I am a co-founder and former CEO of CouchSurfing. I last worked full-time for the company in 2012 (and was involved in some way from 2004-2015).

CURRENT MISSION

To cultivate a heart as peaceful, joyful, and lovely as that of a flower. -- Toshitsugu Takamatsu

ABOUT ME

I am a truth-seeker (a philosopher), a traveler, a warrior, a businessman. Getting more mellow as I enter my mid-40's (relative to the crazy adventure-seeker I was for some of my 20's), but determined to keep the spark alive. Still have high hopes and dreams.

PHILOSOPHY

An act of kindness is never wasted. Always strive for perfection. Never forget where you came from. Remember what is important. What you do in life echoes in eternity.

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

As a CouchSurfing founder, I wanted to create a better world. Travel is unique in how it enables people to better understand each other. With better understanding and more empathy for others, there is less conflict.

COUCHSURFING EXPERIENCE

Hosted friends for up to a month at a time and European surfers for a weekend .. couch surfed on a cycling trip from New Orleans to Atlanta, in a village in Indonesia, on a vacation in Sicily and in Colombia, during a business trip to Seoul, and at a remote cattle ranch in Texas (among other places) ..

Interests

Adventure travel, spirituality, cycling, hiking, tennis, budo, skiing, business, technology, nature. Good breakbeats free me.

• flowers
• technology
• traveling
• cycling
• hiking
• skiing
• tennis
• business
• philosophy
• adventure travel

Music, Movies, and Books

Movies: The Matrix, Mr. and Mrs. Smith, Breakfast Club, Devil Wears Prada, The Usual Suspects, When Harry Met Sally, Batman Begins, American Beauty, some others. Books: The Fountainhead, Ender's Game, poetry (Rilke, Yuan Mei, Whitman). Music: Everything from Nickelback, Bon Jovi and Metallica to breakbeats, Enya and a cappella.

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

Spent 3 weeks trekking through the jungles of Borneo with indigenous Dayak headhunters.

Also had the joy of seeing CouchSurfing grow from a few members in 2004 to over 25 million worldwide in 2022.

Teach, Learn, Share

How to integrate, without cognitive dissonance, capitalist ambitions and a desire to help the world.

What I Can Share with Hosts

I'm happy to talk about startups and business if that interests you. If not, I can talk about other things too :)

Countries I’ve Visited

Andorra, Argentina, Aruba, Australia, Austria, Bahamas, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, Cayman Islands, China, Colombia, Czech Republic, Denmark, France, Germany, Hungary, Indonesia, Israel, Italy, Japan, Madagascar, Mali, Mexico, Philippines, Puerto Rico, Senegal, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Thailand, United Kingdom, United States, Virgin Islands, British

Countries I’ve Lived In

Australia, United States

• 

• 

• 

• 

•