Hi there!
I'm Marc, a young designer from Graz in Austria. I just relocated back to Europe to catch up with friends and family after a year of internship in San Francisco. I'm currently in transition/moving to Dublin, Ireland.

I'm a very easy going, open minded and social person - relocating to a city (San Francisco) where I didn't know anybody reshaped my whole character as I believe. I enjoy making new friends from all over the world especially since SF is a very international melting pot.

I have a few passions but a hell of a lot interests - so it's rather easy to get me excited about doing something, whatever it is. In general I enjoy being very active, with sports (especially outdoors - since the sun is usually putting a smile on my face), events, going out and of course travelling.

Despite the fact that I look forward to see some good friends again back in my hometown - I know that my journey to discover as much of the world as possible, has just started!

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

First of all I was pretty much hosting a lot of people in my apartment in downtown San Francisco throughout the last year anyway and I really enjoyed having somebody else in the apartment to chat and spend fun evenings with on a regular basis.

Now after San Francisco that I'm looking into doing some travelling myself, I'd like to have that same experience but from the traveler's point of view. I saw it for myself that having somebody who is familiar with the area you're visiting is one of the best things that can happen to your travel plans - which is the second reason for why I'm looking forward to couchsurf.

Interests

As said above I love being active - I consider myself a rather sporty person, so I enjoy any kind of movement (again especially outside). Let's go for a hike in the mountains, along the coast or in the deepest jungle on a dirt trail. Is there an ocean an waves nearby - I'm always trying to improve my surfing skills (desperately, since I' m from a country with no ocean lol)
Playing soccer in the sand when the sun sets, kayaking through narrow rivers or swimming under a waterfall - all things that I enjoy doing and am seeking.

Can't deny though that a relaxed day on the beach or in the hammock and a good beer or cocktail is a must have now and then. (or just a lazy rainy day inside watching a movie or talking about which came first, the egg or the chicken)

That being said, as a designer, one of my biggest passions is obviously everything design or art related. I have a high appreciation for beautiful and functional things whether it is some kind of consumer electronic designed in California or a woven stool from a street vendor on Bali.

I know the music category is just below this one, but one of my other big passions or addictions is music, but more about that below.

• arts
• design
• dancing
• cooking
• beer
• cocktails
• traveling
• music
• drums
• outdoor activities
• hiking
• kayaking
• surfing
• sports
• soccer
• tennis
• swimming
• mathematics
• beaches
• rivers
• mountains

Music, Movies, and Books

MUSIC wise, I consider myself pretty diverse and flexible but I do have some favorite genres and bands. On top of all are Arctic Monkeys, or bands like The Jungle Giants, The Black Keys, Tame Impala, Local Natives, San Cisco - pretty much anything indie rock related is my main passion.

Followed by folk/acoustic - Mumford&Sons, PaperKites, RadicalFace...

Alternative or random stuff like - Washed Out, PassionPit, MikkyEkko, FooFighters...

I listen to electronic stuff but more the calm, relaxing things - if I'm out in a club though I'll pretty much go crazy when dancing to anything. Don't let the rocky/folk stuff up there blind you.

And last but not least, actual Rock&Roll - I love to dance (I was semi professional once) and Jive/Rock&Roll is my favorite - so if you know a nice rockabilly bar where you can 'twist & shout' let me know!

MOVIES
Tricky one, I have evening where enjoy the really shallow stuff but then again, something really deep makes me watch it over and over again (until I get it lol)
Inception
The Butterfly Effect
The Dark Knight (esp. Heath Ledger)
500 Days of Summer
Wall - E (in general great animation movies)
The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy
Probably a few more...

BOOKS
I don't really read fictional books - usually read books related to design, life, philosophy or comedy

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

It's usually me that is being amazed by other people - but for me two of the most memorable things that I've done so far are both related to sunrise in Bali where I was in 2011.
Sunrises have something even more magical to them than sunsets, but to top this I perfectly remember when we drove out on the sea that day in the dark with these super slim and small motorboats and were greeted by a group of dolphins jumping around in front of the sunrise.

Just a few days later, we got up way before the sun rose, squeezed us into a van and drove to the beach. After a few warm up exercises we were out on the water surfing waves while the sun rose behind us.

Teach, Learn, Share

TEACH
I'd describe myself as somebody who knows to do a lot of different things but I'm not an expert in a lot of them. Theoretically though I can teach you to dance, play the drums, surf, play tennis, fence (that's an odd one I know) - speak german or try speak german with an austrian accent. I consider my english good enough to teach somebody a little bit.
And I have master qualities in making pancakes and eggs. I will teach you how to make your drunken and hangry friends happy by cooking pasta if you're drunk yourself.

LEARN
I'm a curious person by nature and I want to learn about everything as much as possible - it also ties into my design job - but in general I love to learn new stuff. (The only exception might be hardcore mathematics or something similiar - my eyes just don't seem to like that so they get really heavy - sorry)

Anyway, tell me what it is that interests you the most because that's where storytelling begins ;)

What I Can Share with Hosts

Everything I wrote above pretty much.
My music especially.
But I guess above all, sharing fun and stories from other parts of the world where they might not have been yet. (I'm usually quite good in motivating people to do something (well, others would call it "selling something"))

Countries I’ve Visited

Croatia, Egypt, England, France, Germany, Greece, Indonesia, Ireland, Italy, Mexico, Netherlands, Portugal, Qatar, Scotland, Slovenia, Spain, Thailand, Turkey, United States, Wales

Countries I’ve Lived In

Austria, United States