A writer and a traveler. I have traveled to 42 countries across four continents. I love the energy of new people. Above all I love writing. I enjoy cooking while listening to some good music, I enjoy reading on a hammock or under a tree when it's sunny, and I love skiing in every weather.

“Aryo Winterblack is the founder of Young Americans Club, as well as the Summerwhite festival. He is from Berkeley, California and moved to Graz, Austria in 2014. He speaks four languages fluently, has traveled all over the world and has lived in several countries. Aryo came up with the idea for Summerwhite in 2015, and the festival quickly grew out of infancy and took on a life of its own. In his free time he likes to practice the violin, act in theater, cook, dance, learn new languages, write poetry and read.
He is also an entrepreneur, having founded Royal Cup LLC which successfully Kickstarted the social party games Icebreaker & Firemaker the very first time in July of 2018. Aryo is passionate about writing and mountain sports (all year long, no matter the weather). Unlike Florian, Aryo gets injured seriously and often. If he doesn't die before Summerwhite, he'll be leading an experiment in gratitude and happiness at Summerwhite. Aryo has worked as a teacher for over five years and has done this experiment with hundreds of his former students.”

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

I actually have done Couchsurfing a lot without ever having had a profile. I have a lot of international friends and I used the same hosts my friends used when they went traveling and I had some great experiences.

Now I'm here to host people and also be hosted. In 2015 my friend from Argentina, a friend from Austria and Thomas from Austria we embarked on the biggest adventure of our lives. 12 countries, 7236 Kilometers on the road. What I'm afraid of, is dying, without ever having lived. Last summer we were ambassadors of our cultures. Last summer, we saw new people and old, forgotten friends. We jumped from planes and cliffs into rivers and lakes, last summer we danced naked to the music of the earth. If you share our dream, if your heart burns white with the desire to feel or to write, if you're a nomad like us or just a friend, then join us. We die so easy, any moment we could be gone; it's a pity not to live in this short time we've got. It's a pity to depart without leaving our mark. Because the road is our greatest teacher. Because passion is our profession, because love is our remedy, and both run deep in our blood.

Interests

Skiing. Music. Writing. Traveling. Cooking. Dancing.

• writing
• dancing
• cooking
• running
• reading
• traveling
• music
• skiing
• teaching
• lakes
• rivers

Music, Movies, and Books

I can't really talk about my "favorite" music as I have a few favorites in every genre and kind of music there is. My favorite books are 1984 by George Orwell, Blink by Malcolm Gladwell, Food. inc by Eric Schlosser and a few others. My favorite movies are as follows: The motorcycle Diaries (Argentinian movie), Goodbye Lenin (German), Amelie Poulain (French) and a few good others.

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

I threw a party at a 900 year-old castle.
Several crazy driving stories making people make their busses, trains and flights.
Started a company and made a game.
Started Europe’s smallest and most exclusive festival.
Died almost 14 times.
Been on stage.
Drove from San Francisco (6600 kilometers) to the arctic circle in Alaska.
Saw the midnight sun.

Countries I’ve Visited

Albania, Argentina, Austria, Belarus, Belgium, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Canada, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, England, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iran, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Macedonia, Mexico, Monaco, Montenegro, Netherlands, Norway, Peru, Poland, Russian Federation, Scotland, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom, United States

Countries I’ve Lived In

Argentina, Austria, United States