**Just a heads up, I travel often for work so please try to give me advance notice if you'd like to stay**

Hey there and welcome to my profile!

I have a few interesting quirks that will keep you entertained while you hang at mine. Here are a few of them:

I'm an advanced scuba diver who once cried when I forgot to bring my GoPro on a diving trip.

I have worked as a professional card magician as a way to save myself from poverty while studying for my degree. I promise to give you a close up magic performance with a deck of cards that has taken me many years to learn. Heck - I'll even teach you a couple of corkers that will leave your friends speechless!

I'm photographer in my spare time with aspirations to take photos of the 7 wonders and frame them. I'm currently up to 3; with number 4 coming next year. I'm really into videography as well - here's a link to my latest travel video I put together: https://youtu.be/DwWgRgkcrug

An interesting thing to note, I have been a participant on a national Australian television show called Beauty and the Geek. I went on the show as a geek, despite my best efforts to convince the producers I was a beauty...

I have a penchant for anything that is slightly different from the norm. One hobby I have been pursuing recently is sabre fencing.

I've have worked in genetic and biochemistry research for 2 years and studied how cancer cells replicate and how we can stop them. I was motivated to research breast cancer after my mother was diagnosed with it while I was studying my degree (she is 100% fine now!). Science, in particular genetics and biochemistry are my passions and I can talk about it for hours.

I currently work for a healthcare company as a consultant that provides recommendations on behavioral based programs, coaching, mentoring and leadership development. I run workshops that assist individuals and teams to increase their emotional intelligence allowing them to gain greater satisfaction from their work. I love learning about positive psychology; there's lots to talk about in this area!

Although I now work for a large multinational corporate, I am a free soul at heart. I have always had hopes and dreams to travel the world and I am am currently planning to make that dream a reality by leaving my job in management and taking off to travel the world. More on this later...

I will be able to give you advice on what to do in Sydney, all the best places to eat and drink (there are so many places close by to where we are situated) and also happy to show you around on the weekends. I work during the week but am happy to share a meal or drink with you in the evenings.

What do I hope to gain from this? I'm looking forward to taking away experiences, knowledge and friendships. I do travel often, at least once a year, so hopefully I'll be able to visit you in your home country some time :)

Dan

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

This is a way for me to live vicariously through others when I am not traveling. It's also a great way to learn about other cultures. I am a sponge, teach me as much about your people as you can.

Interests

Photography: I've been enjoying amateur photography for about 4 years now. This is my creative outlet. I have a profile on 500px that I put my photos on, feel free to check it out. I'd love to hit the streets and take photos with you if that's your jam too.
http://500px.com/DNIPhotography

Card Magic: I got bored during university holidays on a rainy day and stumbled across some websites on card magic. I casually learnt a few and tried it out on my mates. They loved it so I kept going. Bought a few more books, DVDs, met other magicians, and before I knew it, 'Pretorious the Great' was performing in restaurants and bars around the city. Magic is something I love because it allows, even for a second for us to leave the realm of reality and enjoy and appreciate something that makes absolutely no sense whatsoever. The best thing about card magic in particular is that it's intimate. It happens right in front of you; most of the time in your own hands. What's even more interesting is the psychology behind magic; which I love to talk about. My card magic is something that I love to share with anyone who is interested.

Bartending: While I have calmed down in recent years, for many years, along with magic, cocktail bartending has been my bread and butter. What does this mean for you? I'm always up for a drink :)

Fencing: I've been sabre fencing now for about 3 years, and I'm totally addicted. It's a sport that has been called 'physical chess'. It has the elegance of ballet, the aggression of the martial arts and the speed of.... Formula 1 (which I also love by the way). If you like I'll teach you how to do a marching attack and lunge; very important skill to have that will hold you in good stead in life!

Scuba Diving: While I am an advanced scuba diver with over 100 logged dives but I need to extend my international diving adventure log. If any of you also scuba dive we could go for a dive on a weekend to some of my favourite spots.

• arts
• books
• performing arts
• photography
• beauty
• ballet dancing
• cocktails
• running
• drinking
• chess
• traveling
• magic
• scuba diving
• sports
• fencing
• martial arts
• world cup
• genealogy
• psychology
• science

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

Experience the World Cup in Brasil with dad to see the mighty Azzuri play, conquer the El Camino Salkantay trail to Machu Picchu, Bike Ride down the Camino de la Muerte (road of the dead) - I couldn't choose between the three ;)

Countries I’ve Visited

Argentina, Austria, Belgium, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Croatia, Czech Republic, England, France, Germany, Hungary, Italy, Monaco, Montenegro, Netherlands, New Zealand, Peru, San Marino, Serbia, Singapore, Spain, Switzerland, United Kingdom, United States