork desk, and showering on Skid Row during Covid· Waking up from a coma: The life-threatening surgery that gave David the "gift of urgency"· How the Covid biotech mania changed his account forever· Going undercover in Colombia: Inside David’s high-stakes investigation of a cannabis pump and dump· Why David completely avoids trading Chinese and Singaporean small-caps· The reality of Wall Street favoritism and the mechanics behind requesting a "trade bust"· Analyzing early $60,000 losses About David Capablanca:David is an accomplished short seller, author, educator, podcast host, and founder of Friendly Bear University. Over a trading career shaped by intense study, he has built a verified seven-figure track record with a remarkable ninety percent win ratio. He has trained countless developing day traders, expanding his educational insights globally while championing an autodidact, highly disciplined framework to achieve true financial independence. Links + Resources: Upcoming Conference (October 12th): https://www.friendlybearuniversity.com/conference (Chat With Traders Team and Host Kevin Avery will be there live to co-host the forum!) Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@DavidCapablancaTrades X (Twitter): https://x.com/reverselong Instagram: https://instagram.com/reverselong Facebook: https://facebook.com/profile.php?id=772328557 Website: https://www.friendlybearuniversity.com Pre-Order Short Selling Master Book: https://harriman-house.com/authors/david-capablanca/short-selling-master/9781804093290 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 The Journey From Skid Row Showers to Short Selling Master05:14 Isolating from society to build an entrepreneurial identity11:05 Betting on Yourself Leaving Architecture15:02 Pattern recognition and risk management19:18 Waking up from a coma25:04 Selling the car, quitting alcohol, and sleeping on a shared office floor30:04 Trading the Covid biotech bubble34:13 Traveling to the Colombian jungle to verify a stock scam38:16 The moment David's spy-pen cover was blown by the cartel44:45 Why David completely bans Chinese stocks from his Trading50:24 How predatory algorithms map locate data to trap shorts55:04 Inside the New York Stock Exchange01:00:09 "Trade Bust" and the reality of Wall Street favoritism01:04:00 Reviewing early painful losses: The $60k loss01:09:04 Insider liquidity of after-hours news01:12:51 David's biggest winner01:17:57 The finish line of excellence01:20:12 Final piece of advice01:20:43 Where to Get The Short Selling Master Book 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

Transcript

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0:00.0	What would your trading look like if capital wasn't the constraint? That's the reality for most traders.
0:05.1	It's not skill holding them back, it's size. Trade the pool changes that. Step into the U.S. equity markets with up to $200,000 in buying power without committing your own capital. Full access to stocks and ETFs, longer short, executed with the precision and freedom serious traders expect.
0:22.6	Your performance is measured by one standard, disciplined risk management, and consistent execution.
0:27.7	Meet that standard, and you operate at scale. No subscriptions, no ongoing obligations,
0:33.0	just a clear path forward. For those ready to trade beyond limitations, this is the next level.
0:41.4	Attention all passengers. The Uber ride for Jeff's rugby team will depart in five minutes from
0:47.8	Platform 15. Your ride comes with six toilets and a refreshments carriage that you'll empty within five minutes.
0:56.2	Thank you for booking your tickets on Uber. Trains on Uber. Trading in the financial markets
1:03.0	involves a risk of loss. Podcast episodes and other content produced by chat with traders are
1:07.6	for informational or educational purposes only and do not constitute trading
1:11.8	or investment recommendations or advice. In late 2018, I had moved into my office, a shared office
1:17.7	space, and I started driving Uber. And yes, I did. There was a moment for a few months,
1:22.6	I did live in my car. And when my lease ended, and I decided, okay, I'm actually going to sell my car I'm tired of
1:28.7	driving Uber I got enough money now to stabilize myself and pay the credit cards off at the
1:33.5	minimum payments and what I'm going to do is I'm going to rent a we work office for 250 a month or so
1:39.6	shared and I was like but where am I going to sleep I'm like oh man because you can't sleep
1:43.2	in it's a shared office and I was like whatever I'll just sleep going to sleep? I was like, oh man, because you can't sleep in the, it's a shared office. And I was like, whatever, I'll just sleep at the desk. This is how determined I was to change my life around. So coming into trading, I think forcing myself to take risk because I was in so much debt. We'll go into the brain operation I had later. But I had a near death experience too too that kind of just a traumatic, you know, in life, there's certain events that happened that just change you as a person.
2:07.1	It took that, like, staples in my head, 100 something, 150 staples or something like, it's crazy.
2:12.6	And all that to, like, force a change out of me.
2:15.4	Because I think I was 25, so maybe the younger you are the easier
2:19.0	it is to change you get stuck in your ways as you get older but that was like a pivotal moment
2:23.3	that changed me completely I'll study all day and then until I got so tired and then I'll go
	...

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