Failing Up: How Lord Miles Monetized His Own Desert Fast Fiasco For $60,000

The Art of Profitable Failure: How an Adventurer Monetized His Own Desert Fast Fiasco

In a remarkable example of the money dynamics within decentralized prediction markets, the British adventurer known as Lord Miles apparently transformed a public failure into a significant personal profit. Despite starting a 40-day desert fast in Saudi Arabia, a challenge he eventually gave up, Lord Miles is said to have earned over $60,000 in profit by cleverly betting that he would not succeed on the Polymarket platform. This incident, ending with the "No" resolution of the market about whether he completed the fast, highlights an odd aspect of crypto gambling culture: the potential for planned failure turning into a winning tactic.

The market, titled "Lord Miles completes 40-day water fast in the desert?" and launched on Polymarket, saw a volume of $14,296,822. It stipulated that Lord Miles was to perform "water fasting for 40 DAYS AND NIGHTS in one of the hottest Deserts in the world in isolation," as posted by his account, @reallordmiles, on July 4, 2025. The market's resolution criteria were clear: it would settle as "Yes" if he completed an uninterrupted 40-day water-only fast by September 30, 2025, 11:59 PM ET, with public documentation via livestreams, video, or credible reporting. In contrast, any calorie consumption beyond water and electrolytes, or abandonment of the fast, would lead to a "No" resolution.

Polymarket's operational parameters for the event were carefully laid out, addressing potential ambiguities:

• Restart Clause: A restart of the fast was allowed if it enabled completion within the market's timeframe.
• Documentation Requirement: Public documentation was required, with "small gaps in recording due to extenuating circumstances" considered acceptable, but the fast as a whole still needed public verification. Miles's own claims alone were deemed insufficient without additional credible evidence.
• Supplement Clarification: Taking vitamin/mineral supplements without significant caloric value was not considered a breach of the water fast.
• Dispute Mechanism: A dedicated clarification window was established for September 18, 2025, 1:00 PM ET, with the orderbook to be cleared at that time regardless of whether a statement was issued by the Polymarket team.

The market eventually settled on "No," showing Lord Miles did not complete the 40-day water fast as stipulated. The exact sequence of events leading to his abandonment or breach is not completely described in the market parameters, but the outcome allowed those who bet on his failure, including Miles himself, to collect payouts. This resolution was grounded in a "consensus of credible reporting and/or direct video evidence," as per the market's rules. The final outcome of "No" was at one stage flagged as "Disputed," reflecting possible disagreements over the evidence or interpretation before finalization.

This case underscores the growing intersection of public spectacle, personal challenge, and decentralized finance. Lord Miles's reported profit-a figure that has attracted considerable attention, especially within crypto circles-serves as a concrete example of how prediction markets can be used not just for speculative gain on external events, but also for financial advantage derived from one's own controlled outcomes. This mechanism, where an individual can intentionally fail a public endeavor to profit from it on a prediction market, calls for scrutiny of the ethical implications and the unique risk profiles inherent in such decentralized platforms. The incident, as observed by Token Report, captures a cynical, yet financially potent, aspect of "crypto gambling culture," where "losing the game is the winning strategy."