ABOUT ME

I've been a traveller all my life, and it's only exposed me to the most meaningful experiences. Whether it be on the streets of Delhi, or trekking in the Himalayas, I've found my curiosity to be insatiable. I love being exposed to new people, new cultures and all the smells, tastes and vistas that come with broadening my horizons. Through travel I've learned so much about the world and all it has to offer, and inversely I've learned a lot about myself. It's a path that leads to more open doors and more opportunities, and I love sharing it with those I meet abroad and the people at home whom I share my experiences with.

PHILOSOPHY

Be creative, relax, and take things as they come.

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

HOW I PARTICIPATE IN COUCHSURFING

I'm new to this, so for now I'm looking to travel, but I also want to start looking for how I can help others come and experience a pretty great place I now call home, Kansas City.

Interests

I spend my time living an artful life consumed by my work, my livelihood, my friends and my community. I run a small printing business which allows me to work with many other people and facilitate their visions in fine letterpress and silk screen. When I'm not working on those projects, I am a practicing artist. I'm a strong proponent of collaboration, whether in art or in life. I love cooking and sharing food, which in a way is our everyday collaborative work as human beings. Much of my life is rooted in foods as well; food memories, exploring recipes and even delving into food as a subject for art in relation to my own life as well as many of the people I know.

I enjoy being active, rock climbing, biking around Kansas City, and socializing. I am a person who works hard so I can play hard. Much of my life is like a pastry, wrapping layers into layers, wrapping people into my work and social experiences. It's hard to distinguish life from work, and art from life, so I view my world as a fortunate path that has led to me pursuing my passion and my dreams.

• arts
• culture
• diy
• dining
• cooking
• recipes
• coffee
• running
• boating
• politics
• traveling
• socializing
• cycling
• rock climbing
• business

Music, Movies, and Books

I've always had a thing for SciFi and Animation, but I'm really a lover of a lot of movies. I was raised on Monte Python, Animal House, Indiana Jones, and the Blues Brothers. WIth age I've learned to love Jean Luc Goddard, The Cohen Brothers, and Vernor Herzog among others.

I have eclectic music taste, but I love oldies, indie stuff, things with a twinge of sadness and when I work I rock out to HipHop.

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

On New Years Eve 1989 I was nine years old and I stood on the crumbling Berlin Wall. I was young and didn't totally understand the politics of that moment, but the energy there was contagious and I could tell that it was a moment of joy and freedom I have rarely experienced since.

I have always loved monkeys, and in high school I somehow got lucky and traveled to Borneo. I saw orangutans in the wild, slept on a boat for two weeks, and bathed in a river. I've never eaten so much Ramen in my life.

A visit to India for three months probably impacted me the most out of all my travels. It was interesting going through double culture shock; once upon arrival in Delhi, and again upon my return home. It made the world seem so vast to me, and diverse in expression, faith and value. I haven't seen my country the same since, and it only perked my interest to see more. Experiencing things in such different parts of the world showed me a lot about the place I call home.

Teach, Learn, Share

What I can share is my interests in art, food and local culture. If people were to come here, it's fantastic to share the things I love: my coffee roaster, my organic DIY food co-op, my friends who run art galleries. I feel as if my best role is to facilitate for others, so I enjoy teaching, collaborating and making other people's ideas come to life. I'm merely a medium through which it happens.

Countries I’ve Visited

Austria, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, Costa Rica, Czech Republic, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Ireland, Italy, Mexico, Nepal, Puerto Rico, Singapore, Slovakia, United Kingdom

Countries I’ve Lived In

Brazil, Italy, United States