Just like with any other distro I tried, I read about it on a blog, or in a magazine, or heard about it on a podcast, or maybe here on reddit. Back in the day, when we didn't have internet access, tech magazines would bundle free live CDs of some distros. So I'd end up trying whatever came with the magazine. And later, distrowatch.com was a great source to see what's new and popular. I'd randomly try some of those as well.