Fun, happiness, kindness and friendship. I am warm and loyal and will do anything for my friends, and really love it when you can help bring out the best in each other. I am well rounded and versatile which is good as I like to try everything but bad as I never seem to master anything. I get told I am like a puppy sometimes because I tend to get over excited about anything. I am flexible, so if we hang out I am just as happy to explore a mueseum in great depth, go to laugh our head off at a comedy show, or go to a pub for a cold pint to relax and talk about life and the universe.

Philosophy: The person you are today is the person you will be for the rest of your life; if you don't like what you see, you better change. - I accept that we are happier and less anxious when we stop finally trying to control everything because life is still down to chance and being in the right place at the right time. However at the same time, we make our own luck and need to 'load the dice' and make stuff happen, otherwise we will literally stay exactly as we are. This is why I finally stopped wishing I could be travelling and see the world ... and started doing it instead.

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

Although I am a sucker for tourist traps, I've found that my best travel experiences have come from the locals I ended up meeting and hanging with; there are always amazing hidden gems that locals keep secret to keep them sacred and hidden from sun burnt crowds of tourists with selfie sticks (I know this from experience as I love showing people the treasures of London that you have to have grown up there to know about!). I dont want to leave the cities I see with meaningless photos of landmarks that end up buried on Facebook (google images will always have better pictures than the ones I take anyway) but instead I want to leave having made good friends that I will want to see again. I love the whole philosophy of couch surfing and would gladly buy a pint for whoever thought of all this.

Interests

History, philosophy, mindfulness. Sports especially soccer (Arsenal FC), running and hiking. Languages, making music, digital painting, video games, podcasts, reddit, trying new beers and cocktails and cooking spicy food. Spontaneous gems and moments you couldn't have planned for.

• dining
• cooking
• beer
• cocktails
• running
• drinking
• pub crawls
• video games
• traveling
• painting
• podcasts
• music
• guitar
• piano
• drums
• hiking
• camping
• surfing
• sports
• soccer
• history
• languages

Music, Movies, and Books

I know it says music, books or movies but I have to give a shoutout to podcasts first; This American Life, Freakonomics, PRI and howstuffworks. NPR helped motivate me to start travelling.

Huuuge movie geek; me and my buddy make a note to marathon the star wars, lord of the rings and batman trilogies annually. Other favourites include Into the Wild, Superbad and Inception. I was actually lucky enough to be part of the oscar award winning crew for Interstellar when I was a film visual effects artist last year.

As annoying as it is when people say this, I really do like all music (my ipod will shuffle from Metallica to High school musical). Okay to be slightly more helpful, I will say that at the moment I am partial to indie folk such as fleet foxes, iron and wine and lord huron. Have to mention Muse, Kasabian and Queen. I was raised on a healthy diet of Blink 182, Sum 41 and the Offspring as a teenager. If im walking through the park I will usually throw on ambient or classical movie soundtrack like the lord of the rings score (or anything by John Williams or Hans Zimmer). Man, it really does depend what mood we are in right.

As for books, I have of course devoured all of the Harry Potter series but need some more discipline and recommendations, maybe you can help me?

Oh and GAME OF THRONES!

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

Saw my name in the credits on the big screen after working on the visual effects of hollywood Sci-Fi thriller Ex Machina.

Worked as a summer camp counsellor for people with disabilities in Maryland USA for 3 months.

Teach, Learn, Share

I taught drums, guitar and piano to children in Germany so I would feel confident to share those skills again. The Banjo is my current craze. I also coached football or "soccer" at university so consider me always up for a kick about. I speak German very well and basic Spanish too, and would happily trade language skills, especially if you want to teach me something too! There is always a special experience you can only get from speaking the language at the place you visit.

I am of half Pakistani decent so if you want an authentic Indian curry cooked for you, I will gladly do this to say thanks to my host (just make sure you tell me your spice toleramce first!).

What I Can Share with Hosts

An adventure for the week if you wish to join me in discovering your city, banter with a brit and a drinking buddy if you wish. I am very conscientious and will treat your home with utmost respect. I love showing anyone the delights of spicy Indian curries so will happily cook for you, if that sounds interesting. l also offer the promise of a safe, fun place to stay and bloody good company should they wish to see London in return.

Countries I’ve Visited

France, Germany, Ireland, Netherlands, Spain, United States

Countries I’ve Lived In

United Kingdom