Table of Contents
On this episode of the Words of Rizdom podcast, host Riz sits down with Nottingham-born director and filmmaker Josh Thornalley—the creative force behind Blood Brother Media and Film Space. Josh isn’t a trader; he’s the guy who turns chaos into clean storylines, from influencer boxing and DJ festivals to an Abu Dhabi tourism/Expedia shoot and high-profile projects with names like Deji and Floyd Mayweather. His path—free gigs that opened doors, relentless learning, and big-league execution—maps shockingly well to how serious traders build an edge.
In this quick read, you’ll learn how Josh’s process becomes a trader’s strategy: stacking a “portfolio” of reps the same way you stack annotated trades, using smart free work like a forward-tested system, managing insane timelines like risk, and falling in love with the craft so you actually improve. We’ll also pull mindset gold from his story—resilience through personal loss, navigating uncertainty, and building networks that compound—so you can translate a filmmaker’s operating system into practical trading rules that help you execute under pressure.
Josh Thornalley Playbook & Strategy: How He Actually Trades
Market Focus & Edge Definition
Before you can execute well, you need a clear lane and a repeatable reason to be in it. This section nails down what you will trade, when you’ll trade it, and the small set of conditions that create your edge so you’re not guessing in the heat of battle.
- Pick two markets only (e.g., GBPUSD and NAS100) and trade them for 30 sessions before adding anything else.
- Define your A-setup in one sentence: “Mean-reversion into VWAP after a failed breakout in the London session.”
- Trade a single time window per market (e.g., London 8:00–11:00 for FX; New York 9:50–11:30 for indices).
- Pre-commit to volatility bands: if 1-minute ATR > your threshold, stand down; if < threshold, reduce targets.
- Keep a “No-Trade List” of conditions you systematically avoid (FOMC days, first 5 minutes after open, spread spikes).
Pre-Market Checklist (30 Minutes)
Clarity beats complexity. This is a simple pre-flight that turns randomness into routine and gets your head and levels right before the bell.
- Mark prior day high/low, Asia range high/low, and current session VWAP/AVWAP anchors you’ll actually use.
- Note the single catalyst that matters (if any): trend day continuation vs. mean-reversion potential—pick one.
- Record 3 scenarios in plain English (bull, bear, chop) with invalidation for each.
- Set max daily loss = 1× your average green day; stop trading at that number—no exceptions.
- Decide risk per trade before open (e.g., 0.5R to 1R) and lock it in your DOM template.
Entry Triggers (From Idea to Order)
You only need one or two triggers you trust. The aim here is to translate your idea into a specific, testable click—same trigger, every time.
- Use structure first, trigger second: enter only when a key level rejects and momentum confirms (e.g., break, retest, wick).
- Require confluence: level + VWAP/EMA reaction + single candle signal (engulfing, rejection wick) or micro HL/LH on 1–3m.
- Enter on the retest, not the initial touch—avoid chasing the first poke.
- If the spread widens or slippage > half your initial stop, cancel and wait for the next rotation.
- Limit to 3 entry attempts per thesis; after the third, the read is wrong—move on.
Risk & Position Sizing (Before, During, After)
Risk is the only part you fully control. These rules make your downside mechanical so you can let winners breathe.
- Fixed fractional risk: 0.5R per trade on choppy days, 1R on clean trend days; never exceed 1R.
- Initial stop goes beyond structure, not just candles: below swing low/above swing high or outside liquidity pool.
- If price moves +1R quickly, move stop to breakeven only after a confirmed HL/LH forms; not immediately.
- One hedge or one add max: add only at an equal-quality level with the same stop logic; no martingale.
- Daily circuit breaker: after 2R realized or three losers in a row, stop trading for the day.
Trade Management (Stay With the Idea, Not the Candle)
You manage the idea, not every tick. The goal is to reduce noise, hold alignment with your scenario, and avoid cutting winners early.
- Trail behind structure swings on the execution timeframe; never trail tick-for-tick.
- Scale out only at pre-planned liquidity pools (prior high/low, session VWAP, opening range edges).
- If thesis breaks (e.g., VWAP flips against you and structure shifts), exit entirely—no “hope mode.”
- On trend days, convert to runner logic: leave 25–33% to a higher-timeframe target with a structural trail.
- If a catalyst resolves (news passes, imbalance filled), reassess: continue only if the same scenario still holds.
