I spent a good amount of time thinking about a “not so boring” starting story so that people would finish reading my profile and here’s my best attempt:

I am a Russian-born Vietnamese. Well, actually, it was Soviet Union at the time. When I was 3, during a cold winter, while my mom was giving me a bath, she forgot to pour in the hot water, so I was technically close to death the moment she dipped me in the bath tub. As a result, I had severe lungs problem. Unable to cope with the cold weather, my family moved back to Vietnam when I was at the age of 4.

I spent my entire childhood in Saigon and even spent a year in a Law School in Vietnam. In 2011, something kicked in and I decided that I had to go out there and see the world for myself. I decided to go study abroad in the US. With the money that we had, my family and I both knew that we wouldn’t be able to afford more than 2 years of education but we tried it anyway. Eventually, I was fortunate enough to be able to obtain a student loan and finish my 4 years of education in California. (2 years in San Francisco and 2 years in San Diego). I studied Behavioral Economics and am now working in the Advertising Industry.

After college, I spent almost 2 years living in Brooklyn (Bushwick 4 Life) working in New York at a creative agency for clients like Calvin Klein, Microsoft, Stella Artois, Target and more. My work involves digital strategy, production and management for brands. In January 2015, I moved back to Vietnam to work for another advertising network called Ogilvy & Mather.

In May 2016, I got an education grant in Amsterdam so that is where my next chapter will be. I’m very excited to meet new people and learn more about different culture the way I did in Brooklyn, New York.

I’m not good at writing about myself, but I do take a lot of photos (no selfie ahead):
www.instagram.com/mikeseven
www.flickr.com/michaeltakesphoto

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

People call me a hipster and I always deny it. But if there is anything that I hate more than gluten-free food, it’s probably touristy shit. I don’t like to visit places, I prefer to live through places. Given the short amount of time that we have, I think the best way to truly live anywhere is to stay with a local. (Shoutout to my first CS host - Kevin all the way from New Orleans for giving me the best 1st CS experience ever)

Interests

Technology & Innovation
Advertising & Creative Industry
Design Thinking
Film Photography
Dive Bar & Anything cheap but fun (Pickle Pack’s Die-Hard Fan)
Electronic Music (Deep House // Minimal)
Underground & Emerging Cultures
Urban Exploring

• culture
• writing
• design
• photography
• education
• dining
• technology
• reading
• music
• electronic music
• economics
• teaching
• law
• study abroad

Music, Movies, and Books

I’m gonna list some global artists that I like, but if you’re into Asian music, I have some recs too:

- Nujabes
- Ta-ku
- Classix
- Gorgon City
- SBTRKS (did I miss any letter?)
- Todd Terje
- Chet Faker
- Flume
- Chrome Sparks
I mean you name it…. Jamie xx

Spotify: https://play.spotify.com/user/12736869
Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/mike-seven1

Movies:

- All Coen Brother Movies: Fargo, The Big Lebowski, Burn After Read
-If you like Fargo, please watch: Kumiko - The Treasure Hunter
- All Wes Anderson Movies
- Wild Tales
-Amélie
-The Intouchables

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

I wouldn’t categorized these as Amazing Amazing, but it’s not bad I think:

- I was able to learn English so well and fast that I landed a job in Advertising even though I didn’t speak any English a year before I moved to the states.

- I roadtripped by myself driving from New York to San Francisco

- I jumped off a cliff more than a couple of times

Countries I’ve Visited

China, Japan, Malaysia, Russian Federation, Singapore, Thailand, United States, Viet Nam

Countries I’ve Lived In

United States, Viet Nam