How Did You Get Into Affiliate Marketing?

As diverse as the industry of affiliate marketing is, it’s always interesting to hear how people came to it, what they did before. Lots of people in the more traditional side of advertising and marketing get a taste of affiliate marketing in their regular work. For them, the shift is mostly about learning methods and technology. Some people come from web development when they start to wonder where all the money is coming from. There are college programs now that try to teach affiliate marketing, too (the do-it-yourselfers who learn the game on their own to put themselves through college seem to do better, but never mind). The skills, tendencies and prejudices people bring to the industry are as diverse as the people themselves. I come from a background of computer graphics and simulation (the picture above is a building I helped design the special image bearing screen for). My tendency is to be very cautious about taking financial risks, while a friend who also works as an affiliate marketer used to play poker professionally. He is still coming to terms with the lack of risk he sees in the new job.
Anyhow, I find this vast diversity interesting and I’d be happy to hear more stories about what marketers used to do.