Probably more importantly, you didn't have negative models, so pure interest was enough to start. Models are very important when you're thinking of doing something that is unusual, risky, rare, seems dangerous or unfeasible. Sure, if you're about doing something common and socially acceptable, there is no urgent need to have a model. But when you want to do something quite extreme, you need to estimate chances to succeed, resources required, time, possibility and other params. This is where role models come in. You have to somehow validate that what you want to achieve is possible (but prior to this, you have to learn that it even exists).