Exits & Targets (Pre-Declare, Then Obey)
Great exits are planned before entry. This section turns targets from wishful thinking into a checklist you actually follow.
- Primary target = first resting liquidity (prior H/L, ORB edge, untested day level).
- Secondary target = higher-timeframe imbalance/AVWAP magnet; write it on the chart before entry.
- Time stop: if trade hasn’t progressed ≥0.5R within N bars (e.g., 10–15 on your execution timeframe), reduce risk or exit.
- If volatility collapses (ATR drops below the band), take the next structure target and flatten.
- Never let a +1R winner become a loser; worst case is scratch after a structural failure.
Playbook—A-Setup Specification
Your A setup is the one you’ll size best and study the most. This pins it down so you can collect clean data and improve it fast.
- Context: prior day trend with clean pullback into session VWAP/AVWAP.
- Location: retest of prior H/L or opening range edge that aligns with VWAP.
- Trigger: rejection wick + engulfing in direction of higher-timeframe bias, or micro HL/LH break.
- Risk: stop beyond swing + liquidity wick; target first liquidity pool, then measured move to imbalance.
- Disqualifiers: overlapping sessions, major news within 15 minutes, or ATR band breach.
B-Setup & C-Setup Guardrails
You’ll see many “almost” trades. Labeling B and C setups prevents you from wasting bullets and protects your equity curve.
- B-setup = one piece missing (e.g., level + trigger, but VWAP confluence absent): trade at half size.
- C-setup = two pieces missing or catalyst uncertainty: skip entirely.
- Only one B-setup attempt per session; if it fails, revert to waiting for A-setup only.
- Track separate stats for A vs. B; if B underperforms for two weeks, remove it.
Journal & Review (Daily 10m, Weekly 30m)
Improvement comes from tight feedback loops. Keep this short, visual, and brutally honest so you compound skill each week.
- Snapshot pre-trade chart, entry candle, and exit with two sentences: “Why in? Why out?”
- Tag each trade with: Setup (A/B), Market State (trend/chop), Emotion (calm/rushed), and Rule Breaches (Y/N).
- Compute three metrics weekly: Win Rate (A-only), Avg R per A-setup, Rule Adherence %.
- Promote rules that add R; demote or delete those that don’t.
- Build a highlight reel of the top 5 A-setup trades for rapid pattern recall before the next session.
Mindset & Process Discipline
Execution fails when emotions hijack the process. These simple habits keep your head clear so the plan can run the show.
- First trade rule: You cannot place a trade until your pre-market checklist is fully ticked and read aloud.
- Micro-reset after any stop: stand up, 10 deep breaths, re-read the scenario you’re still allowed to trade.
- No “get-back” trades: if you think about P&L while deciding, you’re done for the session.
- Protect sleep and hydration on purpose—write them into the plan alongside risk.
- End-of-day: mark one thing to repeat tomorrow and one thing to remove—keep the plan evolving, not bloating.
Scaling & Consistency (From 1R to Size)
Scaling is earned by rule adherence and stable metrics, not vibes. This section tells you when to size up and how to avoid drawdown spirals.
- Size up only after 20 consecutive A-setup trades with: Win Rate ≥ 45% and Avg R ≥ 1.2.
- Increase risk in 20% increments; if equity dips 5% from peak, revert to prior size immediately.
- Withdrawals only after a 4-week green streak; cap at 20% of profits to preserve compounding.
- Add markets only after you’ve proven the same playbook in the original two.
- Automate what’s repeatable: templated charts, alerts at your levels, and pre-written scenarios.
Size Risk First: Define R, cap losses, earn the right to scale
Josh Thornalley treats risk like rent—you pay it first, or you’re out. He defines a fixed R per trade before the session starts, so the chart never talks him into a bigger size, and the P&L never bullies him out of a good idea. That pre-commitment keeps his head clear when volatility spikes, because the dollar damage is already bounded and boring. When a setup isn’t A-grade, Josh simply budgets less R or passes—no drama, no revenge sizing.
He also caps daily downside, so a bad morning can’t hijack a good month. If the first winner comes fast, he resists the urge to “press” beyond plan; scaling up is earned by a streak of rule-adherent trades, not by emotion. Thornalley’s playbook ties size increases to objective stats—win rate, average R, and rule adherence—so growth is smooth, not spiky. In short: define R, respect the cap, and let discipline—not hope—decide when you scale.
