I discovered at 16 years old that traveling was one of the things that gave meaning to my life, like my other passions : surfing, reading, writing, spending time with people I like. Since then, I try to get as far away from home as possible, I like leaving what's often called the "comfort zone" because it truly is when life gets interesting, when you face something new and get to know people with a different worldview than your own.

Follow my travels and my daily parisian life here:
https://www.instagram.com/vmnz__

Read my thoughts here:
Twitter : https://twitter.com/ValentinManiez

I'm really passionate about english but I'd like to be trilingual in the end, in spanish or portuguese, because I love South America, especially Brazil.
I want to discover as many countries as possible and get to know the people, the culture of the places I see.

I work in advertising. I'm what people call a "creative", I'm a copywriter, ideas for ad campaigns and writing are my daily job.

Apart from that, people say that I'm laid-back and sarcastic at times, but I can be really nice, promise!

I'm passionate about the USA, its society and its politics and have been for a long time. I also love house music and homemade cookies. I'm pretty intense when it comes to food too and I'm an avid cocktail maker and drinker, as well as a wine and beer enthusiast...I know it sounds bad but I'm French so it's normal ;)

I will add that I'm a very curious person and ready to do about anything, I try to live without prejudices. I enjoy going out, partying, walking, running, swimming, surfing, visiting stuff, I'm as much an outdoor person as I'm an indoor one : I love going on an adventure but I'm also able to spend 10 hours on Netflix for a new TV show!

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

Like everyone here, I want to meet locals and host travelers from around the world when I can. Given that I'm living in Paris, my apartment isn't that spacious at the moment...

COUCHSURFING EXPERIENCE

NYC / LA / San Diego / London / Vancouver / Rome / Let's add many more !

Interests

Traveling, photography, surfing (waves and couches), reading newspapers, novels, calvin and hobbes, advertising, US culture and politics, politics as a whole, electronic music, speaking English, meeting people, playing video games (PS4 now!), running, social networks, cinema, TV series, crafting cocktails and drinking them, partying, live music...

• culture
• writing
• literature
• cooking
• cocktails
• running
• walking
• partying
• drinking
• movies
• video games
• reading
• tv
• traveling
• socializing
• music
• live music
• electronic music
• outdoor activities
• cycling
• surfing
• swimming

Music, Movies, and Books

Some Like It Hot, Gilda, Back To The Future, Star Wars, Lord of the Rings, the Lego Movie, Superbad, Her, Mad Max, Guardians Of The Galaxy, Casablanca, Get Out ... I'm pretty eclectic.

I’m passionate about TV shows. My favorites are Rick and Morty and Atlanta but I watch many different ones. It’s hard to keep up though!

The Great Gatsby is my favorite book. Among other favorites : The handmaid's tale - I'm a legend - On the road - A private in Babylone by Richard Brautigan - Mrs Dolloway by V. Woolf. I love Bukowski (Ham on Rye and his poems), Hemingway (shorts and A Farewell to Arms more recently) and Philip K. Dick as well . Many major French novels obviously (Madame Bovary, l’Assommoir, La Princesse de Clèves, books by F. Beigbeder, ...).

Music : from Sinatra to electronic music like Justice, Daft Punk, Darius, Breakbot (all French, yes) but I also am a fan of Kanye West, Jay Z, Nas, Frankie Knuckles, Michael Jackson and Anderson .Paak. I'm a Kendrick Lamar hardcore fan too, I've seen him in both London and Paris. I've seen Frank Ocean too. Mac Miller too, bless him. Solange, Tame Impala, Future, Jorja Smith, Rolling Stones, Beyoncé, Chet Faker, FKJ...I've seen a lot of people, some of them at festivals (Lovebox London, We Love Green Paris, Solidays Paris, Hyde Park Festival) . Live music is it!

I enjoy bossa nova (especially the late Joao Gilberto) and pop artists like Ariana Grande and Dua Lipa too...Anything that has a beat really.

Check out my genius page ;)
https://genius.com/TheFrenchTouch

or my soundcloud for house music mostly :
https://soundcloud.com/valentin-maniez

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

Running in Central Park listening to my favorite music is the coolest thing I've done lately, last week actually ! (more than 1 year ago now...)

Biking the Golden Gate. Driving on the highway 1 in Big Sur at sunset.

Surfing in Rio.

Using Couchsurfing.

Teach, Learn, Share

Surfing, French, Literature, my charming personality and wit, I can cook basic stuff, I love making cocktails too ! Caipirinha anyone ?

Countries I’ve Visited

Belgium, Brazil, Canada, England, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, Portugal, Spain, United States

Countries I’ve Lived In

France