What if — and then what?

At this point I want to draw a line before money changes the tone of the conversation: if Macro Monk ever starts making real profit, I want to put that profit toward users first — not toward propping up my ego.

Be who you needed when you were younger

People say things used to be better. They weren’t for me. Fingers freezing on a bottle of Magyar Fehèr Bor (or just “makkis”), drainpipe jeans, and a 30 cm mohawk as my shield. What I remember from childhood is cold and hunger. I never got a full belly 😄 Yeah, life has been rough. You can wallow in that, or decide it is not enough.

“Everything around you that you call life was made up by people that were no smarter than you.”

I do not have big material dreams

I would like a good acoustic guitar. Maybe a Martin 000-16 StreetMaster — Add Martin’s Vintage Tone System® (VTS), and you get the seasoned sound of a well-loved guitar without the decades-long wait. The wood is treated so the guitar would feel like it came from Robert Johnson’s hands 😄

And I have another dream that is both small and completely absurd: someday I want to go to California, pick a Granny Smith apple straight from the tree, and eat it right there on the spot.

That is almost all of it.

I do not dream of a sports car, a watch, a designer sofa, or a life where money is burned for show. I am not interested in building a backdrop that lets other people decide I am doing well.

If an app like Macro Monk — or anything else I build — ever actually makes money, I do not want to spend it on looking more impressive on the outside. I care about different things. Honestly I do not care about much of anything, but it is good to have something to do.

Then they also say: “You should be happy you have a job.” I do not get it, but okay 😄.

I would like to build a place for young people. A real hub…

…a place you can walk into without explaining yourself, without money, without already being good at something. A place where you can lift weights, skate, ride BMX, play football or basketball, learn to code, or wrench on a moped. A place where doing is real — not forced busywork invented because adults think young people need “activities.”

I do not want a sterile concept or a trendy wellness center. I want a place with life, noise, sweat, trying, failing, succeeding, community, and a real couch lounge. Punching bags everywhere. If the architecture has to follow Lappeenranta’s rules it becomes a gray cube — not a beauty like Gaudí’s La Pedrera. Lappeenranta is ugly.

I even dream of buying an old bus and driving around Lappeenranta picking people up. So a young person who otherwise could not get there could still come. So nobody would be left out because they lack a ride, money, or the “right” crowd.

That place would always be open

Always. 24/7. And the espresso machine would run day and night. One morning, coding in perfect flow, I had drunk five espressos before seven… Dad barely has time for morning coffee before he rushes off to work 🎵🎶 🎶 (RIP Gösta)

And I would be there always — these days I barely sleep.

Not a nice slogan on the wall while adults go home at four. A real human on site. An adult who knows the place, knows the young people, and keeps things steady. A young person could show up anytime: to train, talk, eat, play, learn, or just be.

There would always be snacks. Unlimited. No energy-drink culture, no Monsters, none of that. But food, snacks, something good, something sensible — something that supports an active life instead of turning it into a caricature. At this point I have to flex the double biceps and say I make the best pizzas at home. That sounds arrogant, but the roster of testers has been wide.

I would mentor training and nutrition — not because everyone should look the same or become “fitness people,” but because a strong body, solid conditioning, and a healthy relationship with food carry you far. They bring posture, confidence, and stability. They help even if you never compete or chase a record.

I could teach coding too. It is a skill that actually builds a future — not just a job, but the ability to make things yourself. To understand how the world works under the surface.

In football and basketball I am obnoxiously hard to beat, so young people can come get challenged and frustrated by how well I play. That is part of the plan. Every place needs at least one thing where they can try to take down the king and fail many times first. That is how hunger to improve is born.

I have always ridden bikes, so I can help there. With mopeds I am honest: I cannot do anything useful for them. You need a visiting mentor. That is how it should be. One person does not have to be everything. It is enough that the place exists and capable people show up who want to give their time.

There are two kinds of people in this world. Avoid both of them.

If I could decide, the exit fee from every gym would be ten pull-ups. Everyone should be able to do that if their body allows. I am not quite Gunnery Sergeant Hartman from Full Metal Jacket, but I will help if someone needs it.

The only formal bit would be a reading session: we chill in the lounge and I read texts by my favorite writer, Anton Chekhov. That would be the only mandatory part 😄 and also the spot for naps. Young people do not appreciate a proper nap until they wake up fuzzy and forget where they live.

That place would be free for everyone

That might be the whole idea. No membership, no monthly pass, no fancy app to open the door, no hidden fees. Door open, step inside. As you are.

Someone will immediately say people will abuse it. That someone eats all the best snacks at once, makes a mess, or ruins it for others.

Maybe someday someone does.

But I still believe in community more than pre-built suspicion. If someone clears the snack table once, the community makes sure it does not happen again. That is how humans have made it this far — not because every situation had a rulebook, cameras, and surveillance, but because people learn what works and what does not.

Maybe someone understands what I mean

I dream of a place that feels human. A place where a young person can notice they are good at something — or that they could become good at something. A place where someone sees them in time.

If Macro Monk or another app ever earns properly, that is where this starts. Maybe not perfect at first. Maybe not huge in one shot. But it starts somewhere. One idea, one space, one bus, one hoop, one bench press station, one machine where you write your first line of code.

Money is not the real currency — time is

Money is just a tool to build something that stays. And maybe on the side I buy that acoustic. And someday I still eat that Granny Smith in California straight from the tree.

The Devil Makes Three

I love playing — it is my biggest passion

I hope someday I learn to play for real.

The truth is something else entirely

AI (Cursor) designed the app with me, and when I described what I wanted the time estimate for a solo project came back as 6+ months.

I did this in five weeks. My sleep average is 4.5 hours, I made 300+ commits, and my costs have been €35.

Nobody is ready to pay for anything 😄 and Macro Monk will never make money — there are hundreds of similar apps.

But this one is mine. No ads, no marketing spam, no newsletter. Just a calm place to track food.

I did not study for a single test after seventh grade. In eighth grade a teacher said:

Roope will never amount to anything

I have done fine; nobody had to worry. And they did not worry anyway.

On the other hand I can say I built a product more than a billion people can access. Donald Trump might see it scrolling on the toilet in the morning — unless he uses iOS; that version is still on my desk and will take a while to ship.

Until we meet again.

Roberto “Roope” García