TL;DR: Meet Dain, the nomadic Creator who left his career as a social worker to travel the world, documenting his adventures along the way. After struggling with inconsistent growth on Instagram, he started using Stanley. By optimizing his bio and tightening his hooks, he racked up 1.8 million views and thousands of followers in just a few weeks.
Dain Luka is a social worker turned digital nomad who has spent the last five years traveling to over 50 countries. Originally from the UK, he has built a home for himself in Australia, living and traveling out of a vintage camper van.
When Dain became a full-time traveler, he started sharing his journey through weekly YouTube vlogs to preserve his memories. But in the four years since, he’s built his brand, Chasing Dain, across YouTube, Instagram, and TikTok.
His mission is simple: inspire people to stop waiting around and start chasing their dreams. While he’s successfully grown his YouTube channel, he found growing on Instagram much harder.
That’s why he decided to start working with Stanley on his Instagram strategy this year—which has already helped him gain 4,700 followers and hit 1.8 million monthly views.
The Challenge: Reaching New Audiences
Despite sharing beautiful travel content, Dain wasn’t growing on Instagram as much as he wanted to. Compared to his YouTube channel where he shared weekly videos, his Instagram posts were sporadic. And by the end of last year, his follower count had dropped from 18,500 to 17,800.
Admittedly, he said his Instagram approach felt like throwing spaghetti at the wall and seeing what sticks. While he was a talented photographer and video Creator, he had a hard time recognizing his own blind spots.
He knew what he shared could genuinely help and inspire people, but it wasn’t finding its audience.
His biggest hurdle? Writing.
As someone who’s dyslexic, Dain struggles to write compelling captions. He needed a way to craft hooks and evoke curiosity right off the bat, but he couldn’t quite find the right words to capture scrollers’ attention on his own.
“I’m good at making videos and content. But I struggle with making language engaging.”
The Solution: Optimizing His Instagram Bio and Strategy
Dain decided 2026 was the year he’d take his Instagram strategy seriously. He turned to Stanley to brainstorm ideas that could help him expand his audience.
His first major win was overhauling his Instagram bio. Stanley helped Dain transform his generic bio into a captivating hook that drives more followers and visits to his Stan Store.
“I noticed when I changed my bio, the unfollowing stopped. Suddenly, my follower growth started to plateau and then slowly go back up.”
From there, Dain established a weekly rhythm. Every Monday, he’d share his upcoming content ideas with Stanley, and they’d refine them together.
Now, he uses Stanley to iterate on ideas, fix grammar, and make his hooks punchier. He typically asks questions like, “Stanley, can you make this more intriguing?”
Along the way, Stanley has helped Dain see his blind spots, like reminding him to include strong calls to action in every post and pointing out which content formats perform best for his audience—vulnerability-driven carousels.
The Result: +4.7K Followers and 1.8 Million Views
Within just six weeks of using Stanley and experimenting with his Instagram content, Dain’s audience grew to over 22,500 followers—up from 17,800 at the start of the year.
His strategy was rooted in optimizing his content ideas based on Stanley’s suggestions, then doubling down on what worked.
Some of Stanley’s suggestions, like shifting toward carousel posts, paid off with one post alone racking up over 765,000 views. And he’s consistently reaching new audiences—hitting 1.8 million views in the last 30 days alone.
But the biggest shift has been Dain’s confidence. He no longer feels like he’s guessing or shouting into the void. He’s posting strategically, learning as he goes, and feels ready to tackle his goals this year.
“I know my content is good. It just doesn’t get seen. But now it’s getting seen, it’s converting, and people are commenting.”
What’s Next: Chasing 100K and His First Group Trip
With his Instagram gaining momentum, Dain has big plans for 2026. His goal is to reach 100,000 Instagram followers by the end of the year and plan his first group trip—bringing his community along for the adventure.
He’s also actively developing new digital products—including handbooks, videos, and workshops—to help his audience master remote work and the digital nomad lifestyle. In the meantime, you can find him renovating his camper van and preparing for an epic drive up the breathtaking east coast of Australia.
Ready to stop guessing and grow faster on Instagram? Discover why Creators like Dain use Stanley to build momentum. Try it free.
Follow Dain’s Journey:
Stan Store: Dain’s Stan Store
Instagram: @chasingdain
YouTube: @DainLuka
TikTok: @chasingdain
