The Matt Chambers Show
Welcome to The Matt Chambers Show, where we explore the world of traveling, living and doing business internationally. Hosted by Matt Chambers, this podcast connects people, places, and ideas, offering inspiring stories and practical insights to help you design a life beyond borders. Whether you're seeking adventure, remote work tips, retirement ideas, or entrepreneurial guidance, each episode brings you closer to turning your global dreams into reality.
The Matt Chambers Show
60 Countries, One Dream: An Orphan’s Inspiring Journey
What if your passion could lead you to a life of financial freedom and cultural richness? Join us as we journey through the inspiring narrative of our guest, who transitioned from a grueling orphanage in Siberia to discovering entrepreneurial success in Portugal amidst the booming Airbnb market. This episode promises to enlighten you on pursuing work that aligns with your values and the joy found in embracing uncertainty and overcoming financial hurdles. Together, we'll unravel stories from Latin America, the United States, and Europe, illustrating the fulfillment that arises when you dare to chase your dreams.
Our conversation explores the profound impact of cultural immersion and language learning, from Miami's vibrant streets to Portugal's serene landscapes. Our guest shares their personal experiences, shedding light on the lively nuances of Brazilian Portuguese and the enriching lifestyle of Brazil. We delve into the unique traditions and culinary delights of Italy and Norway, offering listeners a taste of the world's diverse cultural tapestry. Whether it's discovering the welcoming communities of Lofoten Island or the rhythmic dance culture of Brazil, this episode captures the essence of connecting across borders.
Finally, we navigate the entrepreneurial terrain, emphasizing the balance of altruism and profit in today's digital age. Reflecting on the original spirit of platforms like Couchsurfing, we advocate for a community-centric approach where equality and shared ideas take the forefront. With insights into the startup ecosystem, investment strategies, and the value of time, this episode is a treasure trove for anyone looking to expand their understanding of cross-cultural connections and entrepreneurship. Tune in to be inspired by stories of resilience, transformation, and the pursuit of meaningful life beyond conventional career paths.
Hello and welcome to Matt Chambers Connects, a podcast hosted by Matt Chambers. This is the podcast that transcends boundaries, empowers cross-cultural connections and fosters a more connected world. I'm your host, matt Chambers, and I invite you to join us on this quest to expand our understanding and build bridges between my two favorite places on the planet Latin America and the United States. I've been traveling, living and doing business in Latin America for nearly two decades, and Brazil, actually, how about you?
Speaker 2:I'm in Italy.
Speaker 1:Oh, that's right, You're in Italy. Yeah, I mean, I don't know why I asked that question. I knew that from our texts back and forth. Where are you? What part of Italy?
Speaker 2:Right now it's Genova, nearby Italy. It's like a port town.
Speaker 1:Wait nearby Italy. Wait nearby Milanova, nearby Italy. It's like a port town. Wait nearby Italy.
Speaker 2:Wait nearby Milan.
Speaker 1:Ah, nearby Milan. How far away from Milan is that?
Speaker 2:By car. It's like an hour and a half, about an hour and a half oh gotcha.
Speaker 1:So how are you? What are you doing now? I mean, are you just traveling full time? I mean, I know that you put in a hotel over there somewhere, right, yeah, in Lisbon, but it's not anymore.
Speaker 2:I mean, it's not the same as it was before. It was more like right now, it's just Airbnb.
Speaker 1:Oh, it's not a hotel anymore, it's just an Airbnb property.
Speaker 2:It's more like things to do. It's like you get to be hire people, you know. It's like you get to have some employees and it's it's a little bit different structure are you still running it, though?
Speaker 1:is it still yours?
Speaker 2:oh no, I mean, I'm still part of it sometime, but I'm not like running it myself oh, gotcha, gotcha.
Speaker 1:So what did you do? You just started it and then just what?
Speaker 2:Well, it's many years ago. Portugal just started with, you know, airbnbs and I moved to Portugal that time and it was 2015,. Like end of the 2015, I think, and I saw that opportunity that it would be very cool to create something like a short term because it was very cheap. I was, I remembering I was living in rbnb and I moved, that I was living in in norway and I moved to portugal and I remember I rented the place for like a whole month in Airbnb and I paid about like 400 euro and and it was in the center, in historical part, you know, just like walking up it's like amazing, beautiful view. Um, I just remember working my computer computer over there and just dreaming what I want to do because I kind of retired I call myself retired, but I just saved up enough to live that time up to two years. I mean, it depends where you are in the world, right, maybe if I move to Asia, I can live maybe five years.
Speaker 1:Yeah, exactly.
Speaker 2:I just knew when you're young you can create something, and that's probably like my entrepreneurial spirit. So I just okay, I have enough for the next two years and I'm for sure creating something, you know, like a project or something that I will be passionate about. For me, it's very important to have passion, like I want to do that.
Speaker 1:Well, I think that it's just you know, I don't know. It just seems to me we agree on that, because it just seems to me that going through life just working for money and working to build someone else's dream just seemed to never make sense for me. I mean, I've had some incredible job opportunities that I could have gone and worked for someone else and made a lot of money and um, at times I've done that, um, and it's.
Speaker 1:At times it's worked out, at times it hasn't, it hasn't, and the times that it doesn't, it's typically because I'm just bored. I'm like what am I doing, like, with my life? You know, I'm sitting here working for some other guy getting a paycheck from some other guy, while he's rich. He's giving me this stupid contract that says I can go on one vacation, one week of vacation per year, while every two months him and his wife are on vacation. I'm like, nah, fuck you, dude, I'm not doing that shit.
Speaker 2:I'd rather be broke than that.
Speaker 1:It's more fun to be broke Am. I wrong, I'm eating every meal and living in a nice place and having experiences that are cool every day that I can pass on and tell people. You know that's more fun to me than having a bunch of money working for someone else and him telling me when I can go and when I can't go Exactly.
