CURRENT MISSION

surf waves, sail oceans, climb mountains, pick cherries

ABOUT ME

Okay here we go for a little session of introspection. If I review my life so far, I'm quite a lucky fellow. I'm a bit of a Sunday child. Didn't have a lot of downsides in life. I grew up in a warm nest and can look back with a smile on my childhood. I have had some darker moments, but they certainly do not outweigh the happy ones.

My mom once said to me I'm too impulsive. Too eager to get on the train, you know. I don't believe this impulsive enthusiasm is a bad thing at all. If we look for happiness and joy in new experiences, we must do a little exploring. Take a risk!

PHILOSOPHY

Always do sober what you said you'd do drunk. That will teach you to keep your mouth shut - Hemingway

Why stay in the sandbox, if you have an entire playground to discover?

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

HOW I PARTICIPATE IN COUCHSURFING

I'd be happy to show surfers around in my beloved town Antwerp. I know a fair amount of bars in the city. So I'd give my guests a taste of city nightlife in A-town.

Wandering trough the cobblestone streets, maybe meeting with some dear friends of mine, checking out a live band, discover interesting places to eat.

In the daytime, I'm usually working. If not, I could give you an interesting alternative tour and show you places that aren't trampled by mass tourism.

Above all, it would just make me happy, to see people having a good time in my hometown.

COUCHSURFING EXPERIENCE

Hosted and slept on couches

Interests

Music!

I'm a cannibal when it comes to music. Arcade Fire, Gorillaz, The National, David Bowie, Ray Lamontagne, The White Stripes, EELS, Fleet Foxes. I can also enjoy pop-, bluegrass, gospel, hip-hop-, electro-, or housemusic. I can also enjoy the music from the rockstars who lived in the 17th century.

Food!

I'm an amateur cook. I must say, I can make a fair amount of recipes, but most of all I like the eating part :)

Travelling: Let's go!

Sailing: freedom at its best.

City Nightlife: Hell yeah! I'm quite the nighthawk. Philosophize through the night. Sharing laughter and joy...

Books

Nature: I'm not the typical tree hugging type, but still I'm a nature lover. Be it deep blue oceans, wild animals, snow-capped mountains, colorful trees, woolly clouds in the sky,... there's so much beauty to be found in the wilderness and it's all for free. If journalism is'nt working out for me anymore, I see myself becoming a park ranger or something. Being a skipper or fisherman also seems nice.

• culture
• books
• photography
• beauty
• cooking
• nightlife
• drinking
• politics
• movies
• traveling
• music
• surfing
• sailing
• rock climbing
• history
• journalism
• tourism
• mountains
• food
• nature
• videography
• cherry pie

Music, Movies, and Books

David Bowie, Nick Cave, CCR, Gorillaz, Britpop, Italodisco, Gainsbourgh, Wu Tang Clan, Joe Dassin, Arcade Fire, Prince, Tinariwen, Jazz, Jazz Ethiopique, ... -eclectic -

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

During late spring 2011, I crossed the Atlantic with a 33ft- long sailingboat. I set sail from Morocco to finally end up in the Caribbean. I was acompanied by two great sailors.

The captain of the ship, who was old enough to be my grandfather, took me under his damn well experienced wings. I not only got in touch with the finesses of sailing and navigating. He also passed on some of his wisdom.

During this Atlantic crossing, out of the deep blue, we bumped into a family of killer whales. There were at least five of them and they came so close. Some of them even sprayed me in the face, like it was a good laugh for them. I was so overwhelmed by emotions that later on, during my night watch, I cried and smiled at the same time while watching a clear starry sky. Truly a magical moment

Teach, Learn, Share

I'd be happy to modestly share my knowledge of Antwerp, the city I live in. I can tell you some things about the city's rich history. My roots lie here. I was born here, but risen on the countryside. In 2006, I came back to cookie-town to study. It immediately felt like home.

Furthermore, I'm always into some exchanging points of view about music, politics, movies, books and life in general.

Talking about exchanging. I'd love trading recipes, be it food or drinks. Cooking food or preparing a drink is like a high cultural property.

Countries I’ve Visited

Barbados, Cabo Verde, Cuba, Denmark, France, Greece, Grenada, Italy, Japan, Luxembourg, Malta, Morocco, Netherlands, Norway, Scotland, Spain, Switzerland, Trinidad and Tobago, Tunisia, Turkey, United Kingdom, United States

Countries I’ve Lived In

Belgium, Spain