I was born in the coastal city of Odessa, Ukraine on the 25th of June 1987. A short time after my 4th birthday my family and I moved to Haifa, Israel. My earliest memories of Haifa tell me that most of my time was spent outdoors; playing soccer in parking lots, playing tag on the road, racing my pals up and down the street, and seeking out other forms of activity considered fun. Whatever the activity, what made it fun, or at any rate, worthwhile, was the competition. While the streets of Haifa satiated my daily desire to compete, long hikes through Israel’s hills and mountains and nature trails with my father provide the backdrop to my most fond childhood memories.

 

At 14 I moved with my parents to Perth, Australia. Settling into high school in what was then a foreign country had a sort of isolating effect on me for a while. I was, by any definition, a loner. Sport provided me with the means by which to integrate a little better and to socialize a little more. I picked up a tennis racquet for the first time when I was 14; I learnt to like it, I learnt to play. I progressed quickly, and soon after my inception into the sport I was rated among the State’s top juniors. Just as I had had a quick ascension through the ranks, the descent matched. I quit tennis after my 17th birthday following a few unsuccessful international tournaments.

 

With the exception of pretty regular visits to the gym and the sporadic soccer game, this started an 8-year hiatus from sport. After finishing high school I spent a few years traveling and working and partying before getting unsettled into study. I definitely didn’t settle into study, but I studied. On the back of what might be considered a 9-month holiday (in Europe and around Australia) I returned to Perth tired. Tired of the lifestyle I was living; tired from the lifestyle I was living. The idea of completing a marathon offered a contrary lifestyle, and the Perth marathon was several weeks away. Following a pretty haphazard training regime for several weeks somehow provided me with enough endurance to complete the marathon. While the hours (and days) proceeding the marathon were undeniably painful, the general feeling of happiness was comprehensively dissimilar to any I had experienced to that point. In pursuit of happiness, I raced my second marathon just a few weeks later. Shortly after completing that race I decided to take on the Atacama Crossing, a 250 km self-supported stage race across Chile’s Atacama Desert. After finishing in 2nd place my passion for ultra running was enlivened. Before I knew it I was flying around the world racing in some of the most amazing locations around the globe.

 

 

Today I'm a full-time athlete for The North Face team and an online marathon/ ultra marathon / trail running coach. I spend my time between Australia, Hong Kong and Europe racing and training on som of the most amazing trails in the world