Speaker 2:And you don't have time to spend that money actually exactly working all the time but that money exactly you, you have a uh, enough money, or like good money, and you don't have time to spend that money. And you have time and you don't have money. So how you kind of like manage that? For example, in my life I, when I started to work as engineer and that was my like a full government job where you know, from nine to five, let's say like this, and I was the youngest engineer in my team and, um, I was just knocking on the doors. I was in second year in university and it's like why I get to study all this theory when I can just trying to get like a practical, you know, like practical side of it, because it's all about like a, to actually be in the field you know, work and see how, if I like it, really like it or not, you know. And so I just knocking on the door and I eventually got a job and and they remembering, I was working, studying, you, traveling and doing many things I was organizing my life like one year, two years, five years ahead, what I'm going to do. And one day I was sitting and I was thinking I'm going to work as an engineer for 40 years of my life. Yes, I can manage my free time, you know, because I know it's a lot of a different setup for like workers. Like how you work, we have like five weeks vacation and you know you can manage your own taxes the way you want and like it's just maybe different. I don't know, like in Portugal is a little bit different as well. So for me, for example I was remembering I was sitting there and I was like I'm going to work essentially for 40 years of my life and I'm going to be promoted right now for every six months, so maybe every year with the next position and next position I will get more salary and I will not have any time at all for myself. I will just working all the time pleasing other people, serving for the community. I mean, I was working for the government, for the public sector, right, and and I was feeling like so I'm going to eventually get into the highest level of whatever it is there and what's next. So I'm going to be in that position all my life because there's no other positions higher up. But I don't like it. I like it as how much I can make and it's like you're getting more and more bonuses and different things and different rewarding things like bonuses and you know different things and different. Like rewarding things because you're working so well and you know they're giving you more things. Or like what you can do and the way you can do it and you know more opportunities. Like how you can thrive in a work environment. And for the young you know, when you're young, ambitious is great.
Speaker 2:And one day I was just feeling like I'm burnt out because I felt like I was working all the time. It's not my, it's not my mother language. Right, it was norwegian. I was, you know, studying in norwegian, I was working in norwegian, and and one day I just burnt out and I said to myself I get to go and do something different, you know, and I didn't know what. I was kind of like stuck, but I let myself be, you know. I said like I have all this money and now I have time to go and explore and I'm not like old, you know. So I get to go and explore and find out. And I discovered Portugal after a while.
Speaker 1:You know and discovered that I have entrepreneurial skills, and so is Portugal kind of what drove you to this, gave you this travel bug? I mean, I know you've been to what? 60-plus countries, or something.
Speaker 2:No, I travel a lot in Norway. You know, I started to travel actually back in Russia and I love always to travel. It was my passion, I think it was part of my passion. I just always to travel. It was my passion, I think it was part of my passion. I just love to travel.
Speaker 1:You were originally born in Mongolia, right, I think you told me, tell that story. I kind of want to go back on that because I think that Well, I was born in Mongolia.
Speaker 2:My mother abandoned me for like one year and a half. I was growing up in an orphan house in a Russian site in Siberia.
Speaker 1:You were in. What town was it that you that it was a town that's not very well known that you were in? Yeah, it was Budamcha.
Speaker 2:It's like a small town, you know, like it's not even a town. It's like a yeah, it's kind of a town, but it's not like in Russia. It's like of dumb, but it's not like in Russia. It's like they have a collective. You know, it was like a Soviet Union time and it's like Collective, like what people living collectively and they're doing the things collectively.
Speaker 1:You know, yeah, it's like sort of like a co-living.
Speaker 2:Yeah, it's like a.
Speaker 1:Cooperative co-op like cooperative maybe, or what we call it in the US, I'm not sure a co-op like cooperative maybe, or uh, what do we call it in the us?
Speaker 2:I'm not sure. I think it's a co-living, but it's like uh, uh, people working together. You know for one thing, you know they're working for the season. Like, for example, season is finishing and after you get to go and uh uh, getting preparing for the winter, and after you get in, like it's kind of like more like a community, everyone is helping each other in a sense, like it's not. Like like in community, everyone is helping each other, it's not like in America.
Speaker 1:So is it completely an orphan home? So everyone, there is an orphan.
Speaker 2:Yes, you're living in the summer it's the same year to the work environment where you're working for the girl Gather something or doing something for the collective, and every summer you're just working for the like gather something or doing something for the collective, you know and every summer you're like, just working on the field.
Speaker 1:So because you all grow up as orphans, do you have a special connection with a certain number of people in there? I assume they become family to some degree right?
Speaker 2:No, I don't have any connections with Russia at all.
Speaker 1:Really.
Speaker 2:So because you know, when I was starting growing up and I was a teenager, it was very brutal. It was a very brutal cold environment and I was kind of like a tough cookie. I love to be standing for myself and have always an opinion and always have ideas standing for myself and have always like opinion and always have ideas, and so I I've been very like, um, always have ideas and always have a dreams and and I was fighting all the time. I was a teenager I was like always like fighting and um, but I remember like when I started, like actual fist fighting when you say fighting yeah fist fighting Really.
Speaker 2:You mean within other people or with other people in the orphanage A lot of teenagers, adults sometimes, I mean, I guess, because you grew up really rough right. You look at me. It was tough, Very tough. You got to survive, but I think it's like because people are drinking there. Everyone is drinking.
Speaker 1:And the orphanage.
Speaker 2:It's a lot of alcohol, so you started to drink. I started to drink very early, you know.
Speaker 1:In the orphanage everyone was drinking.
Speaker 2:Like in that environment In the orphanage as well, like people taking drugs, you know very early and it like an orphan. Like people taking drugs, you know early and it's kind of the same, probably like they. It's not the same type of drugs, let's say like that gets in America, like it's, if I will compare. It's different but it's a lot of alcohol. You started to smoke cigarettes very early. I remember my friend started very early, when it was like seven I think, some of them, but I tried cigarettes when I was like maybe like 12, 13, but I didn't like them, you know. And after, like I, I started to drink alcohol. So I was drinking a lot, like to, like this, and because of that environment and when you're drinking a lot, you started to fight, you know, for no reason for sure, the people and um, and I was one of the like, was drinking a lot, but I stopped you know like I stopped because because my friends, many of my friends, was not staying out.
Speaker 2:that time I was in a bad company. But as a kid, you don't know. You know as a teenager, you don't know, you just want to be cool and kind of like, you know, gangster, probably, kind of like a gangster type I would say right now, and I enjoy it. You know, somehow, like, let's say, I was enjoying it and was always fighting, always like just going around and asking for money. You know like, and telling some like not nice things to the other people and they were scared. You know, like, just remembering, I was always like wearing this, like gangster clothes. You know all the big things, things, all black, always black. I don't know, I was always drinking.
