Meet Scott “Chaser” Curry | Storm Chaser

We had the good fortune of connecting with Scott “Chaser” Curry and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Scott, we’d love to hear about how you approach risk and risk-taking.
Storm chasing is all about managing risk. You have to take risks in order to find a tornado, but if you don’t manage those risks, you could find yourself with a lost windshield from baseball sized hail, or worse – being flung through the air by a tornado. Some storm chasers have lost their lives because they took on too much risk and tried to get too close to a tornado. Other storm chasers have totaled their vehicles because they were too focused on the prize of seeing a tornado, and they forgot about the other risks associated with severe storms, such as monster hail and flooded roads.

But you can’t just avoid those risks altogether, because if you do, you’ll find yourself stuck at home watching other storm chaser’s videos on TV or social media. Some people avoid all risk and never take chances. And that has it’s benefits. You’re unlikely to get hit by a tornado or have your vehicle destroyed. It’s safe. But those people also miss out on the thrill of seeing a tornado up close, of watching perfectly formed supercells swirl in front of you, and seeing the awesome, incredible power of mother nature.

Taking risks is necessary to achieve incredible results and experience success that’s far better than you could have ever imagined. And seeing that success without the downside that risk brings requires managing risk successfully. You have to aware of everything that could go wrong, and then plan your risk taking around those downsides so that you’re taking the right risks to ensure success while at the same time avoiding disaster.

When I first started storm chasing, I knew that I didn’t know how to manage risk effectively. I didn’t know how to best position myself out of harms way and stay safe when both a tornado and monster hail were barreling towards me at the same time. I didn’t know how to effectively plan an escape route when the road structure was limited and many dirt road paths had turned into impassible mud pits. So I took it slow. I started out chasing relatively safe storms. I stayed far way, focusing on overall storm structure. As I became more confident driving back-country roads, I started to increase my risk taking. I started to get a little closer. I started to drive on some of the more questionable dirt roads. And of course I had some setbacks along the way.

One time I was driving through relatively safe pebble-sized hail. But what I didn’t understand was that the hail turned the roads into very slick ice. I ended up skidding off the side of the road into a ditch. Luckily I had managed that risk, and was prepared with tow rope, and was fortunate enough to flag down a local who pulled me out of the ditch. Lesson learned. I went out and bought snow chains so I could self-recover my vehicle if it happened again. I also learned to driver slower on hail covered roads.

Each setback I had – from skidding off roads, to getting stuck on muddy dirt roads, to getting pounded by hail – was used as a lesson on how to manage risk. I upgraded my vehicle to one with higher ground clearance. I upgraded my tires. I upgraded my snow chains to mud chains. I added more self-recovery gear. And I became a better driver.

And by slowly learning over the years how to avoid the risks that could lead to disaster, I was able to safely get closer and closer to tornados. Today I can safely get within a few miles of a powerful tornado and know that I’m not going to slide off the road or lose a windshield to hail. By learning from my early setbacks, I’m now able to take on more risk and find more success storm chasing.

What should our readers know about your business?
Storm chasing started out as a hobby for me. And for most people, storm chasing never becomes more than that. But I wasn’t satisfied with just chasing storms on the weekends and whenever I could get some vacation time from my job. I wanted more. Although I’ve been storm chasing since 2013, I was always looking for a way to get more time and money to get out on the road and chase.

I tried a few business ideas throughout the years. In 2017 I created a Christian jewelry and clothing store called Real Christian Life. I had some minor success at local vendor events, and that gave me a little extra income to chase with, but it didn’t really take off outside of my local area. In 2018 I started a school uniform company called Leadership Uniforms. And although I had some initial success with it, COVID really destroyed the business.

Then came my breakthrough idea. In 2021, during the rise of interest among retail traders in trading stocks, I started a YouTube channel called Stock Curry (the name was later changed to We Profit with Stock Curry). I found overnight success with that business, and within 3 months, I had already replaced my income from my full-time job. In the 4th month of running that business, I quit my full-time job and focused on my business full time instead.

That success didn’t come easy though. During those first 3 months, I was working over 100 hours per week, and sleeping only 4 – 5 hours per night. I was working non-stop to research content, record videos, and edit and upload them each night after work. I found other YouTubers who had courses, and signed up as an affiliate for them. It was through those affiliate sales that I was able to generate so much money. I was shocked at how little ad revenue actually came from YouTube. The vast majority of my income was from sales of other content creator’s courses.

It was a combination of these collaborative efforts with other YouTubers, as well as long hours and non-stop dedication to the success of the channel that allowed me to finally realize my dream of quitting my job and working a business full-time. I started that business in January of 2021, and quit my job in April of 2021. From April to June of 2021, I spent the most amount of time storm chasing that I ever had before in my life. And it was all possible due to the months-long 100+ hour weeks that I put in earlier in the year.

Of course the hard work paid off. But so did my tenacity. My first two business ideas weren’t successful. But I didn’t give up. I kept trying. I kept starting new businesses until I found one that worked. And when that 3rd business idea did work, it provided more income and time freedom than I could have ever imagined.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
N/A. I work too much. I’m either in my office or on the road. I rarely eat out or go anywhere.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
My success as a storm chaser would not have been possible without the hard work and dedication of countless volunteers and National Weather Service staff who have worked tirelessly to present some incredible education and online resources. I want to thank the staff of the National Weather Service in Pueblo for their dedication for putting on the annual Skywarn training, and for their countless hours and sleepless nights working hard to keep everyone in the area notified of severe weather. Perhaps no other portion of the country is as difficult to predict weather as the area east of the Rocky Mountains.

I also want to thank the volunteers and staff of Stormtrack for maintaining the world’s leading resource for storm chasers. Through their efforts, Stormtrack has remained a valuable resource to learn from veteran storm chasers, and to share stories with fellow storm chasers, for nearly 50 years.

I also want to thank the staff of Spotter Network, which revolutionized storm chasing and severe weather reporting to the National Weather Service. Spotter Network has some of the best educational resources for storm chasers in the world. And for nearly 20 years now, Spotter Network has been used by the National Weather Service to receive reliable storm reports from vetted storm chasers and weather enthusiasts around the country. None of which would have been possible without the tireless effort of the Spotter Network staff.

Website: https://scottcurry.me/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/therealscottcurry/

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/curryscott/

Twitter: https://x.com/RealScottCurry

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/RealScottCurry

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/c/StockCurry

Other: Storm Chasing:
https://severevideos.com/
https://www.instagram.com/realscottchaser/
https://x.com/SevereVideos/
https://www.youtube.com/@RealSevereVideos