Two years later, in 2024, I went to Spain again, with my sister. No natives came with us this time, and guess what!
I was able to blend in and comfortably do anything that we wanted or needed, in Spanish.
I was born in Eastern Europe and moved to Los Angeles when I was 9. Ever since I was a kid, I’ve wanted to speak Spanish.
I still remember recording little telenovelas snippets on an old tape recorder so I could replay them and capture the Spanish. But after moving to the US, I had to focus on English first, so Spanish was kept in the background for years.
In 2008, I officially restarted my Spanish journey.
I invested in college classes, tutors, books, and language apps.
I spent a lot of money and time… and thought I was finally making progress.
In 2016, I traveled to Peru and Ecuador, excited to finally use my Spanish.
But when it was time to actually speak, my Spanish was basically non-existent.
​
I had to rely on my partner for almost every conversation, he’s Mexican.
​
It was frustrating to say the least, pretty discouraging.
​
When I got back, I tried even more apps and different methods. More different platforms. More different approaches.
​
But every time I put my Spanish to the test in real life, it felt like… I was back in Ecuador, stuck in an awkward interaction.
By 2020, I told myself: This has to change.
I knew I wanted my future child to speak Spanish. And I didn’t want to be the reason they couldn’t. That’s when I decided: if existing tools weren’t working for me, I’d build my own.
​
I came up with an idea for a Spanish learning game that actually forces you to use the language in a real, practical way. I had zero game development experience, so I learned it from scratch while creating what is now Now Fluent.
From the very start, I worked with:
​
- Professional Spanish translators
- Native speakers
- Spanish teachers
​
Together, we made sure the game is not only grammatically correct, but also sounds like the Spanish people actually speak. Not just “textbook Spanish.”
In August 2022, I traveled to Spain, the game was still in its early stages, and so was my Spanish.
That same year in November, I went to Mexico. By then, the game was off the ground, and my Spanish was at a decent level!
​
I went to coffee shops, ordered meals all by myself and for the first time, I didn’t need to rely on my partner to do so!
I took it one step at a time.
To me, language learning is taking one step a time until you reach the top. That's why my old logo had steps.
​
The steps were inspired by my trip to Machu Picchu, more specifically, Wayna Picchu. I had to climb those steps, one by one, to reach the top.
​
Just like in my Spanish learning journey! The new Now Fluent logo represents exactly that.
Throughout all this time, I’ve had a full-time job, so I had to wake up at 4am to work on the game before work.
It took me years of trial, error, and a lot of persistence to bring it to life.
After many early mornings, late nights, and countless iterations, the game is finally here!
It was built for people like you and me: motivated, busy, and tired of studying for years without being able to actually speak Spanish.
Now Fluent, the ongoing story...
2008
Restarted Spanish seriously, took classes, tutors, books, apps.
2016
Trip to Peru and Ecuador and realized I still couldn’t speak in real life.
2020
Decided to build a better way, a game that makes you speak in realistic situations.
2022
Traveled to Spain, the game was still in its early stages and so was my Spanish.
2022
Traveled to Mexico, went to coffee shops and ordered meals all by myself. For the first time, I didn’t need to rely on my partner to do so!
2024
I went to Spain with my sister. No natives came with us this time, and guess what: I was able to blend in and comfortably do anything that we wanted or needed, in Spanish.
From day 1
Worked with translators, native speakers, and teachers to keep it natural.
Years of building
Learned game dev from scratch (often starting at 4am before my full-time job).
Today
Now Fluent is here! Built for motivated, busy learners who are tired of studying without speaking.
2008
Restarted Spanish seriously, took classes, tutors, books, apps.
2016
Trip to Peru and Ecuador and realized I still couldn’t speak in real life.
2020
Decided to build a better way, a game that makes you speak in realistic situations.
2022
Traveled to Spain, the game was still in its early stages and so was my Spanish.
2024
I went to Spain with my sister. No natives came with us this time, and guess what: I was able to blend in and comfortably do anything that we wanted or needed, in Spanish.
From day 1
Worked with translators, native speakers, and teachers to keep it natural.
Years of building
Learned game dev from scratch (often starting at 4am before my full-time job).
Today
Now Fluent is here! Built for motivated, busy learners who are tired of studying without speaking.
If you’ve tried the apps and classes and still freeze when it’s time to talk, this is the different way in.
No. Most apps reward logging in and tapping words. Now Fluent is built around speaking missions inside a finishable story, so you practice real-life Spanish out loud (and actually build speaking confidence).
You’ll build conversational confidence by practicing the exact situations most learners freeze in, eg. small talk, ordering, asking questions, reacting in the moment. Like any method, results depend on consistency, but the whole point of the game format is to make that consistency easier.
Spanish is Spanish! While there are definitely nuances, accents, and various regional differences, the core Spanish remains the same. The game teaches the core Spanish but also shows different dialects and accents, so you can get familiar with how different countries sound. Plus, each player has an accent tag, so you know where they’re from.
Yes. Because the learning happens through doing. You’ll speak, repeat, and respond in context. It’s entertainment on the outside so you stay consistent, but the method underneath is built around practical speaking reps.
The Now Fluent Game is designed as a finishable journey. Although it's still in development and currently offers 10 hours of gameplay, more chapters (similar to “Netflix seasons”) will be released soon. Once all chapters are available, the game will conclude. The current version teaches all the basics needed to speak Spanish, while the upcoming chapters will introduce more advanced concepts.
Best for beginners to intermediate learners, especially if you can understand some Spanish but freeze when speaking. If you’re starting from absolute zero, you can still begin, just expect a short ramp-up while you learn the basics inside the story.
That’s exactly who it’s for. If you’ve done other learning apps, classes, YouTube, tutors… and you still can’t speak, the problem usually isn’t effort. It’s that you didn’t get enough real speaking reps in realistic context. Now Fluent is built to change that.
Even short sessions work. The best approach is a chapter a day (5–10 minutes) instead of occasional long sessions. The story format is meant to make it easy to come back, you’ll want to know how it ends!
Now Fluent is built with support from Spanish teachers, professional translators, and native speakers, so the Spanish is natural and not just “textbook Spanish.”