Speaker 2:That was my dark, my teen years of darkness. I even didn't know that was a darkness. You thought it was normal, probably at the time. My many friends have to die of different reasons. You know like and um overdose, and you know like being beaten up and and I was starting to feel scared. I was like, oh my gosh, I'm right now like 15, 16 and I'm like, would I survive until 18? You know, I was like, would I still live until 19? I remember going through that too, though.
Speaker 1:I remember going through that little phase in my life where I wondered how long I'd actually live and I used to tell people I was like I don't think I'll live till 30. And then I don't know why, but most people that I've talked to go through that phase where they're like I think I'll be dead by 40 or dead by this age. Yeah, I remember thinking I'd be dead by 30. I'm 40 now, so I made it past my prediction for sure.
Speaker 1:But you know, going back to your alcohol comment about alcohol just being so bad, I read something the other day that said I believe it said that 65% of murders in the United States are alcohol related Exactly Something like that. So, yeah, I mean it's to me alcohol is the worst drug and I drank recreationally on the weekends for many years, I mean from the time I was, you know, 20, 20, I guess college, right, 18, 19 in college. From that age, all the way up until about eight years ago, I guess 2016 or so, I, just kind of cold turkey, just stopped drinking and I think that a lot of it is just being around people that don't drink. But I mean, my drinking was like just recreationally on the weekends, right, it wasn't like I was. It didn't affect I don't think it affected my work at all.
Speaker 1:I mean, I wasn't going out on Monday and drinking or Tuesday. It was just a thing that you know you worked all week really hard, especially in the US, where you just grind for 60 hours, 70 hours a week, and then on Friday you haven't had time to think of anything cool to do, so you just call up whoever's going out to drink to, you know, wash away all your stress from the week, and so that was kind of like my drinking. But it was funny Because in 2016, I had moved to Columbia and was spending a lot of time salsa dancing, learned how to salsa dance and managing Columbia and I was in the school.
Speaker 2:I loved to dance salsa. I've done Salsa for like 15 years, I think already.
Speaker 1:Yeah, no, I took it very seriously. I was in private classes, I was in group classes. I mean, that was kind of my life in Columbia. That's pretty much what I did. I was in what's I think the top school in managing Columbia and has been for many, many years. I was in their training with their professional team for at least three years and those people never drank right. So when I would go out and drink they kind of looked at you like, why are you drinking, what are you doing?
Speaker 2:And so a guy looked at me as I got better.
Speaker 1:I was about a year in or a year and a half into it and I was actually becoming pretty decent. And the guy said you know, every time you go out to dance, people want to see your expression, they want to see what you bring to the dance floor, they want to see what you've learned, all those things. And if you're drunk and tripping over your shoes, it just doesn't even make sense that you come in here and train with us.
Speaker 1:And he said that I was like, and I always thought, like the dancing in the United States is, for the most part, isn't really dancing, you're just drinking until you have enough courage to flop around like an idiot, which is not really an art. Right, you're just, the alcohol is talking, and so I never really looked at it that way, but that's how they explained it to me. They're like this is an art, and if you're going to spend time learning how to do it the right way, it makes no sense for you to drink. And so it was kind of that moment I was like, wow, okay, that's why none of these people drink when they go out. You know, me and my friends from the U? S and Europe are the only ones that are drinking while they're dancing. And so it was that moment that I pretty much just dropped it.
Speaker 1:And it's not that I don't occasionally still go out and have a beer or two. You know be walking down the beach or something in Brazil or wherever, and you know grab a beer and drink a beer, but it's never. I never sit down and have 10 beers or, most of the time, not even two. It's just usually a quick beer and take off. But I probably don't do that more than once every three or four months. Maybe I do that, so yeah, why did you choose brazil?
Speaker 1:well, I've just always traveled latin america, right um, I've been to a lot of latin america, and brazil was a country that I had always read about. You know, I was always attracted to the Amazon jungle and all the benefits that it brings to the world. And you know, obviously, rio. I mean, everyone wants to go to Rio and see all the sights in Rio, and so I was in Colombia and my residency was expiring there.
Speaker 1:And I had two choices, and I had two choices. It was either extend the residency for another year, which, if I would have extended for one more year, I would have had lifetime residency there. But I decided last minute that some things had gone all upside down for me in the business world and I decided that another year in Columbia wasn't going to be of any benefit to me, in Colombia, wasn't going to be of any benefit to me, and so, rather than continue, and I said you know what? I'm just going to cut this off right now. Forget the residency, I'm going to cut it off right now. I never even responded back to my attorney when she was talking about renewing my residency.
Speaker 1:I had like two months left and I started looking around. I was going to go to Ecuador and happened to be talking to my mom one day and she goes. You know, you've always wanted to go to Brazil, you should check that place out. And I looked online that very day, just not even really taking her seriously. And flights were nothing to get down here. They were like $200 to get to Brazil, which is half of what they typically are, right, and I was like you know what? I'm going to Brazil. And so I came down here for a week. I was like, well, I'm going to just go for a week check it out. And then, um, you know, I came down here, you know you love it, you meet a girl and you stay eight months. And then, um, after that eight months, I left for a while and then, um, then about a year, and then I came back and I've been here another six months.
Speaker 1:But I'm getting ready to leave next week.
Speaker 2:Actually, I'm gonna go back to Miami interesting because, for example, when I discovered Portugal, it was also very interesting because my idea was from Norway, I was like I'm going to go south of Italy, south of France and south of Spain. That's where I was. Like I've been traveling and I love you know the Sarris and I didn't know anything about Portugal. Uh, and I did come into the Santiago and, uh, one day, somebody telling me about Portugal and I'm like, well, I have time to travel, like I have time after this so I can go and explore.
Speaker 2:And so I arrived to the you know Portugal, to the north of Portugal, and I just feel like I, remembering I was like this is my country, this is like so much to do, it's just so much fun. And I travel like all, like all over that's two weeks I spend in Portugal and I just in love. And then, like it took me three months to move and to move. And I did it, you know, I just thought I'm moving, I'm doing it, you know, and everyone said all my friends were like you're crazy, you don't know anyone there.
