There are sparkles in the eyes of Stas when he talks about his earlier years, when, aged 21, he abandoned Krasnodar, in Russia, to live an adventure, traveling around the USA for 6 years. In one of those strange quirks of destiny, in 2011, he ended up living in Berlin, following the girl whom he fell in love with and married. He has just separated. With two children to take care of, this is not an easy time to rearrange his life.
He starts telling me about his childhood: “I grew up in Krasnodar, South Russia, and only now I realize that there is not much to tell about my life in Krasnodar, apart from the fact that I spent my holidays at the Black Sea. When I went to the USA, it felt more like home than Russia. I had watched American movies, and when I went there, it felt like a dream or being on the moon! I got very familiar with many people, made many good friends. It felt great that people talked to me. I was curious and wanted to know their mentality. I imitated their accent. I felt so many intense emotions, it was like living three lifetimes. I traveled to almost every state and felt the spirituality of the Native Americans on the West Coast, such vast nature!”
Stas did many jobs to keep exploring the US – as a painter, construction worker, carpenter, waiter, pizza delivery guy, in removal companies, call centers... He even took a certificate to work in a casino in Las Vegas, but then the financial crisis came, and they started to fire workers. Stas went to stay with some friends in Portland, Maine, and there he met his future wife, a German girl who was just visiting the US. After 1.5 years apart, they decided to take a trip together to see if they connected and give it a chance. After that, Stas decided to take the big step and move to Germany. He got a job as a dental technician, and the government offered him the chance to attend school while he was working, in order to build a stronger foundation with a diploma. Now he is happy with his job. He makes dental prostheses in a lab and is still working in quarantine, although patients now are few, and in such conditions, Stas gets bored.
He has a girl of 7 and a boy of three years, and after the separation, which happened just before the quarantine, he was lucky enough to find a place to live on his own while caring for his children half of the time. He is passionate about photography and drone video.
