- I don't have a secret password or code hidden in my profile as I don't mind a copy-pasted couch request. I know how things can be on the road with last minute emergencies, time running out, finances running tight etc. You don't have to read through my (fairly lengthy) profile just to make sure you don't miss the password as there is none (though of course you can if you want to).

- If you want to get hosted with a friend, he or she also needs to have a CS profile (and the more complete, the better). As this is my home, I need to know who else is coming.

- If my fridge is full of food, you are free to take some of it as long as you always leave the last piece of each thing for me (so please don't eat that last piece of some cake even if there are more cakes in the fridge : ). If my fridge is empty, please bring your own food. I don't expect you to cook a meal, though you can if you want to.

- Please don't be smelly. Usually not a problem with girls but some guys seem to have no idea how smelly they can be. I know things can be hard on the road, but at the very least you should find the time for basic hygiene and changing/washing clothes every once in a while, no matter what else is going on. Also a strong smell of cheap deodorant or tobacco is really not the best either.

NB! I had constant login and "technical difficulties" with my old verified profile, so had to create a new one (contacted CS support but they are still "working on it"). Everything here is copied from there except of course all the friends and reviews (I just added some screenshots from the old profile under photos). Hopefully CS gets the other profile working again but until then I have to use this one. Even before that, for years I was no longer able to verify my address since the postcards they supposedly sent never arrived. Now creating, logging in or even connecting your existing account with Facebook is also broken (just try and you’ll see) and verifying your phone number doesn’t work either, as the SMS never arrives no matter how many times, how many numbers or how many methods (via browser on computer or apps on phone or tablet) you try. And of course, you never get any help or meaningful replies from their tech support, even if you have a paid and verified account. Too bad, as CS itself is such a great concept, but unfortunately the site has fallen into disrepair with crucial functionality breaking down and apparently never fixed after the ownership change.

CURRENT MISSION

Separate the unimportant from the important, then start doing the important in order of importance.

ABOUT ME

Passionate about getting organized, becoming disciplined, life-long learning and improving myself in every aspect in order to be all I can be.

PHILOSOPHY

* It matters not if you win or lose. What matters is if I win or lose.

* My opinions may have changed, but not the fact that I'm right.

* Never interrupt your enemy when he is making a mistake.

* The fellow who thinks he knows it all is especially annoying to those of us who do.

Those are my principles. If you don't like them - I have others.

I am actually a lawyer by training (have worked at a local law firm and most recently as a legal counselor for applicants of international protection and asylum with the Estonian Police) but consider myself more of a generalist than a specialist in any specific field or better yet, an aspiring polymath (a specialist in at least three different fields). I often work as a photographer (I am an event and press photographer with a local media company). I've also started a few websites, written a book, been a teacher, done public speaking, been in a Hollywood movie, acted onstage at the "Estonia" National Opera (still doing the odd bit of modeling and acting from time to time), traveled to a few dozen countries (mostly couchsurfing), done travel vlogging on Youtube (some my more popular videos have a few million views), been a local guide on Google Maps (my travel photos there have over 3.2 million views), love to play and collect boardgames (I have about 500 games at home), love watching movies (I've rated about 1400 movies on IMDB), love regular and virtual reality 3D photography and 3D movies (I take 3D pictures and have a 3D home cinema), collect Nerf guns (I have a few hundred and organize Nerf battles for companies and at parties etc), have worked as a voluteer for Syrian and Ukranian refugees at refugee centers, currently working as a volunteer for a startup fighting food wastage (we collect expiring food from shops, saving it from being sent to the garbage dump and redistributing it via a smartphone accessible high-tech fridge in the city center).

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

I believe an integral part of travel is meeting the people who actually live in the destinations in their everyday environment - and there's no better way to meet locals in their homes than couchsurfing. For the host it also gives an experience similar to travel, as it brings them guests from all around the world, connects people from different backgrounds and cultures and thus advances understanding between people.

Interests

• books
• photography
• music festivals
• fitness
• working out
• technology
• movies
• board games
• traveling
• music
• cycling
• hiking
• law
• travel
• travelling
• friends
• health
• edm
• healthy lifestyle
• computers
• boardgames
• software development
• trance

Music, Movies, and Books

Books: manuals, how-to's, summaries, best-of's but best of all - large format coffee table books about art, history, evolution, paleontology, cosmology, photography, design, anatomy, movies, 3D popups, technology, computers, popular science etc. And audio books for whenever I am too lazy to read : )

Music: symphonic movie scores + instrumental club and dance.