Speaker 1:What was so special about Portugal? Because so many people move there right around the pandemic time, right? I mean they offered that golden visa to a lot of people and Americans retired there. What's so special about Portugal?
Speaker 2:I think the quality of life, you know it's very cheap. I mean right now it's a little bit more because so many people you know coming in and general it's way cheaper than the rest of Europe. Honestly, and for me, for example, it's a quality of life. It's amazing good food, it's super relaxing. It's like we have the all the beaches we have like south of portugal. It's like so much fish, so much like seafood. It's I don't know, I just love it. It is so nice.
Speaker 1:I'm have you been there long enough to learn the language?
Speaker 2:I assume you do speak some yeah, yes, I speak portuguese as well, yeah.
Speaker 1:Ah, cool, cool, cool. I mean, I like I speak.
Speaker 2:Norwegian, Swedish, Portuguese, English, Russian.
Speaker 1:Oh my God, you know once you speak Russian, you can learn some. Once you learn Russian and then any one of the Romance languages, you can learn so many others, right.
Speaker 2:I think I saw the other day.
Speaker 1:if you speak Russian, I think I saw the other day that if you speak Russian, you can learn 11 additional languages, like within three months, something like that, which is pretty crazy right Within 33 months, which is less than three years, you could speak 11, 12 languages just because you speak Russian.
Speaker 2:I mean, every time when you're learning the language, you get to focus on it, you know, you get to like really dedicate your time and you know to learn and especially when you're in a country, it's very easy because people really want you to learn and they really want you to like speak, of course. When I was in Brazil, example, many years ago, stayed about like a three months, but Brazilian is a little bit different than Portuguese it's way different yeah and it's beautiful language.
Speaker 2:I love Brazilian language. You know, it's very like dancing, it's like well, the Brazilians.
Speaker 1:It just makes sense, right? It just makes sense because the Brazilians have taken Portuguese. And here's my interpretation of it, and I don't know how accurate this is, but this is me just thinking through it in my head.
Speaker 1:You, know the Brazilians are just the coolest people on earth. I've never met anyone that, any culture, that's cooler than the Brazilians. They're just fun, loving, cool, fun. And they I think Brazilians live life like the majority of the rest of the world would like to be able to live life, in my opinion. But when you hear the language, it's almost like they said you know, let's we, you know we speak Portuguese, right, because obviously the Portuguese influence, but let's take a little mix of Spanish, italian and all these other romance languages and let's just make it fun and cool. And you know cause? And they've taken a lot of English words too, right, like it's pretty crazy, they'll take an English word and put an E on the end or a G on the end or a G on the end, and it's just an English word that they've changed the pronunciation of. And you're like what? Like Facebooky, like Facebooky, talk to me in Facebooky. And you're like YouTubey, like all of them. They literally just it's just a fun language.
Speaker 2:It's a beautiful language. It's amazing. I love the Brazilian language. It's very beautiful and it just goes right along with them right. I mean they're amazing people so flowy, you know, so sexy Brazilian loves to dance a lot. I feel like they're dancing all the time, yeah.
Speaker 1:You know, it's almost like a kid's language, like when you hear adults speaking, it sounds like a bunch of kids, just like going back and forth with each other. Oh, it's beautiful man.
Speaker 2:I mean, it's just, it's just incredible.
Speaker 1:I can't wait to speak it fluently. At this point I'm conversational. I have no problems getting around with it from A to B, but I probably need another year or so in the country to say that.
Speaker 2:It's very I mean from my, my perspective. When I'm traveling, I just learn a few words like thank you, hello. How are you Learning just like thank you? That's enough, every time in different languages. When you just say thank you, it's a very beautiful word though yeah well, I, I also try. Gratitude you know I.
Speaker 1:I also try to throw in there that I don't speak the language, right, that I'm learning the language, because I feel like like I was in china and I'm like nihao. Everywhere I went, I would say nihao and like, at the time I guess I was pretty good at saying ni hao, because these people would just rattle off in Mandarin right after I would say ni hao, they'd. I thought that I understood it. I understood nothing, and so I learned. I'm like okay, I'm going to have to say me how, and then I don't know how to say that I don't know how to speak the language, and then maybe they'll help me out, you know, with English or something else, and we can get through it.
Speaker 1:I agree with you, though you have to say something. I mean, I've seen some come to these countries Americans, europeans, wherever and they don't speak anything. You're like could you at least look it up on Google? Like how to say gracias, at least gracias, right, hola, not even hola. Americans would go into Medellín, colombia, and be like hello, hello, are you there? How are you? Hello?
Speaker 2:And you're like they don't speak.
Speaker 2:English here, what? That's true. You know, here in Italy as well, many parts of Italy they don't speak English. You know, yeah, and it's okay, I understand. Of course they don't need to.
Speaker 2:You know, in my mind it's like it's Italy. You know, italy is so many tourists coming in. It's like tourists from around the world. Because Italy is so many tourists coming in, it's like tourists from around the world because Italy is like a museum. It's like so beautiful and architecture is just so amazing. And it's like a big, beautiful museum, you know, and each year, each city has the whole like own history and have this amazing, um, architecture, like a buildings. It's like just wow, I, I really love it. I really love italy. Because of that, you know, because it's just like so much history here and they're so proud of their own history.
Speaker 2:And right now I'm learning about renaissance. You know, the renaissance it actually came from italy, it came from florence, florence region, and they started to, you know, extend, uh continue to be like, around the many parts of the europe and I was asking like why? Why the florence, you know, got so much influence. You know, uh, implanted like they implanted so many other parts of Europe because they were flourishing. At that time, people were traveling more people from Florence to other parts of Europe where they were sharing the music, the art, the voices, the poems that were commuting and people would just love it. You know, that was a very good way to communicate.
Speaker 2:Maybe that there was like a circus type, you know, like a theater, I don't know, and I'm just thinking like who was traveling? It was like gypsies, you know, they were bringing all these different things and they were sharing all of that and I'm feeling like that's why people just love to create. You know, here, for example, in Italy, people really love to think, and you know, and create and be so patient with what they create and they're so like happy. You know, they're very happy when they um, create something or like so proud of it and I feel like it's beautiful. I feel like like many things that we know now, it's come from italy. You know, like, uh, like, if you go for the origins and read about that, it's came, you know, different part of Italy. That's very interesting as well.
