Personally-
I'm known for aggressively stalking books on Goodreads and in bookstores, taking absurdly long walks, loving (and losing in) every board game there is, and cracking ridiculously shitty witty jokes.
Apart from that, I love the outdoors. I used to be a long-distance cyclist, and am currently into running, swimming, playing badminton, and tennis(still learning) once in a while.

Professionally-
I am a materials engineering graduate. However, for the last few years, I've been working across different roles in multiple startups, my last role being as a Product Manager for a Bangalore-based app-based employment platform.

Currently, I'm on a career break, taking time off to read, write, travel, and spend more time with my friends and family :)

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

Short Answer:- It's about meeting new people, hearing about their journey, and maybe sharing mine, seeing the world through their eyes, and maybe showing them through mine.

Long Answer:-
Over the last few years, I've primarily stayed in hostels while traveling, this helped me make some amazing friends from all over the world, and I had a great time hanging out with them. I've found that it can be challenging to engage with locals while staying in hostels.

Currently, I’m at a phase in traveling where the thrill of ticking off yet another tourist attraction (except for museums) has diminished compared to the joy of connecting with like-minded people in new locations. I find immense pleasure in gaining insight into their daily lives and cultures, sharing stories, listening to their perspectives on all sorts of things, and simply having a great time together. Hence, Couchsurfing.

Interests

• graphic design
• triathlon
• marathon
• running
• board games
• reading
• cycling
• water polo
• swimming
• philosophy
• trekking
• startups
• product management
• long distance cycling

Music, Movies, and Books

Music- It's all over the place, and always exploring new artists. Whatever sounds/feels good is good music. Recent great finds - The Strokes & The White Stripes.

Books-

Some of my recent reads and all-time favorite books are-
Fiction:- 1984, Brave New World, Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy, and a few books by Dan Brown, Jeffrey Archer, and Camus.
Non-fiction:- Why Nations Fail, Sophie's World, Born a Crime, Surely You're Joking Mr. Feynman, Shoe Dog, Into the Wild, Sapiens, A Movable Feast & The Almanack of Naval Ravikant

More on - https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/50126084-hitesh

Always open to getting and sharing book recommendations!

TV shows-

Some of my recent favorite TV shows are- The Office, World War 2 in Colour, and Bojack Horseman

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

Inculcated the 'one step at a time' principle in my life by following a couple of habits from Jan'21, and helping a few of my friends & colleagues to do the same as well. Some of them habits are/were:-
--I've been doing some form of physical exercise every single day for 1000+ days now ✌🏻
--Read every day for about 18 months, excluding for about 10 days
--Eat a fruit/drank fresh juice everyday for over 20 months, excluding for about 15 days
--Went for a 5Kms or longer run once every week for 52 weeks - among them 21 consecutive weeks around/along 21 different water bodies (16 Lakes, 3 Seas, 2 Rivers)
--Attended a meeting every week for over 104 weeks on a networking cum socializing platform - Lunchclub

Teach, Learn, Share

I love to learn about people's lifestyles, culture, regional history, and favorite books & TV shows.

I can teach you how to cook some Indian dishes if there's a proper cooking setup. (Don't worry, I don't prefer it as spicy as it's known to be). Even if not cooking, I'll almost certainly have some extra ready-to-eat or easy-to-cook Indian dish to share :)

I can share some tips on how to form a habit around something that you may have been procrastinating for a while.

What I Can Share with Hosts

Stories, Indian food, cooking recipes for Indian food, Tips for habit-building, and book recommendations.

To start with:- Among the below statements- two of them are truths, one is a half-lie, and one is a complete lie. Would like you to be ready with your guesses about which one is which when I arrive! (If you're with a partner, maybe take bets - looking forward to taxing the winning party with a treat :P)

1. I swam to a bar on an island in Cambodia at 1 a.m.
2. I swam in a Himalayan lake at 14,000+ feet in October at 1 a.m.
3. I was chased by a bartender in Manila at 1 a.m.
4. I once completed a 600-kilometer cycling ride in under 40 hours, with two hills in between.

Countries I’ve Visited

Austria, Cambodia, Denmark, Estonia, France, Germany, Hungary, Ireland, Latvia, Lithuania, Malaysia, Netherlands, Norway, Philippines, Poland, Singapore, Sweden, Turkey, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom, Viet Nam

Countries I’ve Lived In

India