Sensitive content
Injury and medical footage
View reel on Instagram ↗March 30 · Lisbon story536,197 views
Likes867
Comments27
Shares239
Saves188
- Caption opening
- “I lost my pinky in Lisbon. @mcdonalds saved it.”
Growth experimentsChapter 03 / Instagram
I got 12.5M views on Instagram in 45 days
From March 8 to April 21, 2026, I posted 94 reels. Here are five real posts, the stories I returned to, and what I learned.
These 94 reels were posted in 45 days. Their 12,456,135 views are lifetime totals as of September 21, 2026, not views earned during those 45 days.
01 / The next experiment
How I started
In 2026 I promised myself I would get good at social media. I was learning X and Instagram at the same time, and on March 8 I started posting Instagram reels with more intention. I posted 34 reels in the next 16 days, then kept going through April 21. Chapter II covers the hospital edit and the ten-minute kitchen video that broke through early.
I kept posting after that first run. My archive is a strange mix of Amsterdam life, founder stories, travel, AI workflows, and the time I lost my pinky in Lisbon. One experience could give me more than one post. I could come back to it with a different opening and see what happened.
94reels posted
45days, March 8–April 21
12.5Meventual lifetime views
Sep 212026 snapshot
02 / One story, three posts
I told the Lisbon story more than once
On March 30, I opened with “I lost my pinky in Lisbon. @mcdonalds saved it.” On April 5, another post led with the detail about jumping train tracks in Prada shoes and a Cartier ring. On April 17, the caption began, “Here’s exactly what happened.” They are three separate posts about the same accident.
Sensitive content
Injury and medical footage
View reel on Instagram ↗April 5 · Lisbon story623,563 views
Likes933
Comments18
Shares200
Saves197
- Caption opening
- “I lost my pinky jumping train tracks in @Prada shoes and @cartier ring at midnight.”
Sensitive content
Injury and medical footage
View reel on Instagram ↗April 17 · Lisbon story731,838 views
Likes1,066
Comments19
Shares375
Saves223
- Caption opening
- “Here’s exactly what happened.”
Swipe to compare the three posts
What I learned
I didn't have to retire a story after posting it once. Each opening gave someone a different way into it. These view counts don't tell me which single change made a post travel; the archive doesn't show me enough to separate the caption from the video or timing. They do give me three real versions to study.
03 / Another kind of story
I came back to a quieter Amsterdam story too
I posted twice about meeting Emily after I moved to Amsterdam, living through the broke years together, and eventually asking our landlord if he would sell us the apartment. Both captions begin with knowing no one in Amsterdam, then get to Emily and the home we bought.
March 23 · Amsterdam story99,627 views
Likes788
Comments22
Shares225
Saves86
- Caption opening
- “I knew no one when I moved to Amsterdam.”
March 26 · Amsterdam story109,826 views
Likes431
Comments52
Shares62
Saves61
- Caption opening
- “I knew no one when I moved to Amsterdam.”
Swipe to compare both posts
What I learned
All of these were old stories. I had already lived them; I just found another way to tell them. You probably have stories like this too, sitting in your camera roll or coming up every time you see your friends. Start there. Stories sell.
04 / Take it with you
A process you can try
Start with an experience you have already posted about.
- 01
Find the detail people might have missed the first time.
- 02
Write a few openings that begin at different points in the story. Make each one true to what happened.
- 03
Match the opening to the video, and give the rest of the story room in the caption.
- 04
Keep the dates and links after posting. Compare the results, then watch the videos before deciding what caused a difference.
05 / How it adds up
Where the 12.5M views came from
I posted 94 reels between March 8 and April 21. Seven are featured in this chapter and Chapter II. Here is how all 94 add up.
| Reels | Saved views |
|---|---|
| Two breakout reels from Chapter II | 7,319,980 |
| Three Lisbon reels | 1,891,598 |
| Two Amsterdam reels | 209,453 |
| Other 87 reels | 3,035,104 |
| All 94 reels | 12,456,135 |
All 94 reels have recorded view counts in the saved Creator Vault snapshot.
See all 94 reels and their saved metrics
Going viral and building a brand are two different skills.
These totals tell me how far the posts traveled. They don't tell me how many people will recognize me next week. A strong opening can get a stranger to watch; building a brand means giving that person a reason to remember who I am and come back. That's the part I'm still working on. Once you learn both, you can be unstoppable on social media.
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