Speaker 1:No, italy is amazing. I've had so many, you know. So I've never been there. I've just had so many people. Obviously, everyone reads up on Italy and well, at least I feel like they do. But yeah, I mean just met a lot of people over the years that have been over there and they all say the same thing Everyone loves, loves visiting Italy. I want to go back a little bit on your Norway stuff. I I know that Norway was a was a big highlight in your, in your travel life. Did you get up to Tromso?
Speaker 2:I think that's where all the reindeer are the Sami people right, I think that's where all the reindeer are the Sami people, right? Well, I was living in, yeah, north of Norway and I was living on Lofoten Island I don't know if you know about Lofoten Island, it's north of Norway and I spent over two years, you know, I spent like about over almost five years in north of norway and I've come to the south, um, and it's very different from north to south, because I feel north people way more open, way more open to learn, because, maybe because they don't travel so much, so like for them it's like kind of expensive to travel and they, you know, still have this like old way of thinking and, um, when you're coming and sharing your ideas and you know like and your dreams, and they're always so happy to give you opportunity to like to achieve your, you know, potential, you know to work like they're lifting you up do you need reliable shipping across latin america and the caribbean?
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Speaker 2:And that's where the northern lights are. Yeah, tromso, that's part of the Norway. It's very positive, very happy from my perspective, very nice, joyful people.
Speaker 1:But that's in the north isn't that in the north where the northern lights are?
Speaker 2:yeah, they have like six months north. They have six months like a day I got to go.
Speaker 1:It's a little bit sunny here yeah, no worries, but I mean, tromso is also where I think the sami tribe is there. Is that that city where yeah, yeah, yeah yeah and then they basically that whole tribe revolves around the reindeer species, is that?
Speaker 2:accurate. Yes, yes, yes, yes, and they actually using reindeers and and uh, dogs, and they actually use reindeers and dogs.
Speaker 1:They ride reindeers, they eat the reindeer. Basically, everything they do is yes, tell me some stories about that. I mean, I know it on a high level, but Well, you know they do every year.
Speaker 2:For example, in Sirkeneses it's a north-north of Norway they do like dog riding competition from around the world. So people who riding, who like competing or who likes to train, they, they do it like they come in with all their dogs and I volunteer one year. You know it was very fun, and they were in with all their dogs and I volunteer one year.
Speaker 1:You know it was very fun and they were like doing is it the dog sled races where they have, like the Siberian Huskies?
Speaker 2:that it's so much fun and like they have a stops. They did like several days where they're writing dogs and they have the same for the reindeer. I haven't been, but I know that they do that for the deer, the reindeer the same thing. It's like this they have.
Speaker 1:Yeah, the reindeers pull the sleds. Just like Christmas, right Like Santa Claus.
Speaker 2:But it's like a part of their life experience. You know, like their life it's normal. For them it's not like it's everyday life.
Speaker 1:That's what I had read. That's the species of that reindeer in general. Basically their whole life revolved around that. That's pretty cool.
Speaker 2:I eat the meat as well. Yeah, they eat it.
Speaker 1:I know they eat it. I eat the meat as well. Yeah, they eat it, I know they eat it. Oh, you did, was it good?
Speaker 2:yeah, very good.
Speaker 2:I mean it's different ways to cook it as well, and it's just they have like a season. You know where you can also get like the wild one if you want, and they have. You know this. I go like the normal that it's like they're just going for that. You know to eat it for the winter, like when it's winter time, so they used to eat it and you know then making everything the same way, like they're doing with the horses. Of course it's a very different taste of the horse meat and deer meat.
Speaker 1:I've actually eaten horse meat in Germany.
Speaker 2:In Italy, they eat it as well.
Speaker 1:What's that?
Speaker 2:In Italy they eat horse meat.
Speaker 1:Oh they do. I didn't know that. Yeah, I had a horse hot dog and then we had several different plates that we shared back and forth amongst a group of guys. But I remember having a horse hot dog there. It actually wasn't bad. I mean, as a hot dog it wasn't bad.
Speaker 2:It's great that you're open. You know, for example, in Mongolia we eat a lot of horse. We just eat horse. I mean it's part of the reality that you're growing up and that's part of the.
Speaker 1:But it's wild horses, right, you're killing the wild horses in Mongolia.
Speaker 2:They have. You know, it's like I don't know how to say it, but it's, they're growing it. We're growing it in a normal, you know, just like a lot of horses.
Speaker 1:Yeah, but I mean they're running wild in Mongolia, right? I mean, isn't that kind of part of they're on the desert, I guess, over?
Speaker 2:there. They're kind of like not you know, they're not for themselves, they're not like free horses, they belong to the families. Oh, so they're growing like a free horses.
Speaker 1:They belong to the families. Oh, so they're growing them. They're growing them for food. Oh, wow, okay.
Speaker 2:Yeah.
Speaker 1:Yeah, no, I've eaten a lot of. I've eaten a lot of crazy stuff over the years. I mean I know you don't even see that as crazy, it's kind of just normal, Um, but I would say like, coming from you know the Western cultures, that's certainly crazy, right yeah.
Speaker 2:I mean what is crazy. Sometimes I'm like asking what is like what?
Speaker 1:is normal.
Speaker 2:Like when people growing up in that environment and they for them, it's normal, Well, every single culture just uses whatever resources are around them, right?
Speaker 1:Whatever resources that they grow up around. And you know, it makes sense that if you're in the desert in Mongolia, in the middle of nowhere, and there's a bunch of wild horses running around, I mean, what else are you going to eat, right? So you find ways to make it edible and good. And you know, the first time I had goat meat was actually in Jamaica good, and you know the first time I had goat meat was actually in Jamaica.
