Directing camera operator and multimedia designer. Born in Poland, raised in Chicago - I began my narrative storytelling and design career in Francophone West Africa, one of the most enlightening places on this planet.

Every day I'm hustling - working to gain insight, design experiences and manipulate my daily perceptions into reality through film, photography and digital content. I frequently end up not sleeping, or sleeping for a week.

I perform freelance work under the name PJUrbanism Multimedia International. In my spare time I play ice hockey, practice yoga and wrestle with my presa canario, Kush el Rey Matador.

Most of my life lives on my website, http://www.pjurbanism.com and on my instagram account, http://www.instagram.com/pjurbanism.

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

Meeting vibrant individuals and sharing life experiences defines our existence. CouchSurfing was the foundation of my year living and traveling throughout West Africa, and I cannot imagine life without it.

Interests

Motion Design, Film, Entrepreneurship, Foreign Languages, Travel, Ice Hockey, Krav Maga, Yoga, Nature, Camping, Communication without Words.

• performing arts
• design
• graphic design
• photography
• yoga
• running
• traveling
• camping
• wrestling
• hockey
• animation
• business
• emergency services
• entrepreneurship
• freelancing
• languages

Music, Movies, and Books

Some of my favorites:

Movies - Nerakhoon (The Betrayal); Iraq in Fragments; Viva Laldjerie
Music - Celia Cruz; Led Zeppelin; Immortal Technique; Bob Marley
Books - Crime and Punishment;The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism; Autoportret fotoreportera

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

Got dragged into a car by numerous Guinéen military and police in Conakry for filming without authorization. Made it out alive because I said hello to someone a few days before who came to help me.

Teach, Learn, Share

Random phrases in various languages. How to negotiate taxi fares in Wolof. Building meaningful relationships and connecting the metaphorical dots.

What I Can Share with Hosts

BUSINESS:
Business Development - think of what your community (micro) and/or the world (macro) need, and figure out how to provide the product and service
Process Improvement - once you exist, make your business run more efficiently
Data Mining and Analysis - search and discover the essential facts, make sense out of them and find relevant patterns that generate valuable results

ADVERTISING:
Brand Strategy - Perception and First Impressions are everything. You're competing with everyone else and need to stand out. The atmosphere people feel when they're around you becomes your logo, your business card and your legacy.

MULTIMEDIA SKILLS:
I love to share my abilities in the following areas:

- Direction (Creative and Technical): Communicate to and manage a team
- Cinematography (Composition, Lighting and Organization): Tell a story through expertly constructed visual images
- Non-Linear Editing (Final Cut 7, X and Premiere): Take the aforementioned visual images and create another story that allows the observer to disappear in the world which you've created
- Graphic Design (Illustrator, InDesign): Express a familiar mood in an unfamiliar way
- Photography (Photoshop): Get someone to stop turning the page and focus on a unique moment of your vision
- Sound Design (location audio recording and post-mixing - Pro Tools): thrive as a technical beast, with your 99.99% hustle and marginal possibility of luck
- Web Design and Development (Dreamweaver, Fireworks, CSS and Javascript): create your digital residence that represents your existence
- Motion Design (After Effects, Flash): Graphic Design, Film and Editing on Steroids.
- 3D Animation (Lightwave 3D): Motion Design overdosing on Bath Salts.

Countries I’ve Visited

Austria, Belize, Benin, Burkina Faso, Cambodia, Canada, Colombia, Costa Rica, Côte d'Ivoire, Dominican Republic, El Salvador, France, Gambia, Germany, Ghana, Greece, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Honduras, Hungary, India, Israel, Italy, Jordan, Lebanon, Mali, Mexico, Monaco, Myanmar, Niger, Palestine, Peru, Poland, Portugal, Puerto Rico, Senegal, Slovakia, Spain, Switzerland, Syrian Arab Republic, Thailand, Togo, Turkey, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom, United States, Vatican City State, Viet Nam

Countries I’ve Lived In

Côte d'Ivoire, Italy, Jordan, Poland, Senegal, United States

•