CURRENT MISSION

Opening a psychedelic psychotherapy clinic in San Diego, buying our first home, and exploring Baja.

*STATUS UPDATE*

After a crazy adjustment period (which is still ongoing), we feel like we're just about ready to start hosting again.

ABOUT ME

*(PLEASE READ "MY HOME" SECTION BEFORE REQUESTING A COUCH. There are two words I'm looking for to show me you read it. Also, please send an official Couch Request and not just a message.)*

I travel with my beautiful girlfriend Rose. She is a former teacher and, after getting her Master's in Public Administration, is trying to get into the nonprofit world to help inner city youth. The world is a candy store for us. We love everything and try to keep as much of the awe of the world that we had when we were kids. We love geeking out and acting goofy and being random and spontaneous. We prefer to do non-alcohol related activities but no judgments on our end. We're all about having a great time, meeting different people, having philosophical conversations, being free of judgment, learning new things, laughing, laughing, laughing....and living the life we have to the max!

I used to work in retirement investments and had been involved in corporate America for several years until I finally broke free. I took some time off to backpack around Europe and had the time of my life. After working for an educational travel firm for a year, I decided to go back to school to study stuff I love. I just finished at UC San Diego with a degree in Cultural Anthropology and Global Health. Now I've relocated to New York City, where I'm halfway done with a Master's program in public health. It's a hard life!

Finished the Masters! We live back in San Diego now, learning, growing, and thriving in community.

PHILOSOPHY

We want to love, laugh, live, have some fun and make a difference in this world.

I strive to live a life full of wonder and awe.

"We have eyes, yet see not. We have ears that hear not. And hearts that neither feel nor understand...and so how do we mess with our perceptual apparatus in order to have the kind of emotional and aesthetic experience from life that we render most meaningful?...Only in these moments we experience afresh the hardly bearable ecstasy of direct energy exploding on our nerve endings...we fit the universe through our brains and it comes out in the form of nothing less than poetry. We have a responsibility to awe."

- Jason Silva on Awe ( https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8QyVZrV3d3o )

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

HOW I PARTICIPATE IN COUCHSURFING

I've mostly surfed with others, surfing since 2010 in extended trips across Western Europe and driving across the United States 3 times. I've surfed with some pretty amazing people who are now friends that I keep in touch with on a regular basis. I've hosted sparingly, because of how busy my life has tended to be, but I'm shedding that excuse and I'm going to make it happen more here in NYC.

COUCHSURFING EXPERIENCE

I've couchsurfed with folks in different places in Europe, as well with several hosts on two trips driving across the United States. I've never had a bad experience and met some amazing people, many of whom are still friends to this day. Some highlights include meeting CSers for a music festival in France, a 65 year old woman taking us inner tubing down the Rio Grande, and sharing a floor with 19 other surfers in Portland, Oregon, among many other memories!

I have several unique experiences that I'd love to share in conversation when we host each other!

Interests

I try to love everything positive and keep a sense of wonder and awe about the world. Live music, hiking, camping, reading, sushi, musical theatre, playing sports, watching sports, video games, movies, fantasy and sci fi stuff, surfing, politics, philosophy, board games, poker, gambling, hiding places and jumping out to scare people, mixed martial arts, barbecues, dancing my ass off, art, tattoos, music festivals, and more...

"...the only people for me are the mad ones, the ones who are mad to live, mad to talk, mad to be saved, desirous of everything at the same time, the ones who never yawn or say a commonplace thing, but burn, burn, burn like fabulous yellow roman candles exploding like spiders across the stars..."

- Jack Kerouac, On the Road

• arts
• culture
• poetry
• acting
• tattoos
• music festivals
• festivals
• dancing
• wine
• beer
• partying
• politics
• technology
• movies
• video games
• board games
• reading
• traveling
• watching sports
• poker
• music
• live music
• hiking
• backpacking
• camping
• surfing
• skydiving
• sports
• martial arts
• rock climbing
• handball
• volleyball
• anthropology
• teaching
• languages
• public administration
• religion
• science
• mountains

Music, Movies, and Books

Movies: The Labyrinth, Fight Club, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, Braveheart, The Matrix, Forrest Gump, Goodfellas, anything Wes Anderson, Star Wars, Lars and the Real Girl, etc. I pretty much like most movies.

Music: Too much, I love everything. Anything live especially. Blood Orange, LCD Soundsystem, J.Cole, TV on the Radio, Tupac Shakur, John Legend, Jon Butler Trio, Jack White, Mos Def, the Avett Brothers, Run the Jewels, Lolawolf, Billy Joel, Arctic Monkeys, Sam Cooke, Rodrigo y Gabriela...too many. I listen to a lot of indie rock, alternative, hip-hop, electronic dance music, acoustic, jazz, blues and pop music. I even splash in some country every now and then.

Books: I like all kinds of books. Examples: High Price, A Song of Ice and Fire, Doors of Perception, Ender's Game, Catcher in the Rye, The Great Gatsby, Harry Potter, How to Win Friends and Influence People, Tales from Edgar Allen Poe, Steinbeck, Asimov's Foundation Series, The New Jim Crow by Michelle Alexander

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

Two of the most amazing things I've done were skydiving in Arizona and rock climbing in the White Mountains of New Hampshire. I loved climbing on a vertical rock literally hanging for my life, looking down and seeing a beautiful valley spreading out beneath me 500 feet below.

Teach, Learn, Share

I'm kind of a jack of all trades and know a little about a lot of things but there aren't many topics or skills that I am a master in. I can teach you the basics about retirement investing—since that was my former profession—and how to play volleyball as I played competitively in college. I can also tell you a little bit about medical anthropology, and the overlapping areas of mental health, drug use, and criminal justice reform, as these are my academic interests.

I'd love to learn anything you can teach me! Languages, new sports, songs...bring it on! One thing I really want to learn how to play is Team Handball, so if you know, you better contact me!

What I Can Share with Hosts

A great attitude and a great time. Conversation about philosophy, politics, religion, culture, society, science and technology; it's all on the table but none of it has to be. Politeness and help around the house if needed.

Countries I’ve Visited

Bahamas, Canada, France, Germany, Ireland, Mexico, Netherlands, Spain, United Kingdom

Countries I’ve Lived In

United States

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