Speaker 1:And coming from you know, I guess, going back to your question, like what is crazy? I think crazy is just anything that you've never been exposed to, right, that's just outside of your day-to-day norm. So if you grew up in Mongolia and you're eating horses all the time and then all of a sudden you go to the United States and there's no horse but there's a bunch of hormone injected chicken and beef, then you think that's crazy, that we're eating a bunch of hormone injected fake meat. So, um yeah, I've traveled around a lot long enough to know that the food that we eat in the United States is just total trash. And you know I've, so I'm, and you know I've, so I'm the first to admit that the US doesn't have that figured out. I mean, I can go.
Speaker 2:Sorry I interrupted you, but US doesn't have a traditions. You know, that's not like, no, like, it's not like that. Strong traditions, culture, culture. You know that culture, for example, that Italy have, or Norway or Mongolia. Yeah we don't have that, you don't have that culture, and for example, for me.
Speaker 2:I grew up in an environment where I was telling you, it was like a part of Russia where we had a lot of horses, a lot of cows, a lot of like, and it was normal to work in that environment. But we're like, we milk cows, we milk horses, and it's true, but like you really do it with your hands, you know it's a normal. It's a normal things to do, you know, and that's everyone doing it. You know all women doing it, so for them it's normal. And I remember when I arrived in Norway and I started to kind of take care of the horses nearby because I love horses and this and I remember one day the horse give birth to the baby. You know they give birth to the baby. And I came to the lady who was thinking like it was her like stale stale, stale, and and they came like can I?
Speaker 2:and ask her like can I milk? Can I milk the horse please? Because right now the milk is so rich it's very good for your health, like it's very good when you're drinking it. It's so good right now, you know. So it's not like so fat and it's so rich by like nutrition and everything you know, because I'm drinking a lot of horse milk when I was growing up.
Speaker 1:Sure.
Speaker 2:But it's like she looked at me like this and she said, like what? We never drink horse milk and I said to her why. I mean it's so healthy, it's so healthy for your health.
Speaker 1:Did she let you do it?
Speaker 2:It's so healthy for your body. You know, because in my mind health did she let you do it for your body. You know, because in my mind it was just like it's a normal way when you bring up in that environment. So we used to drink it when you're like feeling a lot, a little bit sick or a little bit not. Well, you know, you like. You know that if you drink a little bit of kumis it's like a you know, special thing made of horse milk.
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 2:And or you're drinking like a horse milk. That's actually. It helps you to be, you know, to get more stronger again and feeling better. And I kind of grew up with that mindset and I remember when I was being sick many times in Norway and I was feeling like when I found the horse horses, I was feeling like when I found the horse horses I was feeling like that would be the moment when I can ask the milk the horse. And what this moment came around I I was very surprised, like why I cannot do that.
Speaker 2:It's like she didn't allow you to do it no, she didn't allow me to do that and I was a little bit sad, you know, and was just laughing at me because they were like, yeah, because you grew up in completely different you know, it's not normal here we don't do that.
Speaker 1:Well, you're like let me just teach you how.
Speaker 2:Yeah, exactly I wanted, but I didn't allow you even to.
Speaker 1:You're like, if you give me 10 minutes, I can single-handedly change this culture and you'll be drinking horse milk from here on out.
Speaker 2:They told me don't come here anymore, we don't allow you to come over. From then I was crazy Wow.
Speaker 1:You've done a lot of cool stuff. I was reading your website and all that. I think you've done 60. I think we said this earlier, but you've done 60 of cool stuff. I was reading your website and all that. I think you've done 60. I think we said this earlier, but you've done 60 some countries in total. What are your favorite three? Just highlight your favorite three. I know you said Norway's top country.
Speaker 2:My favorite.
Speaker 1:Favorite, no, your favorite country. Well, we can go through that too.
Speaker 2:What's your favorite country? For me it's.
Speaker 1:Italy.
Speaker 2:Italy's your favorite country, italy, italy's your favorite. I mean, it's like, of course, portugal is very beautiful, but italy is so much history, you know, and it's so much beauty in this country and it's so much like how long have you been in italy?
Speaker 2:many, many, many times so you're fluent in italian as well, I assume and no, I don't speak italian yet I I started to learn and do a lingua. Right now, paying more attention towards that. Um, I just like to travel here. You know, I, um many years ago, when I wanted to move to italy, yeah, um, I was like, oh, italian don't speak english. You know, general like when you're walking around, they don't speak english. So for me it was a barrier because I was like I don't, italian don't speak English. You know, generally, like when you're walking around, they don't speak English. So for me it was a barrier because I was like I don't want to learn a new language again, I just want to speak English. I mean, you know we'll move to the new country, I just want to speak English, you know, it's not, it's too much to spend a lot of time learning a new language.
Speaker 1:It's a.
Speaker 2:And when I moved to Portugal, of course I fell in love and I was like, portuguese people speak English, everyone, you know speaking English, everyone is very happy to speak English. And I was like, oh, that's nice, you know, I don't need to like every time having this conversation where I get to use vocabulary to like, you know, speak the language. That was kind of like like interesting for me. Yeah, uh to.
Speaker 2:That was one of the part why I decided to move in portugal and, of course, it was very, very cheap, compared to italy, for example. That time italy is way more expensive, you know, two times more expensive than portugal. And I was like, oh, if I'm going to move to italy or spain, um, I was like, oh, if I'm going to move to Italy or Spain, I was like, oh, my money is just enough for like a round year and I've been moving to Portugal, so my money is enough for two years and for sure I will create something in these two years in my life during these two years in my life and I started to make money.
Speaker 2:That was my kind of mindset in that moment.
Speaker 1:Yeah, so how are you monetizing all? How are you planning to monetize all this? I mean, I know you have a, a guidebook on your website that you know the people can read.
Speaker 2:I'm learning I'm learning right now because, you know, I decided I will probably right now, um, I have like a two project that I'm working on. That's um, you know, part of the team. You know, like it's not just my project. It was like, um, I'm a part of this project and um, but I will, I'm on the side. I'm developing my own, you know, my own things and my things that I'm like to in the future, just focusing on myself, let's say, like on my own brand, you know, bringing my own value and you know, my own voice to the world and you know, see how it goes.
