It’s a Marathon, Not a Sprint - Catered by Luka
This is the steady, real journey — full of lessons, setbacks, and silent wins.
Hey friends,
If you’ve been following this journey — thank you.
This is part two. And this time, I want to talk about something deeper.
This life I’m living now… it didn’t happen fast.
It wasn’t a viral moment. It wasn’t luck.
It’s been slow, painful, layered — and real.
Because for me, it’s never been about competing with the world.
It’s about beating who I was last year.
From the Waves of Bali to Something Bigger
Before I ever moved to the U.S., I was in Bali — surrounded by coffee, hospitality, and creativity.
I worked in cafés, switched jobs often, and slowly grew into new versions of myself.
From washing dishes in a pizza kitchen…
To pulling shots in specialty coffee shops…
To consulting for hotels I once dreamed of visiting…
And then somehow, modeling entered my life.
It happened unexpectedly. After a surf session, a brand owner and photographer spotted me on the beach and asked,
“Are you a model?”
I laughed and said, “No, but I’m comfortable in front of the camera.”
From there, something new began.
That chapter taught me how to carry myself, how to communicate, how to stay grounded in different rooms.
My First Snow — and the Paperwork That Didn’t Come
Then came the biggest decision of my life — I moved to the U.S.
My first day in Jackson Hole, it was freezing. I had no proper clothes. But I was so damn happy.
It was my first time seeing snow. I felt like a kid again.
Two weeks later, my wife and I eloped.
We got married. I felt complete. I thought everything would start to fall into place.
But it didn’t.
Months passed. Then a year.
No work permit.
No green card.
I was living off savings, stuck inside, not legally allowed to work.
I couldn’t help my wife financially. I had no friends yet. I had no outlet.
And I started to ask myself hard questions:
What if the permit never comes?
What if I gave everything up… for nothing?
Doing What I Had To — Not What I Wanted
Eventually, a friend gave me a chance to work in a moving company.
It was under the table. Not legal.
But I needed to survive.
Then I worked as a barista — using my wife’s name.
Again… not ideal. But again… survival.
By year two, I was getting desperate.
I even drove five hours to a government office, hoping to speak to someone.
It was closed due to COVID.
I sat in my car and thought:
Why does my life always feel like swimming upstream?
Mental Health — A Phrase I’d Never Heard Before
That year I learned the words: mental health.
And I realized… I had it. Or rather, I was struggling with it.
I started blaming the country. Then the relationship.
Then I stopped and looked inward.
I learned what it meant to let go.
Bali 2025 — Photo by @luluevenstar
To stop taking everything personally.
To breathe. To ground. To grow.
Eventually — almost three years in — my work permit arrived.
Then came the green card.
But by then, I had lost confidence in myself.
Back to Coffee — and Rebuilding My Fire
I got a job at one of the busiest cafés in Jackson.
500 to 800 cups a day.
I had no idea if I could handle it. But I did.
It brought me back to life.
Diverse team. Real service. Real hustle.
I even made the local paper.
But Jackson Hole is expensive.
So I picked up a second job at a sushi restaurant.
For a year, I worked from 6am to midnight.
Until I finally burned out.
That’s when I realized:
Hard work alone doesn’t equal progress. Strategy does.
From Burnout to Breakthrough — Building with Heart
I started dreaming of my own café. But in Jackson Hole, that felt impossible.
No space. No capital. No roadmap.
Then I met Alex Yoder, founder of Overview Coffee.
We connected. Shared vision. Shared energy.
That’s when the idea sparked — a small, meaningful coffee window in Teton Village.
The Joy of Owning: A Coffee Company in Jackson, Wyoming | Huckberry—THE JOURNAL | Alex Yoder & Rizki Nugraha | Photo by Keegan Rice | Full Article click “HERE”
We built it.
And that little window changed everything.
Season after season, it grew.
I met people from all over the world.
I started feeling like I belonged again.
LUKA Was Born from a Gap I Couldn’t Ignore
Behind that window, I saw something missing.
No one was offering private, premium specialty coffee for weddings or events in Jackson.
And this is a destination. People come here for magic.
So I built it.
I launched Catered by Luka, a coffee catering service that now works with clients like Ferrari, Aman, Caldera House, and more.
We’ve been featured in Forbes, Food & Wine, and Outside Magazine.
But that’s not why I’m proud.
I’m proud because I made something out of nothing.
I made something from heart.
Every Year, I’m Still Winning Against Myself
From a village in Java…
To a café window in Wyoming.
From face tattoos and beach sleep…
To serving espresso to luxury clients.
It’s not a sprint. It’s a marathon.
Each year, I’m not racing anyone —
I’m just trying to be better than who I was before.
And maybe that’s the real definition of success.
If this story speaks to you —
If you’ve ever felt stuck, behind, or unseen —
I hope it reminds you that you’re not alone.
This life takes time. It takes faith.
But it also takes you — showing up for yourself, even when no one else sees you yet.
Thanks for reading. Thanks for being here.
See you in the next one,
Share this post:
