I was born in December 15, 1984 in Ukraine. There, I spent a fairly normal childhood. I grew up before the internet and we even after cable TV was available in many countries it wasn’t available in my city in Ukraine. So we did without. We did without many things, but it didn’t seem to matter. Life isn’t easy in Ukraine, the Winters were very cold and it snows alot. The Summers were very hot and humid. But when you’re a kid, you don’t seem to notice those things. Our family didn’t have money, so I played in the streets, rode my bicycle, and hung out with friends in the neighborhood. I wasn’t a bad kid and I didn’t cause my parents trouble, but I wasn’t a great student, I really didn’t like school much at all.
From a very early age, something burned inside me, there must be more than this? I dreamed of more, someday, I wanted to leave my city in Ukraine. As I grew up, I was fortunate to be able to become a model and travel. I had modeling work in Europe and that gave me the opportunity to travel see more of the world. Modeling really doesn’t pay much, but I was getting an education, and I was learning to speak English. Education comes in many forms, not just in school and in books. My education came from travel and learning from others.
As I started to get older, I realized modeling was very grueling, and my health was suffering. I saw many other models around me who looked great on the outside, but were very unhealthy. I watched them eat junk food, plowing down energy drink after energy drink, day after day. I started to do research on getting healthy and reading. I learned by doing, and trying new things.
That’s really how I started into fitness, it was because I wasn’t healthy, and I knew it was because I was eating poorly, and not exercising.
My day starts very early, 6am everyday.
When I’m not taking pictures, photo shoots, working out, or other things in life that come up,( grocery shopping, laundry, etc), I enjoy quiet time just by myself. I have a pet squirrel, dog and a cat, and I spend time with them. Sometimes, I watch a good movie, or a series on Netflix, or HBO, Showtime. My favorites recently: “Game of Thrones”, “Walking Dead”, “Penny Dreadful”,”The Killing”, “The Night of”.
My view of life is simple: Take responsibility for yourself and your actions, and don’t expect anything from anyone. “Do” because you want to, not because you expect something in return. But the more you give, the more you’ll get back. Be humble, and grateful, and always say “Thank you”. Life is a journey, enjoy every step along the way.