Speaker 2:Because I feel like when we smart and understanding the value of our time, you know, and I'm just like understanding what we can do with our time, like us entrepreneurs, for example, right, I'm just feeling like my time can cost, let's say, 100 euro, or my time can cost 10,000 euro or 1 million. You know, one hour it depends. It depends, like my mindset, the way I see the time. You know, one hour it depends. It depends, like my uh mindset, the way I see the time, you know. So, like every time when I'm investing in a project, I'm just saying like, okay, if I'm investing right now my time, because I'm thinking I'm investing my time in this project, you know because, yes, I don't make money right now, you know, but the thing is, I will sell this project. You know because, yes, I don't make money right now, you know, but the thing is, I will sell this project or we will get the first round, for example, investors or something like that, so I will have enough money to cover my expenses, you know, to travel or like to do the network or do whatever I have to do.
Speaker 2:The thing is, I learned with the startup world, being in the startup world, I have many friends who are startuppers, you know, and they are like entrepreneurs in San Francisco or like in California and New York, and many of them they don't have understanding of the money, they don't have understanding of the time, and every time when I'm hanging out with them, I'm just asking like guys, you don't have understanding of the time.
Speaker 2:And every time when I'm hanging out with them, I'm just asking like guys, you don't understand the value. Like right now, you receive 50 millions and you just spend this 50 minutes in two years because you get to spend it sometimes somehow, and it's not about that, it's about to create extra of these 50 millions. You know to learn how to create extra money out of that and but they don't think like that, they're just thinking how can they spend it as fast as possible, because this is what they get to do no well, silicon valley has always all those tech startups, you know, and I've done some work for a couple of tech companies and it's just a mess.
Speaker 1:I mean, and I know there's obviously some very successful tech companies out there, but these startups that get three, four, five million dollars to build some cold calling platform, I'm always, you know, I just like to sit down at lunch sometimes with the people that invest in these idiots and say, why did you just give that guy $5 million to build this? Because you know, my point is these guys are 22 years old a lot of them, right, 24 years old, 25 years old, never done anything, and some PE company gives them $5 million just to try it. And you know, I don't even think they research it. Sometimes Some of these tech companies are so bad that I'm like did you even do research on this before you gave this guy $5 million?
Speaker 1:I don't know those tech companies amaze me at the money they can get for absolutely nothing, you know.
Speaker 2:Yeah, what about have different group of the investors? It's like a different levels, how much money you have and the way you can invest this money. Like some of, let's say, accelerators and incubators, can invest $50,000 on the project, but they give you like an office space, they give you some tools, they give you like this and this and this, yeah, and you know, and they have like accelerators, like a Silicon Valley or like more London or like bigger, you know bigger accelerators or incubators that can give you millions.
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 2:And that's. It's a completely different scale. And I look, when I started to learn about startups, it was a long time ago. You know it was a long time ago. You know it was 2015, 2016, and I was invited in many different startups like a founder institute and I was doing like, uh, I was consulting. I was doing like different things that time and I was feeling like before, I would like to enter the startup world. I would love to see the way people play there.
Speaker 2:And for me because nobody know what they're doing and they still don't know. You know they don't know and they think this is like so much money there and I'm like I'm saying to them look at all these platforms. Right, like we have so many platforms. We meet in the fourth march, for example. Right, they will have a subscription and I'm just feeling like all these platforms being created, they could just monetize the things you know. But the thing is like they don't need so much money to monetize thing. They need money to sustain themselves. This is, how much do you need to sustain yourself? This is why I like the idea of the couch surfing. You know the the way that when the couch surfing came out, when theing, you know the way that, when the couchsurfing came out, when the hospitality club came out, many different platforms that actually have this idea, the way they can sustain themselves in the future and they want to raise I'll say raise the right like the work with no money on, just like on their own knowledge, because they have I'm working for the big company, like a Facebook or Google, and I have enough money to sustain myself and I would like to just like do something good for the community. You know, like just sharing this, like the couchsurfing mentality, for example. You know like you can travel, you can stay in a different part of the world, sharing your culture, sharing your knowledge. You know, and I'm telling that the idea was very beautiful Right now the cow is in the description because they've been sold to the bigger company.
Speaker 2:It seems like the idea in the beginning was wonderful. You know the trust roots or be welcome. Right now, the idea is to help people. You know like it's the idea of that, that we're all equal, that we have, you know, the rights to be equal and sharing their, our thoughts and our ideas. But the thing is we live in a corporate world where everything is just so connected and this. Everything is so corrupt, so it's not easy for the people like us who believe in who's like.
Speaker 2:I call. I call us like a idealist. Uh, we have a utopian mindset, you know. We're believing in the good, we're like trusting that the things that we do, it's for the good, and we do many things altruistic, not just because we're going to make money out of that, we just believe in the idea. You know, uh, and I'm telling like it's, it's all about balance. It's about to find this balance what matters for each of us, because we all have one life, but it thinks it's what I want to spend my life. Uh, you know how I want to spend my life, what I want to do with my life. Do like, for example, I meet people who just traveling all the time. They don't have money, but the things is they just travel and when they making, or like working on the farm or like somewhere, they're making enough to go to the next place that they want to go and explore and they just threw themselves there, just staying somewhere, whatever, on the streets, whatever.
Speaker 2:I mean different type of people in my life and everyone is just have the one idea I'm just like I'm going to travel all my life. It doesn't matter where I'm going to die, you know, and how I'm going to die, I just want to travel. And I meet people who like travel around whole russia, or like whole central asia, or ronald mongolo or china. I mean, I meet americans, for example, and was having this conversation with them why do you do that? And they said I just love to travel, that's my. You know, it's not about for me, it's about money, it's about traveling, it's about adventure.
Speaker 1:And I said well, I think it's a more fulfilling life Right? I mean, if you just if you work your whole life just for money. I think most of the guys that work their whole lives just for money get to the age of 80 or whatever their deathbed age is, and I think they regret that. Most of them regret that they worked their whole lives for money and I think that the guy who travels and does exactly what he wants in his life is a lot happier. Those last years yes, personally I do. It'd be cool if you I think in today's world you can do both right With the internet.
Speaker 1:I mean, I don't think there's any reason you can't do both. Yeah, that wasn't possible before. What's on your? What's next on your adventure list? Do you have anything planned?
Speaker 2:Well, I'm right now learning how to sail better, Like my. Well, I'm right now learning how to sail better like my sailing skills. Yeah, improving my sailing skills, because in the future I'm thinking like future, like I want to, you know, practice more sailing. And like five years, probably from now, maybe 10 years from now, I would love to go on an adventure around the world, sailing around.
