My parents have been working in Russian military all my childhood, so I traveled with them wherever they were posted to serve to (that includes all over the Russia and bordering countries, Europe and Cuba (mi pais favorito!). I've been addicted to travel ever since. Now it's close to 50 countries visited and counting.
14 years ago, I've moved permanently to Australia - the decision which filled my life with beautiful experiences.
Apart from traveling I love outdoors/camping/hiking, sailing, motorcycle riding, sports (martial arts, running, gym, inline skating), Latin dance (salsa, bachata) and playing my guitar.
I like good movies (the ones that make me weep (yes, I'm a bit sentimental), music and literature.
I like talking about everything (in any of the 3 languages I know, though I'm trying to improve my Spanish for ages), learning new things (that's a passion) and self-development (hard one), and, of course, meeting new people and hanging out with old friends.
I'm also a single dad with 2 beautiful kids, which are the big part of my life, so when I'm hosting, some of the days you'll be on your own .
I live in the best suburb of Sydney, 4 kms to the beach, walking distance to everything (parks, cafes, mall, transport), so if you're visiting Sydney give me a buzz and I'll see what I can do to help.

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

Travel the world, make friends, find my true purpose (that's the hard part), learn and grow.

Interests

• guitar
• camping
• sailing
• sports
• martial arts
• adventure travel
• outdoors
• new experiences
• meeting new people
• self-development
• boardgames
• spanish
• latin dances

Music, Movies, and Books

Music:
Blues (latest obsession)
Latin Music - Salsa / Bachata / Reggaeton
Rock-n-roll, some of the 80s and 90s (and 60s and 70s) disco
All kinds of Metal

Movies:
Braveheart (favourite!)
Tarantino's movies (Pulp Fiction, Django Unchained, Reservoir Dogs),
Good romantic comedies/dramas, to name a few: The fault in our stars, Crash, Before sunrise/sunset, Love actually, Nuestros Amantes, Serendipity, New Years Eve, Valentines Day, Hitch, The Holiday, Vicky Cristina Barcelona

Smart movies: Peaceful Warrior, Forrest Gump, Good Will Hunting, Shawshank Redemption, The Intouchables , The Prestige, American Beauty, Gran Torino, Into the Wild, 127 Hours, Groundhog Day, Dead Man, Night on Earth, Interstate 60

Not so smart: Star wars series, Terminator 1,2, The Departed, Back to the Future, Snatch/Lock-stock-and-two-barrels, Die Hard, Troy, No country for old men, Taken, Hunger Games

Series: Expanse, True Detective, Breaking Bad, Prison Break, Spartacus, Rome, Black Mirror, Fargo, Game of Thrones, Narcos, Friends, Scrubs, Vikings, Young Sheldon / BBT

Books:
Lonely Planet Guides
Richard Bach's books (Johnatan Livingstone, Illusions, The Bridge),
Self-development/motivation: The Way of Superior Man by David Deida (brilliant!), Steve Pavlina, Chris Guillebeau, The Power of Now (Eckhart Tolle)
Science-Fiction: too many to list

Board Games:
Innovation
Go
Pax Porfiriana / Renaissance / Pamir
Voyages of Marco Polo I, II
Race for the Galaxy
Istanbul
The Castles of Burgundy
Gloomhaven

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

Moved to Australia from Russia (not an easy task by itself), not having any savings, job or friends here - guess I was lucky :)

Snowboarded at Russian most northern resorts (Murmansk), Italian Alps, New Zealand South island and Australian mountains.

Fell from motorcycle twice at around 80 km/h speed - both times protective equipment has been completely ruined, but saved my life and health

Extreme sports tried so far:
Bungee - 47m at New Zealand Queenstown,
Skydiving: Russia 1km solo/ New Zealand 4 kms tandem,
Kitesurfing / Surfing / Hang Gliding / Sailing: Australia.
Scuba diving (SSI Open Water)

Fun fact: I starred in movies "As Far As My Feet Will Carry Me" and "The Island of Unwanted People" - check it out :)
kidding... those are my twin-looking actors Bernhard Bettermann and Dmitry Ulianov respectively.

Another fun fact: At 2yo got caught in a snow blizzard in Kazakhstan and spent one day in a bus covered with snow before we've been rescued, lost my hearing at right ear, but still hear 100% with the left one :)

More fun: Both, the city and the country I was born in, no longer exist - Leningrad, USSR

Lived at Cuba for 3 years, from 4 to 7yo, don't remember myself before that time, so consider myself Cuban as well as Russian and Aussie.

Felt lonely at highest bar in the world - 118th floor Ozone bar at the Ritz-Carlton Hong Kong.

Got some colored belts in a few different martial arts, but no black belt - lack of commitment due to travel bug

Survived in the Manila's MRT during rush hour :)

Finished Annapurna Circuit (211 km with highest point 5416m Thorang-La pass), Nepal in 9 days

Traveled South America for one month, working remotely full time by Australian hours - exhausting!

Certified skipper in YIT and ICC standards (Captain Jack Sparrow... ;)))

Started learning electric / acoustic guitar in 2020, haven't missed a day of practice yet, but still not any good :)

to be continued...

Teach, Learn, Share

I can teach you Russian, it'd be fun :)
I'm also jack-of-all-trades-master-of-none, so I know a little about many things and we can always find a topic to discuss (or a shared passion if you wish).
Salsa / Bachata moves included :)
Guitar live session ;)

What I Can Share with Hosts

Couch, Stories/Experiences, Food, Media

Countries I’ve Visited

Argentina, Australia, Austria, Belarus, Belgium, Bolivia, Brazil, Cambodia, Canada, Chile, China, Croatia, Cuba, Czech Republic, Egypt, Estonia, Fiji, Finland, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Italy, Kazakhstan, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Malaysia, Moldova, Nepal, Netherlands, New Caledonia, New Zealand, Norway, Peru, Philippines, Poland, Russian Federation, Samoa, Singapore, South Korea, Sweden, Switzerland, Thailand, Ukraine, United States, Uruguay

Countries I’ve Lived In

Australia, Cuba, Kazakhstan, Moldova, Russian Federation, Ukraine