Born and raised in Ukraine, I failed to adopt the necessary traits to thrive in that society. Following the completion of my Bachelor’s degree in Systems and Means of Mass Communication (a tiny brag: graduated with honors), I relocated to Spain. There, I interned in marketing and earned my Master’s in Marketing Digital (read: dee·hee·tahl). To make my ends meet, I translated business articles from English and Spanish into Russian. This fuss-free side hustle unfolded into a challenge-full venture—writing non-fiction.

The office job and I proved incompatible, so we bid each other farewell, and I set off on a journey. Roaming through over 30 countries, I enjoyed the life of a remote freelancer, specializing in PPC and web analytics (it paid better than writing and flexed different—analytical—muscles, both aspects I appreciated). I also ventured into entrepreneurship, founding IDEST, a branding agency, and releasing the video game Rogue Star Rescue, among other side projects.

Later, I shared some of the experiences I had on my Medium blog. I wrote about living in Costa Rican jungles with a black partner sauntering in my backyard, perfecting the skill of milking cows and making artisan cheese in a distant Georgian mountain village, and being detained by Russian customs for drug trafficking (spoiler: they let me go). No one cared about my posts, except for me. The more I wrote, the more I valued the craft of writing, elevating it to a higher regard—serious, sacred. And so I became a writer.

Additionally, I dabbled in video blogging with two YouTube channels—one in Russian (my native language, 40K subscribers), and the other in English (less than 1K, not enough effort yet). Though I’m currently on a video hiatus, those acquired skills might just come in handy soon (looking at you, BookTok).

Now, in my early 30s, I have finally given myself permission to cut the distractions and focus full-time on what I find meaningful: the written word. I’ve settled down (between Canada and Costa Rica), self-published two non-fiction books (Loving Ordinary Life and Be Your Own Guru), and completed a manuscript for my first novel. Occasionally, I write short stories and philosophical essays about issues that intrigue me. You can read some of them on the website and on Medium.

Here you have it: a personal bio told by yours truly. Whatever your reason for reading these lines is, know that you are welcome to my little piece of digital real estate. I’m always happy to receive feedback and engage in thought-provoking conversations.

Have a halcyon day!