TikToker quits 9-to-5 job to pursue the American dream in 60 days
Texas native Case Lucas Robinson admits he embarked on his American dream story from nothing.
"Right after I graduated college, I got a 9-to-5 job. And I figured out that the wage I was making was not going to get me to reach the goals that I knew I ultimately wanted to reach," the 26-year-old told Fox News Digital. "I wanted to be the boss and I wanted to make the big check. So I started my own company, something that I could build for myself."
Robinson was living paycheck to paycheck as a roof salesman before boosting his net worth to a sizable $650,000 as a general contractor. In addition to his professional success, he’s gained a combined TikTok and YouTube following of more than 189,000 after creating a series where he built a home – from the ground up – in just 60 days.
"I wanted to do social media, and I think me recording my very first home build and every step of the process along the way on my very first home build as an owner-builder, a rookie, recording all the ups and downs [was] something that could really spark my content-creating social media journey," he said.
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In his viral TikToks, Robinson remained transparent about all the numbers and costs, from the home’s foundation to every installed door and window. He started his construction business by investing $150,000 he had in the bank and putting $100,000 on a no-interest credit card.
"Unfortunately, I wasn't able to partner with a bank in the beginning because they didn't want to give me money because I had no homebuilding experience, and they thought it was too risky of a partnership, which I completely understand," Robinson explained. "I ended up getting a 0% interest credit card for the first 12 months, and I went $100,000 in credit card debt to complete my first home-build project."
He knew it was a "risky" move, but felt determined to use his contacts and conviction in order to turn a housing profit, all while earning social media traction.
"To eliminate some risk and build this house as fast as possible and be able to recoup all my initial investment, all my cash, and get out of that credit card debt, along with the fact that I knew that, of course, it would probably increase the engagement on my post completing a home build in 60 days, that was the reason I said, 'I'm doing this for the clicks,' and I thought it would just be a good challenge to do," Robinson reflected.
"It's something that I'm really proud of, and I think it's something really cool to have on my resume: I completed a single family, $430,000 home build in 60 days. I commend myself on it. I don't know who's ever done it, to be honest," he continued. "But I did it for the clicks and I don't think it's something I'll ever do again."
There were often three or four subcontractors working at the site on any given day. And, as one may expect, a 10-day repair was ultimately required on a busted plumbing pipeline underneath the concrete foundation.
"I probably could have built the home in 52 or 53 days. So that was a very huge problem that caused me a lot of stress."
Focusing on building homes outside the Houston area, some TikTok commenters have claimed Robinson has erected affordable housing "somewhere no one wants to live."
His response to the criticism is: "I learned very quickly not to read the comments because everybody's a professional home builder in the comment section, and they're all nitpicking and saying very harsh things, negative things… You only live once, and I'm choosing to live in the place that I think is the best place to live in my life, for my family. And right now, I'm living just about 10 to 15 minutes away from the Woodlands. Pull out of my driveway, in 10 minutes you can be in Chick-fil-A, you can be in the Woodlands Mall, you can be in one of 20 or 30 very nice steakhouses."
The Woodlands ranked No. 3 on Niche.com’s list of the best cities to live in America, so Robinson argues the homes are "not in undesirable places whatsoever."
The young business trailblazer just broke ground on his own 3,500 square-foot "dream home," investing upwards of $700,000 for a property that could see a finished value of more than $1 million.
"It's going to have a covered patio in the back with an outdoor kitchen, a seating area for the TV, a little dining area. We're going to do a really nice pool and spa in the back, and it all sits on an acre lot with some very nice trees, very nice lot size," Robinson detailed. "This is a project that I'm ecstatic about, but it will not take 60 days to build it up. I'm probably going to take four months."
He described himself as a "young, driven, determined man" who’s not only building homes, but generational wealth for his family – something he recognizes as the American dream.
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"That whole agenda of, ‘the American dream is dead,’ I feel like it's derived from my generation and the people all a similar age to myself," Robinson said. "Everything is kind of handed to my generation, and it seems like almost all of my peers, instead of going out and working hard and making their dreams come true, they're just complacent with sitting on the couch, scrolling on TikTok, eating a bag of Cheetos and making excuses. So that's definitely not my case."
"I believe the American dream is truly still alive," the 26-year-old noted, "and I can't wait for it to live the rest of my life, because I know that the American dream, my American dream, only gets better."