CURRENT MISSION

I'm trying to find a way to live what I deem to be a successful life - read more about me to see what I think this means!

ABOUT ME

Firstly I'd like to say it's very difficult to 'verify' yourself through couch surfing unless you have a fixed address - which I currently don't. And I guess that tells you a lot about me. As I write this I'm 28, on a day off at a vineyard in Marlborough, New Zealand. I gave up a job and promising career in branding and graphic design in London to try to find an alternative way to live life without the constant stress, hassle, and banality of modern consumer life. It's not that we don't all dip into that world, it's just I look around me and see people relying on it for their happiness, and that's not how I want to be. Nature, mountains, people and feelings are what's real, and I want to live in a way that let's me experience all of them. Success isn't a comparison to how much better you do than other people... it's about whether you can look someone in the eye and tell them you're proud of how you live your life. And pride is different to different people, so I'm not preaching to anyone else about how they should or should not live their lives, I'm just trying to be proud of myself.

PHILOSOPHY

I think I kind of rambled on about this in my about me description... jumping the gun there, sorry.

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

COUCHSURFING EXPERIENCE

I've stayed with many people I've met travelling over the years - on floors, in beds, on couches, in cars - my favourite of which was in Norway, where I met a chef at an afterparty on a salmon fishing boat in Tromso, and ended up staying at a lodge with him owned by his friend, and helped him chef for his friend's wedding!

Interests

Skateboarding, snowboarding, hiking, cooking, photography, films, books, music, football, hockey, baking, good pints with good people.

• books
• design
• graphic design
• photography
• cooking
• baking
• boating
• movies
• traveling
• cars
• music
• fishing
• hiking
• surfing
• snowboarding
• skateboarding
• soccer
• hockey
• teaching
• mountains

Music, Movies, and Books

Isn't this one of the hardest questions ever? I'll just rattle off a few that come to mind:
FILMS
Magnolia, Away We Go, Me and You and Everyone We Know, the Batman trilogy (Christopher Nolan), Milk, anything by Bernardo Bertolucci, anything by P.T. Anderson, anything by Kon Ichikawa...
BOOKS
The Perks of Being a Wallflower, Shampoo Planet, The Ask, Into the Wild...
MUSIC
Brand New, The National, MF Doom, Wolf Parade, Holly Throsby, Bonnie Prince Billy, Bon Iver, Smashing Pumpkins, Apparat, Trentemoller, James Zabiela, Radioactive Man, Pavement, Regina Spektor, Mogwai, Explosions in the Sky, Fourtet, Efterklang, Coco Rosie, M83, Interpol, Blur, Sixtoo, Modeselektor, Modest Mouse, Tokyo Police Club, B. Fleischmann, The Rural Alberta Advantage, Elliott Smith, Radical Face, Joanna Newsom, DJ Krush, Peter Broderick, Max Richter...

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

Heli-boarded in the Snake Mountain Range near Jackson Hole. Sous-chef'd at a Norwegian wedding. Rode powder from first lift to last lift in Revelstoke, BC. Had my friend be there for me when I needed her most. Been to the other side of the world to realise what's most important to me. Forgiven someone.

I just realised it said one amazing thing... oops. I guess maybe then just opened my eyes.

Teach, Learn, Share

I'm not sure I'm able to declare myself a 'teacher' and 'share' pearls of wisdom. If someone feels I have helped them, then that makes me happy, and hopefully makes them happy too. I don't think that's about imparting wisdom, it's more about two people communicating well and creating something positive.

Countries I’ve Visited

Andorra, Austria, Belgium, Canada, Croatia, Czech Republic, France, Germany, Hungary, Italy, Japan, Kenya, Luxembourg, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Russian Federation, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, United Kingdom, United States

Countries I’ve Lived In

Canada, France, United Kingdom