IMPORTANT INFO: I moved to Helsinki a few months ago. I'm still trying to used to everything new and try to focus on my study as well my inner well-being. Currently, I'm not ready to accept couchsurfers. Wish you all to find a couch and have a great time in the city.

ABOUT ME

I was born in Saint Petersburg, but I mean Crimea as my home because it is where my mom from and I've spent every summer at my grandparents' place there. Now when I grow up I visit Crimea very rarely because I don't like the situation around it happened a few years ago. To be frank, I miss those times when Crimea belongs to Ukraine. Besides that, I have a strong wish to explore the whole world and not visit only the native places.

Since I was a child, I felt that I will leave my country to see other places and live in different places. When I was 17 and finished my first year at the university I did my first hitchhiking trip from Saint Petersburg to Crimea through Kyiv (it's about 2500 km) and then to Lviv and Warsaw. It was the time when I met Couchsurfing as well. Since that time I tried to travel as much as I could. In 2014 I did the short trip to Stockholm spontaneously and went to the concert of The Knife Shaken-Up tour (it was their last tour).
During the study, I've been doing climbing and mountaineering so I went to the Caucasus and Khibiny mountains for that purpose.

In summer 2014, I've watched the kiteboarding competition on the Black Sea shore - it was the first time when I've seen kiteboarders. The next summer I decided to take a course on kiteboarding. This kite center is located on the shallow bar between the sea and the salt lagoon. It's the place where only sand and water all around. People there are living in trailers, wooden hut or tepee during the summertime and in winter they go to other places where the wind season starts. I came there and really fell in love with this sport. I've met a boy there as well. His name is Vladimir and he was volunteering at the kite station. We fell in love with each other immediately and I held up all my plans for that summer and stayed with him. It was my best summer - we were doing kiteboarding, swinging in the hammocks, swimming at the sea, traveling to Crimea and enjoying our life full of love and joy.
Since that time we've been living together. Vladimir introduced me to mountain skiing and I have become fond of it. After my graduation from the university we put off on a long journey to South America it took half a year. We've grown wiser while that journey.

Now we're running our project of action sports school ONE 2 FLIP. We teach people skateboarding, kiteboarding, skiing, and snowboarding. Generally, I maintain the website and social media, take photos and videos while Vladimir gives lessons.

In summer 2019, we moved to Helsinki. I am studying a Master's programme in Atmospheric Science at the University of Helsinki.

I do love taking pictures, check it if you want: https://instagram.com/salvajoe

Latent vegan, gay-friendly, love big dogs.

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

HOW I PARTICIPATE IN COUCHSURFING

Surfing and hosting a bit

COUCHSURFING EXPERIENCE

Hosted 5 people at my place in St Petersburg and was couchsurfing in Sweden, Ukraine, Peru, Ecuador, Colombia, and Israel.

Interests

• books
• photography
• cooking
• vegetarian
• yoga
• meditation
• movies
• traveling
• music
• outdoor activities
• hiking
• kite surfing
• surfing
• scuba diving
• skiing
• rock climbing
• swimming
• extreme sports
• anthropology
• geography
• history
• mountains
• slackline
• kitesurfing
• self-development
• action sports
• mountain skiing

Music, Movies, and Books

Movies:

The Yoong Pope (TV series) - watched it 2 times already! Paolo Sorrentino movies, Richard Linklaters' movies, the Danish girl, Call me by your name, Hot summer nights, Trainspotting, Les Amours Imaginaries, Midnight in Paris, The Kings of Summer, This must be the place, The loneliest planet, Into the wild, La science des rêves, Beginners, Django Unchained, Inglorious Bastards, The Darjeeling Limited, Filth.

Music:
The Knife, Royksopp, Fever Ray, rock 70-80s, RHCP, iamamiwhoami, Paul Kalkbrenner, Kolya Manyu (Коля Маню), Sascha Funke,...

Books:
V.Pelevin - a modern russian writer and my love, C. Castaneda, R.Brautigan (a real beatnik and fantastic man) - "The Tokyo-Montana Express", "So The Wind Won't Blow It All Away","An Unfortunate Woman: A Journey", J.Kerouac "On the Road", "The Dharma Bums", I.Turgenev "Rudin", "On the Eve", "Fathers and Sons", I.Goncharov "Oblomov", A.Ivanov

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

Lived 4 months with the local family in Colombia

Teach, Learn, Share

Meditation. If you're interested to start meditating I can tell you about anapana, vipassana, and meditation by Joe Dispenza which has changed my life.

Yoga. I practice yoga by myself and can teach you some vinyasa flows or exact asanas that I consider safe for you.

If you have a hobby or you like portraits I would be glad to organize a small photoshoot for you in the outdoors, at your favourite place or at home.

What I Can Share with Hosts

I do love photography so I would take pictures of you with pleasure. If you have a hobby or you like portraits I would be glad to organize a small photoshoot for you in the outdoors, at your favourite place or at home.
I can show you how to rock climb and slackline!
Vladimir would teach you skateboarding with great pleasure! He loves to share and involve people in skateboarding culture :)

Countries I’ve Visited

Belarus, Bulgaria, Colombia, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Egypt, Estonia, Finland, Israel, Latvia, Lithuania, Norway, Peru, Poland, Spain, Sweden, Ukraine

Countries I’ve Lived In

Colombia, Russian Federation

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