Futures Day Trader & BluSky Trading Owner: Mike Tolbert

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Written By Market Mamas

In this conversation on the Market Mamas trader psychology podcast, host Becky welcomed futures trader and prop firm owner Mike Tolbert for a refreshingly honest and insightful conversation. Tolbert, founder of BluSky, pulled back the curtain on the emotional highs and brutal lows of becoming a consistently profitable trader.

Like many, Mike’s trading journey started with penny stocks. But the slow movement and unpredictable nature of small caps didn’t sit well. After dabbling in options and equities, a chance meeting with a London-based futures trader opened the door to a faster-paced world — futures. Since then, he’s never looked back, now focusing heavily on the NASDAQ.

Mike’s early years sound familiar to any trader who’s been through the fire: glued to the screens, sacrificing sleep, chasing every candle. He described the early obsession with trading as addictive, even joking that he used to carry a laptop in the car to avoid missing the open. What changed everything? Self-awareness. “It wasn’t the market—it was me,” Mike said. “I had to fix myself.”
When asked how he handled those crushing, emotional trading days, Mike didn’t sugarcoat it. He talked about walking away—literally. “When I got mad, I’d go take a walk around the block. That six minutes saved me a lot of money.” The advice was simple but powerful: step away, breathe, and come back with a clear mind. That small shift changed the game for him.

Mike emphasized that confidence and discipline in trading only come through time and experience. “Just like you don’t fly a plane without hours of training, you don’t trade futures successfully without putting in the reps.” Today, he’s at the point where he can walk away from a trade in play and trust the process — because of the thousands of hours he’s put in behind the scenes.

What does Mike credit for his success? Understanding market structure. “You can’t trade if you don’t know what you’re seeing on the chart,” he said. His mentorship approach focuses heavily on this foundational concept. BluSky’s team even offers free live trading daily in their Discord (link below), with dedicated coaches like Riz and Coach Matt guiding new and experienced traders alike.

Mike’s journey is the story of many: full of failure, obsession, growth, and grit. But his honesty about the mental toll and emotional rollercoaster makes his success even more inspiring. For anyone struggling with the psychology of trading, Mike’s advice is simple: fix yourself, learn the structure, and get the right support — because no one figures this game out alone.

One of the most inspiring themes that emerged in the conversation with Mike Tolbert was the mindset of giving back. Once you've crossed that challenging bridge from struggling trader to consistently profitable one, something shifts—you begin to think about how to help others make that same journey.

For Mike, success isn't just about charts and profits—it’s about seeing lives changed. “Check out my new apartment,” a student might say. Or, “I’m getting married.” Those milestones, made possible through trading, are what drive Mike to keep teaching.

The conversation naturally turned toward one of the biggest traps traders fall into: chasing big profits and setting unrealistic daily goals. Mike shares: “When I first started, we had this silly group where the goal was to make $500 a day. None of us could do it. But that taught me: Don’t set daily money goals.” Instead, focus on process over profit. “If you go in and make $80 between 9 and 11, that’s great. Take the win. Because when you start thinking, ‘What if I made $1,000 tomorrow?’—that’s when the trouble starts.”

Becky echoes this: “The big game changer for me was learning to trade my process, not my P&L. The best setups, proper risk management, and letting go of the emotional need to be ‘right’—that’s where consistency comes from.” They both stress that protecting your capital is more important than hitting a number. A great quote from Mike drives it home: “If you can’t walk away from a trade to go get a drink and come back, your size is too big.”

Creating BluSky: A Prop Firm with a Heart

Eventually, Mike turned his years of experience into something bigger: a community and a prop firm called BluSky. “I just didn’t like the way other firms ran things. I knew I could do it differently—for the trader. I started with four people, and now we have thousands. I post charts, I coach, I trade live—I’m in it.”

That level of transparency and presence is rare for a company owner. As Market-Mamas puts it: “It’s actually quite rare to be the founder and also an active, involved trader. That’s really, really cool.” Mike’s model is simple but powerful: make trading education free, make support accessible, and be there for your traders.

Trading changes you, Mike says. It’s not just about skills—it’s about personal transformation. “If you really get into the focus and calm side of it, you change. You analyze life differently. It makes you a better person.”

As Becky wrapped up her conversation with Mike Tolbert, one theme was clear: trading is a long game of learning, unlearning, adapting, and evolving. Mike’s reflections on his own early days—charting with poster boards, testing every indicator under the sun, blowing accounts, and experiencing emotional whiplash—mirror what so many of us go through.

What stood out most was how trading success doesn’t come from a magic formula—it comes from building a system that works for you. Whether it’s the type of candles you use, how your chart looks, or how you mentally manage risk and reward, trading is about developing your own lens to view the market and making peace with the fact that losses are part of the tuition. Mike’s honesty about the psychological grind, the financial risk, and the importance of support systems (both personal and community-based) is such a refreshing take.

Due diligence. Discipline. Design. That’s what it really comes down to. If you're in the early stages of your trading journey and expecting overnight results, remember Mike’s words: “You’re not a brain surgeon on day one. But if you show up, do the work, and stay honest with yourself and others, the potential is massive.” Trading isn’t just about charts and candles—it’s about mindset, discipline, and the willingness to fall and get back up. Mike’s journey nearly a decade long in trading so far reminds us that success is never instant—but it’s always available for those who stay the course.

We’ll definitely have Mike back soon for a more technical dive into charts and setups (and maybe a few more wild early-trading stories). Until then, check out BluSky and their free Discord to connect with other traders on the path. Links are provided at the bottom of this page and in the episode show notes! Take care and happy trading everyone!

“If I got a gift, I should share the gift. My motto is: 1K a day keeps a job away. And then you pay it forward.”

Mike Tolbert is a full time futures trader and a founder of BluSky Pro, a prop trading funding company. His primary instrument at this time is the Nasdaq.

Market Mamas
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