TV: I really don't watch TV anymore, but when I still did, I preferred documentaries and news from CNN, Discovery, Horizon and Nova. I stopped watching TV series before the advent of streaming (so I have never seen a single episode of "Game of Thrones" or any of the Disney+ / Netflix series), but I have seen every episode of 'Sex and The City' and most episodes of 'Yes Minister' and 'Yes Prime Minister'. Even then, I mostly preferred business-related reality shows likes 'Dragon's Den', 'The Apprentice' and 'The Apprentice UK', the travel-related 'The Amazing Race' and the fashion and photography related 'America's Next Top Model' and 'Australia's Next Top Model'.

Movies: action, passion, suspense, surprise and love. Here's a selection of movies I have rated as 10 or 9 on IMDB: The Godfather, CODA, Interstellar, Se7en, Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels, The Shawshank Redemption, Fight Club, Casino Royale, 12 Angry Men, Toy Story, Die Hard, One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, The Godfather Part II, Gravity, Avengers: Endgame, Triangle of Sadness, Star Wars, Don't Look Up, Nightmare Alley, Wall Street, Requiem for a Dream, Mad Max: Fury Road, Seven Samurai, Knives Out, Cruel Intentions, Swingers, Marriage Story, Spider-Man: No Way Home, Terminator 2: Judgment Day, Gone Girl, Captain Fantastic, Passengers, The Green Mile, The Menu, Atonement, The Matrix, 1917, Glass Onion, Alien, Hacksaw Ridge, Logan plus many smaller and less known movies and documentaries.

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

Spent a night in a Jordanian desert in a bedouin tent. Went skinny dipping with other couchsurfers in a hot spring in Iceland, in the middle of a snowy January moonlit night. Met my absolute favourite scientist in the world at a London airport, the evolutionary biologist Richard Dawkins, when I was only supposed to have a layover at the airport but decided to abandon my flight back home and check out London instead (only managed to ask for an autograph, as selfies were not even a thing at the time). Have breathed the air of some of the most iconic cities on earth - New York and Moscow, London and Paris, Athens and Rome, Berlin and Hong Kong, and still counting. Been the official photographer of various music festivals with amazing good vibes, music, atmosphere, people and performers. Been an accredited member of the Estonian delegation to the Eurovision song contest in Helsinki, Moscow, Oslo and Kiev. Wrote a book, which became a small international bestseller and partly seeded a whole new industry. Was cast in a minor role in a Hollywood blockbuster. Ok, so that was more than one, but hopefully that one amazing thing to top them all is still ahead : )

Bonus episode: amazing things I almost did. Almost visited the World Trade Center twin towers before 9/11 in New York as a child, but unfortunately twisted my ankle the day before and could not walk with the tour group, so missed the chance and still regret it. Almost visited the Taj Mahal in India, but was bitten by a mosquito and went down with the tropical chikungunya fever a few days before the visit, only to be able to walk on trembling feet just hours before my flight out of the country. Almost shook the hand of the "former next president of the US" Al Gore during his visit to Tallinn, but shoved my hands deeper into my pockets when he approached to shake my hand, as I did not like him at the time (I do now). Almost met Russian president Putin when he made a surprise visit to the Eurovision press center in Moscow where I was also working as a photographer but that was the morning I decided to sleep in and arrived only after he had left (but now in hindsight not that amazing considering what he has done and is still doing in Ukraine).

Teach, Learn, Share

Being a photographer I can either give you tips on photography or take some photos, being a fan of boardgames I can teach or play with you any game from my collection and being a movie fan I'd be happy to watch anything from my waiting list of about 300+ movies (you can choose of course).

What I Can Share with Hosts

I can share my passion for boardgames (I usually travel with a few we can try out), photography (I can give tips or take professional photos) or movies.

Countries I’ve Visited

Austria, Bulgaria, China, Czech Republic, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, India, Italy, Jordan, Latvia, Lithuania, Moldova, Norway, Poland, Puerto Rico, Romania, Russian Federation, Spain, Sweden, Turkey, Ukraine, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom, United States

Countries I’ve Lived In

Estonia