When I was two years old, just as the Soviet Union was collapsing, my parents succeeded in getting me and my brother mark out, Growing up in the 'western' world I was the kind of kid that always misbehaved in school. I got in trouble with the teachers for speaking back, making stupid comments and when one time a teacher took our poker cards at the end of class (she was no longer teaching and we were just waiting for the bell to ring), I took her coffee.  That wasn't the only time I got suspended. It seems like I've always been allergic to authority, it's funny how some things never change. One of the only classes I managed to get decent grades in was Music, although I did still manage to get in trouble there...Carving "Made in Space" on a saxophone was one example... ​ At a young age, my mom signed me up to be in a choir but to be honest, I went mostly for the social life..  Later, when I was in high school, I had to pick an instrument for music class and seeing that my dad already played guitar, I started teaching myself. Eventually, and to some people's annoyance,  it became rare to find me without it. This was approximately when I began writing songs. I never did finish that first song.. ​ I slowly started frequenting open mics, singing to strangers, and in part because of everyone's applause, I was encouraged to keep going. I thought I was good! Little did I know, they were just being Canadian; polite.  ​ To this day, I continue to have mixed feelings about clapping/encouraging people who aren't good. People need to know whether or not they have a skills so that they could make wise decisions in life. Why would I want to give someone false hope? That just seems cruel...Sometimes feelings need to get hurt so that we can draw lessons from events... As one of my favourite political commentators says, "facts don't care about your feelings" On the other hand, if people boo'd me, perhaps you wouldn't be reading this..  ​ While I loved to sing, it didn't become my full-time focus until recently. In previous years, I've worked as a valet driver, a car salesman, a telemarketer, a caterer, a background actor and a car lot attendant. I remember waking up at 5am while it was dark outside and -15° , driving to the Acura dealership and scraping off the mountains of snow and ice from the cars that had fallen the night before.. That was NOT fun. ​ In 2008, I joined a Network Marketing company in the hopes of making big money but due to poor decisions on my part, I racked up more than $10,000 of debt by the time I was 23. I spent more than I earned so I could uphold an image of success to impress people and entice them to "join me". A nice BMW at 19 sounds nice, unless 100% of your income is going to paying for that image... ​ And so, in 2013, I left Canada. I thought it was time for a fresh start in a new country but as the famous saying goes, "wherever you go, there you are". Luckily in 2015, I met a busker girl who inspired me to sing in the streets. She made a good income, while working less hours.  ​ I wasn't good at the time, (though my ego told me I was) but I still made more money per hour than I did at my telemarketing job in Tel Aviv. And so I thought - if I could make money doing something I enjoyed, why bother having a job? ​ Part time turned into "full time" although I don't think 3 hours a day could be considered that. ​ This "job" is the single most consistent thing I've done in my life, and in 2017 when I arrived in Australia, I got more serious. I began to learn the skills of marketing myself and was able to get regular spots singing at restaurants. It became the year of growth, where I was able to start paying off my debts. When I landed in Australia February 14, 2017, I owed Visa about $11,000. By November that year I was debt free. Being back at $0 was such an incredible feeling. I haven't held a credit card since. For the last several years as I've continued to travel and busk around the world, I've been putting away money to convert something like a shuttle bus or a box truck into a mobile recording studio, performance stage and home. Covid put a little delay on this but in October of 2021 I purchased an old fedex truck and am currently in proccess of converting it!