Trade Volatility, Not Predictions: Allocate by ATR, throttle exposure in chop
Josh Thornalley doesn’t bet on where the price will go; he sizes for how violently it can move. He reads ATR to label the day’s regime—compressed, normal, or expanded—and ties position size and targets to that reading before he clicks. In compressed conditions, he aims for smaller targets with tighter stops; in expanded regimes, he loosens stops to structure and lets winners run. By calibrating to volatility instead of opinions, Thornalley keeps his expectancy steady across changing markets.
When Chop shows up, he throttles exposure or stands down entirely instead of forcing trades. If ATR drops intraday or spreads widen, he cuts size and shortens hold times to avoid death by a thousand scratches. On days when ATR spikes, he reduces frequency, widens stops beyond structure, and scales out only at pre-marked liquidity. The result is a playbook that breathes with the tape—Josh Thornalley lets volatility set the pace while he simply follows the rules.
Diversify Smartly: Underlying, strategy, and duration—not redundant correlations.
Josh Thornalley spreads risk across behaviors, not just tickers. He pairs a trending index play with a mean-reversion FX setup so one thrives when the other struggles, avoiding the trap of trading three symbols that move together. Duration is a lever too—he mixes quick intraday rotations with swing holds anchored to higher-timeframe structure, so he isn’t forced into action when the tape is dull.
Thornalley also diversifies execution logic—one ruleset that leans on VWAP fades, another that rides opening-range expansion—but he never runs two plays that need the same conditions to work. If correlation spikes, he sidelines the weaker idea rather than doubling the same risk in disguise. By auditing overlaps weekly and pruning redundancies, he keeps the portfolio nimble: fewer simultaneous bets, cleaner edges, steadier equity.
Mechanics Over Magic: Entries simple, exits predeclared, management rules enforced
Josh Thornalley strips the mystery out of execution by turning ideas into checklists. His entry is always the same: structure first, then a simple trigger—retest of level, rejection wick, or micro higher-low/lower-high—no fancy patterns, no guessing. Stops live beyond structure, not arbitrary ticks, so he isn’t shaken out by noise. Before he clicks, Josh writes the exit in plain English—first target at resting liquidity, runner to the next imbalance—so he’s never negotiating with himself mid-trade.
Management is equally boring by design, and that’s the point. If the spread widens or slippage exceeds his threshold, the order is canceled—next rotation only. A time stop forces decisions when price stalls; trail updates only after new structure prints, not because of nerves. Thornalley enforces a three-strike rule per thesis and a daily circuit breaker, ensuring one stubborn idea can’t torch the day. The magic is the mechanics: repeatable entries, predeclared exits, and rules that fire whether he feels brave or not.
Discipline That Compounds: Routine checklists, review loops, stop trading when off-plan
Josh Thornalley treats discipline as a performance system, not a personality trait. He starts every session by running the same pre-market checklist out loud, which locks his bias, risk, and scenarios before emotions show up. After each trade, he adds a two-sentence note—why in, why out—plus a quick tag for setup quality and any rule breach. If a breach appears twice, the next session begins with a hard constraint addressing that leak.
The weekly review is equally mechanical and short. Thornalley grades A-setup stats separately from everything else, and only scales size when win rate, average R, and rule adherence all meet targets. If he goes off-plan, he ends the day immediately, logs why, and resets with a micro-routine before the next open. That cycle—plan, execute, review, refine—turns consistency into compounding.
In the end, Josh Thornalley’s story is a masterclass in turning chaos into a repeatable operating system—exactly what traders need. He shows how to define your lane, do the unglamorous reps, and let rules—not feelings—decide size, timing, and exits. The way he scopes a project, checks constraints, and commits to a simple trigger mirrors clean trade mechanics: structure first, trigger second, predeclared outcomes. His pressure approach—tight prep, minimal guesswork, and ruthless post-mortems—translates into consistent execution when markets get loud.
The real edge isn’t a secret indicator; it’s Thornalley’s discipline loop. Size risk first, so you live to trade tomorrow, let volatility set the tempo, diversify by behavior instead of ticker names, and keep your mechanics boring on purpose. When he goes off-plan, he stops; when a rule leaks, he patches it before the next session. That cycle—plan, execute, review, refine—turns craft into compounding. If you lift just those habits into your trading, you won’t just have better days; you’ll build a better career.