Speaker 1:You know, I told you I'm in the yacht business right.
Speaker 2:What.
Speaker 1:I didn't tell you I'm in the yacht business, right what I didn't tell you, I'm in the yacht business no. Yeah, I'm a yacht broker in Miami. I didn't tell you that.
Speaker 2:No, that's awesome.
Speaker 1:Oh yeah, I'm actually leaving next week to go back because we have FLIBS, which is Fort Lauderdale International Boat Show. It's the biggest yacht show on the water in the world, so I'm going back next week for that. So, yeah, yeah, yeah.
Speaker 2:They have like a yacht show here in Monaco.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I know they do.
Speaker 2:And you know it's very nice. It's a little bit different than Miami. I just saw some very it's families. You know it's like a family owns and people more older. Yeah, send me some information on those. I would love to do that, because the beauty of this business is it doesn't matter where you are. I would love to be like a yacht broker. That would be fun. Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Speaker 1:So the beauty of it is, if someone calls arabia right, uh, to be their broker, and you find a buyer in italy, you can do that. It doesn't have to be just in the us okay which is pretty cool.
Speaker 2:It's pretty cool but I don't know so much about the yacht right now. You know, I'm just starting to learn the difference between sailing boats. Like you know this sailboat, like different names and different like um companies. So, like their, their, their story, you know, because when they started to do the sails, it's uh, you know that's different between you know the motorboats and sailboats and catamarans and it's different, it's like a different things and I understood, like sailing, um, well, selling is different than most of what we do.
Speaker 1:I mean most of what we're doing is motor yachts right, super any. I mean anything from even like a two hundred thousand dollar boston whaler up to you know, up to the top.
Speaker 2:I mean as big as you can go you know, boats here in europe is actually cheaper than, for example, boats in america is that right? And yeah.
Speaker 2:Well, everything's cheaper than it is in America because America is ridiculous, for example, marina where I'm staying right now in Lisbon, we're paying. It's in the center of the Lisbon, you know center historical part is just like 15 minutes to the oldest historical thing that we all like bars, and, you know, restaurants yeah um, it's like for the bigger boat, like a middle, middle side boat, it's 2 000 euro a year wow to rent it or own it no, if you own the boat and you're putting it in marina, it's 2 000 euro a year oh, that's not bad and bad.
Speaker 2:And for the small ones it's 1,200. It's in the center of Lisbon.
Speaker 1:Wow, that's cheap.
Speaker 2:It's super cheap. You know, I'm just like you buy, like, for example, like I want to buy the boat next year, but I was like pushed to learn. You know a little bit which one I want to buy. But the thing is like I'm thinking it's nothing like what I'm paying just $1,200 for you. I'm paying for the apartment $1,200, $1,500, you know, a month.
Speaker 2:Right, right and if I'm like owning the boat and even just parking it over there, but it's a nice, you know. If it's like a middle side boat, for the one person it's enough, you know, and you have everything in. It's like you have a water there, you have electricity, you have everything. And I've been, I lived in the boat. So like I like it, you know, it's like you always say you did live on the boat. Yeah, I live in the boat Like a while in Miami Florida as well. Oh, that's awesome.
Speaker 1:Did you wait? Did you see about the guy? There's a guy in Tampa they called him Lieutenant Dan. He has a little 22-foot sailboat and they were trying to beg him to leave the sailboat during the hurricane and go to shelter and he totally refused. He was like no, I'll be fine. He's made it through two hurricanes now just living on his boat and he's become pretty famous on social media for it. Did you see?
Speaker 2:that guy? No, I haven't, you should look this guy up.
Speaker 1:They offered him $100,000 to if he made it through it. Someone offered him $100,000 if he lived, and he lived, and then they reneged the offer, which was kind of messed up. It's like you can't just offer dude $100,000 and stay out there and risk his life and then take the money back, right.
Speaker 2:Well, that's you know. I feel like some people just like to talk.
Speaker 1:Yeah for sure, so for those people that are looking to kind of travel, blend that with work and entrepreneurship, what's your advice to help them fulfill their goals?
Speaker 2:Doing a little bit research. Uh, first, before you're going somewhere, do some research on on where you want to go, just like little research. And, uh, you know, and watch maybe some videos of the people who already done it, if nobody done it. So, just you know, go and Don't be scared to travel. I believe the whole world is our family. You know, it's everywhere that you go, people want to help you, people want to support you, people want to love you, people want to stay with you and once, like you, stay with them. And that's the reality of you know, the reality of our reality, that we're living like our world is a family. You know the reality of our reality that we're living like all world is a family. You know, and that's and that's my interpretation, and this is how I live and this is my life that's been my uh, that's been my experience.
Speaker 1:That's been my experience for sure I've. I've been welcomed with open arms everywhere. I've gone and made friends around the world because of it. So I think you're dead on with that. Um, how do people reach out to you if they want to connect?
Speaker 2:well, they can go to my website, aishatoday, and they can book. You know, have a book time with me. They could connect through the um, the calendari, or like through the link there or go to my instagram account it's bigbossbaby777 aishatoday is the website yes, and also my book on Amazon right now, Joyful Living Guidebook. You just write Joyful Living Guidebook and you will see different platforms right now so you can order it on Amazon in the United States. You can right now order it in Europe. You can like it's worldwide.
Speaker 1:Awesome, sounds good. Hey, I absolutely enjoyed having you on. Thank you so much, this was awesome.
Speaker 2:Thank you, Matt. I think we brought a lot of really good travel advice to the world. World is family. Now we are family.
Speaker 1:Exactly, exactly. You met another friend today, exactly. Thank you so much for joining me on this episode of Matt Chambers Connects. Stay tuned for upcoming episodes where we'll dive deeper into these two fascinating worlds. If you enjoyed today's episode, please subscribe to our YouTube channel, matt Chambers Connects. You can also find us on Spotify, apple Podcasts, youtube Music and many other major podcast platforms, so you don't miss a show. Also, please join us on our social media channels so you can connect with other listeners and ask your most pressing questions and also tell us what types of guests you'd like to see on the show. Thanks again and I'll see you next time.