CURRENT MISSION

Being alive

ABOUT ME

I'm a 29 year old fun loving, easy going and friendly bloke who enjoys meeting new people and having strange and unexpected adventures. I don't smoke but I don't mind you smoking at my place, animals seem to like me and I'm not fussy about my sleeping conditions. As a surfer, I'm happy to just go with the flow and see what happens.

I want to both host and surf. I live in the East End of London. I'm originally a Londoner and I've lived in this part of London since Sep 11, so I know the area pretty well and I can show you some cool places to go and things to do, that you might otherwise miss.

My main passion in life is diving. This has led me to do most of my travelling and work as a diving instructor. Nothing compares to seeing an animal up close, that you've never seen before or being inside a shipwreck from WW2. This has led me to go back to Uni to start a new career in conservation.

I'm also very passionate about music, despite having no discernable talent whatsoever. I love going to gigs and festivals, as often as I can and my tastes are quite eclectic.

I also love playing poker, I've been playing for years now and find the mental battle enthralling.

PHILOSOPHY

This doesn't necessarily encapsulate my philosophy but I like it and its Rudyard Kipling is more eloquent than me so IF:

If you can keep your head when all about you
Are losing theirs and blaming it on you;
If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you,
But make allowance for their doubting too;
If you can wait and not be tired by waiting,
Or, being lied about, don't deal in lies,
Or, being hated, don't give way to hating,
And yet don't look too good, nor talk too wise;

If you can dream - and not make dreams your master;
If you can think - and not make thoughts your aim;
If you can meet with triumph and disaster
And treat those two imposters just the same;
If you can bear to hear the truth you've spoken
Twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools,
Or watch the things you gave your life to broken,
And stoop and build 'em up with wornout tools;

If you can make one heap of all your winnings
And risk it on one turn of pitch-and-toss,
And lose, and start again at your beginnings
And never breath a word about your loss;
If you can force your heart and nerve and sinew
To serve your turn long after they are gone,
And so hold on when there is nothing in you
Except the Will which says to them: "Hold on";

If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue,
Or walk with kings - nor lose the common touch;
If neither foes nor loving friends can hurt you;
If all men count with you, but none too much;
If you can fill the unforgiving minute
With sixty seconds' worth of distance run -
Yours is the Earth and everything that's in it,
And - which is more - you'll be a Man my son!

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

HOW I PARTICIPATE IN COUCHSURFING

Donating, Hosting

COUCHSURFING EXPERIENCE

Stayed at a couple of places so far, hosted a couple of people

Interests

Amoungst other things I am hugely enamoured with are friends, family, flashmobbing, Sunday roast, dressing up, attempting to learn to juggle, cooking, reading, parties, raves, real ale, comics, b-movies, talking rubbish, tree climbing, jaffa cakes, tea, hugs, politics, laughing until I cry, curry, trying new things, air guitar, new circus, sky diving, zorbing, sailing, chess, getting lost, rock climbing, thai food, walking, comedy and learning from other people

• animals
• festivals
• dining
• cooking
• running
• instructor
• walking
• partying
• raves
• politics
• comics
• movies
• chess
• reading
• traveling
• juggling
• poker
• music
• guitar
• scuba diving
• sailing
• skydiving
• rock climbing

Music, Movies, and Books

Movies: Films by Hitchcock, Tarantino, Wes Anderson, Kubrick, Michel Gondry, George A Romero, Peter Jackson, Judd Apatow, Danny Boyle, Terry Gilliam
Music: rock, indie, folk, jazz, electro, trance, drum 'n' bass, ska, punk, reggae, grunge, prog rock, gospel, soul, motown, big band, metal, dance, yes I honestly do like all those genres, I won't get into individual bands I like or I'll be here too long
Books: Books by Phillip K Dick, Aldous Huxley, HG Wells, Terry Pratchet, Douglas Adams, Dave Gorman, Danny Wallace

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

While diving I've helped people overcome their fears, seen Sharks, Turtles, Octopii, Seals, Stingrays, Sea Snakes, Groupers, Eels, Barracuda, Pufferfish, penetrated WW2 wrecks and explored underwater caves.

Other amazing things include being one of hundreds of drunk Santas having a rave in the Tate Modern, causing a car chase in Mexico, winning £350 in a single hand of poker, being one of hundreds of people involved in a coconut orchestra with Terry Gilliam, sailing a tallship, performing at the UK air guitar championships, partying on the tube, getting on stage at a circus at Glasto, climbing a 50ft tall tree, skydiving

Teach, Learn, Share

I can teach scuba diving and I want to learn a language and an instrument

Countries I’ve Visited

Australia, Egypt, France, Ireland, Mexico, Myanmar, Spain, Thailand, United Kingdom, Viet Nam

Countries I’ve Lived In

Thailand, United Kingdom